The UA will show a video tribute to legendary coach Lute Olson during halftime of Thursday night's game against Stanford in McKale Center. Tipoff between the Pac-12 regular-season champion Wildcats and unranked Cardinal is scheduled for 7 p.m.; the game will be shown on ESPN2.
Olson, who led the Wildcats to Final Four appearances in 1988, 1994, 1997 and 2001 and won the '97 national championship, died in August 2020 at age 85.
Due to the pandemic, the UA held off on honoring Olson's life until fans were allowed to gather in McKale Center. Arizona held a public tribute for Olson at McKale last Sept. 12, timed so that many current and former Wildcat players would be able to attend before their seasons began.
Thursday's Olson tribute was initially scheduled for halftime of the Wildcats' Dec. 2 conference opener against Washington. The night before the game, however, the Huskies canceled due to COVID-19 issues within their program.
For more coverage of Olson's life and career, click here.
Photos: Arizona Wildcats basketball coach Lute Olson
Lute Olson
Updated
UA basketball head coach Lute Olson and player Sean Elliott during their game against USC in 1989.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson playing guard in football in 1955.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson as a junior in high school in 1951.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson (right) with friend Wes Bodin as they appeared in the Augsburg College school paper on Friday, November 21, 1952, Lute's freshman year at the Minneapolis school where he majored in History.
Lute Olson
Updated
Rookie coach: Lute Olson knew his X's and O's in his first job at Mahnomen High in 1956-57, and, as a yearbook photo suggests, won over players and bosses with his personality.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson, head coach Marina HS, Huntington Beach, Calif. 1967-68.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson as head coach of his 1970-71 Long Beach Community College basketball team.
Lute Olson
Updated
Iowa head coach Lute Olson, center, and his assistant coaches leap off the bench in disbelief after the referees failed to call traveling against Villanova during Friday night's NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal game in Kansas City, Mo., on March 25, 1983.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson talks with wife Bobbi before a press conference in which he will formally become the new head coach of men's basketball at the U of A in 1983.
Lute Olson
Updated
When Olson joined the UA in 1983, he brought with him a commanding presence. "When he walks over to his office with you," one player said, "you feel like you're with the president."
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson talks to his players during practice at McKale Center in 1983.
Lute Olson
Updated
Fans of coach Lute Olson in McKale Center in 1984.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson (center) coaching his 1984 squad.
Lute Olson
Updated
University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson during a press conference in 1985.
Lute Olson
Updated
At the opening gala for Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, on April 27, 1985, Mrs. Bobbi Olson talks with Willard Scott as her husband and University of Arizona basketball coach, Lute Olson, looks on.
Lute Olson
Updated
University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson gathers his players together during a time out against Alabama on March 15, 1985.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona coach Lute Olson coaching at his youth basketball camp in 1985.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona coach Lute Olson at a charity bike event in 1987 with assistant Kevin O'Neill, far left, and player Harvey Mason, far right.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona State head coach Bill Frieder, left, and University of Arizona head coach Lute Olson appeared in several funny commercials for Valley National Bank in the mid-1980s.
Lute Olson
Updated
Recovering from knee surgery, Steve Kerr gets a visit from University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson and teammate Sean Elliott at the St. Mary's pediatric ward on July 22, 1986 in Tucson. Margo Brennan, who would become his future wife, sits by Kerr's side. Olson awarded Kerr, who was on the USA Basketball team, with the Gold medal from the FIBA World Championship game in Spain where he was injured. Because of the injury Kerr missed the entire 1986-87 season. Photo by Charlie Leight / Arizona Daily Star
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona head coach Lute Olson donned a cowboy hat for the Tucson Rodeo in 1988.
Arizona vs. Oklahoma / 1988 NCAA Final Four
Updated
Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson during open practice prior to the NCAA Final Four semi-final against Oklahoma on April 2, 1988, in Kansas City, Mo.
Arizona vs. Oklahoma / 1988 NCAA Final Four
Updated
Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson eschews autograph seekers prior to the NCAA Final Four semi-final against Oklahoma on April 2, 1988, in Kansas City, Mo. Olson was 0-3 in the NCAA Tournament in his first four seasons with the Wildcats before the magical 1987-88 run, when UA advanced to its first Final Four.
032522-tuc-spt-elliott-p3
Updated
Coach Lute Olson is beaming while listening to star player Sean Elliott at a rally and parade for the 1988 UA men's basketball team, which made the Final Four.
Lute Olson
Updated
Coach Lute Olson with player Steve Kerr, now the coach of the Golden State Warriors, at a rally and parade for the men's basketball team at University of Arizona stadium in Tucson after the 1988 NCAA Final Four.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona Coach Lute Olson in his office in Sept. 1988, with the Pac-10 Trophy (foreground). The team made it into the 1988 NCAA Final Four earlier in the year.
