TUCSON, Ariz.
– Lute Olson announced today that he will retire
as head coach of The University of Arizona men’s basketball team, effective
immediately.
UA Athletics Director Jim Livengood announced
that a national search will begin soon to find a permanent
replacement.
“This was not a decision that was made
lightly,” Olson said. “I’ve had a wonderful run at The University of
Arizona. I leave with a great sense of
pride in what we have accomplished here.”
“At this stage in my life, I want to devote my
time to my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, family and
friends. I look forward to watching
Wildcat basketball and visiting with my colleagues in the coaching
profession. It is time to pass the
program on to a younger staff, to transition the university to the next
generation of
basketball.”
“To my family, all of the players who have put
on our uniform, our fans in Tucson and all of the great supporters of this
basketball program, I offer my heartfelt thanks for your support, and I look
forward to reconnecting with each of you,” Olson said. “The University of Arizona will always be a basketball
school. It will continue to
flourish.”
UA President Robert N. Shelton said, “Lute
Olson transformed the UA and Tucson into premier basketball country.
Arizona now
stands in the company of great college basketball programs, and we have Lute to
thank for that. We will sorely miss his brilliance as our head coach, but we
will benefit from the legacy he leaves for decades to
come.”
“We will never replace Lute Olson. But we do
have to find a successor, and we have to move quickly,” Livengood said. “I
intend to recruit a coach who is worthy to inherit Lute’s astounding
legacy.”
The announcement from Olson, who has served as
Arizona’s head
coach since before any of his current team members were born, marked the end of
a remarkable era in UA
sports.
He was Arizona’s head coach for 25 years, starting in
1983. His leadership made the UA a national powerhouse in basketball, thrilling
generations of fans in 25 consecutive appearances in the NCAA basketball
tournament that included four Final Four appearances, two national championship
matchups and one national
title.
Olson has a
career record of 780-280 (.736) in 34 seasons as an NCAA Division I head coach
and 589-187 (.759) in 24 years at Arizona. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial
Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 27, 2002, Olson is one of only 16 coaches in
basketball history to tally 1,000 career victories (covering all levels; Olson
also coached on the high school and junior college levels), and has the most
Pac-10 wins (327) of any coach in league
history.
During his
quarter century at Arizona, the Wildcats have won one national championship
(1997), played in the national championship game (2001), participated in four
Final Fours (1988, 1994, 1997, 2001), won 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, four
Pac-10 Tournament crowns (1988, ‘89, ‘90, 2002) and been to the NCAA Tournament
for 23 consecutive seasons, which is the longest active and second-longest
streak in NCAA history (North Carolina,
27).
In
his collegiate career, Olson has produced 52 NBA Draft picks, including 31 at
Arizona, and
coached 19 Wildcat All-Americans. He’s led UA to 20 consecutive 20-win seasons
and has 29 overall in his career, making him one of only three head coaches in
NCAA history to record 29 or more 20-win
seasons.
