Legendary University of Arizona Basketball Coach Lute Olson Dies

TUCSON, AZ — Former University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson, who led the team to its first NCAA championship and was named to the Hall of Fame, died Thursday.

Olson suffered a stroke in 2019 and entered hospice care recently before passing away at the age of 85.

During his 24 seasons as head coach of the men's basketball team, Olson led the Wildcats to victory with four Final Four appearances at the NCAA and won the top title in 1997. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and a statue of him was erected on campus in 2018. He was named PAC-10 Coach of the Year a total of seven times.

"Lute Olson was so much more than a basketball coach," University of Arizona president Robert C. Robbins said in a statement. "He was an educator, a motivator, a husband, a father, a grandfather and a friend to so many. He was a true leader in every sense of the word and displayed such integrity and compassion in every endeavor. While Coach will no longer be with us, his presence will be felt for generations to come."

Prior to his tenure at Arizona, Olson completed stints at the University of Iowa and Long Beach State. During his many seasons with U of A, he amassed a record of 589 wins and 187 losses. The team won only four games in the year before he joined the Wildcats.

"He had no weaknesses as a coach," said current Arizona men's basketball coach Sean Miller. "He was a tremendous teacher of the game. He was a relentless recruiter. He was an astute evaluator of talent. He was a fierce and confident leader. He was more than a coach to all of his players."

After Olson left his post in 2008, he was a constant fixture at U of A basketball games and his presence has been felt throughout southern Arizona. U of A has boasted the highest game attendance in the PAC-12 since Olson's second season with the team.

"I am forever grateful to be a part of the basketball program and community that he impacted so immensely," said Miller. "Coach O will certainly be missed, but always remembered by us."