The Washington University men’s basketball team played its first game without former head coach Mark Edwards involved in 48 years. The Bears opened their season with a 91-62 win against Illinois College, new head coach Pat Juckem’s first since taking over for Edwards in May.

Forty-nine years after playing in his last collegiate game, 37 years after coaching his first game for his alma mater and three years after the court was partially named after him, Mark Edwards announced his retirement as head coach of the Washington University men’s basketball team Wednesday afternoon.

In his 22 years in St. Louis, Mark Wrighton presided over the most successful patch in Washington University’s athletic history.

There are about 82 steps between men’s basketball Coach Mark Edwards’s office and the unoccupied room on the other side of the court.

With the largest crowd of the season expected, Washington University will name the Field House basketball court after men’s basketball coach Mark Edwards and women’s basketball coach Nancy Fahey in honor of their 35th and 30th years of coaching, respectively.

For just the second time in program history, the No. 2 Washington University’s men’s basketball team finished the season with an undefeated record in University Athletic Association play. The Bears enter the NCAA Division III tournament on an 18-game winning streak (23-2 overall) with six of those wins coming by four points or fewer.

As the buzzer sounded, 1,911 fans roared while a wave of “600” signs could be seen across the Field House, and men’s basketball players embraced head coach Mark Edwards as he notched his 600th career victory on Friday against University of Rochester.

Memories of losing records can be long lost when success piles up over time. For the Washington University men’s basketball team, one would have to dig through 30 years before finding its last losing record.

Earlier this month, the head men’s basketball coach at Rutgers University sparked a national firestorm with his violent and abusive treatment of players. In recently publicly released videos from team practices, the since-dismissed Mike Rice can be seen shoving and throwing basketballs at his players and repeatedly yelling a homophobic slur.

No. 23 New York University handed the Washington University men’s basketball team its first conference loss of the season, 89-75 Sunday at the Wash. U. Field House. The Bears fell into a three-way tie for first place in the University Athletic Association after the loss to NYU and an 80-54 home win over Brandeis on Friday.