Jim Walden, Washington State's Hall of Fame football coach, dies at 88

Jul. 4—Former Washington State football coach Jim Walden, who in 1981 led the Cougars to their first bowl appearance in 50 years, died Thursday in Coeur d'Alene, the school announced. He was 88."

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Coach Walden," WSU athletic director Jon Haarlow said in a release. "He will forever be remembered as a great Coug who deeply loved Washington State. Our heart is with coach Walden's family, friends and all the former players whose lives he positively impacted."

A memorial service will be announced at a later date.Walden, who was inducted into WSU's Hall of Fame in 2009, led the Cougars from 1978-86, compiling an overall record of 44-52-4 before moving on to the same job at Iowa State. He was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year in both 1981 and 1983, leading the Cougars to an 8-3-1 record and to the 1981 Holiday Bowl, which at the time was WSU's first postseason bowl game since the 1931 Rose Bowl.

Walden, whose WSU team went 7-4 in 1983, left for Iowa State in 1987 and compiled a 28-57-3 record over eight seasons. Much of his time with the Cyclones was impacted by scholarship reductions, some because of infractions by ISU's previous coach and others by overall reductions in Division I-A in 1988. In 1989, Walden had just 47 scholarship players when ISU traveled to Nebraska, which won 49-17.

Walden retired from coaching in 1994 and returned to the Palouse as Bob Robertson's broadcast sidekick for 11 seasons. In that time, Walden became beloved by Cougar fans for his verbose commentary.AdvertisementWalden, an All-American quarterback at Wyoming, was inducted into the Cowboys' Hall of Fame in 2011.

As a player, Walden was drafted by both Cleveland (of the NFL) and Denver in the first AFL draft in 1960. Walden opted to sign with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League, going on to play several seasons in Canada.Walden started his coaching career in 1964, when he was named head football coach at Amory High School in Amory, Miss.

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