Blaine Taylor (2022) - Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame - University of Montana Athletics

Blaine Taylor

Induction:
2022
Class:
1981

Blaine Taylor
Men's Basketball Player: 1977-81, Head Coach: 1991-98
Missoula, Mont. (Hellgate HS)

One of the five winningest coaches of all-time at UM, Taylor was 141-66 in his seven-year stint and has a school-record winning percentage of 68%.

His 1991-92 team set a school record with 27 wins (27-4). In '92 UM won the Big Sky title, advanced to the NCAA tourney, and he was named Big Sky Coach of the Year.

As a player, he led UM in assists his sophomore, junior, and senior years and held a (then) school record for career free throw percentage of 82.4%.

He received both the Naseby Rhinehart Award and the Allan Nielson Award in 1981 and was also named to the Big Sky All-Tournament team that season.

After departing Montana, he won a school-record 239 games (239-144) as the head coach at Old Dominion in 12 seasons and led the Monarchs to four NCAA tournaments.

He was named the Colonial League Coach of the Year in 2006. His ODU squads had seven 20-win seasons, and his 2005 team set a school mark with 28 wins.

Quoting Taylor: "I was born and raised in Missoula, and I just remember walking into the Mercantile, or a 4B's restaurant and seeing pictures of guys like Wild Bill Kelly and those that were in the Hall of Fame, and feeling like they were someone really special. It never dawned on me at the time that I'd have a chance to join that company one day. I'm just flooded with thoughts of how much I admired those people, how grateful I am, and how humbling it is to be a part of it."