Brian Dutcher helped build one of college basketball’s strongest cultures at a program that once ranked among Division I’s worst. Now it’s paid off with the first Final Four in school history
When San Diego State take the floor under head coach Brian Dutcher on Saturday night for the first Final Four appearance in school history, they’ll be representing a city not traditionally known for its rich basketball history. San Diego briefly hosted the NBA’s Clippers for six unmemorable seasons before they relocated to Los Angeles. And while SDSU has fielded a team for more than 100 years, on-court success has largely proven hard to come by.
All of that changed when Steve Fisher arrived in 1999, taking over a lowly program that ranked among the worst in Division I. Fisher, who had led Michigan to the 1989 national title and coached the famed Fab Five a few years after, spotted potential in the program who had just built a brand-new arena. The Aztecs, however, were coming off of a four-win season and they hadn’t reached the NCAA tournament in the previous 15 years. Fisher re-hired Dutcher, his longtime assistant from Michigan, and the two of them got to work.
