Photo by: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Few Enshrined into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
8/15/2026 11:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Few officially a member of the hall
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Flanked by three men who represented different facets of his journey, Gonzaga men's basketball coach Mark Few officially joined the game's legends Saturday night, becoming a member of the 2026 class inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Few, who has spent 37 years at Gonzaga and 27 seasons as the Bulldogs' head coach, was inducted alongside a class that included some of basketball's most accomplished figures. He was presented by former Gonzaga player John Stockton, longtime coaching colleague and friend Cal McGee and Grant Hill, the Hall of Fame player and current managing director of USA Basketball.
"What a crazy, crazy moment for me," Few said during his induction speech.
Few reflected on his upbringing in Creswell, Oregon, and how unlikely it once seemed that he would stand on the stage in Springfield.
"I absolutely have to start with this. The town I grew up in had a population of around 1,500 and had one stoplight, so to be standing where I am today is absolutely mindboggling," Few said. "I say that because people have asked me if this is a dream come true? I couldn't even think about dreaming such a thing where I came from."
Few's path to the Hall of Fame began in 1989, when he joined Gonzaga as a graduate assistant. He became an assistant coach in 1990 and was promoted to head coach in 1999 following Gonzaga's breakthrough run to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
Since then, Few has transformed Gonzaga from a regional program into one of the most successful programs in college basketball history. He has guided the Bulldogs to 28 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, 23 conference regular-season championships and 21 conference tournament titles, while Gonzaga has reached the Sweet 16 14 times, the Elite Eight six times and the national championship game twice. Few enters the 2026-27 season with 773 career victories and a .832 winning percentage, the highest in NCAA Division I men's basketball history, and his teams have never won fewer than 23 games in a season.
But during his Hall of Fame speech, Few repeatedly deflected credit for Gonzaga's success toward the people who built the program alongside him.
"To the players, simply, this would not have happened without you," Few said. "I'm just here representing the 290 players I've had the unbelievable privilege to coach at Gonzaga. People see one coach standing on this stage tonight, I see generations of players who earned every opportunity this program ever received."
Few also credited the coaches, administrators, supporters and longtime friends who helped Gonzaga sustain its success for more than three decades.
"Throughout this whole thing, I've been so fortunate to have the same people around me for years," Few said. "When people ask how Gonzaga sustained success, I think this is a big part of the answer."
That continuity has been a defining characteristic of Few's career. During his 37 years at Gonzaga, he has worked for three university presidents and two athletic directors. He also spent his first years at Gonzaga working under Dan Monson, living on Monson's couch as a graduate assistant.
Few credited Monson for giving him his start in college coaching and recalled the moment then-Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth selected him to succeed Monson in 1999.
Roth told then-university president Father Robert Spitzer that he already had Gonzaga's next head coach.
"And the ever-trusting Father Spitzer replied, 'That's great! Which one is he?'" Few said.
Few said that question has, in some ways, followed him throughout his career.
"Even among this phenomenal class tonight, I'm sure there's a little 'which one is he?' when people see the name Mark Few," he said.
Few's accomplishments have extended beyond Spokane. He served as an assistant coach for the United States men's basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, helping Team USA win a gold medal, and has helped develop a program that has produced numerous NBA players.
Yet the honor in Springfield was ultimately less about the wins and more about the culture Few helped create.
"The greatest thing we built at Gonzaga wasn't a basketball program," Few said. "It was a family and culture that kept people wanting to come back."
Few closed his speech by returning to the journey that began in Creswell and eventually carried him to Springfield.
"Looking around this room tonight, it's humbling to realize how many people helped shape this journey," Few said. "I may be the one standing here, but this honor belongs to so many others."
Few became the first Gonzaga head coach to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, adding the game's highest individual honor to a career that has helped redefine Gonzaga basketball and establish the Bulldogs as one of the most successful programs in college basketball history.
"I truly am a blessed man, and I thank you all," Few said.
Few, who has spent 37 years at Gonzaga and 27 seasons as the Bulldogs' head coach, was inducted alongside a class that included some of basketball's most accomplished figures. He was presented by former Gonzaga player John Stockton, longtime coaching colleague and friend Cal McGee and Grant Hill, the Hall of Fame player and current managing director of USA Basketball.
"What a crazy, crazy moment for me," Few said during his induction speech.
Few reflected on his upbringing in Creswell, Oregon, and how unlikely it once seemed that he would stand on the stage in Springfield.
"I absolutely have to start with this. The town I grew up in had a population of around 1,500 and had one stoplight, so to be standing where I am today is absolutely mindboggling," Few said. "I say that because people have asked me if this is a dream come true? I couldn't even think about dreaming such a thing where I came from."
Few's path to the Hall of Fame began in 1989, when he joined Gonzaga as a graduate assistant. He became an assistant coach in 1990 and was promoted to head coach in 1999 following Gonzaga's breakthrough run to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
Since then, Few has transformed Gonzaga from a regional program into one of the most successful programs in college basketball history. He has guided the Bulldogs to 28 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, 23 conference regular-season championships and 21 conference tournament titles, while Gonzaga has reached the Sweet 16 14 times, the Elite Eight six times and the national championship game twice. Few enters the 2026-27 season with 773 career victories and a .832 winning percentage, the highest in NCAA Division I men's basketball history, and his teams have never won fewer than 23 games in a season.
But during his Hall of Fame speech, Few repeatedly deflected credit for Gonzaga's success toward the people who built the program alongside him.
"To the players, simply, this would not have happened without you," Few said. "I'm just here representing the 290 players I've had the unbelievable privilege to coach at Gonzaga. People see one coach standing on this stage tonight, I see generations of players who earned every opportunity this program ever received."
Few also credited the coaches, administrators, supporters and longtime friends who helped Gonzaga sustain its success for more than three decades.
"Throughout this whole thing, I've been so fortunate to have the same people around me for years," Few said. "When people ask how Gonzaga sustained success, I think this is a big part of the answer."
That continuity has been a defining characteristic of Few's career. During his 37 years at Gonzaga, he has worked for three university presidents and two athletic directors. He also spent his first years at Gonzaga working under Dan Monson, living on Monson's couch as a graduate assistant.
Few credited Monson for giving him his start in college coaching and recalled the moment then-Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth selected him to succeed Monson in 1999.
Roth told then-university president Father Robert Spitzer that he already had Gonzaga's next head coach.
"And the ever-trusting Father Spitzer replied, 'That's great! Which one is he?'" Few said.
Few said that question has, in some ways, followed him throughout his career.
"Even among this phenomenal class tonight, I'm sure there's a little 'which one is he?' when people see the name Mark Few," he said.
Few's accomplishments have extended beyond Spokane. He served as an assistant coach for the United States men's basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, helping Team USA win a gold medal, and has helped develop a program that has produced numerous NBA players.
Yet the honor in Springfield was ultimately less about the wins and more about the culture Few helped create.
"The greatest thing we built at Gonzaga wasn't a basketball program," Few said. "It was a family and culture that kept people wanting to come back."
Few closed his speech by returning to the journey that began in Creswell and eventually carried him to Springfield.
"Looking around this room tonight, it's humbling to realize how many people helped shape this journey," Few said. "I may be the one standing here, but this honor belongs to so many others."
Few became the first Gonzaga head coach to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, adding the game's highest individual honor to a career that has helped redefine Gonzaga basketball and establish the Bulldogs as one of the most successful programs in college basketball history.
"I truly am a blessed man, and I thank you all," Few said.
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