University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Eugene Monahan 1970 - Basketball, Football
Gene Monahan, a 1987 UVM Hall of Fame inductee, was one of the finest receivers ever to play football at Vermont; unfortunately, no one knew that until his senior season. Monahan established five UVM records and broke and tied two New England reception marks his senior season of 1969, the only year he played offensive end for the Catamounts.
He was an All-Yankee Conference honoree after that senior season, when he pulled 51 passes out of the air to set a Vermont, Yankee Conference and New England reception mark, eclipsing the old mark of 47. In a 1969 game against Northeastern University, Monahan caught three touchdown passes to tie a UVM and New England record, a record also shared by Nat Campana (UVM '54), a 1975 Hall of Fame inductee. In the same game, Monahan set a Vermont record with 178 receiving yards on 10 receptions.
By season's end, Monahan had accrued 573 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches, both Catamount standards. All this from a man who didn't catch a single touchdown pass until his senior year! Monahan, a teammate in 1969 of fellow inductee Bob Rodger, was used primarily as a punt and kickoff return specialist his sophomore and junior years. The versatile Monahan also played varsity basketball during his junior year at UVM, playing with Hall-of-Fame members Dave Lapointe and Frank Martiniuk.
Monahan is a physical education and health instructor at Brick (N.J) Memorial High School, where he coaches girls' tennis and formerly served as basketball coach. He lives in Brick Town, N.J., with his wife, Madeline, and their children, Keith, Kevin and Erin.
