Zac Claus
Zac Claus (born November 1974)
Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Western Colorado Mountaineers
Current conference: Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (Div II)
Idaho record: 28-88 (.241)
Western Colorado record: 0-0 (.000)
Overall record^: 28-88 (.241)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- RMAC (Div II) Regular Season Champion: 0
- RMAC (Div II) Tournament Champion: 0
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2023-present | Western Colorado |
| 2019-2023 | Idaho |
| 2016-2019 | Idaho (asst) |
| 2011-2015 | Nevada (asst) |
| 2005-2011 | Nevada (DBO) |
| 2002-2005 | Sacramento State (asst) |
| 2001-2002 | Portland State (asst) |
| 2000-2001 | Portland State (DBO) |
| 1999-2000 | Austin College (asst) |
| 1998-1999 | Nebraska Wesleyan (asst) |
Zac Claus Facts
- Zachary Arthur Claus
- Born November 1974
- Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska
- Alma Mater: Eastern Washington University (BA, 1998)
- Started his collegiate career at Creighton, playing one season for the Bluejays and head coach Rick Johnson
- Finished career and degree at Eastern Washington, where he played for Eagles’ head coach Steve Aggers
- First coaching gigs were as an assistant at Nebraska Wesleyan and Austin College (TX)
- Spent two seasons at Portland State, one each as DBO and full-time assistant under Joel Sobotka
- Next was a three-year tenure as an assistant under Jerome Jenkins at Sacramento State
- Arrived at Nevada in 2005, hired by Mark Fox to be the Wolfpack’s director of basketball operations
- Stayed on board with new head coach David Carter in 2009 and was elevated to assistant coach in 2011
- Was a part of six postseason tournaments during his time in Reno (2 NCAAs, 2 NITs & 2 CBIs)
- Hired in 2016 to return to the Big Sky as an assistant coach at Idaho under Don Verlin
- The Vandals won 19 and 22 games in his first two seasons on the staff, reaching the CIT in 2017
- Named interim head coach for the 2019-20 season following Verlin‘s firing for potential NCAA violations
- In February 2020, Claus had the interim tag removed and was officially named head coach at Idaho
- Went 28-88 in four years at the helm before getting fired following the last regular season game of the 2022-23 season
- In June 2023, Claus was announced as the head coach at Western Colorado in the Division II RMAC
Zac Claus Coaching Tree
- Tim Marrion (Idaho)
- Kenny Tripp (Adams State)
