Eastern Washington University Athletics

A two-time All-American and two-time first team All-Big Sky linebacker, Strey played for Eastern from 1993-97 and helped lead extraordinary football success at EWU under head coach Mike Kramer. As a sophomore in 1994, Eastern was just 4-7 overall and 2-5 in the Big Sky, but won 18 games over his final two years in the program. He aided Eastern to a 6-5 record (4-4 Big Sky) in 1996, then helped the Eagles to the Big Sky Conference title and the semifinals of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs in 1997. Eastern finished with what was then a school-record 12 victories (12-2) and was 7-1 in the league (also a school record at the time). He also lettered in 1993 and 1995, and redshirted in 1994. Strey earned second team All-America honors in 1996 from the Sports Network, and third team accolades from both Associated Press and Football Gazette. As a senior in 1997, he earned honorable mention All-America honors from the Football Gazette. Both seasons he earned first team All-Big Sky Conference honors. He finished his career with 346 tackles (then second but now sixth in school history entering 2024). He had 128 in 1997 (now 10th but third then) and 126 in 1996 (now 11th but fourth then). Strey finished his career with six interceptions and had a school-record 95-yard interception return for a touchdown on Oct. 14, 1995, versus Idaho that stood as a school record for less than a year until teammate Maurice Perigo broke it in 1996 with a 98-yard return. Entering the 2024 season, Perigo still holds the record and Strey is tied for No. 2. 

Strey was selected by the Eastern Athletic Department to the “100 for 100” All-Time Football Team, which was honored on Sept. 27, 2008, to commemorate Eastern’s 100th year of football. He was also selected to The "Z" Team in summer 1999 as Dick Zornes selected his All-Time Football Team, a list of 36 players who made the largest contributions toward the 158 games Eastern and won in the 26 years he was associated with the football program at Eastern. The 1997 football team Strey played on was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012, and wide receiver Jeff Ogden was the first individual from that team to be inducted in 2018, followed by fellow defensive players Chris Scott and Dario Romero in 2019. After his Eastern career concluded, Strey signed a contract with Jacksonville of the NFL in 1998. After being released by Jacksonville in 1998, the Seattle Seahawks signed Strey as a practice squad player, and he also participated in Seattle’s 1999 training camp in Cheney. Interestingly, Strey worked for the Seahawks at their preseason training camp in Cheney in 1997. In addition, Strey spent the spring and summer of 1999 as a starting linebacker in NFL Europa for the Frankfurt Galaxy, which advanced to the World Bowl.
 
He went on to work at Echo Glen Children’s Center in Snoqualmie, Wash., which is run by the state’s Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration. He began working in 1999 at the facility, which works with incarcerated youth from the State of Washington. Strey was originally from Port Orchard, Wash., and graduated in 1993 from South Kitsap High School. He was a standout for the Wolves, who were coached by Ed Fisher, an Eastern football player and graduate who was inducted into the Eastern Athletes Hall of Fame in 2009.

Strey has two children, Dillon and Meaghan, who became an Olympic-caliber weightlifter competing in world championships and the Pan American Games. Said Strey of his children: “Meaghan has become a wonderful independent woman, and has established her own identity in weightlifting. Dillon is pursing his life’s passions navigating life with great enthusiasm, commitment, and discipline. He is an inspiration to me everyday and I’m so proud of them.” Derek’s extended family is the Chism family, and his best friend and former teammate at South Kitsap was Efton Chism II. Nicknamed “Chiz,” he was a guard and inside linebacker for South Kitsap, and Strey says he has “been a rock in my life since high school. We have never wavered in our brotherhood and have been through life’s adventures as a family. They are my family.” Chism’s son, Efton Chism III, is an All-Big Sky Conference wide receiver for the Eagles, and enters his senior season in 2024 as one of EWU’s all-time leading receivers with 226 receptions for 2,541 yards 24 touchdowns. Technically not related, Strey calls him his nephew and is proud to have been able to support him in his journey as an Eagle: “He has carried-on the Eagle tradition and become a great leader, player, and man. We share the same birthday (Oct. 26) -- there must be something to it.”