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# Two Gonzaga Legends Inducted into Hooptown Hall of Fame Class of 2026
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/two-gonzaga-bulldog-legends-inducted-into-hooptown-hall-of-fame-class-of-2026/
- Published: 2026-06-30T23:13:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T06:14:19.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: News, Analysis, Gonzaga Men's Basketball, Dan Fitzgerald, Jeff Brown

\[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1078"\]

![  Jeff Brown, who helped the Gonzaga Bulldogs win the NIT during his time on campus, will be inducted into the Hooptown Hall of Fame. Credit: Gonzaga Athletics/Instagram  ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/471113666_18478109206025455_428207818328583324_n-format-original.jpg)

Jeff Brown, who helped the Gonzaga Bulldogs win the NIT during his time on campus, will be inducted into the Hooptown Hall of Fame. Credit: Gonzaga Athletics/Instagram \[/caption\]

Continuing to add accolades to storybook careers, two former Gonzaga Bulldogs received prestigious honors for their impacts in the Spokane area this month.

Ex-GU head coach Dan Fitzgerald and former Zag player Jeff Brown were inducted into the Hooptown Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026\. The gallery honors those in the Inland Northwest who made an impact on Spokane’s basketball community, which they certainly did during their tenures with Gonzaga’s men’s basketball program in the late 20th century. This year’s class also features Kim Eng, Emily Westerburg, and the 2006-08 Ferris boys’ basketball team.

Holding its inaugural induction ceremony in 2022, the Hooptown Hall of Fame pairs Fitzgerald and Brown with an already sizable group of Zags, including Mark Few, John Stockton, the 1999 men’s squad, Adam Morrison, current women’s assistant coach Stacy Clinesmith, Tammy Tibbles, and Heather Bowman.

## **Dan Fitzgerald’s Legacy**

Before Gonzaga’s Cinderella run in the 1998-99 season and its later rise to the consistent staple in college basketball under Mark Few that it is today, Fitzgerald manned the duties in Spokane, where he laid the foundation for GU’s future success.

“Fitz” was the Zags’ head coach for 15 seasons between 1978 and 1998 and also served as the program’s athletic director. After his third season coaching, Fitzgerald took a four-year hiatus to focus as the AD before returning to the sideline in 1985\. Notching a school milestone, Fitzgerald led Gonzaga to its first NCAA tournament in the 1994-1995 campaign. In his tenure, he recruited Stockton, a Naismith Hall of Fame player, and boasts a coaching tree that includes Few and Dan Monson. Overall, he posted 14 winning seasons and a career record of 252-171, holding the Gonzaga record for wins until Few passed him in 2009.

Fitzgerald started out coaching at the high school ranks until he became an assistant coach for Gonzaga in 1972 under Adrian Buoncristiani, one of his teammates at St. Joseph’s High School. Two years later, Fitzgerald took an assistant job at Santa Clara before returning to the Bulldogs as a successor to Buoncristiani.

He was also a part-owner of the Spokane Indians, a Triple-A baseball team that is now the Las Vegas Aviators, different from the High-A club currently in Spokane under the Rockies organization.

After his retirement in December of 1997, Fitzgerald worked in private business in the Spokane area before later passing away at age 67 in 2010 from an apparent heart attack. He is regarded as the godfather of Gonzaga basketball for his groundwork before the glory.

## **Jeff Brown Leads Long Line of Dominant Gonzaga Bigs**

A Spokane native, Brown attended Mead High School, where he was a standout player. Finishing as the Greater Spokane League’s leader in points scored and collecting the second-most rebounds, Brown was a beast in all facets. During his senior year, he averaged 24.8 points and 13.0 rebounds to lead the GSL. He initially committed to the University of Washington in 1989, but after an uneventful freshman year in which he played just 35 minutes, Brown transferred to Gonzaga, where he would finish out his collegiate career. Although he sat out for a season, Brown earned the starting center job in 1991-92 and never relinquished it.

Making First-Time All-WCC every year from then on, the 6-9 center would break out as a Bulldog. Brown averaged 17.9 points and 6.2 boards as a sophomore, leading the conference in effective field goal percentage at 61.7%. He would lead the WCC in scoring for the following two seasons, averaging 16.7 and 21.0 points, respectively, to finish his tenure with the Zags. Despite not being the 7-0 five-man we see in today’s game, Brown wouldn’t be denied when he got the ball on the block, drawing fouls while being a dynamic finisher inside. During his illustrious senior season, Fitzgerald paced the West Coast in points, field goals and two-pointers attempted, and free throws made and attempted on his way to the WCC Player of the Year Award in 1994.

Indicative of the game’s playstyle at the time, Brown attempted a combined two three-pointers over his first three collegiate seasons, featuring a shot diet primarily composed of shots inside the arc. But in that standout final year, he knocked down 10 of 26 tries from deep, good for a 38.5% clip. The Zags also won their first regular-season championship and NIT appearance that year. Gonzaga would upset Stanford on the road in the NIT first round on the back of 27 points from Brown before falling to Kansas State 66-64 in the second round. He currently ranks 12th on GU’s all-time scoring list (1,646), eighth in field goals converted (618), and seventh in free throws made (390).

After graduating, Brown played professionally in Australia, Spain, Argentina, and Belgium before resorting to IT work in 1998\. He was inducted as part of the WCC’s second Hall of Honor class in March 2010.

Although Fitzgerald and Brown weren’t tangible parts of one of Gonzaga’s now-48 NCAA tournament victories, they helped pave the way for getting the program to where it currently stands.