Hall of Fame
GORDON "DUTCH" BELNAP
Hometown: Ogden, Utah
Sport: Head Men's Basketball Coach, Head Men's Tennis Coach
Years: 1974-79; 1969-71
Gordon "Dutch" Belnap spent 11 years associated with Utah State basketball, including six seasons as its head coach. Following his graduation from Utah State in 1958, Belnap spent several years coaching at Weber High School in Pleasant View, Utah, and led the Warriors' baseball team to the state championship in 1961, prior to assuming the head basketball coaching duties in 1966. During that time, Belnap also spent time in professional baseball as the general manager of the Ogden Dodgers, where he was named minor league baseball's Executive of the Year in 1967. Belnap began his Aggie coaching career during the 1968-69 season as an assistant under then-head coach LaDell Andersen and helped USU to 80 wins and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances as an assistant, including the 1970 NCAA Western Regional Championship game against UCLA. As an Aggie assistant, Belnap spent three years directing the freshman team, which recorded a 47-13 record under his tutelage. He later spent two years as the chief assistant coach, before being named Utah State's 11th head basketball coach prior to the 1973-74 season. During his six seasons (1974-79) in charge of the Aggie cagers, Belnap compiled a then-school record 64.6 winning percentage, a mark that still ranks third all-time in school history, as his teams posted a 106-58 record. As Utah State's head basketball coach, Belnap led the Aggies to three postseason appearances, playing in the 1975 and 1979 NCAA Tournaments, along with the 1978 National Invitation Tournament. In all, Belnap's teams never had a losing record and two of his teams notched 20 wins as the 1974-75 team went 21-6, while the 1977-78 team went 21-7. In fact, USU's 21-6 record during the 1974-75 campaign was the second-best mark in school history at the time and Belnap was honored by being named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District Seven Coach of the Year. Furthermore, the 1974-75 team won a then-school record 13 straight games and finished the season ranked 13th in the final United Press International (UPI) Board of Coaches Poll. USU's 1977-78 team also finished the season in the nation's top 20, ranking 17th in the UPI Board of Coaches Poll as that team set the then-school record for shooting in a season at 51.1 percent. In his final season as USU's head men's basketball coach, Belnap led the Aggies to a 19-11 record and another NCAA Tournament appearance in their first year as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association, as they tied for second in the league and had three players garner all-conference honors. During his head coaching tenure, Belnap coached five players who were drafted into the NBA, along with another player who set the school record for assists with 562, a record that still stands today. He is also one of just three head coaches to post an undefeated home season as his 1973-74 club went a perfect 14-0 at home. Belnap's teams also won the Old Oquirrh Bucket (the state's collegiate basketball championship trophy) in both 1975 and 1976 and his teams combined to post a 9-3 record against BYU. In addition to being a basketball coach at Utah State, Belnap spent three seasons (1969-71) as the head men's tennis coach. In those three years, the Aggies compiled a 31-10 record, including a then-school record 16 wins in 1970 as he sent five players to the NCAA Tournament that year, USU's only NCAA Tournament participation in the sport.
