Steve Plasencia retired as Gophers men's cross country coach and assistant track and field coach Thursday, saying the decision was unrelated to the University of Minnesota's decision to cut indoor track.

"There's a time for everything," said Plasencia, a five-time Big Ten coach of the year. "I've had a pretty long run over there."

The former Olympic distance runner spent 25 years with the Gophers, serving as head men's cross country coach throughout that span and also as head of the men's track and field program for a decade. In 2018, Plasencia moved into an assistant role with the track team, when Matt Bingle took over as the program's overall director.

Last September, the university announced that it was cutting men's track and field along with men's tennis and men's gymnastics because of a budget deficit brought on by the pandemic and Title IX compliance concerns. In October, the Board of Regents approved those cuts but voted to save men's outdoor track.

"Definitely it was bad news when it came out, but the team had a great year," Plasencia said.

Plasencia, 64, said he's retiring because "I want to spend more time with my wife and move forward." He said he'll stay involved in the running industry.

"We thank Coach Plaz for his years of dedication to his athletes and the University and wish him all the best in his next chapter," a Gophers news release stated.

His teams won five Big Ten track and field titles — three indoors, two outdoors — and made 15 NCAA cross country meet trips, finishing among the top 20 teams eight times.

Plasencia was named Midwest Region Cross Country Coach of the Year four times (1998, 2001, '04, '15) and Big Ten Track and Field Coach of the Year five times (indoors in 2009, '10, '11, and outdoors 2009, '10).

He came out of Cooper High School and was a standout runner himself for the Gophers. He competed for the United States in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, and the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

"It took me 10 years after college to make an Olympic team," Plasencia said. "I was in it for the long haul. ... I've had the opportunity to work with great people."

Asked what he'll miss most about coaching the Gophers, Plasencia said, "Taking kids who are talented but unheralded, as kids in the Upper Midwest can be, and seeing them achieve high heights."