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Bill Frieder

Bill Frieder (born March 3, 1942)

Teams coached: Michigan Wolverines, Arizona State Sun Devils
Michigan record: 189-89 (.680)
Arizona State record: 131-105 (.555) **
Overall record: 320-194 (.623) **

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  5  (1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991) **
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  1  (1988) **
  • NCAA Tournament Final Four:  0
  • NIT Championships:  1  (1984)
  • NIT Appearances:  6  (1981, 1984, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994)
  • Big Ten Regular Season Champion:  3  (1985, 1986)

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1989-1997 Arizona State
1980-1989 Michigan
1973-1980 Michigan (asst)

Bill Frieder Facts

  • William Samuel Frieder
  • Born March 3, 1942
  • Hometown: Saginaw, Michigan
  • Alma Mater: University of Michigan (BA, 1964)
  • Started his coaching career at the high school level in Michigan, coaching the Alpena HS JV team and then assisting Dick Dennis at Flint Northern HS
  • Took over as the head coach at Flint Northern, going 66-9 in three seasons and won state titles in 1971 and 1972
  • Hired to be an assistant coach at alma mater Michigan under head coach Johnny Orr
  • Succeeded Orr in 1980, winning 188 games in nine seasons as the Wolverines’ head coach
    • Won the 1984 NIT and went to the NCAA Tournament in four straight seasons
    • Left Michigan in 1989 amidst controversy, announcing prior to the NCAA Tournament that he had agreed to become the next head coach at Arizona State
      • AD Bo Schembechler, instead of allowing Frieder to keep coaching the team, fired the head coach saying that “a Michigan man will coach Michigan, not an Arizona State man”
      • Assistant coach Steve Fisher was named interim head coach and the Wolverines would go on to win the 1989 NCAA Tournament championship
        • Fisher was and remains a close friend of Frieder and would later give the coach a NCAA championship ring
        • Ironically, Schembechler himself would leave a few months later to become the president of the Detroit Tigers
  • Coached the Sun Devils for eight seasons, going to the NIT four times and NCAA Tournament once **
    • Time at Arizona State was marred by a point-shaving scandal that ended with two players pleading guilty to conspiracy charges in 1997
    • Arizona State’s 1995 Sweet Sixteen appearance (2 victories and 1 loss) was vacated by the NCAA
  • After coaching, Frieder worked as a color analyst with FOX and Westwood One radio on the West Coast

Bill Frieder Coaching Tree

  • Mike Boyd (Cleveland State)
  • Steve Fisher (San Diego State, Michigan)
  • Doc Sadler (Southern Miss, Nebraska, UTEP, Arkansas-Fort Smith)
  • Don Sicko (Detroit Mercy)
  • Bud VanDeWege (Michigan women’s)

 

** Listed records and accomplishments for this coach do not include wins or appearances later vacated by the NCAA