Lute Olson
Updated
A tense Lute Olson watches from the bench during a game in 1989.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona head coach Lute Olson reacts to an official's call at McKale in January, 1989.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona coach Lute Olson, left, during a tense moment versus Washington State during the Pac-10 Tournament at the Forum in Los Angeles in 1989.
Lute Olson
Updated
Coach Dale Brown of Louisiana State University, chatting with University of Arizona head coach Lute Olson during a basketball game at McKale Center, Tucson, on Dec. 7, 1991.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona State coach Bill Frieder chats with friend Lute Olson, head coach of the University of Arizona, in 1991.
Lute Olson, Kenny Lofton
Updated
Former University of Arizona basketball player Kenny Lofton, left, greets coach Lute Olson at a Cleveland Indians baseball spring training game at Hi Corbett Field on March 31, 1992.
1994 Arizona Wildcats Final Four basketball team
Updated
Arizona coach Lute Olson and star point guard Damon Stoudamire embrace during the 1994 NCAA Final Four in Charlotte, N.C.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona head coach Lute Olson smiles in front of cheering fans at Arizona Stadium on April 5, 1994, after returning from the Final Four in Charlotte, NC.
Lute Olson
Updated
Matt Brase, then in the seventh grade, celebrates Christmas 1994 with Lute Olson, his grandfather.
Lute Olson
Updated
Michael Dickerson and Lute share a moment near the end of the game against North Carolina in the Final Four in 1997.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson and the Wildcats celebrate during the end of the second half of their NCAA Final Four Championship game against Kentucky in Indianapolis in 1997.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona coach Lute Olson holds up the net for the fans after Arizona beat Kentucky 84-79 in overtime to win the national championship Monday, March 31, 1997, at the NCAA Final Four tournament in Indianapolis.
Lute Olson
Updated
UA head coach Lute Olson hold the Divsion I NCAA Championship trophy with his team from left; Jason Lee, Miles Simon, Jason Terry, Lute, Justin Wessel, and Bennett Davison after they defeated Kentucky in the 1997 Final Four in Indianapolis.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson and wife, Bobbi Olson wave to fans after the Wildcats won the NCAA National Championship in Indianapolis in 1997.
Lute Olson
Updated
"You could make a fortune!" Jay Leno told Lute Olson during "The Tonight Show", handing him a can of 'Lute Spray." Just say "One spray, and you too can be a wildcat." Olson appeared on the show on April 2, 1997, after the team won the NCAA National Championship.
Lute Olson
Updated
Sakura chef Steve Yim and Wildcat guard Jason Terry watch as UA coach Lute Olson adds egg to fried rice during the Lute Olson Celebrity Chefs benefit in Nov. 1997.
Lute Olson
Updated
In this 1998 photo, Cheryl Bell, Steve Tobias, Patrick Coco, Tom Alexander and Brian Ralston are all sporting the new" Lute lids" a rubbery white hair piece that is suppose to make you look like Lute Olson.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona coach Lute Olson, left, his wife Bobbi, former athletic director Cedric Dempsey, AD Jim Livengood and university president Peter Likens during a ceremony at a game at McKale Center on Feb. 26, 2000.
Lute Olson
Updated
UA's head basketball coach Lute Olson and his wife Bobbi share a moment before unveiling the new floor to McKale Center in a post game ceremony in 2000.
Lute Olson
Updated
UA basketball head coach Lute Olson (right) has five talented freshmen for the 2001 season, including Channing Frye, Isaiah Fox, Dennis Latimore, Salim Stoudamire and Will Bynum. Photo by David Sanders.
Lute Olson
Updated
University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson waves to the crowd as he is introduced during the midnight madness practice game at the McKale Center on Oct. 12. 2001.
Lute Olson
Updated
UA head coach Lute Olson with legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden get ready to present the Wildcats with the Wooden Classic trophy after UA defeated Purdue in 2001.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson checks on Loren Woods after Woods hurt his ankle during practice in the Alamodome in San Antonio,Texas, during the NCAA Tournament in 2001.
Steve Kerr
Updated
Former University of Arizona stars Steve Kerr (left) and Sean Elliott greet UA coach Lute Olson in March, 2001.
Arizona Wildcats in NCAA Tournament
Updated
Lute Olson reacts during the first half of UA vs. Duke NCAA Championship in Minneapolis, MN, April 2, 2001.
