MOSCOW, Idaho – Idaho Athletics mourns the loss of former men's basketball letterwinner and head coach Don Monson, who led the Vandals to two NCAA Tournament appearances, including the Sweet Sixteen in 1982. He was 92.

"Coach Monson is Vandal basketball," stated current Idaho Men's Basketball Head Coach Alex Pribble. "He built this program into a powerhouse during his time here and impacted this university and this community in an incredible way. We are forever grateful for the foundation that he laid here. Our hearts are with the Monson family, along with the many players that he coached and impacted throughout his career."

Monson graduated from Coeur d'Alene High School in 1951, winning a state title in 1948 as the lone sophomore on the Vikings' boys basketball team. He then moved 84 miles south to continue his athletic and academic career at the University of Idaho, where he was a three-time basketball letterman and part of a team that finished runner-up twice in the Pacific Coast Conference. 

Following his graduation from Idaho in 1955 with a bachelors of science in physical education, Monson was drafted into the United States Navy. He was stationed in San Diego, joining the base basketball team. Monson was honorably discharged in September 1957. 

Soon after, he began looking for teaching and coaching jobs across the region, landing his first opportunity at Cheney High School as the head basketball coach and an assistant for the football and baseball teams. While in Cheney, Monson and his wife Deanna had three children, Dana in 1960, Dan in 1961, and Darla in 1965. 

Monson remained head coach at Cheney High until 1966, racking up a 105-66 record before taking a vice principal job at the school. In 1967, Monson took over the high school program in Pasco, where he remained for nine seasons, winning 161 games with back-to-back appearances in the state title game in 1970 and 1971. 

After accruing over 250 victories at the high school level, Monson was offered an assistant coaching job at Michigan State by Jud Heathcote in 1976. During his two year tenure in East Lansing, the Spartans went from a mediocre Big Ten squad to a national title contender, reaching the 1978 Elite Eight. Magic Johnson joined the Green and White for the 1977-78 season, a commitment credited to Monson by Heathcote.

Idaho's 4-22 season in 1978 opened the head job in Moscow, with Monson being tapped to pick up the pieces and rebuild the fledgling program.

In just his second season in charge, the Vandals had improved to a 17-10 record, claiming the second spot in the Big Sky regular season table before falling to Montana by 10 in the 1980
Big Sky semifinals. 

The third season of the Monson regime brought even more success as Idaho won ten in a row to open the 80-81 campaign, with big road victories over Nebraska, Gonzaga, and Washington State. The Vandals kept the ball rolling in conference play, marching to a 12-2 record and the regular season title for the first time in school history, earning the right to host the four-team conference tournament. Idaho would promptly knock off Idaho State in the semifinal and Montana, in front of a crowd of 8,300, to win their first ever Big Sky tournament title, earning the school's first berth to the NCAA Tournament in the process. 

Idaho was rewarded with a trip to El Paso, Texas to face the Eastern Eight Conference Champion, Pittsburgh, in the national tournament's opening round. The dream season for the Black and Gold would end there, with the Vandals falling to the Panthers by one in overtime. The 1980-81 season was historic in a number of ways, including marking the first time Idaho was ranked in a national poll, with the Vandals claiming a spot in the UPI Coaches Poll for three weeks in February, ranking as high as 16th.

The 1981-82 season raised the bar even higher, as the Vandals got off to their hottest start in school history, winning each of their first 16 contests, including a victory in Portland over No. 15 Oregon State. The only defeats in Idaho's 24-2 regular season were on the road to Montana and Notre Dame, both by two. 

The Vandals again earned the right to host the Big Sky Tournament, defeating Weber State and Nevada. By the end of the season, Idaho had worked their way up to the sixth spot in the AP Poll, the highest in school history, a milestone credited to the efforts of numerous Vandal greats playing under Monson. 

The Black and Gold were rewarded with a first round bye and the third seed in the 1982 NCAA Tournament. Idaho faced the sixth seed, Iowa, in the second round in front of a sold out crowd at Washington State's Beasley Coliseum. The game was a tight and scrappy affair, but when the dust settled, following a Brian Kellerman game-winning last second 18-foot jumper, the Vandals stood alone, claiming a 77-75 victory and a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. 

Idaho's prize for their victory over Iowa was a trip to Provo, Utah to rematch against Oregon State, the Pac-10 Champions and West Regional two seed. The greatest season in Vandal history would conclude with a 19-point defeat to the Beavers, 60-42. 

The man at the helm for what still stands as the greatest season in school history, Monson was named the 1981-82 Kodak Coach of the Year, receiving the honor at that year's Final Four in New Orleans. All five starters were named All-Conference honorees, with Ken Owens earning the title of Conference Player of the Year. 

Monson's fifth season in Moscow brought multiple attendance records, with over 11,000 fans packing the Kibbie Dome for a December contest against Washington State, and nearly 12,000 Vandals attending a conference clash with Montana. On the court, Idaho went 20-9 in regular season action, claiming the fourth spot in the Big Sky after a 9-5 league campaign. By the end of his tenure at Idaho, Monson had accumulated a record of 100-41.

Don would go on to take the head coaching job at Oregon for the following season. In his nine seasons in Eugene, the Ducks would make three NIT berths. 

In 14 seasons as a Division I head coach, Monson won 216 games. He currently ranks fourth all time in Idaho history with exactly 100 wins, leading the Vandals to a 51-2 home record in his final four seasons in Moscow. Monson's .671 conference winning percentage places him fourth in the Big Sky record books.

Monson was inducted into the Idaho Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007 as a charter member. Additionally, the coaches' offices in ICCU Arena were named the Don Monson Coaching Offices upon the building's opening in 2021, commemorating Coach Monson's commitment to building a championship culture during his five year tenure in Moscow. Earlier in the year, Monson and the iconic '81-'82 Vandals were inducted into the Hoopfest Hall of Fame, honoring everything they brought to the Palouse, Spokane, and their rich basketball histories. 

Multiple Vandal legends attended the Hoopfest inauguration of their head coach, highlighting the lifelong bonds that were forged in Moscow and stood the test of time.

Idaho Athletics expresses condolences to the Monson family and is extremely grateful for what Don gave to the Vandals. His is a legacy that will live on far beyond his years.