Carroll football coach Van Diest retires after 20 seasons

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Carroll College football coach Mike Van Diest announced his retirement Monday after 20 seasons and six NAIA national championships at the Helena school.

Van Diest led his teams to a 203-54 record and won four straight national titles from 2002-2005. The Fighting Saints also won titles in 2007 and 2010. Van Diest's Saints won 14 Frontier Conference titles, he was named the league's coach of the year 10 times and he was recently named to the NAIA Football Hall of Fame.

However, the Saints didn't have a winning season in the last four, posting a 17-24 mark from 2015-2018.

Carroll President John Cech says that while Van Diest is a coaching legend he has also been an integral part of his players' lives. Cech says Van Diest and his wife, Heidi, plan their summer weekends around the weddings of former players.