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Jack Friel
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John Bryan Friel (August 26, 1898[1] – December 12, 1995) was an American college basketball coach, the head coach of the Washington State Cougars for 30 seasons, from 1928 to 1958.[2] He holds the school record for victories by a men's basketball coach with 495, and led Washington State to the NCAA tournament championship game in 1941.[3] He was later the first commissioner of the Big Sky Conference.
Key Information
Friel played college basketball at Washington State before becoming a high school coach. In 1928, he was named the head coach of Washington State. His teams won one Pacific Coast Conference championship and three divisional titles. Friel officiated college football games and was head coach of the Cougars baseball team from 1943 to 1945.
Early years
[edit]Born in Waterville, Washington, Friel enrolled at Washington State College in 1916, then served in Europe during World War I. He returned to Pullman after the war and was the captain of the basketball team, playing at forward and earning all-conference honors in 1922.[3][4][5] He claimed six varsity letters, and in 18 starts as a baseball pitcher had a win–loss record of 15–1.[5]
High school coach
[edit]Following graduation in 1923, Friel coached high school basketball, first at Colville, then at North Central in Spokane, winning the state title in his third and final season at North Central.[6]
Washington State
[edit]He became the head basketball coach at his alma mater in 1928, and his team posted a 9–14 record in his first season. Washington State increased its victory total each of the next three seasons, winning 22 games in 1931–32. The Cougars won at least 20 games in 10 of Friel's 30 seasons as head coach, and had 21 winning seasons. The 1940–41 team was Friel's only one to make the NCAA Tournament.[7] One of three Washington State teams to win a Pacific Coast Conference divisional championship under Friel,[8] the 1940–41 Cougars won the conference title, and won two games in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the final, where they lost 39–34 to Wisconsin.[7][9][10] Friel has been credited as helping to change free throw rules in college basketball.[11] In addition to his duties as basketball coach, Friel was Washington State's baseball head coach from 1943 to 1945 and a college football official; he was originally selected to officiate the 1942 Rose Bowl, but his basketball schedule prevented him from serving as referee.[12]
After the early 1950s, his Cougar teams struggled, failing to post a winning record following a 19–16 mark in 1951–52;[7] in November 1957, Friel announced that he would retire at the end of the season.[13][14] Friel had the eighth-most wins among Division I men's college basketball coaches when he retired.[15] He remained with the school into the 1960s, continuing as golf coach and in the physical education program.[6][12]
The court inside Beasley Coliseum, the Cougars' home arena, was named after Friel in April 1977, as announced by university President Glenn Terrell at a meeting of the board of regents;[16] the dedication ceremony was at halftime on December 3.[17] The following year, Friel was among the first to be inducted into Washington State's Athletic Hall of Fame.[8]
Conference work
[edit]Friel was a supervisor for the Pacific-10 Conference's basketball officiating bureau and spent eight years as the first commissioner of the Big Sky Conference, beginning in 1963.[6][8][12] Into the 1980s, Friel continued working for the Pac-10, evaluating officials.[12]
Death
[edit]Friel died at the age of 97 in Pullman on December 12, 1995, due to pneumonia.[4] In 2003, he was inducted into the Pac-10 Basketball Hall of Honor.[11][18] That summer, his widow Catherine died at age 101.[19]
Head coaching record
[edit]College
[edit]| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington State Cougars (Pacific Coast Conference) (1928–1958) | |||||||||
| 1928–29 | Washington State | 9–14 | 5–5 | 3rd North | |||||
| 1929–30 | Washington State | 14–12 | 9–7 | 2nd North | |||||
| 1930–31 | Washington State | 18–7 | 10–6 | 2nd North | |||||
| 1931–32 | Washington State | 22–5 | 11–5 | 2nd North | |||||
| 1932–33 | Washington State | 17–8 | 8–8 | 3rd North | |||||
| 1933–34 | Washington State | 14–11 | 6–10 | 4th North | |||||
| 1934–35 | Washington State | 12–12 | 6–10 | 4th North | |||||
