Majerus dies at age 64
The coach reached great heights at Utah and had turned around St. Louis.
Rick Majerus, 64, the jovial college basketball coach who led Utah to the 1998 NCAA final and had only one losing season in 25 years with four schools, died Saturday.
Utah industrialist Jon Huntsman, the coach's longtime friend, confirmed in a statement released through the Salt Lake Tribune that Mr. Majerus died of heart failure in a Los Angeles hospital.
Mr. Majerus said Nov. 19 that he wouldn't return to St. Louis because of the heart condition. He ended the school's 12-year NCAA tournament drought last season with a 26-win team.
Mr. Majerus had a history of heart problems dating to 1989. He had a stent inserted in August 2011 in Salt Lake City and missed some games in the 2011-12 season after gashing his leg in a collision with players.
His head coaching career began at Marquette, his alma mater, in 1983. He coached three seasons there and two at Ball State. He gained notoriety, however, at his next stop, Utah.
The Utes finished 16-17 in 1988-89, the season before Mr. Majerus' arrival. Two years later, they were in the third round of the NCAA tournament. His Utah teams reached the tournament nine more times, including the run to the 1998 title game, where the Utes were eliminated by Kentucky for the third straight year.
Mr. Majerus held a 517-216 career record and his teams garnered 12 NCAA tournament berths.