Joe Behling came to Belmont as a walk-on with only one year of high school basketball under his belt. He left as arguably one of the greatest players in Belmont history.

Behling became the first Belmont student-athlete to be named NAIA All-American three times (1988, 1989, 1990). In 1989, Behling was named NAIA National Player of the year, as he scored an astonishing 1,071 points - including a program-record 58 points against Lipscomb Mar. 4 - in leading Belmont to its first NAIA National Tournament.

Behling is the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,823 points, and his 31.5 points per game scoring average in 1989 may never be approached.

In April 1990, Behling had his No. 54 retired, one of only two Belmont Basketball jerseys ever retired.

Behling played professionally in Argentina, France and the CBA. He was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2003.