Jim Walden obit

Longtime college football coach Jim Walden, who led Washington State to a bowl game, dies at 88

 

He was not on the list.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Longtime college football coach Jim Walden, who played quarterback in the Canadian Football League before leading Washington State to a bowl game and spending nine seasons at Iowa State, died Thursday. He was 88.

The two schools announced his death in statements Friday. No cause was given.

"We are saddened to learn of the passing of Coach Walden,” Cougars athletic director Jon Haarlow said. “He will forever be remembered as a great Coug who deeply loved Washington State. Our heart is with Coach Walden’s family, friends and all the former players whose lives he positively impacted.”

Walden was born and raised in Aberdeen, Mississippi, and played quarterback in junior college before transferring to Wyoming, where he played for future Nebraska coach Bob Devaney. He led the Cowboys to two championships in the old Skyline Conference.

Walden was chosen by Cleveland in the NFL draft and Denver in the AFL draft in 1960, but he chose instead to play in the CFL for the BC Lions because he was offered more money. He also played for Calgary and Edmonton before getting into coaching.

Walden returned to Mississippi and spent several years coaching high school football before Devaney hired him at Nebraska, where he was an assistant on the Huskers' national championship teams in 1970 and 1971.

He also spent time at Miami (Florida) before moving to Washington State, where he became the head coach in 1978. He went 44-52-4 over 10 seasons, highlighted by a berth in the Holiday Bowl in 1981, before moving onto Iowa State, where he went 28–57–3.

After his coaching career, Walden spent time doing radio color commentary for the Arena Football League and Washington State.

PULLMAN, Wash. (July 3, 2026) – Washington State University Hall of Fame Football Coach Jim Walden passed away Thursday in Coeur d'Alene. He was 88.

Walden, who served as the Cougars head coach from 1978-86, was not one to hold back as a player or a coach, and neither were his Cougar football teams from the time he took over between the 1977 and 1978 seasons through his final campaign in the fall of 1986. The Cougars displayed many of the same characteristics Walden exhibited, including a passion for the sport and an outspoken and charismatic personality, plus a willingness to take more than a few chances.

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of Coach Walden,” said WSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Jon Haarlow. “He will forever be remembered as a great Coug who deeply loved Washington State. Our heart is with Coach Walden’s family, friends and all the former players whose lives he positively impacted.”

Taking the reins after WSU had three head coaches in three years, Walden assured the Cougar faithful he not only would stay around, but he would stay to build a winner. Four years later he guided WSU to the 1981 Holiday Bowl, WSU’s first postseason bowl game since the 1931 Rose Bowl.

Walden delivered on his promises while defeating every team in the Pacific-10 Conference. He finished his nine-year Cougar stint with 44 wins, at that time, second on the Washington State all-time list, while also being named Pac-10 Coach of the Year twice, in 1981 and 1983. After retiring from coaching in 1994, Walden showed his Crimson colors by returning to the Palouse, where he has served as Bob Robertson’s broadcast sidekick for 11 seasons.

Walden was inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 and the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011, where he was an All-American quarterback. A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

He was the head coach at WSU from 1978 through 1986, compiling a 44–52–3 (.460) record in nine seasons and coached some of the greatest players in school history, including Jack Thompson, Rueben Mayes, Kerry Porter, Ricky Reynolds, Paul Sorensen, Pat Beach, Brian Forde, Lee Blakeney, Mark Rypien, Dan Lynch, Keith Millard, and Erik Howard.

 

Playing career

1958–1959      Wyoming

1960–1961      British Columbia Lions

1961–1962      Calgary Stampeders

1962    Edmonton Eskimos

Position           Quarterback

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

1964–1968      Amory HS (MS)

1969–1970      Nebraska (GA)

1971–1972      Nebraska (assistant)

1973–1974      Miami (FL) (off. backfield)

1975–1976      Miami (FL) (DC)

1977    Washington State (off. backfield)

1978–1986      Washington State

1987–1994      Iowa State

Head coaching record

Overall            72–109–7 (college)

Bowls  0–1

Accomplishments and honors

Awards

2× Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1981, 1983)