SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah Athletics Department announced its 2026 Hall of Fame Class. In those being honored in September is long-time Gaucho men's basketball head coach Jerry Pimm.
 
Pimm was the Head Basketball Coach for the University of Utah from 1974-1983 before coming to UC Santa Barbara. Under his leadership, the Runnin' Utes won 66.8 percent of their games, going 173-86, and won 68.8 percent of their conference games. In total, Pimm and the Runnin' Utes won three Western Athletic Conference championships and had winning seasons in eight of his nine years at the helm. He coached five NCAA tournament teams, including four teams that made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
 
Pimm spent more than 22 years with the program after joining the Utah staff in 1961 as an assistant coach. As an assistant, he helped the Runnin' Utes to the 1965-66 NCAA Final Four and WAC Championship.
 
PIMM AT UC SANTA BARBARA
Few figures have shaped UC Santa Barbara men's basketball quite like Jerry Pimm. A nationally recognized player and accomplished coach, Pimm brought decades of experience and a winning tradition to UC Santa Barbara, changing the trajectory of the Gaucho program. After beginning his coaching career at USC and spending 22 seasons at the University of Utah, Pimm arrived in Santa Barbara in 1983. When Pimm took over, the Gauchos were coming off seven consecutive losing seasons. Within four years, Pimm engineered one of the most remarkable turnarounds in program history. In 1987-88, he guided the Gauchos to a 22-8 record, then the best in school history at the time, and the program's first NCAA Division I Tournament berth.
 
Two seasons later, the Gauchos returned to the NCAA tournament and earned a first-round victory over Houston, marking one of the signature moments in school history. Over 15 seasons at Santa Barbara, Pimm compiled 222 victories, the most by any head coach in program history at the time, and earned seven Coach of the Year honors. His overall record of 395-287 reflects a sustained commitment to excellence across decades of collegiate coaching. Just as importantly, Pimm prioritized academics, graduating 92 percent of his players during his time in Santa Barbara. Pimm was inducted into the UC Santa Barbara Hall of Fame in 2005, a fitting honor for a coach who ushered in a new era of success and established a foundation that continues to influence Gaucho basketball today.