Steve Belko

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title: "Steve Belko" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1916-births", "2000-deaths", "american-men's-basketball-players", "american-people-of-russian-descent", "basketball-coaches-from-indiana", "basketball-players-from-gary,-indiana", "big-sky-conference-commissioners", "high-school-basketball-coaches-in-idaho", "idaho-state-bengals-men's-basketball-coaches", "idaho-vandals-football-players", "idaho-vandals-men's-basketball-coaches", "idaho-vandals-men's-basketball-players", "oregon-ducks-men's-basketball-coaches", "sportspeople-from-gary,-indiana", "forwards-(basketball)", "guards-(basketball)", "united-states-navy-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "20th-century-american-sportsmen"] description: "American basketball coach (1916–2000)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Belko" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American basketball coach (1916–2000) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox college coach"]

Field	Value
name	Steve Belko
image	Steve Belko.jpg
caption	Wickiup 1951, Idaho State College yearbook
birth_date
birth_place	Gary, Indiana, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Boise, Idaho, U.S.
player_years1	1936–1939
player_team1	Idaho (football, basketball)
player_positions	Back (football)
Guard, forward (basketball)
coach_years1	1939–1940
coach_team1	St. Maries HS (ID)
coach_years2	1940–1943
coach_team2	Lewiston HS (ID)
coach_years3	1946–1950
coach_team3	Idaho (assistant)
coach_years4	1950–1956
coach_team4	Idaho State
coach_years5	1956–1971
coach_team5	Oregon
admin_years1	1971–1972
admin_team1	Oregon (assistant AD)
admin_years2	1972–1975
admin_team2	Far West Classic (director)
admin_years3	1975–1977
admin_team3	Big Sky (evaluator)
admin_years4	1977–1981
admin_team4	Big Sky (commissioner)
overall_record	288–262 (college)
championships	4 RMC (1953–1956)
awards	3× RMC Coach of the Year
embed	yes
allegiance
branch	United States Navy
rank
battles	World War II
unit
serviceyears	1942–1945
::

| name = Steve Belko | image = Steve Belko.jpg | alt = | caption = Wickiup 1951, Idaho State College yearbook | birth_date = | birth_place = Gary, Indiana, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Boise, Idaho, U.S. | alma_mater = | player_years1 = 1936–1939 | player_team1 = Idaho (football, basketball) | player_positions = Back (football) Guard, forward (basketball) | coach_years1 = 1939–1940 | coach_team1 = St. Maries HS (ID) | coach_years2 = 1940–1943 | coach_team2 = Lewiston HS (ID) | coach_years3 = 1946–1950 | coach_team3 = Idaho (assistant) | coach_years4 = 1950–1956 | coach_team4 = Idaho State | coach_years5 = 1956–1971 | coach_team5 = Oregon | admin_years1 = 1971–1972 | admin_team1 = Oregon (assistant AD) | admin_years2 = 1972–1975 | admin_team2 = Far West Classic (director) | admin_years3 = 1975–1977 | admin_team3 = Big Sky (evaluator) | admin_years4 = 1977–1981 | admin_team4 = Big Sky (commissioner) | overall_record = 288–262 (college) | bowl_record = | tournament_record = | championships = 4 RMC (1953–1956) | awards = 3× RMC Coach of the Year | coaching_records = | embed = yes | allegiance = | branch = United States Navy | rank = | battles = World War II | unit = | serviceyears = 1942–1945 | awards = Stephen Maxmillian Belko (February 14, 1916 – May 12, 2000) was an American college basketball coach at Idaho State College and the University of Oregon. He was later the third commissioner of the Big Sky Conference.

Playing career

The son of Russian immigrants, Belko was born in Gary, Indiana, and graduated from Froebel High School. He attended Compton Junior College in southern California for a year, When the assistant basketball coach at USC that recruited him got the head job at Idaho, also a member of the Pacific Coast Conference, Belko followed Forrest Twogood north in 1936 and hitchhiked over a thousand miles (1600 km) to Moscow.

A two-sport athlete for the Vandals, he was a guard and small forward in basketball and a halfback and quarterback on the football team, and a teammate of future coaches Lyle Smith and Tony Knap. As seniors in 1938, they led the Vandals to a record, Idaho's best in years and the last winning season for a quarter century.

Belko opted not to play baseball, though he considered it his best sport. A member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and senior class president,

Coaching career

Following his graduation from Idaho in 1939, Belko was a high school coach in northern Idaho at St. Maries for a season and for three at Lewiston, then served in the U.S. Navy in World War II as a Russian interpreter. Following his military service, Belko briefly returned to Lewiston, then moved to the University of Idaho in Moscow and coached the Vandal freshman teams in football and basketball.

Idaho State

In 1950, Belko was hired as the head basketball coach at Idaho State College in Pocatello,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UeVXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VPYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4812%2C3216960 |work=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Belko is named new head coach |date=April 24, 1950 |page=15}} which became a four-year school in 1947. His Bengals soon dominated the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and made the NCAA tournament in four consecutive seasons (1953–56). The NCAA tournament field varied from 22 to 25 teams in the mid-1950s.

Belko's six-season record at Idaho State was , and he was named the conference coach of the year three times. The Bengals' conference record in his last four seasons was . This success led to his hiring in June 1956 at Oregon, then a member of the Pacific Coast Conference.

Oregon

Belko was the head coach of the Ducks for fifteen seasons and posted a record, with a record in conference play. His teams made the NCAA tournament twice, in 1960 and 1961, as an independent. The 1960 team advanced to the Western regional finals, the national quarterfinals (Elite 8). After five years as an independent, Oregon joined the Pacific-8 Conference (then "AAWU") for the 1964–65 season. In February 1970, the Ducks upset three-time defending national champion UCLA at McArthur Court in Eugene, winning 78–65 to snap the Bruins' 25-game winning streak.

