March 7, 2006 -
FLORENCE, S.C. - Francis Marion University athletic officials announced Tuesday (March 7) that the contract of men's basketball head coach John Schweitz will not be renewed for the 2006-07 season.
FMU athletic director Murray Hartzler said that a nationwide search for Schweitz's successor would begin immediately.
Hartzler said that the FMU program had only one winning season over the past six years and that expectations had not been met on and off the court.
“We regret to have to make this decision, but we feel we have to go in another direction as we plan to move our program to NCAA Division I within the coming years,” said Hartzler. “We thank John for his service to the university and wish him well for the future.”
Schweitz compiled a 73-93 record in six seasons, including a 12-16 mark this past year that saw FMU place eighth in the final Peach Belt Conference regular-season standings.
FMU compiled a 41-65 mark in Peach Belt play over the past six years and failed to win a single PBC Tournament game.
Schweitz posted marks of 7-19, 4-23, and 13-14 in his first three campaigns. His most successful season came in 2003-04, when he guided Francis Marion to a program-best 27-4 record, a national Top 10 ranking, and the program’s first NCAA Division II National Tournament invitation, during which the squad advanced to the Sweet 16. For these accomplishments, he was named the 2004 PBC “Coach of the Year” and the NABC South Atlantic Region “Coach of the Year.”
The Patriots were 10-17 in 2004-05.
After serving as an assistant coach on the FMU staff during the 1999-2000 campaign, Schweitz was promoted to the head coaching position in July 2000, replacing Ed Conroy, who resigned to become an NCAA Division I assistant coach.
A graduate of the University of Richmond, Schweitz came to Francis Marion in 1999 from Loyola Marymount University, where he was an assistant coach for one year. He had also been an assistant coach at Irvine (Calif.) Valley Community College and at Long Beach State University, and was the boys’ varsity basketball head coach at Warren High School in Downey, Calif., for three years.
Schweitz’s employment with FMU will end on June 30.
