Former WSU Cougars football coach Jim Walden dies at 88

Jim Walden led WSU to the Holiday Bowl in 1981 and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2009.

Jul 3, 2026, 10:50 AM Updated: 10:53 am

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AMES, Iowa (AP) — Former WSU Cougars football coach Jim Walden, who played quarterback in the Canadian Football League before leading WSU 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.”

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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.

Walden, a two-time Pac-12 coach of the year, was inducted into the WSU Hall of Fame in 2009.

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

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