Pimm replaced former Utah coach Bill Foster, who had accepted the same position with the Duke University Blue Devils, in 1974 after serving 13 years as an assistant coach at the school. As coach of the Utes, Pimm led Utah to a 173-86 record, including four Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The Utes also won 3 Western Athletic Conference basketball titles and only had one losing season during his stay. In the 1983 NCAA Men's basketball tournament, Pimm's Utes were seeded 10th in the west regional, but led by Pace Mannion, Utah upset 7th seed Illinois and 2nd seed UCLA before losing to eventual champion North Carolina State. However, the relationship between Jerry Pimm and the Utah Athletic Department became strained. Not seeing eye to eye, Pimm decided to leave the University of Utah for the University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to Pimm's career at UCSB, the Gauchos program had suffered through seven straight losing seasons. After a shaky start, which saw three more losing seasons, the Gauchos turned it around in the 1986-87 season, where they finished with a 16-13 record. The next season would be Pimm's best at UCSB. Led by conference player of the year Brian Shaw, the Gauchos went 22-8, including an 18-point win over Jim Valvano's North Carolina State team, and two wins over Jerry Tarkanian's UNLV Runnin' Rebels. UCSB earned its first ever NCAA Tournament berth, but they lost to the University of Maryland in the first round, 92-82. In 1990, UCSB once again made the NCAA Tournament, this time beating the University of Houston 70-66 in the first round before falling to #1 seed Michigan State 62-58 points in the 2nd round. Under Pimm, UCSB also played in three National Invitation Tournaments. In the mid-late 90s, UCSB had suffered through five straight losing seasons, and Pimm resigned, although he later took a job with the athletic department. Pimm went 217-187 in 16 seasons with the Gauchos. He holds an all-time record of 390-273 in 25 years as a head coach. He assisted Lute Olson with the US national team at the 1986 Goodwill Games and the 1986 FIBA World Championship, winning the gold medal both times. Jamie Dixon and Ben Howland both were assistant coaches for Pimm while at UCSB.
