Former Washington State and Iowa State head coach Jim Walden died on Thursday in his home of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. He was 88.
Walden spent 1978-86 as the head coach of the Cougars and 1987-94 at Iowa State. Coaching at non-traditional powers in challenging circumstances, Walden's career was more impressive than his 72-109-7 record indicated.
At Washington State, Walden campaigned to move the Apple Cup rivalry with Washington to Pullman after decades of playing Wazzu's "home" games in Spokane. The 1982 match was the first on the Palouse since 1954, and Walden led the Cougars to a 24-20 upset of No. 5 Washington, knocking the Huskies out of the Rose Bowl in the process. Walden was the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1981 and '83, going 8-3-1 with a Holiday Bowl trip in 1981 and 7-4 (with another upset of a ranked Washington team) in 1983.
"Jim put an end to the coaching carousal at WSU. I am forever grateful for what he did for Washington State," former Washington State quarterback Jack Thompson told Cougfan.com.
"He was our fourth head coach in four years and he promised he wasn't going to leave. He was loyal," Thompson added. "He brought stability and a kick-ass mentality, on and off the field, to WSU. He was the right guy at the right time for us, and he will be missed."
Walden had a way with words, and his positive outlook won him supporters among players and the public. Taking over an Iowa State program that was down to 50 scholarships due to violations under the previous regime, "Walden's outgoing personality provided Iowa State fans with optimism during his first two years when he struggled to field a competitive team," Iowa State's obituary reads.
He led Iowa State to its first winning season in more than a decade, ended a 28-game winless streak against Oklahoma, snapped a 14-game losing streak to Nebraska with an upset of a 7th-ranked Cornhuskers squad, and scored an upset of a ranked Kansas State squad.
Walden led Wyoming to a pair of Skyline Conference championships as a quarterback while winning the league's player of the year honor and played three seasons in the Canadian Football League before entering coaching under College Football Hall of Famer Bob Devaney at Nebraska in 1969, helping the Huskers to their 1970 and '71 national championships.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy, two daughters, one son, two stepsons, and nine grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Janice. A memorial service will be held in Idaho before the season, Nancy told CougFan.