Former BYU basketball standout Mel Hutchins, who led the Cougars to the NIT National Championship in 1951, died Wednesday near his home in Encinitas, Calif., at the age of 90.
Hutchins (No. 14) and his former BYU teammate Roland Minson (No. 11) had their jerseys retired at the Marriott Center during a 2013 game against Portland.
“These players helped put BYU basketball on the map,” BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said in the halftime ceremony.
When BYU won the 1951 NIT at Madison Square Garden in New York City, it was considered an equivalent to the NCAA tournament.