| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1939-09-17)September 17, 1939 LaRue County, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | October 28, 2018(2018-10-28) (aged 79) Kona, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1957–1961 | Chapman |
| Position(s) | Forward - (basketball) Catcher - (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1961–1962 | Chapman (asst.) |
| 1962–1966 | Garden Grove HS |
| 1966–1970 | Culver–Stockton |
| 1972–1974 | Sonoma State |
| 1974–1983 | Santa Rosa JC |
| 1983–1986 | Idaho |
| 198x | Kenyan national team |
| 1989–1990 | Santa Barbara CC |
| 2003–2006 | Cal State–Monterey Bay |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1966–1970 | Culver–Stockton |
| 1970–1974 | Sonoma State |
| 1990–2000 | Hawaii–Hilo |
| 2000–2006 | Cal State–Monterey Bay |
| 2008–2009 | Diablo Valley (interim) |
| 2009–2016 | Konawaena HS |
William Roy Trumbo (September 17, 1939 – October 28, 2018)[1] was an Americancollege basketball coach and athletics director in thewesternUnited States, primarily inCalifornia andHawaii, and coached at theDivision I level for three seasonsatIdaho.[2][3] His first collegiate head coaching position was atCulver–Stockton College in Missouri.
Born inLaRue County, Kentucky,[1] Trumbo attendedChapman College inOrange, California, and was a two-sport athlete for four years: a forward in basketball and acatcher on thebaseball team from 1957 to 1961. He was team captain and student bodypresident.[4]
Following graduation from Chapman in 1961, Trumbo was an assistant coach at his alma mater for a year, then became the head coach at nearbyGarden Grove High School in 1962 for four years. In 1966, he became a college head coach and athletic director atCulver–Stockton College, anNAIA program inCanton, Missouri.
Trumbo moved back west to northern California in 1970 toSonoma State inRohnert Park as athletic director, and added basketball coaching duties after the Cossacks went3–24 in 1972, winless in a dozen conference games. Under Trumbo, Sonoma State was16–8 overall in 1973 with ten conference wins, and went18–10 the following season. The basketball program was dropped in 1974 for financial reasons and Trumbo departed for nearbySanta Rosa Junior College and was the head coach for nine seasons, posting a212–68 (.757) record with sevenconference titles.[5]
Moving up to Division I, Trumbo was hired at resurgent Idaho in April 1983, replacingDon Monson, a charismatic alumnus fromCoeur d'Alene who departed after five seasons forOregon in thePac-10 Conference.[2][3] The Vandals had been a last place team in theBig Sky Conference for five straight seasons in the late 1970s, but rose to second in1980 and then won consecutive conference titles (regular season andtournament) in1981 and1982. The latter finished the regular season at24–2 with a #6 ranking in bothnational polls,[6] and advanced to theSweet Sixteen in theNCAA tournament. The1983 team slipped back slightly, but was20–7 in the regular season and was invited to theNIT, a first for the Big Sky. In Monson's last four seasons, the best stretch in program history, Idaho was54–2 (.964) at home, with a43-game home winning streak; attendance had twice topped 11,000 in theKibbie Dome during the 1983 season.
As an outsider following a hero, Trumbo recognized that his task inMoscow to continue the recent success would bedifficult;[7][8] with less talent and experience, Idaho slipped back into the Big Sky cellar in 1984 and attendanceplummeted.[9][10][11][12] His teams went 27–59 (.314) overall (9–33 (.214) in conference) and he was relieved of his duties after three seasons inMarch 1986,[3][13] succeeded byTim Floyd,an assistant underhall of fame head coachDon Haskins atTexas-El Paso.[14][15]
Returning to lower profile programs, Trumbo was later the athletic director atHawaii–Hilo (1990–2000),Cal State–Monterey Bay (2000–2006),Diablo Valley College (interim,2008–2009),[16] and back onHawaii (Big Island) atKonawaena High School from 2009to 2016.[17] At Monterey Bay, he was also the basketball coach for his final threeyears there.[5]
Trumbo died inKona at age 79 in 2018 from complications ofAlzheimer's disease.[1][18][19]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho Vandals(Big Sky Conference)(1983–1986) | |||||||||
| 1983–84 | Idaho | 9–19 | 4–10 | 8th | |||||
| 1984–85 | Idaho | 8–22 | 1–13 | 8th | |||||
| 1985–86 | Idaho | 10–18 | 4–10 | 8th | |||||
| Idaho: | 27–59 (.314) | 9–33 (.214) | |||||||
| Total: | 27–59 | ||||||||