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Rick Majerus will not return as Saint Louis coach

Rick Majerus

Friday, Saint Louis University announced that head coach Rick Majerus will not return as basketball team’s head coach.

Majerus, who took a leave of absence from the Billikens in late August, is still undergoing evaluation and treatment for an ongoing, serious heart condition.

The 64-year-old head coach, took Saint Louis to the NCAA tournament last season finishing 28-6 (12-4 Atlantic 10)

“Coach Majerus’ health is of the utmost importance, and our thoughts and prayers are with him as he faces his challenges,” said Director of Athletics Chris May in a press release. “We are thankful for Rick’s efforts as he succeeded by all accounts as our head men’s basketball coach. This is an exciting season for the program, and we think it is important to communicate, with transparency, to the student-athletes, staff and our loyal fans that Rick will not be returning.

“The focus for this season does not change,” said May. “Rick built this team to be in a position to compete for championships, and we will move forward with that same goal. We will continue to invest all of our resources to ensure that this team, under the leadership of interim head coach Jim Crews, is put in the best position possible to succeed.”

In five seasons at SLU, Majerus posted a 93-67 record. The former Utah and Ball State coach, helped build Saint Louis into a contending program in the A-10, a conference the Billikens joined in 2005.

Even without Majerus on the sideline Saint Louis still entered the season with high expectations. The Billikens received 10 first-place votes and were picked to finish second in the conference, behind St. Joseph’s.

SLU is 1-1 on the season, playing Texas A&M on Monday.

Terrence is also the lead writer at NEHoopNews.com and can be followed on Twitter: @terrence_payne