The head coach of BYU basketball, who guided the team to its most successful NCAA Tournament run, has departed.
Frank Arnold, who led BYU’s basketball team from 1975 to 1983, passed away on Saturday at the age of 89, the university stated.
In the 1981 NCAA Tournament, Arnold led BYU to an appearance in the Elite Eight. In their 31 Big Dance appearances, it is still the furthest the Cougars have gone.
Frank Arnold guided BYU to the Elite Eight in 1981
In 1960, Arnold obtained his Master’s degree from BYU in addition to serving as its head coach.
With star Danny Ainge, Arnold’s BYU teams had an uptempo style of play that was ideal.
Ainge, a native of Eugene, Oregon, played for the Arnold’s Cougar teams from 1977 to 1981 when he joined with BYU.
BYU participated in three NCAA Tournaments during that time, with the ’81 run serving as the highlight. In 1980, Arnold led BYU to its highest-ever NCAA Tournament seed in program history—a 3-seed—the year before.
After serving as UCLA’s bench boss for four seasons under the illustrious John Wooden, Arnold was named head coach of BYU in 1975.
Arnold was forced to leave his position as head coach at BYU following the 1983 season. From 1985 to 1987, he was the head coach of Hawaii.
Gib Arnold, the son of Arnold, pursued a career in coaching and served as head coach at Hawaii. The Utah State basketball team’s support staff was where Gib Arnold most recently worked during the previous season.
BYU basketball hosted a reunion at the Marriott Center Annex in 2021 for past players and coaches. Among the former head coaches present was Arnold.
Arnold coached BYU for eight seasons, going 137-94 overall with three NCAA Tournament appearances and four NCAA Tournament victories.
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