Former Colorado State basketball coach Boyd Grant dies at 87

Updated Aug. 17, 2020 2:41 p.m. ET

Associated Press

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Boyd “Tiny” Grant, the basketball coach who led Colorado State and Fresno State to the NCAA Tournament, died Monday. It was his 87th birthday.

Colorado State announced Grant suffered a stroke over the weekend and didn't recover.

Grant was a guard for Colorado State under coach Jim Williams before embarking on a coaching career. After stints as an assistant coach for the Rams and at Kentucky, he became a head coach in the junior college ranks. He took over at Fresno State in 1977-78 and would lead the Bulldogs to three Western Athletic Conference championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and the 1983 NIT Championship. Grant was inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.

Grant became the coach at Colorado State for the 1987-88 season. In four seasons, Grant went 81-46 and took the Rams to two NCAA Tournaments.

He retired in 1991 with a career record of 275-120. Grant also was inducted into the Colorado State Athletics Hall of Fame and the National Junior College Basketball Hall of Fame.

“I remember two things about Coach Grant: How much his players loved him, and how passionate he was about CSU,” longtime CSU sports information director Gary Ozzello said. “He told me 20 years ago he had already purchased a Green & Gold casket to be buried in. He brought the magic back to Moby (Arena).”