Colorado State University Athletics
Jim Williams Passes Away
5/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 31, 2007
Fort Collins - Jim Williams, who won 352 games in 26 seasons as Colorado State University's men's basketball coach, passed away early today in Fort Collins.
A funeral for Williams will be held Monday, June 4 at the Allen-Hall Mortuary in Logan, Utah at 11 a.m. The funeral home is located at 34 E. Center Street.
Family members and CSU officials also said a local memorial service will be held in Fort Collins sometime in mid-June. Arrangements for the memorial will be announced through the athletics department.
Family members and CSU officials announced that a scholarship fund has been established in Williams' name. Donations can be made to the Jim "J.J." Williams Memorial Scholarship Endowment established through the CSU Foundation at P.O. Box 1870, Fort Collins, CO 80522.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the entire Williams family," said Director of Athletics Paul Kowalczyk. "Jim Williams had a tremendous impact on the basketball program and the entire athletics department at CSU. He earned respect and admiration throughout the state and the region."
Williams was the head coach at CSU from 1955-80, and remains the leader in most coaching victories in the state by an NCAA Division I head coach. He led CSU to four NCAA tournaments and two NIT appearances during his tenure, when he amassed a 352-283 record.
His 1969 team remains the most successful in school history, advancing to the NCAA Midwest Region finals, losing to Drake for a spot in the Final Four. That team defeated in-state rival Colorado to advance to the regional finals.
He also coached the school's only consensus All-American, center Bill Green, who earned first-team honors in 1962 and '63 and was a first round draft pick by the Boston Celtics. Green decided to forego a professional career because of a fear of flying, and instead became an award-winning educator in New York City.
Williams earned many honors during and following his career. He was inducted into the school's initial athletics hall of fame class in 1988, and a year later was named to the Western Athletic Conference Court of Honors.
Williams earned both his bachelor's (1947) and master's degrees (1954) from Utah State University. He served a stint in the Army as a company commander in New Guinea and the Philippines, where his bunkmate was future Michigan State football coach Duffy Daugherty. Williams later coached eight seasons at Snow Junior College in Ephraim, Utah, leading that team to a 129-65 record including four division and two conference titles. His final team advanced to the national junior college tournament in 1954.
While at CSU, he also served as the school's director of athletics from 1965-68, leading a charge administratively for CSU's entrance into the WAC as well as for the construction of Hughes Stadium and Moby Arena.
Williams was born March 19, 1915 in Malad, Idaho. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary, and son, Bobby. He has two daughters: Joan, who lives in Fort Collins, and Carol, who lives in Denver.