MATT HELM/Press file
Hugh Watson coaches his North Idaho College men's basketball team at practice in 1997, prior to playing in the NJCAA tournament.
August 17, 2025
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‘That’s a good man gone’: Hugh Watson, folksy Tennessee native who led the NIC men’s basketball team to a fourth-place finish at nationals in 1997, dies at 84
“His zest for life was just infectious,” said Al Williams, who came to NIC as athletic director in 2003, just before Watson’s final season with the Cardinals — but he knew him for many years before then. “He always had a smile for you, he always had a happy story to tell you. He always made you feel like you made his day by calling. And so, every time you talked to him, Hugh was in good spirits.”