University of Minnesota Athletics
Jim Dutcher - M Club Hall of Fame
Jim Dutcher
Basketball Coach, 1975-86
HOF Class of 2005
During his 11 seasons at the helm of Golden Gopher basketball, Jim Dutcher compiled a 190-112 overall record. His 1981-1982 team won the Big Ten Championship and advanced to the NCAA sweet sixteen. That year he earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors and was named NCAA District 11 Coach of the Year.
Dutcher’s U of M teams qualified for the NCAA tournament three times (1976, 1977, 1982) and the NIT three times (1980, 1981, 1983). The 1980 team made the NIT final and Dutcher was awarded the UPI Big Ten Co-Coach of the Year.
Dutcher recruited some of the best Golden Gopher basketball players in the program’s history. He coached future stars including Ray Williams, Mychal Thompson, Kevin McHale, Trent Tucker, Randy Breuer, and Phil “Flip” Saunders. Williams, Thompson, McHale, and Saunders were members of the 1977 team that compiled a 24-3 record and is widely regarded as the best U of M squad ever.
Before coming to Minnesota, Dutcher compiled a 127-49 record at Eastern Michigan University, the third-most wins in that school’s history. EMU inducted Dutcher into its Hall of Fame in 2003.