EMMITSBURG, Md. -- Mount St. Mary's basketball coach Jim Phelan will retire after this season, following a remarkable 49-year career in which he has amassed more than 800 wins.

	Jim Phelan has coached in 1,339 games.

Phelan said he made the decision to retire before the season.

"I had discussed it with several of my close friends and decided that the time was right. Certainly, healthwise I feel fine. But the energy needed for the virtual year-round recruiting just isn't there," Phelan said.

No one has coached more college basketball games (1,339) over more seasons than Phelan, whose 824 career victories are the most among active coaches and fourth on the career list behind Dean Smith (879), Adolph Rupp (876) and Clarence "Big House" Gaines (828). All but Gaines coached at least part of their careers at the Division I level.

Before beginning his 49th consecutive season at the Mount in November, the 73-year-old Phelan was asked what factors would go into his decision to retire.

"Sometimes, it's just time," Phelan said. "I'm not going for 50 years just for the sake of making 50. That's just a number. It just means I'm terribly old."

The Mountaineers are 5-7, a vast improvement over their 3-24 mark last season. Although The Mount had endured three straight losing seasons before the current one, there was no push for Phelan's dismissal.

	“	I'm not going for 50 years just for the sake of making 50. That's just a number. It just means I'm terribly old. ”
		— Jim Phelan

Since his arrival at the school, Phelan has taken his team to the NCAA Tournament 16 times, including five trips to the Division II national semifinals. He led The Mount to the 1962 College Division title. After the school moved up to Division I in 1988, he guided the Mountaineers to the NCAA Tournament in 1995 (a loss to Kentucky) and 1999 (a loss to Michigan State).

Upon reaching the '95 tournament, Phelan and his players wore shirts that said "I'm not too old to dance." He claimed that the reason he wore bow ties was because he did not like regular ties flopping around.

"I do not have to tell you the truly unique record Jim has established at the Mount," school president George Houston said. "I think it is safe to state it has never been accomplished before and will not be repeated again. This is a record, not only at the Mount, but also for the game of basketball itself."

In the summer of 2000, Phelan was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but radiation treatment helped him beat the disease.

When he first took the job at Mount St. Mary's, Phelan was coming off a brief NBA career with the Philadelphia Warriors. At The Mount, he often competed against his players in practice. He stopped doing that years ago, but little else has changed. He still barks at his players, demands their best effort in practice and in games, and he always wears a bow tie on game day.

Phelan grew up in Philadelphia and played at La Salle before enlisting in the Marine Corps, and served in the Korean War. After spending one year as an assistant coach at La Salle, Phelan became coach at Mount St. Mary's in 1954.

"It is an honor to have worked with Jim since I arrived at the Mount," Mount St. Mary's director of athletics Dr. Harold Menninger said. "What he has accomplished here is truly incredible, and as the season progresses, we can reflect upon his numerous achievements."

Mountaineers associate head coach Milan Brown will be introduced as Phelan's replacement at a Friday news conference. He is in his second stint at Mount St. Mary's, having served the previous two seasons at William & Mary. He also was an assistant under Phelan from 1997-2000.

Information from The Associated Press and SportsTicker was used in this report.