| 1935–36 | Washington State | 22–8 | 8–8 | 3rd North | |||||
| 1936–37 | Washington State | 24–8 | 11–5 | 1st North | |||||
| 1937–38 | Washington State | 19–11 | 12–8 | T-3rd North | |||||
| 1938–39 | Washington State | 23–10 | 8–8 | 3rd North | |||||
| 1939–40 | Washington State | 23–10 | 9–7 | 3rd North | |||||
| 1940–41 | Washington State | 26–6 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Runner-up | ||||
| 1941–42 | Washington State | 21–8 | 9–7 | 3rd North | |||||
| 1942–43 | Washington State | 19–11 | 9–7 | 3rd North | |||||
| 1943–44 | Washington State | 8–19 | 4–12 | 5th North | |||||
| 1944–45 | Washington State | 23–13 | 11–5 | T-1st North | |||||
| 1945–46 | Washington State | 16–13 | 5–11 | 5th North | |||||
| 1946–47 | Washington State | 23–10 | 11–5 | 2nd North | |||||
| 1947–48 | Washington State | 19–10 | 9–7 | 3rd North | |||||
| 1948–49 | Washington State | 21–9 | 8–8 | 2nd North | |||||
| 1949–50 | Washington State | 19–13 | 11–5 | 1st North | |||||
| 1950–51 | Washington State | 17–15 | 7–9 | 3rd North | |||||
| 1951–52 | Washington State | 19–16 | 6–10 | 4th North | |||||
| 1952–53 | Washington State | 7–27 | 3–13 | 5th North | |||||
| 1953–54 | Washington State | 10–17 | 4–12 | 5th North | |||||
| 1954–55 | Washington State | 11–15 | 5–11 | T-4th North | |||||
| 1955–56 | Washington State | 4–22 | 2–14 | 9th | |||||
| 1956–57 | Washington State | 8–18 | 4–12 | T-7th | |||||
| 1957–58 | Washington State | 7–19 | 3–13 | 9th | |||||
| Washington State: | 495–377 (.568) | 227–251 (.475) | |||||||
| Total: | 495–377 (.568) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Men's Basketball Coaches Career" (Search for Jack Friel under Player/Coach Search). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
- ^ Solomon, Lynn (December 14, 1995). "A Coug inspiration". Lewiston Morning Tribune. p. 1B. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ a b "Four Fathers of Cougar Basketball: Jack Friel". Washington State University. January 18, 2006. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ a b "Former Cougar Coach Friel Dies at 97". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. December 14, 1995. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
- ^ a b Blanchette, John (December 14, 1995). "Death takes Jack Friel". The Spokesman-Review. pp. C1, C4. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Jack Friel Named Big Sky Executive". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 8, 1963. p. 8. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Jack Friel". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Seven Cougars in Hall of Fame". Spokane Daily Chronicle. October 3, 1978. p. 17. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. New York City: ESPN Books. 2009. p. 492. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ McDonough, Ted (December 13, 1995). "WSU's winningest coach, Friel, dies at 97". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. p. 1A. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ a b "Abdul-Jabber, Winter among Pac-10 inductees". ESPN. Associated Press. November 6, 2002. Archived from the original on May 11, 2006. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Missildine, Harry (December 15, 1995). "Jack Friel: Time never passed him". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. p. 1C. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ "Cougar Hoop Coach to Retire". Ellensburg Daily Record. Washington. Associated Press. November 26, 1957. p. 8. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ "Friel Injured In Auto Crash". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. November 30, 1957. p. 3. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ Blanchette, John (December 16, 1995). "It's High Time Hall Of Fame Welcomes Friel". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ "It's now 'Friel Court'". The Spokesman-Review. April 30, 1977. p. 19. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ Brown, Bruce (December 3, 1977). "Friel Dedication Due". Spokane Daily Chronicle. p. 9. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ "Steve Puidokas to be inducted into Pac-12 Hall of Honor". Washington State University. February 8, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ "Catherine Friel: 101, Pullman resident". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. July 29, 2003. p. 2A. Retrieved November 15, 2020.