Following a pair of 17–9 seasons, Belko stepped down in April 1971 at age 55 and remained in Eugene as the assistant athletic director at Oregon.

Administrative career

After a year as assistant athletic director, Belko left the Oregon athletic department in 1972 to direct the Far West Classic basketball tournament in Portland for three years.

Head coaching record

College

| name = Idaho State Bengals | conference = Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | startyear = 1950 | endyear = 1956 | season = 1950–51 | name = Idaho State | overall = 17–12 | conference = 5–5 | confstanding = 4th | postseason = | season = 1951–52 | name = Idaho State | overall = 16–11 | conference = 6–4 | confstanding = 3rd | postseason = | championship = conference | season = 1952–53 | name = Idaho State | overall = 18–7 | conference = 10–0 | confstanding = 1st | postseason = NCAA first round | championship = conference | season = 1953–54 | name = Idaho State | overall = 22–5 | conference = 9–1 | confstanding = 1st | postseason = NCAA first round | championship = conference | season = 1954–55 | name = Idaho State | overall = 18–8 | conference = 9–1 | confstanding = 1st | postseason = NCAA first round | championship = conference | season = 1955–56 | name = Idaho State | overall = 18–8 | conference = 11–1 | confstanding = 1st | postseason = NCAA first round | name = Idaho State | overall = 109–51 | confrecord = 50–12 | name = Oregon Webfoots | conference = Pacific Coast Conference | startyear = 1956 | endyear = 1959 | season = 1956–57 | name = Oregon | overall = 4–21 | conference = 2–14 | confstanding = 9th | postseason = | season = 1957–58 | name = Oregon | overall = 13–11 | conference = 6–10 | confstanding = 7th | postseason = | season = 1958–59 | name = Oregon | overall = 9–16 | conference = 3–13 | confstanding = T–8th | postseason = | conference = Independent | name = Oregon Webfoots | startyear = 1959 | endyear = 1964 | season = 1959–60 | name = Oregon | overall = 19–10 | conference = | confstanding = | postseason = NCAA Elite 8 | season = 1960–61 | name = Oregon | overall = 15–12 | conference = | confstanding = | postseason = NCAA first round | season = 1961–62 | name = Oregon | overall = 9–17 | conference = | confstanding = | postseason = | season = 1962–63 | name = Oregon | overall = 11–15 | conference = | confstanding = | postseason = | season = 1963–64 | name = Oregon | overall = 14–12 | conference = | confstanding = | postseason = | name = Oregon Webfoots | conference = AAWU / Pacific–8 Conference | startyear = 1964 | endyear = 1971 | season = 1964–65 | name = Oregon | overall = 9–17 | conference = 3–11 | confstanding = 8th | postseason = | season = 1965–66 | name = Oregon | overall = 13–13 | conference = 6–8 | confstanding = T–4th | postseason = | season = 1966–67 | name = Oregon | overall = 9–17 | conference = 1–13 | confstanding = 8th | postseason = | season = 1967–68 | name = Oregon | overall = 7–19 | conference = 2–12 | confstanding = 8th | postseason = | season = 1968–69 | name = Oregon | overall = 13–13 | conference = 5–9 | confstanding = T–5th | postseason = | season = 1969–70 | name = Oregon | overall = 17–9 | conference = 8–6 | confstanding = 4th | postseason = | season = 1970–71 | name = Oregon | overall = 17–9 | conference = 8–6 | confstanding = T–3rd | postseason = | name = Oregon | overall = 179–211 | confrecord = 44–102 | overall = 288–262

References

References

1. Killen, John H.. (December 21, 1976). "Belko is named commissioner of Big Sky". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
2. (November 21, 1936). "Belko is All-American candidate's brother". Spokesman-Review.
3. Johnson, Mac R.. (August 25, 1944). "All-American Belko killed". Warsaw (IN) Daily Union.
4. Strite, Dick. (January 14, 1960). "Highclimber". Eugene Register-Guard.
5. (November 20, 1936). "Steve Belko brother of Trojan line star". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
6. (November 11, 1936). "Idaho leaves to meet Utah". Spokesman-Review.
7. Cawood, Neil. (April 20, 1971). "Belko out, Penn coach succeeds". Eugene Register-Guard.
8. (December 24, 1936). "Idaho defeats Scalers, 36–34". Spokesman-Review.
9. (October 17, 1937). "Vandals tie Utah Staters". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
10. (April 12, 1937). "Steve Belko passes baseball at Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
11. (March 9, 1943). "Lewiston and Coeur d'Alene to meet this weekend in north Idaho playoff". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
12. (September 19, 1946). "Belko accepts U Idaho coaching job". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
13. Derr, Allen. (February 12, 1950). "Steve Belko, Idaho frosh coach, reverses tradition". Spokesman-Review.
14. (April 25, 1950). "Vandal frosh coach Steve Belko named head man at Idaho State". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
15. (June 3, 1956). "New Webfoot coach won four straight titles at Idaho State". Eugene Register-Guard.
16. (June 3, 1956). "Steve Belko appointed head basketball coach at Oregon". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
17. Wyant, Dan. (February 22, 1970). "Ducks stun UCLA". Eugene Register-Guard.
18. (April 21, 1971). "Quakers' Harter replacing Belko". Spokesman-Review.
19. (December 21, 1976). "Belko gets Big Sky czar post". Spokesman-Review.
20. (December 17, 1980). "Belko says he'll quit; Big Sky search is on". Spokesman-Review.

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