Dan Fitzgerald

Daniel John Fitzgerald (March 3, 1942 – January 19, 2010) was an American college basketball coach and athletic director at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Fitzgerald was the head coach at Gonzaga for 15 seasons between 1978 and 1997 (except for 1981 to 1985) with an overall record of 252–171 (.596). He led the Bulldogs to their first appearance in the NCAA tournament in 1995, after leading them to their first post-season tournament, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1994, where they won at Stanford in the first round. They had narrowly missed an NIT selection the previous two seasons. Gonzaga returned to the NIT in 1996. Among his recruits was future Basketball Hall of Fame member John Stockton, out of Gonzaga Prep in 1980. Fitzgerald was also responsible for hiring coaches Mark Few, Dan Monson, and Bill Grier to Gonzaga. His win total was a school record until Few ...