On Monday, his 87th birthday, former Colorado State, Fresno State and Southern Idaho head coach Boyd “Tiny” Grant passed away. He had suffered a stroke over the weekend from which he did not recover.
Grant played at Colorado State (then A&M) and got his college coaching career started there as an assistant (1960-72) before taking over at NCJAA Southern Idaho. His first shot at being a D-I head coach was at Fresno, where he spent nine seasons and left as the program’s winningest head men’s basketball coach (194-74). His final role was back at alma mater CSU, where he coached four seasons before retiring from the game in 1991.
He reached the NCAA Tournament five times (three with Fresno and two at CSU) and was named the PCAA (now Big West) COYÂ in all three seasons in which his Bulldogs’ claimed the league championship.
“I remember two things about Coach Grant: How much his players loved him and how passionate he was about CSU,” longtime CSU SID Gary Ozzello said in a release. “He told me 20 years ago he had already purchased a Green & Gold casket to be buried in. He brought the magic back to Moby [Arena].”
credit to Colorado State Athletics for the image
