Mark Hogan retires as Southeast Missouri State baseball program's winningest coach

Mark Hogan said thoughts of calling it a career crept into his mind the past few years.

He finally decided now was the right time.

Hogan, Southeast Missouri State's winningest baseball coach who directed the program at his alma mater the past 18 seasons, announced his retirement Monday morning during a news conference at the Show Me Center.

Hogan finished with a 526-456-1 record at Southeast. He led the program to its only Ohio Valley Conference championships, winning the regular-season title in 1998 and tournament crowns in 1998 and 2002, and to its only NCAA Division I tournament berths, in 1998 and 2002.

Hogan, a Cape Girardeau native and Central High School graduate, led Southeast to the OVC tournament for 18 consecutive seasons, a conference record.

Southeast Missouri State coach Mark Hogan discusses the umpire's call during a game against Illinois State in March at Capaha Field. Hogan announced his retirement Monday after spending the last 18 seasons at his alma mater. (Fred Lynch)

"It's been an incredible ride. It's gone by like that," Hogan said. "This university has meant everything to me. I met my wife at Southeast Missouri State. All of my children went to Southeast Missouri State."

Hogan, who turns 60 in December, said he probably would have retired earlier if he could have made things work financially. He now finally is eligible for full retirement, which pretty much sealed his decision.

"When you get to my age, obviously you start thinking about this," Hogan said. "Around 57, 58, I started thinking about the what ifs. It's just a reality when you get to that juncture.

"I've been on the field 34 years. That's a long time. If I had had all my years [coaching] in Missouri, I would have done this a few years ago. I had to make sure all the financial considerations were in place."

Hogan said he is in good health and he physically could have continued coaching for several more years.

"For me, it was more once those [financial] pieces all fell together, I wanted to look to the future," he said. "It wasn't one thing, it just felt right. It's just a perfect time."

Hogan has a 31-year coaching record of 911-713-3, including stops at Lurleen Wallace College, a junior college in Alabama, and Division II West Alabama.

Hogan, who played on Southeast's 1976 team that finished third in the Division II College World Series, was coaching at West Alabama when the Southeast job came open in 1995.

"My mom called me ... 'I just wanted to let you know in case you might be interested.' ... She heard the SEMO job might be open," Hogan said. "I said you've got to be kidding me. The ball got rolling. We always wanted to come back."

Hogan recalled being introduced as Southeast's fourth baseball coach in the same Show Me Center meeting room that held Monday's news conference.

"I remember coming into this room 18 years ago, July 7, 1994, just the anticipation, the heart pumping, knowing I was going to come back," Hogan said. "It started right here, and today it's going to end here in the same room."

Hogan said he approached his coach at Southeast, the late Joe Uhls, following his playing career about possibly staying with the program. That led to his long coaching tenure.

"I got to coach third base that spring," Hogan said. "I fell in love with coaching then."

Hogan took time during the news conference to thank a number of administrators and coaches at Southeast as well as Redhawks fans. And his players, of course.

"It's mainly been about the players," he said. "Every player I've had has contributed."

Hogan also made special mention of his family, much of which was in attendance. He and his wife, Becky, have three daughters and two young grandchildren.

"It was a great run," he said. "I've had a wonderful, long career."

While Hogan is retiring from coaching, he said he doesn't plan on being idle. He figures to work again in some capacity.

"I'm very intrigued by the future," he said. "I'm looking forward to the future. There are a lot of possibilities. I'm interested in a lot of different things, I'm looking at several different options."

Assistant coach and former Southeast player Steve Bieser will serve as interim coach for the 2013 season, then the university will conduct a national search for Hogan's replacement.