Lute Olson to speak at Augsburg's
75th Anniversary/Hall of Fame Celebration Oct. 7
Pictured at right, Lute Olson (wearing No.
24) and his Augsburg teammates in a 1955-56 men's basketball
team photo.
Lute Olson is an Auggie through and through.
From
his days as a multi-sport star at Augsburg in the 1950s to his current
career as one of the most respected college basketball
coaches in America,
Olson has never forgotten his Augsburg roots.
"I was looking for a school interested in
individuals when I came to Augsburg, and that's what I found," Olson
said in a 1985 interview in the Augsburg Now. "You were a student
first, and an athlete second. I felt fortunate to get more than just
an academic and athletic experience in my college days.
Augsburg's emphasis on developing the total person -- intellectual, athletic
and spiritual -- was important to me."
Important enough that whenever Augsburg
has asked the current University
of Arizona men's basketball coach to help, he has always come through.
And he will come through again for his alma mater on Thursday, Oct. 7,
when he will be the keynote speaker at Augsburg's 75th Anniversary of
Athletics/Hall of Fame Celebration. The event, with a social hour at
5:30 p.m. and dinner
at 6:45 p.m. at the Christensen Center, is the kickoff to the 75th
anniversary of athletics celebration.
The event will combine the Homecoming
week tradition of the induction of former student-athletes into the Augsburg
Athletic Hall of Fame with a motivational talk by Olson, who has
been a generous friend of Augsburg throughout his career.
A native of
Mayville, N.D., Olson learned the value of education and hard work growing
up in a single-parent home -- his father died when
he was
five, and
he took a job on a farm as a sixth-grader. Olson played football (senior
co-captain) and basketball all four years, while joining the baseball
team in his senior
year.
He kept an ambitious schedule, including working
in the spring, "to
get the bills paid," and graduated with majors in history and physical
education. Plus, he married his high-school sweetheart, Bobbi Russell,
in 1953, whom he credits with helping put him through college.
Since graduating
from Augsburg in 1956, Olson has made his mark in the coaching arena,
moving from high schools in Minnesota and California
to the college
ranks. After a year at Long Beach State (Calif.) in 1973-74, when he
led the school to a 24-2 mark, he returned to the Midwest to coach at
the University
of Iowa. Olson led the Hawkeyes to national prominence and a berth in
the NCAA
Final Four in 1980, earning National Coach of the Year honors for the
first time. His Hawkeyes reached the NCAA tournament five times in his
nine years
at Iowa, and he became the winningest coach in school history (168-90).
In
1983, Olson moved to the desert Southwest and his current position
at the University
of Arizona. Olson has an incredible record of success with the Wildcats,
leading Arizona to the NCAA tournament the last 15 years in a row. Arizona
has reached the Final Four three times and claimed the national championship
in 1996-97, earning his second National Coach of the Year honor.
At Arizona,
he has a career mark of 395-120 and an incredible winning percentage
of .774 in Pac-10 Conference play -- second only to UCLA legend John
Wooden in
conference history. His is among just six coaches in Pac-10 history to
ever win 200 or more league games, and his 587-212 record in 25 years
place him
among the top 40 coaches in terms of wins in college basketball history.
His
tailored, classy demeanor on the court, combined with his tireless philanthrophy
for a variety of causes both in Arizona and at Augsburg,
have made him one
of the nation's most admired college coaches.
And it all started four
decades ago at a little college in Minneapolis.
"At Augsburg there was always a concern for you as a person first, then
as a student and also as an athlete," Olson said in 1992. "There
was always somebody there to help. You never had to wonder whether you
had to go
it alone. You always had someone you could talk with, someone that would
provide the assistance that you needed."
More Lute Olson Links:
Lute
Olson's biography from the University of Arizona's athletic web page
(FansOnly.com)
A
great Lute Olson feature -- "The loves of Lute's life" from
the Portland Oregonian (Oregon Live.com)
University
of Arizona's men's basketball web page (FansOnly.com)
A recent interview
with Lute Olson (FansOnly.com)
An
interview with Lute Olson after his Arizona Wildcats won the 1997 NCAA Final
Four (asapsports.com)
