Hall of Fame
Mike Belseth, a 1971 Mayville State graduate, has a special distinction: game-changer. As a high school football coach in Breckenridge, Minn., to try to bring equity to football playoffs, he proposed and successfully lobbied for the current Minnesota State Football Play-off System. He began his coaching career in Thompson, N.D., guiding the American Legion baseball team to their first state tournament appearance. Beginning in 1971, he was part of the Breckenridge system, where he taught in his college subject areas and coached football. He was named head coach in 1975, and in 17 years, his teams notched a 135-50 record, appearing in several state play-off games. He was named Heart 'O Lakes Conference Coach of the Year numerous times. In 1988, after guiding the team to winning the Minnesota Class B state football championship, he was named Minnesota Class B Football Coach of the Year. He is a member of the 25-Year Club of the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association and is on the Minnesota all-time winningest high school coaches list with a winning percentage of 72.97%. In his career, he also helped coach track and wrestling
