Dave Strack
Dave Strack (1923-2014)
Teams coached: Idaho Vandals, Michigan Wolverines
Idaho record: 11-15 (.423)
Michigan record: 113-89 (.559)
Overall record: 124-104 (.544)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0 (Runner-up in 1965)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3 (1964, 1965, 1966)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 3 (1964, 1965, 1966)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 2 (1964, 1965)
- Big Ten Regular Season Champion: 3 (1964, 1965, 1966)
Awards:
- UPI Coach of the Year: 1 (1965)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1960-1968 | Michigan |
1959-1960 | Idaho |
1948-1959 | Michigan (asst) |
Dave Strack Facts
- David H. Strack
- Born March 2, 1923
- Died January 25, 2014
- Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
- Alma Mater: University of Michigan (BA, 1946)
- Played at Michigan under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, then briefly played for the Indianapolis Kautskys of the pro NBL
- Returned to his alma mater in 1948, serving as an assistant coach there for the next eleven seasons
- Worked under head coaches Ernie McCoy (1948-52) and Bill Perigo (1952-59)
- Left to become the head coach at Idaho in 1959, going 11-15 in his lone season with the Vandals
- Came back to Ann Arbor to replace Perigo as the Wolverines’ coach in 1960, a position he held for the next eight seasons
- After a slow start, Strack’s teams enjoyed tremendous success from 1963-66
- Won three straight Big Ten regular season titles, going to the NCAA Tournament each year
- Reached the Final Four in 1964, then returned in 1965, finishing as National Runner-up in the latter year
- Stopped coaching in 1968, instead serving as the University’s business manager for two years, followed by another two years as associate AD
- After a slow start, Strack’s teams enjoyed tremendous success from 1963-66
- Moved on to Arizona in 1972, serving as the University’s athletic director for the next ten years
- During his tenure as AD, Strack oversaw the school’s transition to the Pac-10 and hired the first African-American head basketball coach at a major university (Fred Snowden)
- Resigned in 1982 amid some controversy surrounding improper payments that were alleged to have been made to coaches, alumni and recruits
- Continued to live in Arizona in retirement, first in Prescott and then back in Tuscon
- The Indianapolis-native was inducted into the (state of) Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992
- Passed away in 2014 from pneumonia at the age of 90, three years after his wife had passed
- Along with his late wife, Ruth Ann, Strack had five children
Dave Strack Coaching Tree
- Wayne Anderson (Idaho)
- Tom Jorgensen (Northern Illinois)
- Johnny Orr (Iowa State, Michigan)
- Cazzie Russell (Savannah College of Art and Design)
- Fred Snowden (Arizona)