[2] He holds the school record for victories by a men's basketball coach with 495, and led Washington State to the NCAA tournament championship game in 1941.

Friel officiated college football games and was head coach of the Cougars baseball team from 1943 to 1945.

He returned to Pullman after the war and was the captain of the basketball team, playing at forward and earning all-conference honors in 1922.

[11] In addition to his duties as basketball coach, Friel was Washington State's baseball head coach from 1943 to 1945 and a college football official; he was originally selected to officiate the 1942 Rose Bowl, but his basketball schedule prevented him from serving as referee.

[12] After the early 1950s, his Cougar teams struggled, failing to post a winning record following a 19–16 mark in 1951–52;[7] in November 1957, Friel announced that he would retire at the end of the season.

[6][12] The court inside Beasley Coliseum, the Cougars' home arena, was named after Friel in April 1977, as announced by university President Glenn Terrell at a meeting of the board of regents;[16] the dedication ceremony was at halftime on December 3.