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 o ...

. He was an assistant under head coach Steve Fisher with the Michigan Wolverines 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 Steve Fisher 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 A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. Dutcher is credited for having a central role in recruiting the Fab Five to Michigan and for bringing

Kawhi Leonard Kawhi Anthony Leonard ( ; born June 29, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time NBA champion, he is a five-time All-Star with three All-NBA ...

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 Malachi Flynn (born May 9, 1998) () is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Washington State Cougars and the San Diego State Aztecs. ...

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 Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

, Creighton,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the 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: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, and

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

- 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 Jim Dutcher (born 1943), is an American natural history, naturalist, cinematographer, director and author. He has written eight books and produced three wildlife films about wolves. Jim and his wife, Jamie Dutcher, are the creators of the two-t ...

, a former head coach at

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

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 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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