Girardi quits, but he won’t head to NAU

Spencer Patterson

Tuesday, May 4, 1999 | 10:30 a.m.

Spencer Patterson

Like Michael Jordan and John Elway before him, Cimarron-Memorial High School's Hank Girardi is going out on top.

Less than three months after leading the Spartans to the 4A state title, Girardi has announced his resignation as the school's boys basketball coach, citing family and health reasons for his decision.

Girardi coached Cimarron to three state title games and a pair of state championships, in 1994 and 1999, during his seven-year stint at the school.

Although there has been speculation that he might join former Bishop Gorman coach Mike Adras at Northern Arizona University, Girardi said he has no plans to do so at this time. He said he'll remain at Cimarron as a mathematics teacher.

"I'm going to miss the practices because I treat those just like the classroom," Girardi said. "I'll miss game night, the adrenaline flow. I'm sure there are things I'm going to miss that I don't even know yet."

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