Steve Belko

Teams coached: Idaho State Bengals, Oregon Webfoots
Idaho State record: 109-51 (.681)
Oregon record: 179-211 (.459)
Overall record: 288-262 (.524)

Stephen Maxmillian Belko
Born February 14, 1916
Died May 12, 2000
Hometown: Gary, Indiana
Alma Mater: University of Idaho (BA, 1939)
Graduated from Froebel HS (IN) then attended Compton JC (CA) for one season
Had plans to follow his older brother to USC, but when Trojans’ assistant Forrest Twogood accepted the head coaching job at Idaho he convinced Belko to play for the Vandals instead
- Played both football (HB/QB) and basketball (G/F) at Idaho
Became the head basketball coach at St. Maries HS (ID) after graduating in 1939
- Then spent three years as the head coach at Lewiston HS (ID)
- Spent several years serving the US Navy during WWII as a Russian interpreter
Returned to alma mater Idaho after the War, serving as an assistant football and basketball coach (the latter under head coaches Guy Wicks and Charles Finley)
Hired in 1950 to be the head coach at rival Idaho State in Pocatello, ID
- Went 109-51 over six years, winning four Rocky Mountain titles and going to four-straight NCAA Tournaments
Left for Oregon in 1956, coaching the (then) Webfoots for the next fifteen seasons
- Was 179-211 overall, going to the NCAA Tournament twice including an Elite Eight trip in 1960
Stepped away from coaching in 1971 and spent the next year as assistant AD at Oregon
Worked as an administrator for ten years until his retirement in 1981
- Served as the Commissioner of the Big Sky Conference from 1977-81
Passed away in May 2000 at a hospital in Boise, ID; he was 84 years old