Fitzgerald Will Pass Off To Monson In 1997 Plans To Be Announced Today; Gonzaga Coach To Remain A.D.

After the 1996-97 season, coach Dan Fitzgerald will no longer scream and leap and stomp and pull his hair out on the Gonzaga University men’s basketball bench. Oh, he’ll probably continue those antics, but from a few rows back in the stands.

Fitzgerald is expected to announce in a press conference this afternoon he will step aside as head men’s basketball coach after the next two seasons to make room for new head coach Dan Monson.

Sources close to the program said the discussions with university administrators have been in the works since last spring.

Speaking on the possibility of the move earlier this year, Fitzgerald said it was important to maintain the program’s continuity and to reward the efforts of Monson, whose coaching, scouting and recruiting have been so critical to GU’s recent run of success.

Fitzgerald, 53, will continue as the university’s athletic director.

The dean of West Coast Conference coaches with a 218-148 record over 13 seasons, Fitzgerald has led the Bulldogs to 82 wins in the past four seasons. The last two seasons have ended in postseason play as GU reached the second round of the NIT in 1994 and the first round of the NCAA Tournament last spring.

That success gave Fitzgerald the leverage to name his successor at this time, which may have been crucial since long-time university president Rev. Bernard J. Coughlin has announced his retirement.

Fitzgerald has undergone several procedures to deal with a form of skin cancer, which he has said is not considered to be life-threatening. Health was not said to be a prime issue in his decision.

Fitzgerald worked his way up from the preps in Los Angeles and San Jose, Calif., with college assistantships at Gonzaga and Santa Clara leading to his head coaching opportunity at GU in 1979.

In 13 years as GU coach he did not coach the Bulldogs from 1982-85 - Fitzgerald has had only one losing season, 1990, and his teams have won the WCC regular season in 1994 and the WCC Tournament in 1995.

Fitzgerald also is a member of the prestigious NCAA Rules Committee.

Monson, 34, learned the game at the knee of his father, Don, formerly head coach at Idaho and Oregon. He has been instrumental in game-plan preparation for the Bulldogs in recent years.

A football player at Idaho, Monson turned to coaching after a knee injury forced him out of action.

He has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Idaho and a masters in athletic administration from Alabama-Birmingham, where he also served as a graduate-assistant coach.

He was hired as an assistant by Fitzgerald eight years ago, and was named associate head coach before the start of last season.

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