Gordon "Dutch" Belnap

Please turn your attention to center court! USU is announcing a new scholarship that will exist in perpetuity at Utah State in the name of Aggie great and Hall of Famer, Dutch Belnap!

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 served as professional baseball as the general manager of the Ogden Dodgers.

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. 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.

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, while the 1977-78 team finished the season in the nation's top 20.

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. During his head coaching tenure, Belnap coached five players who were drafted into the NBA and was 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.

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.

Dutch had an amazing student experience and coaching career here and has been part of this University for 8 decades! Dutch turns 90 years young next month and we want to honor him by showing our love and appreciation with a scholarship in his name.

An all-star starting line-up of 5 got this started: Tim Belnap, Rich Haws, Robert Bergstrom, Rich McElrath and Jim Laub. For those fortunate enough to be recruited to Utah State by Dutch, we say thank you for bringing us to this amazing University!

These "starting 5" hope all coaches, former players, assistants, fans, and Aggies everywhere will join them in building the Gordon "Dutch" Belnap Scholarship Endowment at Utah State University.  The scholarship will benefit a men's basketball student-athlete that began his college playing career at USU as a walk-on. 

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