Updated: April 2, 2018 at 11:53 a.m.
Long Beach State athletic director Andy Fee announced Thursday that men’s basketball head coach Dan Monson signed a five-year contract extension.
“Coach Monson is committed to returning our program to the top of the Big West Conference,” Fee said. “I am committed to supporting coach Monson and this team in our championship pursuits. We are very excited for next year’s recruiting class to arrive on campus and join ten returning student-athletes for what we believe will be a very strong season. Our program is in good hands with coach Dan Monson guiding its direction.”
Long Beach finished the 2018 season 15-18, after being bounced in the Big West Tournament quarterfinals by Cal State Fullerton. Monson has the most men’s basketball program wins in school history with a record of 185-177 overall.
“I think this shows that it’s a destination for me and my family,” Monson said. “I’ve been here 11 years and to be able to say that we’re going to stay here for the foreseeable future is so exciting for all of us… The commitment that president Conoley and Andy Fee and the administration are making to the basketball program and the statement they are making with this contract is unbelievable and it lets me know I’m at the right place.”
Next Fall, Monson will now be entering his 12th season at Long Beach.
Monson has led the 49ers to three regular-season Big West Conference titles, one Big West Tournament title and a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2012 with three NIT appearances.
With the restructured contract, the Long Beach State Athletic Department has a financial savings of at least 40 percent annually.
With Monson, 56, on the sidelines, the men’s basketball program can expect to still play the top teams in the nation — but supporters should only expect to see three to four marquee games each season.
“The preseason needs to truly be a preseason,” Monson said. “We need to develop our players and need to challenge them and play for an at-large bid and have a good enough schedule if we don’t win the league.”
Fee stated in a YouTube video that the plan is to implement a tournament in the Walter Pyramid before conference play starts.
“We no longer had a dependence on guaranteed games to fund the program,” Fee said. “We are not going to shy away from playing the best in the country. But now we have freedom… Where we can bring the best teams in the country here to the pyramid and you can cheer on the Beach at home, instead of on the road.”
According to Monson, Long Beach will play UCLA and USC next season on the road.
The contract extension got opinions on the Athletic Department’s YouTube and Twitter. On the YouTube video of Dan Monson, Brandon Su posted “mistake.” While on Twitter, Tyler tweeted “I’m actually a fan of the reconstructed extension, thank you @TheAndyFee.”