In 1999, Fisher took over the basketball program at San Diego State University. The Aztecs had not been to the postseason since its NCAA appearance in 1984-1985. Steve Fisher has guided the San Diego State basketball program to unparalleled heights. In 11 seasons, he has taken a program that regularly missed out on the conference postseason tournament, to one which has become one of the best programs on the West Coast and in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll.
In his third year, Fisher led the Aztecs to their first Mountain West Conference tournament title, and finished with a 21-12 record and continued the upward surge of the program. They returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since that same ’84-85 team. During the 2002-2003 season (his fourth year), Steve Fisher’s Aztecs returned to the post-season when they hosted an NIT First round match against UCSB. The Aztecs earned their first ever Division 1 post-season win. After two rebuilding seasons (2003-2004 and 2004-2005), the Aztecs returned to the NCAA Tournament in the 2005-2006 season; Steve Fisher’s seventh season. That year the Aztecs began a present seven year streak of consecutive 20+ win seasons while capturing their first ever Mountain West Conference Regular Season Championship, and winning their second ever Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship.
In 2009, the Aztecs earned a school-record 26 victories and reached the semifinals of the NIT. It was their third consecutive trip to the NIT, and fourth consecutive post-season appearance. In the 2009-2010 season, the Aztecs won another 20+ games, won the Mountain West Conference Tournament, and earned their third NCAA Tournament trip under Fisher. In 2010-2011, the Aztecs who were ranked #25 in the pre-season AP poll, spent nearly the entire season in the top 10 and won their first NCAA Tournament game ever en route to the Sweet 16.
Overall Fisher has guided SDSU to the NCAA Tournament in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and the postseason NIT in 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2009, to go along with seven 20-win seasons (seven consecutive from 2006-present); with the 2010-2011 season being the Aztecs’ first 30 win season in school history. Additionally, under Steve Fisher, the San Diego State Aztecs Men’s basketball team has captured three Mountain West Conference Regular Season Championships (2006 outright, 2011 shared with BYU, 2012 shared with New Mexico), and four Mountain West Conference Tournament Championships (2002, 2006, 2010, 2011). Since the 2005-2006 season, Steve Fisher has led the Aztecs to seven consecutive post-season appearances, and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in school history since the 1974-1975 and 1975-1976 seasons.
Just nine head coaches have won the NIT as well as the NCAA tournaments. The others are Vadal Peterson, Nolan Richardson, Bobby Knight, Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Al McGuire, Dean Smith, and Jim Calhoun. Nat Holman in 1950 coached the City College of New York (CCNY) to an NIT and NCAA championship in the same season.
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