NAISMITH AWARDS NEWS RELEASE
NAISMITH AWARDS SITE

ATLANTA -- Augsburg College alumnus Lute Olson '56, a member of several halls of fame for his achievements in basketball coaching, has been named as the 2013 Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Men's College Basketball by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

Olson will be honored at the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Naismith Awards Banquet on March 19 in Atlanta. He will be honored along with former University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt, who was named as the 2013 Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Women's Basketball.

According to a Dec. 11 news release on the Naismith Awards website: "Created in 1982, the Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Men's Basketball Award is presented annually to an individual whose extraordinary efforts have made contributions of outstanding significance and have created a long-lasting positive impact on the game of basketball. The winner displays character, integrity and dignity, and has contributed mightily to the growth, success and viability of basketball. To be eligible, an individual must have been involved with the sport in a capacity related to coaching, broadcasting, college administration or the news media. Curt Gowdy won the inaugural award."

"I am sincerely honored to be selected as the 2013 Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Men's Basketball,” Olson said in the Naismith Awards press release. “To be included in this distinguished group of men is humbling. Coaching has always been my passion, an extension of who I am. Coaching never felt like work, so to be honored with this award is especially gratifying.”

“Lute Olson's storied coaching career and long list of achievements speak for themselves, but his off the court endeavors, and devotion to family and players is something that we all strive to emulate,” said Eric Oberman, Atlanta Tipoff Club executive director, in the Naismith Awards press release. “We are a better organization with Lute being a part of the Naismith Awards family.”

In 2002, Olson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, one of many honors received by the native of Mayville, N.D. He earned the John R. Wooden "Legends of Coaching" and the Clair Bee Coach-of-the-Year awards in 2001 and earned national Coach of the Year honors in 1988 and 1990 as well. Olson was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977, the Pima County (Ariz.) Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Two Harbors (Minn.) Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. He was inducted into the Pac-10 Conference Hall of Honor in 2009.

Olson was an Augsburg student from 1952-56, playing three sports (football, basketball, baseball), earning a double major in history and physical education in 1956. Olson was Augsburg's Honor Athlete, the highest honor given to a senior student-athlete, in 1956 (Click here for a 2001 story on Olson's life at Augsburg from the Arizona Daily Star).

Olson has never forgotten his Augsburg roots, often returning to the campus to participate in fundraisers and special events. In interviews, he has spoken fondly of his Augsburg education, crediting his years at the Minneapolis school with shaping his future as a college educator and coach.

"I'll always remember ... that the people there had a huge effect on me," Olson said in a 2001 interview with the Arizona Republic newspaper.

"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 magazine. "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."

"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 a 1992 interview. "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."

Olson coached in high schools in Minnesota and California before beginning his collegiate coaching career at Long Beach (Calif.) City College in 1970. After coaching at Division I Long Beach State in 1973-74, he was hired as head coach at the University of Iowa, finishing with a 186-90 record there in in 14 seasons, including a trip to the Final Four in 1980. In 1983, he moved to Arizona, where he coached the Wildcats for 24 years and led the team to four Final Fours, including the national championship in 1997 and national runner-up honors in 2001 in Minneapolis, finishing with a 587-187 record with the Wildcats. Olson finished his collegiate career with a 780-280 record.

NOTE: This story includes information from Dec. 11 Naismith Awards press release and information from a previous Augsburg news release regarding Lute Olson.