Hall of Fame
Position: Coach
Years: Chico State [CA] (1984-88), Oregon (1995-2008)
Place of Birth: Concord, Calif.
Date of Birth: Dec 21, 1950
The winningest coach in Oregon football history, Mike Bellotti created a Hall of Fame career, turning the Ducks into a national powerhouse.
After a brief coaching stint with Chico State (Calif.), Bellotti became Oregon head coach in 1995, becoming the first coach in school history to post a winning record in each of his first nine seasons. He took the Ducks to 12 bowl games in 14 seasons, including a win in the Fiesta Bowl after the following the 2001 season. The Fiesta Bowl victory gave Belloitti and the Ducks a single-season school-record 11 wins and a No. 2 national ranking. Nationally ranked in eight seasons, Bellotti’s Ducks claimed the Pac-10 championship in 2001 and a share of the conference title in 2000.
Boasting more overall (116) and conference (72) wins than any other Pac-10 coach during his 14-year tenure, Bellotti was a finalist for the 2001 Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award, and he was the 1986 Northern California Athletic Conference Coach of the Year while at Chico State. At Oregon, he coached 2007 NFF National Scholar-Athlete and Heisman Trophy finalist Dennis Dixon as well as five First-Team All-Americans and First-Team Academic All-Americans. Bellotti finished his coaching career with a 137-80-2 record, winning 63 percent of his games.
A tight end and wide receiver at California-Davis under Hall of Fame coach Jim Sochor, Bellotti helped the Aggies to a Far Western Conference championship in 1972 and a share of the conference title in 1971. A member of the American Football Coaches Association Board of Trustees from 2003-09, the Concord, Calif., native has served as the chair of the NCAA Football Rules Committee, a national vice president for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and a college football analyst for ESPN.
