Cancer Claims Archibald, Father Of WSU Basketball Player

Lynn Archibald, the father of Washington State University basketball player Beau Archibald, died at his home in Provo, Utah Wednesday after a long battle with prostate cancer.

The former head coach at the University of Utah and Idaho State University spent much of last winter watching Beau, a freshman, play a reserve role for the Cougars.

Archibald, 52, also served as an assistant coach at Arizona State, Southern Cal, Nevada-Las Vegas, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal State Long Beach.

Arizona State coach Bill Frieder called Archibald an “all-American guy with an all-American family who lived by the Golden Rule.

“You can only wonder why these types of things happen to great people like him,” Frieder said.

Archibald was a 1968 graduate of Fresno State, and began his coaching career at Sierra Vista High School in Baldwin Park, Calif., in 1969. He broke into collegiate coaching in 1971, when he was hired as a Long Beach State assistant by Jerry Tarkanian.

“One of the finest men I’ve ever known in my whole life,” Tarkanian told The Spokesman-Review last February.

Archibald’s first head coaching job was at Idaho State, beginning in 1978. His team went 69-68 over five seasons. He took over the Utah program in 1983 and led the Utes to a 98-85 record over six years, with one NCAA Tournament and two NIT appearances.

Archibald was fired by Utah after a 16-17 finish in 1988-89. He spent the next five seasons under Frieder at Arizona State, then was hired as an assistant to former BYU coach Roger Reid in 1994.

Archibald is survived by his wife, Ann, and children Damon, Lee Anne and Beau. Funeral services will be in Provo on Saturday.

, DataTimes