Hanover president Sue DeWine has announced that Mike Beitzel will retire as head men's basketball coach, effective immediately.

"I am announcing my retirement as basketball coach at Hanover College," said Beitzel. "I want to thank Hanover College, and in particular, John Collier, for bringing me to Hanover. It was my goal to have a competitive basketball program, one that could make Coach Collier and the community proud. Above all, I want to thank all of the assistant coaches and players who made it possible to have one of the most respected programs in the country. Just as Coach Collier has done over the years, I will always root for the Panthers."

Beitzel followed Collier, who coached from 1966-67 through 1987-88.

Beitzel coached the Panthers to a 370-181 record during his tenure and was 495-276 record in 28 seasons as a collegiate head coach.

A committee including Hanover faculty, staff and alumni will begin the search for Beitzel's successor immediately. The school expects to hire a new head coach as soon as possible.

Hanover had 15 consecutive winning seasons before going 13-13 this past season. Beitzel led the Panthers to four consecutive 20-win seasons from 2001-02 to 2004-05, including a school-best 27-2 mark in 2002-03.

Since joining the NCAA in 1992, Hanover has won more than 70 percent of its games and entered the 2004 NCAA Tournament ranked No. 2 in the D3hoops.com Top 25.

Beitzel guided Hanover to six conference championships, including five consecutive titles from 2001-2005. His squads earned five berths in the NCAA national tournament. The 1995, 1996, 2003, 2004 and 2005 teams each advanced to the second round.

The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference honored Beitzel as coach of the year in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004. The National Association of Basketball Coaches honored him as Midwest District coach of the year in 1996, 2003, and 2004.

Prior to his arrival at Hanover, Beitzel served as the head coach at Division II Northern Kentucky from 1980 to 1988.

A 1968 graduate of the College of Wooster, Beitzel was the Scots' captain and most valuable player for the 1967/68 squad. Before enrolling at Wooster, Beitzel was an all-state player at New Philadelphia High School (Ohio) in the mid-1960s.