Basketball pioneer Krause passes away

When Jerry Krause interviewed for the opening at Eastern Washington State College back in 1967, he was competing for the job with another newcomer to college basketball, Jud Heathcoate.

Athletic director Dave Holmes' decision was quite simple, Krause recalled in a 2008 Cheney Free Press story. "I had a Doctorate and he had a master's degree and that's the reason I got the job." Krause said.

"Now I tell him now that I kept you from being fired (at Eastern) and you kept me from coaching Magic Johnson - if we would have reversed roles," Krause said.

Heathcote of course later guided the Michigan State Spartans to the 1979 NCAA championship. MSU, led by Magic Johnson, defeated Larry Bird's Indiana State Sycamores in the title game.

And Krause? His road still proved to be sensational in its own right.

He coached Eastern for 17 seasons finishing with the second most wins in history behind Red Reese, compiling a 262-195 record between 1967 and 1985. Krause spent another 20 seasons at Gonzaga University in a variety of roles during their mercurial rise as a perennial national power.

And despite his firing, he even returned to Eastern as a volunteer assistant coach to John Wade in the 1993-94 season.

In between Krause wrote dozens of books on teaching basketball and other subjects, served on numerous NCAA committees, coached kids at summer camps, mentored coaches, would call John Wooden and many of the sport's luminaries friends.

Dr. Krause died May 24 at his Fish Lake home at the age of 87 following a battle with cancer.

One of his final honors came when Krause would land in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022. Still in the throes of his fight with cancer, Krause still made the journey to Kansas City for the induction.

Ron Cox, an EWU Hall-of-Fame member in his own right and All-American played for Krause and accompanied his former coach to Kansas City.

"Jerry was the most influential and impactful person in my life, second only to my parents," said Cox.

Krause, who would remain an Eastern professor after being dismissed as basketball coach.

While Krause said, "I don't know why they fired me before the end of the season," he's certain his objections to the school's move from being NAIA to NCAA Division I sports cost him his job.

That was a bump in the road, however.

Krause's body of work also ultimately landed him in both the Inland Empire Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and Eastern's hall in 2005, the latter prompting him to say, "It's kind of ironic, I have the unique distinction of being fired and being inducted into the hall of fame."

Other national honors for Krause include being selected to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2000, and the same year was inducted into the National Association For Sport and Physical Education Hall of Fame. In 1998, Krause received the prestigious NABC Cliff Wells Appreciation Award for his lifetime contributions to basketball.

When one door closed in the winter of 1985, another was opened at Gonzaga by the hand of friend and coaching colleague Fitzgerald. "I hate to say it but I think God put Dan Fitzgerald in my life, and for good reason." Krause said in a 2015 Free Press interview following his retirement from Gonzaga.

"The day I was fired, the coach at that time at Gonzaga University, (then head coach) Dan Fitzgerald, called me the next day and offered me a job as an assistant," Krause said in 2008. "I'll be forever indebted for that. I was at a low ebb and it's always nice to have someone recognize that you are valuable."

"He came and saw me and I said I'd love to do it but I have no money," said Fitzgerald who passed away in 2010. "I got him because he was cheap. It was an economical decision, not a knowledgeable decision," he said with a laugh.

Krause was born in Cedar Bluffs, Neb., near Omaha in 1936 and once said he's proof that a village does raise a child.

He was the last of five children, but would ultimately become an orphan by age 4 after his mother died in childbirth and father later committed suicide.

His lifelong love affair with sports began as a kid. "Sports saved my bacon," Krause said in 2008 of the time when he and his buddies took over his uncle's vacant lot and turned it into their own sports complex.

Krause was studying to become an engineer at the University of Nebraska but both the big school – and the courses – were not to his liking. "I didn't like engineering at all after a couple of years so I transferred to Wayne State College and really found myself."

Krause earned his bachelor's degree from Wayne State University in 1959, as well as his master's degree (1965) and doctorate (1967) from the University of Northern Colorado.

Following graduation, Krause taught in Iowa and later in Loveland, Colorado before the journey to Eastern Washington.

Krause's best season at Eastern was a 25-4 finish in 1976-77 when they came one victory away from a berth in the NAIA Tournament - losing to hated rival Central Washington. But the source of his greatest pride was as an educator, as 81 percent of his players received their bachelor's degrees.

Krause is survived by his wife of 25 years, Cathy Kelly. Services for Krause have yet to be finalized.

Paul Delaney is a retired Free Press Publishing reporter and can be reached at [email protected].