Monk Bonasorte
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Francis Joseph "Monk" Bonasorte (March 11, 1957 – November 19, 2016) was an All-American college football player and associate athletic director at Florida State University. After an accomplished playing career with the Seminoles, he worked in various semi-pro sports leagues before returning to Florida State, initially to head the school's Varsity Club. He joined the athletic department in 2008, eventually rising to become the "de facto athletic director" for the football program.[1] He was diagnosed with brain cancer in October 2015, and died in November of the following year.
Bonasorte played for Florida State Seminoles from 1977 until 1980, including starring on the 1979 team which went undefeated during the regular season. He held the school's career (15) and season (8 in 1979) interception records until both marks were eclipsed by Terrell Buckley in 1991.[2][3] Bonasorte was a two-time All-American and was inducted into Florida State's Hall of Fame in 1995.[4][5]
A member of Florida State's All-Time football team as named by Athlon Magazine, he earned four varsity letters (1977–80), played in the 1977 Tangerine Bowl and two Orange Bowls (1980 and 1981) and was inducted into the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995 as one of the top defensive backs in school history. He ranks second in school history with 15 interceptions while his eight interceptions in 1979 ranks as the second highest single season total in school history.
Bonasorte earned All-America Third Team honors in 1979 by the Associated Press and All-America Second Team honors from Football News in 1980.
Bonasorte starred on one of the toughest defensive units in Florida State history in 1979. He led the nation in interceptions for the majority of the 1979 season and finished with eight to rank fourth nationally and set a Seminole record for interceptions in a season. The Seminoles ranked sixth nationally and fifth nationally during his junior and senior seasons respectively.