Krause, basketball will remain close

Even in retirement, Jerry Krause will never be very far from the game of basketball he's coached, taught and written about so widely in the past half century.

His new Fish Lake home features wall-to-wall original Kennedy Pavilion maple floor both upstairs relaxing, and downstairs working where Krause will continue to write books on sports and the psychology behind it.

The 79-year-old Cheney-area resident officially stepped down as Director of Basketball Operations at Gonzaga University at the conclusion of the Bulldogs' 2014-15 season, which ended with an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight round loss to Duke.

Krause spent a total of 20 seasons at the school on Boone Avenue, seven as an assistant coach under Dan Fitzgerald and the last 13 as director of basketball operations.

But it was the 17 seasons he spent as head coach spanning the transition from Eastern Washington State College to Eastern Washington University between 1967 and 1985 that paved the way to what came later in life. That included teaching positions at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and then various roles at Gonzaga.

In what was one of those "It was time to look for a new direction," speeches by athletic director Ron Raver in January 1985, Krause was fired by the guy he once hired as an assistant coach.

While Krause said, "I don't know why they fired me before the end of the season," he's certain his objections to the school's move from being an NAIA school to NCAA Division I sports cost him his job. It certainly wasn't his win production as Krause finished his Eastern career with a 261-197 record, a .570 winning percentage that was second only to the legendary Red Reese.

His body of work ultimately landed Krause in both the Inland Empire Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and Eastern's hall in 2005, the latter prompting him to say, "It's kind of ironic, I have the unique distinction of being fired and being inducted into the hall of fame."

When one door closed in the winter of 1985, another was opened by the hand of friend and coaching colleague Fitzgerald. "I hate to say it but I think God put Dan Fitzgerald in my life, and for good reason." Krause said.

If that floor in his house could talk, it would tell many tales of the days when Gonzaga basketball was pretty much like the majority of other colleges in the nation - average and trying to get noticed.

"It would have some stories from the early days of the All-Americans they had and the struggles they had," Krause said.

Such as his scouting trip to LaGrande, Ore, that had one memorable caveat. "Don't get a (speeding) ticket," he was told.

With no money for a hotel it was down and back, a 500 mile roundtrip in one day.

"We're tired and going a little too fast (and) the patrolman pulls us over," Krause said. "I just happened to have a white collar on, he comes to the door and I roll the window down."

The trooper told Krause, "Father, I hate to bother you but would you watch it the rest of the way home?" to which Krause replied, "Oh yes son, bless you son," knowing all the time if he got nabbed for speeding he'd have to pay the fine out of a paltry $3,000 coaching stipend.

Despite losing the coaching job at Eastern, Krause maintained his teaching position and that put he and Raver in a very awkward situation one day.

Raver's son had passed away and Krause's former boss had a difficult favor to ask.

"He came into my office and asked if I would give the eulogy for his son, after firing me the year before," Krause said. "God had sent me a real tough assignment."

That was very difficult, but it was good for Krause he said. "I had to swallow my ego."

Krause, born in the tiny town of Cedar Bluffs, Neb. near Omaha, on April 3, 1936, has had tougher challenges. His mother died days after his birth and his farmer father committed suicide when Krause was four. But he more than just survived, earning his bachelor's degree from Wayne State University in Nebraska in 1959 plus masters and doctoral degrees at Northern Colorado University.

A teacher by trade, Krause took a one-year sabbatical in 1982 and served as a visiting professor at West Point. After a great deal of hesitation he returned for a five-year stint as professor of sports philosophy from 1995-2000.

The Military Academy was an institution where everybody takes some sort of sport, be it intramural, club or intercollegiate sport for four years, Krause explained. It was the perfect laboratory for him to study the effects of sports on the college athlete.

Krause authored a study that largely refuted the long-held notion, "If you want a leader send me West Point football players." What Krause learned was that the true leadership traits the Army wanted came from club and intramural programs.

"They never publicized my study like they did almost all other visiting professors," Krause said.

Academy officials were not happy at the results of the study, especially when it was brought up that the top-tier sports were not necessarily doing what they thought in terms of character development.

Krause returned to Spokane - and Gonzaga - in 2001, just after the basketball program had begun its ascension to the national stage.

He still holds the opinion that the money schools spend on athletics offers uncertain returns, pretty much the same thought he subscribed to 30 years ago.

However, it's hard to argue what affect it's had on Gonzaga, he said, adding they are one of the highest rated small colleges in the country from an academic standpoint.

And from the fundraising standpoint, "They just moved into a $50 million student union (building)," Krause marveled, adding it is all private donations.

Where will retirement find Krause?

For starters, "I don't believe in the concept of retirement," he said. "You just find other things to do."

For Krause he will not stray too far away from Gonzaga. "I'm going to be a consultant with the women's basketball program," Krause said. And there's no shortage of future book projects.

Next week we look at some of the lives Jerry Krause has touched over his years as a master teacher.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.