NCAA Basketball: Ranking the last 25 national title winning head coaches

A legend of the Pac-10, Lute Olson spent more than three decades as a head coach, doing most of his damage at Iowa before a long tenure at Arizona. His Wildcats cut down the nets in 1997 to give him his long-awaited national title. There were five Final Fours in his impressive career, but let’s take a closer look at the whole picture.

Like many before and after him, Olson’s career began at the high school level, spending a dozen years bouncing between high schools in California. He succeeded Jerry Tarkanian at Long Beach State and spent just one solid season before being hired by Iowa in 1974.

His Hawkeyes made the Final Four in 1980. By the end of his tenure, Iowa had evolved into a yearly Big Ten contender. He left for Arizona in 1983. This is where the real success began for Olson.

Olson’s Wildcats made 23 straight NCAA Tournament appearances including four Final Fours and that 1997 National Championship. They were a perennial Pac-10 contender and he won 20 or more games in all but two of his 24 seasons.

Studs like Miles Simon and Jason Terry helped push that 1997 team to the championship. He built impressive teams year after year. Arizona was a complete mess when he arrived, but he truly built one of the nation’s most consistent programs.

His career ended abruptly after the 2006-07 NCAA season, though he left an incredible run of production behind him. Olson built Arizona completely onto the national scene, achieving great success at each of his stops.

He brought in prospects like Steve Kerr and Gilbert Arenas and turned them into NBA players. He was a true Hall of Famer and one of the sport’s most successful and highly regarded coaches.