Washington State strength director Lang dies of apparent heart attack

David Lang, a longtime member of the Washington State athletic department who has directed the Cougars’ strength and conditioning program since 2008, died Saturday afternoon, the school announced in a news release.

Lang was the victim of a heart attack, his son said in a Facebook post.

“I got some news earlier today that I don’t know what to do with,” Joe Lang wrote Saturday night. “My dad passed away from a sudden heart attack. I am in shock . ...”

Washington State had announced Lang’s death earlier in the day without providing specifics.

Lang was believed to be in his 40s.

Lang had been employed by the Pullman school for two decades, the last eight years as director of its strength and conditioning program. He worked directly with the women’s basketball team, whose home game against Stanford on Sunday was postponed after news broke of his death.

He also worked directly with the men’s and women’s golf programs.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Lang family,” WSU athletic director Pat Chun said in a statement. “David was beloved and respected by our entire department. He impacted and positively changed the lives of countless Washington State student-athletes during his two decades of service. He will forever remain in our hearts and will be dearly missed.”

Lang earned a bachelor’s degree in 1994 from Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he had been a member of the football team and -was named first-team all-league in 1992. He earned a master’s from Austin Peay State in 1995.

He worked in the Ohio Valley Conference and the Patriot League before joining the Cougars two decades ago. He was associate director of physical development from 2001 to ‘08.

He was married with five children, according to his biography on WSU’s website.