Humboldt State University Department of Athletics’ Hall of Famer, George Ibarreta, died unexpectedly at the age of 86 earlier this month.  He is survived by his wife, Evelyn of 66 years, five children, Debbie, Brad, Janice, Barbara and Kristi.  Ibarreta had eight grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.

 Ibarreta was born in Scotia, Calif., in 1934 and attended Fortuna High School.  He was class president during his senior year.  After graduating from Fortuna High School, Ibarreta attended Humboldt State University from 1952 to 1956.  Ibarreta was a member of the men’s basketball team during his collegiate career at Humboldt State.  In 1977, Ibarreta was inducted into the Humboldt State University Department of Athletics’ Hall of Fame. 

 During his career on the hardwood at Humboldt State, Ibarreta's career scoring record stood for 47 years until it was broken by Austin Nichols in 2003. He was a key performer on the 1955-56 Far Western Conference championship cage team. Ibarretta played four years of varsity basketball at HSU from 1952-56. Ibarreta scored 1176points in 97 games and was named to the Far Western Conference first team as a senior.  After Humboldt State, Ibarreta played with an independent basketball team (Ned’s Men’s Wear) for four years.

 After playing basketball, Ibarreta went on to be a teacher, principal and assistant superintendent in California.  He was truly respected and a great friend to so many people.  His hobbies included backpacking, fishing, jewelry making, reading historical war stories and puzzles.