TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Longtime Arizona basketball coach and Hall of Famer Lute Olson has died, according to his family.
Olson spent 24 seasons with the Wildcats, revitalizing a fan base in the desert while transforming a program that had been to the NCAA Tournament just three times in 79 years before he was hired in 1983.
Arizona began a string of 25 straight NCAA Tournament appearances in Olson’s second season. The streak would have been the third-longest in NCAA history, but the 1999 and 2008 appearances were later vacated by the NCAA for impermissible benefits to players and recruiting violations.
The Wildcats won the 1997 national championship under Olson with a team led by Mike Bibby, Jason Terry and Miles Simon. Olson’s Arizona teams reached the Final Four four times and lost the 2001 national title game to Duke.
The cause of death wasn’t immediately released by his family.
