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Legendary college basketball coach passes away at 85
Published:
The world has lost a coaching legend.
Hall of Famer and former Arizona and Iowa head basketball coach Lute Olson has died at the age of 85. He was hospitalized last year after suffering a stroke and was recently placed into hospice care.
Olson built the Arizona basketball program into a powerhouse during his long tenure with the Wildcats, coaching the program from 1983-2008. His career record at Arizona was 589-187 and led the Wildcats to 23 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
While at Arizona, Olson guided the Wildcats to four Final Four appearances and led the team to a national championship in 1997. Olson’s only losing season at Arizona was his first year on the job, as the Wildcats finished the 1983-84 campaign with an 11-17 mark. Arizona hit the 20-win mark 22 times during his career.
Prior to taking over at Arizona, Olson was also the head coach at Iowa, where he served from 1974-83. He compiled a 167-91 record and made five NCAA Tournament appearances as the coach of the Hawkeyes. Iowa reached the Final Four during the 1979-80 season.
Olson was responsible for five Final Four appearances, 11 Pac-10 titles, a B1G title and a national championship. He was a seven-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year and a one-time recipient of the B1G Coach of the Year Award.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB