Norm Ellenberger, the foot-stomping sideline showman who coached New Mexico to two Western Athletic Conference basketball titles in the 1970s, has died. He was 83.
Ellenberger died Saturday night in his sleep at his cabin in Watersmeet, Michigan, said longtime friends Bob and Diana Briggs of Albuquerque.
They had just talked to him the day before and he was excited about the start of practice Monday at the high school where he was helping coach the boys' basketball team.
''Absolutely to the last minute,'' Bob Briggs said of Ellenberger's drive to coach.
Stormin' Norman was 134-62 at New Mexico from 1972-1979, leading the Lobos to WAC titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 1974 and 1978.