42^nd AnnualNice Guy of the Year Gala

Coach Steve Fisher is originally from Herrin, Illinois, began his career as a coach at Rich East High School in Park Forest, Illinois in 1971. He went on to an illustrious career at Western Michigan and then the University of Michigan. In 1999, he was hired by SDSU to coach a moribund program that had only had one winning season since 1985.

Coach Fisher became SDSU’s all-time winningest coach and the winningest coach in Mountain West history. He led the Aztecs for 18 seasons before announcing his retirement in April 2017. He led the Aztecs to a Mountain West-record 10 conference titles, eight NCAA tournaments and 13 postseason appearances. At the time, SDSU was the league’s all-time winningest program in conference wins (168). He was a two-time national coach of the year and the recipient of the prestigious 2015 John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award.

To the San Diego community, having a winning team was a dream come true, but it was a lot more than winning. Coach Fisher created an atmosphere, a culture that embraced developing young talent and helping to shape their lives. It also brought the business and philanthropic community together to support SDSU and students.

Coach Fisher lives with his wife, Angie in Rancho Santa Fe and continues to be a special consultant at SDSU. They have two sons, Mark and Jay. Mark and his wife, Jill have a son, Max, who is a big part of the Fishers’ lives these days.