The 1978–79 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

during the

1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1978, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1979 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on March 26, ...

. Members of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

, the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

were led by first-year head coach

Don Monson Donald Lloyd Monson (born April 11, 1933) is a former college basketball head coach and the father of head coach Dan Monson. He was a high school head coach for 18 seasons and college head coach for 14 seasons: five at Idaho and nine at Oregon. ...

and played their home games on campus at the

Kibbie Dome The William H. Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center (commonly known as the Kibbie Dome) is a multi-purpose indoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. It is the home of the Idaho V ...

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

. They were 11–15 overall and 4–10 in conference play. After four seasons with last place finishes in the conference,

Jim Jarvis James C. Jarvis (born March 3, 1943) is an American former basketball player and coach. He played professionally in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later coached at the NCAA Division I level for the University of Idaho. Early years ...

resigned as head coach in June 1978 under recurring allegations of illegal recruiting. The program had been placed on probation for one year in January, resulting in a reprimand for Jarvis and his assistant coach by the university. He was succeeded in August by alumnus Monson, an assistant at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

, who had significantly greater success. Although the Vandals were again in the cellar in 1979, the four conference wins were the most for the program in four years and the eleven wins the most in five. The groundwork had been made for significant improvement; Monson led Idaho to consecutive conference titles (

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

) and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in

. Idaho's best-attended home games this season were the final two; 4,500 saw a fifteen-point loss to Boise State, while 4,600 enjoyed a 21-point upset of

Idaho State , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

in the finale. It was the Vandals' first win over the Bengals in four years; ISU had won the previous seven meetings. A month earlier, the Vandals won decisively at Boise to snap two losing streaks; six to the Broncos and fifteen in conference play. The long-awaited win over Idaho State allowed the Vandals to regain possession of the "King Spud Trophy," an oversized metallic potato with a face and a crown, first played for in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

. Bengal head coach

Lynn Archibald Lynn J. Archibald (September 27, 1944 – May 28, 1997) was an American college basketball Coach (sport), coach. He served as head basketball coach at Idaho State University and the University of Utah. Early life Born in Logan, Utah, Archibald ...

thought it should go to the losing team: "It's the ugliest thing I've ever seen. The only good thing that happened last week was losing it." No Vandals were named to the all-conference team; junior guard Don Newman was on the second team, and junior forward Reed Jaussi was honorable mention.

Roster

References

External links

Sports Reference
– Idaho Vandals: 1978–79 basketball season
''Gem of the Mountains:'' 1979 University of Idaho yearbook
– 1978–79 basketball season

– student newspaper – 1979 editions {{DEFAULTSORT:1978-79 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team Idaho Vandals men's basketball seasons

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...