GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Colorado Mesa University is mourning the loss of retired and long-term volleyball coach Rusty Crick, who passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday evening at the age of 72 (1945-2018).
 
Celebration of life services will be held on Saturday, April 21 at 10 a.m. in Brownson Arena.
 
He leaves behind his wife of 53 years (Agnes), four brothers and one sister, three children (Deborah, Robert and Cynthia), son-in-law Stu (Deborah), daughter-in-law Dawna (Robert), and seven grandchildren.
 
"Rusty left an immeasurable mark on the CMU Volleyball program and will be sorely missed," current CMU Coach Dave Fleming said.  "We will miss his support, but will strive to continue his legacy of success for years to come."
 
Crick, who was inducted into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2015 and the CMU Hall of Honor in 2010, served as the Mavericks' head coach from 1982-2004 after a three-year stint as an assistant coach from 1979-81.  In his 23 years as the head coach, he posted a 563 wins, 17 winning seasons and had eight seasons with 30 or more victories.
 
The Mavericks also won eight RMAC Championships and two other RMAC West Division titles under his watch and made three national post-season appearances.  He also coached six all-Americans, 36 all-region players and six RMAC Players of the Year amongst many other accomplishments.
 
In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to be made to Hospice Hope West or to a CMU Legacy scholarship fund in Crick's name that was set up earlier this spring.  To learn more about that fund and to donate to the scholarship, please visit: https://www.supportingcmu.com/mavfunder?cfpage=project&project_id=19753&t=1520367870.