Daily Staff Writer

AMES (AP) — Funeral services for Bill Strannigan, Iowa State’s second-winningest men’s basketball coach, were held on Thursday in Fort Collins, Co.

Strannigan, who coached at ISU between 1954 and 1959, died Sunday returning from Ames to his home in Colorado. Strannigan, 78, suffered a massive stroke.

Strannigan was in Ames to witness last weekend’s induction of his most famous player, Gary Thompson, into the inaugural ISU Letterwinners’ Hall of Fame.

Thompson said Strannigan was an important influence in his life.

“He was very influential in my life,” Thompson said. “He was a motivator, innovator and competitor.

“As time went by he was more proud of our post-collegiate accomplishments outside of basketball than anything we did on the court,” he added.

Thompson said, “[Coach Strannigan] would go out of his way to reach out to others. So much of our success was because of him.”

Thompson, an All-American guard, was the star player on Strannigan’s 1955-56 and 1956-57 teams that posted a combined mark of 34-12.

Strannigan’s ISU tenure included the 1955 Big Seven Holiday Tournament championship and a pair of runner-up regular season league finishes in the 1955-56 and 1957-58 seasons.

He also is remembered for a memorable 39-37 win over Wilt Chamberlain and No. 1 Kansas on Jan. 14, 1957.

ISU Letterwinners’ Club President Arnie Gaarde, who played for Strannigan said the man was more than a coach.

“He was like a father to me,” he said.

“When I came to Iowa State, I was an average player with little confidence,” Gaarde said. “He motivated me and gave me the self-assurance that allowed me to play on some very good teams in a great collegiate conference,” he said.

“He had a great time here last weekend at the Hall of Fame ceremonies. We shared a lot of stories and he was in great spirits,” Gaarde said.

Strannigan’s first ISU team posted the school’s first winning season the Cyclones had see in six years.

He finished with a career record of 70-45, a winning percentage of .609.

Strannigan attended the Unviersity of Wyoming, where he was a three-sport star.

In 1941, Strannigan became the Cowboys’ first basketball All-American.

Strannigan, who was born Dec. 1, 1918, in Dalry, Scotland, left Ames in 1959 to return to his alma mater as head coach.

He coached at Wyoming for 14 years and is the second-winningest coach in Cowboys’ history as well.

He led Wyoming to two Western Athletic Conference titles, a pair of NIT appearances and an NCAA Tournament bid.

Before coming to coach for the Cyclones, Strannigan coached at Colorado State and led the team to a Skyline conference title.