BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Dr. Bill Tomaras, athletic director at Western Washington University from 1962-72 who organized the state's first high school wrestling tournament in 1953, has died at the age of 85, the school said.

Tomaras died on Sunday. He coached wrestling at Western Washington and Washington State University, and was a four-year letter winner in wrestling at University of Illinois, placing third at the NCAA tournament as a senior.

Tomaras started Western Washington's wrestling program in 1961, when he came to the Bellingham school as an assistant professor, and coached it for four years. He also started the school's rowing program in 1969. Western Washington discontinued wrestling in 1981.

Tomaras was inducted into the Helms Foundation Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1973, the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 1984 and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003.

Tomaras was named chairman of the Western Washington men's physical education department in 1962. He became an associate professor in 1963 and a full professor in 1969.

Under his leadership as athletic director, Western Washington won the school's first outright Evergreen Conference football title in 23 years in 1971.

Tomaras served in the U.S. Army during World War II from 1942 to 1945, fighting on Omaha Beach as part of the D-Day invasion.

He then earned both his bachelor's degree in 1946 in political science and a master's degree in 1948 at University of Illinois.

Tomaras taught and coached wrestling at Washington State University from 1948 to 1959, except for a one-year stay at University of Oregon to obtain his doctorate degree in education in 1957.

His Washington State wrestling teams won five Pacific Coast Conference titles and during one stretch won 23 straight dual matches. Washington State discontinued wrestling in 1985.

Tomaras was married for 63 years to wife, Dolly. They had three sons; William Jr., Gus and Randy.

A memorial service will be held on next Wednesday at the Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church in Gig Harbor.