Don Monson - Idaho Vandals - Legacy in Moscow

Legacy in Moscow

Don Monson became a cult hero in the Moscow community in the early 1980s, bringing championship status to a university that had long struggled in both football and basketball. He was well known for his anguished expressions and contorted body language while on the Idaho sideline, which became the subject for an unofficial fan club (and caricature T-shirts). Monson was the biggest thing to happen to Vandal basketball since Gus Johnson in 1963 (and his elevated nail at the Corner Club on Main Street).

The Vandal basketball team could outdraw the Division I-AA football team in the multi-purpose Kibbie Dome, and it was ranked by Sports Illustrated as one of the toughest home courts in America. From January 1980 to February 1983, the Vandals won 43 consecutive games on their home floor. (After a shocking loss to Montana in front of a record 11,800 on February 12, the Vandals would win their final three home games in 1983.) In Monson's final four seasons at Idaho, the Vandals were 51-2 (.962) at home.

Monson's overall record in his five seasons at Idaho was 100-41 (.709), and was 72-16 (.818) in his final three seasons. His successor was Bill Trumbo, a successful junior college head coach in northern California. Trumbo did not come close to equaling Monson's success, as the Vandals struggled and returned to last place in the Big Sky in each of his three seasons, going 8-34 (.190) in conference and 28-59 (.322) overall. Trumbo lost 21 games at home in the Kibbie Dome and was relieved following the 1986 season, replaced by Tim Floyd.

During the "Monson Era" at Idaho, the neighboring Washington State Cougars were also doing well in basketball under head coach George Raveling. Monson's Vandals were 3-2 against the Cougars, winning the final three to the great frustration of the Cougar Nation and the Pullman community.

The highlight of this series was the final game, in early December 1982, which was the only one played in Moscow. A then-record crowd of over 11,000 packed into the Kibbie Dome's south grandstand & expanded temporary bleachers to witness a four-point overtime victory for the Vandals, their 37th consecutive win at home. Concurrently in Kentucky, the resurgent Vandals football team (under first-year coach Dennis Erickson) was battling eventual champion Eastern Kentucky in the I-AA playoffs; losing 38-30 in a game that went down to the final play.

That 1983 Cougar team, led by future NBA guard Craig Ehlo, would finish second in the Pac-10 with a 14-4 record, a game behind champion UCLA. The Cougars' non-conference losses were both on the road in early December to Big Sky opponents; Idaho and Montana. The Cougars advanced to the second round in the West regional of the NCAA tournament, losing to #1 seed Virginia by five points, finishing at 23-7. After that loss, head coach George Raveling left Washington State to replace Lute Olson at Iowa. With Monson also leaving for Oregon, college basketball on the Palouse went into dormancy. Simultaneous success for both universities in basketball (or any other sport) has yet to recur.