Mark Few
The architect of a college basketball dynasty, transforming a small Jesuit school into a relentless, perennial national powerhouse.
Born 1962 (age 64)·American college basketball coach·Birthday: December 27·Baby Boomers
Biography
Mark Few didn't just build a winning program; he engineered a basketball identity. Taking over as head coach at Gonzaga University in 1999, he inherited a Cinderella story and turned it into a blue-blood operation. With a focus on skilled, unselfish play and international recruiting savvy, Few's Bulldogs became synonymous with a beautiful, efficient brand of basketball that wins in March. He rejected overtures from storied programs, choosing instead to cultivate something unique in Spokane, Washington. Under his steady hand, Gonzaga shed the 'mid-major' label, making consecutive NCAA championship game appearances and consistently ranking number one. Few's legacy is one of sustained excellence and proof that a culture of integrity and teamwork can compete at the very highest level, year after year.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Mark was born in 1962, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Mark Was Born
The biggest hits of 1962
#1 Movie
Lawrence of Arabia
Best Picture
Lawrence of Arabia
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Mark's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1962Born
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1967Started school
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1975Became a teenager
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Could drive
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1980Could vote
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Turned 21
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1992Turned 30
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 40
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 50
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 60
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 64 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Has led Gonzaga to the NCAA Tournament in every single season of his head coaching tenure, a streak spanning over two decades.
- Guided the Bulldogs to two National Championship game appearances (2017 and 2021).
- Earned multiple National Coach of the Year awards, including from the Associated Press and the Naismith Foundation.
- Became the fastest coach in NCAA Division I history to reach 600 wins, achieving the milestone in 2022022.
Did You Know?
He is an avid fly fisherman and often incorporates fishing trips into his recruiting visits.
He played college basketball at the University of Oregon, not as a player, but as a graduate assistant under coach Don Monson.
He turned down the head coaching job at his alma mater, Oregon, in 2010.
He and his wife have four children, and his son played basketball for him at Gonzaga.
“The key for us is we never talk about winning. We talk about playing to a standard.”
