As Lute Olson enters his 21st season at the University of Arizona, he has established both the Wildcat basketball program and himself as two of the preeminent figures on the collegiate basketball landscape.

Whether it?s the 1997 national championship, four Final Four appearances, 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, 10 Pacific-10 Conference titles, or the nation?s best winning percentage over the past 16 seasons, basketball excellence and the University of Arizona go hand-in-hand.

Olson, now in his fourth decade as a head coach, also has a title that befits those monumental accomplishments ? Hall of Famer ? as he was selected for enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on June 5, 2002. In a career full of individual and team accolades, this honor ranks among the best. True to form, Olson shared the recognition with his family, coaches and players.

?I think it ranks right up there with the NCAA Championship and the 1986 World Championship,? said Olson. ?This is definitely one of the special things that has happened in my career. I am very thankful for the recognition and opportunity for enshrinement. I want to thank Bobbi and my family for their sacrifices in addition to the former assistant coaches and former players who also share in this honor as well.

Set to begin his 31st season as a head coach on the NCAA Division I level with time spent at Arizona, Iowa and Long Beach State, Olson is one of just 40 head coaches in NCAA history to win 600 or more games. He owns a career record 691-239, which adds up to a gaudy winning percentage of .743. He has tallied a mark of 499-147 (.772) in his 20 years at Arizona, while being named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year seven times (1986, ?88, ?89, ?93, ?94, ?98, 2003). Olson also has guided Arizona to 16 consecutive 20-win seasons (the longest active streak in the nation), and is one of only five coaches in NCAA history to record 25 or more 20-win seasons.

Long considered one of the top coaches in Pac-10 history, he has led Arizona to the aforementioned 10 league titles, with the last coming in 2003. He has a career Pac-10 mark of 279-77 (.784), and the 279 conference victories is the second-most in league history ? trailing only John Wooden (304). Olson is the No. 2 coach in Pac-10 history for career winning percentage for conference games with more than two years experience, once again trailing only the legendary Wooden (.810/304-74).

 >>> CONTINUED