GORHAM – Gary Fifield, who led the University of Southern Maine women’s basketball team to the NCAA Division III Final Four five times during a 21-year coaching career, has retired from that post to assume new duties as the school’s first associate director of athletics.

Ellsworth native Mike McDevitt, an assistant coach under Fifield for the last five seasons and the former head coach at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, has been named interim head coach of the USM women’s basketball team for the 2008-09 season.

Both announcements were made during a press conference held Wednesday at the Costello Sports Complex.

In recent years, Fifield has served as an assistant AD under Al Bean, but with the recent departure of another assistant athletic director came the opportunity for Fifield be elevated to the newly created post of associate athletic director.

“Coincidentally, for the past couple of years Gary and I have been discussing his possible retirement from coaching and a shift to fulltime administrative duties,” said Bean in prepared remarks. “The staff departure opened the door for Gary and I to reopen that discussion about reshaping his duties.”

Fifield, who came to USM in 1987 from South Royalton (Vt.) High School, guided the Huskies to a 541-86 record and 20 NCAA tournament berths in 21 years. His teams had at least 20 wins each season to extend the school’s NCAA Division III record of consecutive 20-win seasons to 28.

He also guided USM to 17 Little East Conference titles, including 11 straight from 1997 to 2007, and won or shared the LEC regular-season crown 19 times. Last winter, Fifield guided the Huskies to a 25-4 record and a 13-1 Little East record.

Fifield was named the WBCA Division III national coach of the year in 2005 after leading USM to a 31-3 record and a third-place finish in the NCAA tournament. He also was named Little East Conference coach of the year 13 times, served as an assistant coach at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1993, and was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.

Before coming to USM, McDevitt served as head coach at Saint Joseph’s for 16 years, compiling a 326-117 record while leading the Monks to seven conference titles and seven appearances in the NAIA national tournament.

He was a five-time Maine Athletic Conference coach of the year, and for nine years also served as an assistant athletic director at Saint Joseph’s.

McDevitt also is a Saint Joseph’s alumnus, and was a four-year starter for the Monks men’s basketball team. The Ellsworth High School graduate scored 1,381 points and grabbed 674 rebounds during his college career, and was named Western Maine Athletic Conference player of the year for the 1982-83 season.

“Mike will be a great fit, maintain continuity with our program, and we welcome his addition to our staff,” said Bean. “I have great confidence that he will continue the great tradition of our women’s basketball program.”

Several Eastern Maine players who were on the USM roster last winter are expected to return to the Huskies next season, including Nicole Paradis of Skowhegan, Trisha MacDonald of Millinocket, Becky Dixon of Pittston, Kristin Violette of Eagle Lake and Kristi Violette of Readfield.