BILLINGS — Now that his tenure as men's basketball coach at Rocky Mountain College is over, Bill Dreikosen will hold close all that was good and right over the course of the past 25 years.
It's not about his famous green sport coat and accompanying plaid slacks that matched the Battlin' Bears' color scheme. It's not even about RMC's storybook run of 2009 — which is still the only time a Frontier Conference men's team has cut down the nets as NAIA national champions.
For Dreikosen, now 54, it's about the experience of it all. And he maintains that he got just as much out of what he put in to lifting his alma mater.
"We're very proud of not what we accomplished but what we contributed to Rocky Mountain College," Dreikosen told MTN Sports during an interview at his home last week. "So many people have given more back to me, and I think that's what life is."
It was announced on March 17 that Dreikosen would not return to the Rocky bench next season. Dreikosen confirmed to MTN Sports on Tuesday that his contract is not being renewed by the school.
In a press release, Rocky athletic director Jim Klemann thanked Dreikosen for his years of dedication to the program and the school at large.
"I am grateful to coach Dreikosen for his lasting impact on Rocky Mountain College and our men's basketball program." Klemann stated. "I wish Bill the best in his future. We look forward to a new era of Battlin' Bears basketball and finding the next coach to lead this accomplished program."
Looking back on the past quarter century of passionate, animated coaching — which helped account for 399 career victories and the aforementioned national championship — Dreikosen remains grateful, without the slightest tinge of acrimony or regret.
"Like my wife said, basketball is what you do. Don't ever let it be who you become," Dreikosen said. "It's in moments like this that you really do find out if what you're living is true.
"I have no reservations that God has great plans for us as a family, and for me."
To win anything in the rugged Frontier is a feat in and of itself. And Rocky was competitive more often than not under Dreikosen. He led the Battlin' Bears to four league tournament titles and seven national tourney appearances. His overall record stands at 399-364 (.523).
The 2008-09 season, of course, lives on in Rocky lore. Led by double-double machine Devin Uskoski and a great supporting cast, the unseeded Bears — an at-large team with a 23-9 record — reeled off five straight wins in the NAIA tournament at the venerable Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, including a 77-61 victory over Columbia College (Mo.) in the national championship game.
Several comebacks sparked the run. It was as thrilling for Dreikosen and the team as it was unexpected for everyone else.
"Did I know going into that year we were going to win a national championship? No," Dreikosen said. "But you've got to be well-prepared when that opportunity comes your way. It was a special culmination of things, and it was an unbelievable group.
"Pretty soon, we became the hot team, and then you just kind of go. And the rest is history. But (there were) special people on that team, for sure."
Dreikosen's sideline wardrobe, highlighted by his signature green jacket, became part of the mythology of that championship season.
"Nobody's going to wear that stuff ever again," he said after revealing the attire he has saved all these years. "I always said that game day is a special day. I was like, 'OK, this is special. We've got to be at our best today.' So maybe that's why I wore it. I don't know."
Dreikosen will also be remembered for his passionate and vocal coaching style, which he said embodied his personality and the care he had for his players.
"That was a competitive fire that would come out because I want to do everything I can to help them get to where maybe they've never been," he said. "For me, I don't know any other way."
In all, Dreikosen coached 63 All-Frontier players, 18 All-Americans, 106 academic all-conference players and 31 NAIA scholar athletes.
Basketball has been a part of Dreikosen's life since before he played a crucial role in Hinsdale winning the 1988 Class C state championship in triple overtime against Geraldine. A free throw by Dreikosen with two seconds remaining in OT helped prolong the game, and the Raiders eventually won 78-70.
Now he must do something else. But whatever comes next for Dreikosen, he'll have those closest to him by his side — his wife Kally, sons Jordan and Peyton and daughter Zoee — for support following a head coaching tenure that began in the 2000-01 season.
He heaped credit on his family for their sacrifice through the years, including others who helped him along the way.
"A lot of times you go someplace and you think, 'Oh man, this is going to be hard,'" Dreikosen said. "And then pretty soon it's like, 'Oh my goodness, look how blessed I am.' That's really where it's at. God has definitely blessed me. God's timing and God's blessings are far more than I ever deserve."
