SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga University has confirmed that Jerry Krause, one of the most prolific Inland Northwest college basketball figures, has died at the age of 87.
The former Gonzaga men's basketball Director of Operations was named to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame last year.
An impactful leader both on and off the court, Krause spent 17 seasons as the head coach at Eastern Washington from 1967 to 1985. During his time at EWU, Krause won 262 games and oversaw the Eags' transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and ultimately Division I.
Later on in his career, Krause spent 20 years in operations roles at Gonzaga. His contributions helped build the Jesuit school into a national powerhouse. A pioneer in basketball research and coaching education, he received the NABC Guardians of the Game Award for Advocacy in 2003. Krause was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2000.
“Coach Krause was one of the most impactful coaches I have ever been around,” Gonzaga Women’s Basketball Head Coach Lisa Fortier said. “He cared about people and their development in a way that made those he mentored feel confident and capable. He believed in me and invested his time to help make our program better.
“I am sad to hear the news about Jerry, but what a life he had,” GU Men’s Basketball Head Coach Mark Few said. “He had a big impact on all of us, especially Dan Monson, me, Billy Grier, Leon Rice, and those of us that kind of came up as young coaches back in the day. That's a great thing about Jerry, he had such a big impact on the game of basketball after his head coaching was done. He was a coach, a mentor, a friend, a teacher, and an author. I think he's far and away the most published guy on basketball. He was also an incredible clinician. He was doing clinics up to the very end. He was at the Final Four this year doing a clinic.
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