Atlanta - Coach Jerry Johnson, head men's basketball coach at LeMoyne-Owen College since 1959 will retire at the end of the 2004-2005 season. Johnson has the most victories of any active NCAA Division II coach with 815 victories in 45 seasons. He is the second winningest coach in NCAA Division II history behind legendary Winston-Salem coach Clarence "Big House" Gaines. Johnson retires with five SIAC Championships, a National Division III Championship in 1975, and four titles in the now defunct Volunteer State Athletic Conference.

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will celebrate Coach Johnson's career throughout the 2005 SIAC JEEP Basketball Tournament, March 2-5, 2005 in Albany, GA. The SIAC Basketball Media Guide is a special Jerry C. Johnson Commemorative Edition and features a spread highlighting Coach Johnson's career.

Beginning with the 2005-2006 season, coaches who are elected SIAC Coach of the Year will receive the Jerry C. Johnson Coach of the Year Award. At the SIAC Basketball Banquet, Tuesday, March 1, 2005 at 7pm, the new award will be the unveiled.