Brian James Dutcher (born October 30, 1959) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach and is the head coach for the San Diego State Aztecs men's team of the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations ...

. He was an assistant under head coach

Steve Fisher Steve Fisher may refer to: * Steve Fisher (American basketball coach) (born 1945), American college basketball coach * Steve Fisher (writer) (1913–1980), American writer of satirical stories * Steve Fisher (soccer) (born 1981), American soccer pl ...

with the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

and San Diego State, succeeding Fisher as Aztecs' head coach upon his retirement in 2017.

Coaching career

Dutcher has more than 30 years of coaching experience, including 18 seasons as an assistant to

at San Diego State preceded by nine at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Dutcher joined then-interim coach Fisher in 1989 when Michigan won the national championship. Dutcher is credited for having a central role in recruiting the Fab Five to Michigan and for bringing Kawhi Leonard to San Diego State. Dutcher was named San Diego State's "head coach in waiting" in 2011. Following Fisher's decision to retire, Dutcher was formally named as his replacement on April 11, 2017. Thanks to Dutcher bringing in transfers Malachi Flynn,

Yanni Wetzell Yannick Clemens Thomas Wetzell (born 8 July 1996) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for Alba Berlin of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the St. Mary's Rattlers, the Vand ...

, K.J. Feagin, and Trey Pulliam, along with the development of returnees Matt Mitchell, Jordan Shackel, Nathan Mensah, and Adam Seiko, the Aztecs started the 2019-20 season 26-0, with impressive road/neutral site wins over BYU, Creighton,

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, and Utah State - the preseason Mountain West favorite. This resulted in a #4 ranking for five straight weeks for SDSU while Dutcher was named to the Naismith Coach of the Year Late-Season Watch List. Dutcher was named

Coach of the Year on March 3, 2020.

Personal life

Dutcher and his wife, Jan, have two daughters: Erin and Liza. He is the son of Jim Dutcher, a former head coach at Eastern Michigan and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutcher, Brian 1959 births Living people American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Michigan College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in the United States Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball coaches Michigan Wolverines men's basketball coaches People from Alpena, Michigan People from Bloomington, Minnesota San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball coaches South Dakota State Jackrabbits men's basketball coaches University of Minnesota alumni