Nick Economopoulos, the former longtime women’s basketball coach at the high school and Amateur Athletic Union level, died early Thursday morning. He was 72 years old.
Economopoulos, a resident of Wallingford at the time of his death, coached high school girls basketball for a combined 35 seasons at Lyman Hall, East Catholic and Coginchaug. He finished with 619 wins.
Economopoulos won 371 games and consecutive Class L state championships in 1985 and 1986, beating Lee (New Haven) and Platt (Meriden) respectively. Les Troyens also landed in the L final on three other occasions during Economopoulos’ 20-year tenure (1979, 1982 and 1991).
“Nick was such a fiery and competitive guy,” said former Cheshire girls’ basketball coach Joe Ticotsky, who coached against Economopoulos. “He was the funniest guy I know. He could sit there and tell you stories about anything.
Economopoulos also won a pair of Class M state championships at East Catholic in 2002 and 2004. Those seven state finals appearances at East Catholic and Lyman Hall are the only ones from those programs.
Two of Economopoulos’ children became coaches. His daughter, Christie Madancy, not only coached at Sheehan and the University of New Haven, but also served as the school’s athletic director for a time.
Nick got to enjoy his son’s first state championship up close. He sat on the end of the bench for Handball’s entire run at the Division III state championship last season, the program’s first. The Tigers were coached by Jimmy Economopoulos, named Regional Coach of the Year by the New Haven Register.
“We are overwhelmed as a family by the outpouring of support and kind words people have sent us,” Jimmy Economopoulos said. “It is a testament to the many lives our father had in his many years as a teacher, coach and friend to so many. He will be sorely missed.
Ticotsky spent some time as an assistant to Nick Economopoulos at Lyman Hall, starting that second straight state championship season. He remembered where the job interview had taken place: in Nick’s living room.
“He was such a family man,” Ticotsky said. “He was so much more than basketball.”
As big as a giant like Economopoulos was on the high school stage, he was just as big on the AAU circuit. He founded the Connecticut Starters, which still exist today, and served as the first president of AAU women’s basketball in Connecticut.
According to Jack Bethke, president of the AAU in Connecticut, Economopoulos was responsible for helping to organize an AAU national tournament for the first time in the state, in Hartford in 1992, where Sue Bird and Kara Lawson were among competing players.
“He wanted to host a national tournament in Connecticut and we brought him to Hartford,” Bethke said. “We started with 150 girls (in AAU). By the time he left the presidency, we had nearly 3,000. There were bumps and bruises along the way, but Nick did a lot to put AAU women’s basketball in Connecticut on the map. .
Tributes poured in for Economopoulos on the CT Starters AAU Girls Basketball Facebook page all day Thursday.
In addition to Christie and Jimmy, Nick Economopoulos is survived by his wife, Sue and his daughters Nicki, Lynn and Shani. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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