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)