Updated

Saint Louis University has removed the interim tag from men's basketball coach Jim Crews.

The school named him the head coach on a full-time basis on Friday.

Crews was named the interim coach last August when Rick Majerus took a leave of absence because of a serious heart ailment. Majerus died in December at the age of 64.

The Billikens honored Majerus with a stellar campaign that included a regular season Atlantic 10 championship and an A-10 tourney title. Saint Louis earned a fourth seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament and bowed out with a loss to Oregon in the round of the 32 to finish 28-7.

"I have said from day one that it is about the people -- the players, staff, administration and fans -- and the people here are 100 percent committed to this team and this program," Crews said. "I've seen first hand the values that Saint Louis University possesses, and I believe strongly in those same values. They are paramount in the college experience.

"Moving forward, nothing changes. As a staff, our philosophy is to continue to get better each and every day, on the court and off the court, and we continue to do that."

Crews had been a head coach at Evansville and Army for 24 seasons, posting a record of 354-348, before joining Majerus' staff as an assistant for the 2011-12 season. He was 294-209 from 1985-2002 at Evansville, guiding the Purple Aces to four NCAA Tournament appearances in 17 seasons.

In seven seasons at Army, from 2002-09, Crews led the Black Knights to a mark of 60-139.

Crews played for former Army coach Bob Knight at Indiana from 1972-76 and was a member of the Hoosiers' undefeated national championship team as a senior. He was also part of Knight's coaching staff with the Hoosiers for eight years before moving on to Evansville.