A look back at UA Commencement ceremonies
Updated
University of Arizona head basketball coach Lute Olson, who gave the commencement speech to UA's 124th graduating class May 12, 2001, laughs as he recalls how preparing for this speech was harder than preparing for Illinois, Michigan State, and Duke, all teams that UA had to play against in the this year's Final Four.
Lute Olson
Updated
Members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2002, pose with their Hall of Fame jerseys, from left, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, coaches Lute Olson and Kay Yow, Biserka Petrovic (the mother of the late Drazen Petrovic), coach Larry Brown and Tex Harrison (representing the Harlem Globetrotters) on Wednesday, June 5, 2002, in Los Angeles.
Lute Olson
Updated
Friends and fans in the foreground wait for a memorial service for Lute Olson's wife, Bobbi, at McKale Center in 2001. Bobbi died after a long battle with cancer.
Lute Olson
Updated
University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson reacts to a foul called by referee on Channing Frye during the NCAA Tournament on March 22, 2002
Lute Olson
Updated
University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson signs autographs at Myers Ganoung Elementary school on May 7, 2002.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson talks with Channing Frye during a game against sixth-ranked Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse in 2003.
Lute Olson
Updated
UA coach Lute Olson and his assistants rally the Wildcats in their game against Gonzaga during the 2003 NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City.
Lute Olson
Updated
Photo Illustration of Lute Olson and various stages in his life. Left to right: A junior in high school, playing football and basketball in college, his first coaching job, coaching at California, Iowa, and UA with Sean Elliott, winning the NCAA national title.
Lute Olson
Updated
An agitated Lute Olson stomps partially out onto the court during the run of play after his University of Arizona players failed to score on a possession in the second half against Mississippi State at the Arrowhead Pond in 2004.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson answers a question during a Hollywood Squares type sketch performed by members of the 1988 basketball team during the All-Star dinner Saturday, Aug. 13 2005, at the Westin La Paloma.
Lute Olson
Updated
UA's Lute Olson doesn't agree with a call in the first half against Memphis during the Chase Fiesta Bowl Classic at McKale on Dec. 20, 2006. UA won 79-71.
Lute Olson
Updated
U of A head coach Lute Olson calls a play from the sidelines in the second half against Oregon at McKale Center in 2007.
Lute Olson
Updated
UA head coach Lute Olson talks with former player Jason Gardner at a party at Lutes house in 2005.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona head coach Lute Olson reacts to a foul against the Wildcats during the second half at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2006.
Lute Olson
Updated
UA head basketball coach Lute Olson reacts after crossing the finish line with his wife Christine Olson during the Holualoa Tucson Marathon in Dec. 2006.
Lute Olson
Updated
Coach Lute Olson grimaces upon hearing that his University of Arizona team landed a No. 8 seed at the 2007 NCAA Tournament. He was watching the show at the Stadium Club at Arizona Stadium with his wife, Christine.
Lute Olson
Updated
In 2007, Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson took the Wildcats to their 23rd consecutive NCAA tournament, the second-longest streak ever. At Tucson International Airport, Olson headed for a chartered flight Wednesday that took the team to New Orleans for a first-round game against Purdue.
Lute Olson
Updated
A tired Lute Olson talks in April, 2008, about his return to coaching after a leave of absence.
Lute Olson
Updated
Former Arizona men's basketball coach Lute Olson speaks to the media in 2009 during an open topic press conference after stepping down as coach.
Lute Olson
Updated
Former UA basketball coach Lute Olson and daughters Christi Snyder, left, and Vicki Olson, right, laugh as he is honored at Lute and Bobbi Olson Court in McKale Center in 2009.
Lute Olson
Updated
Former University of Arizona Head basketball coach Lute Olson stands with daughters, Vicki Olson, left, and Christi Snyder, right, while they watch a half time celebration to honor Olson at McKale Center in March, 2009.
Lute Olson
Updated
Sean Miller greets Coach Olson in McKale center for the press conference to announce Miller as the new head coach in 2009.
Lute Olson
Updated
Former head coach Lute Olson, Damon Stoudamire and Olson's wife, Kelly Olson joke around following a press conference in 2013 to announce Stoudamire's appointment as an assistant to Sean Miller.
Lute Olson
Updated
Former Arizona head coach Lute Olson greets old friends and checks out the action during an open practice for the second round of the NCAA 2011 Division 1 Men's Basketball Championship at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz., on March 16, 2011.
Lute Olson
Updated
Lute Olson watches a University of Arizona basketball game in 2013.
Lute Olson
Updated
Jason Terry stands with former head coach Lute Olson as his jersey number is retired during halftime at McKale Center in Tucson on Feb. 19, 2015.
Lute Olson
Updated
Former Arizona head coach Lute Olson and his wife Kelly Pugnea are two red shirts in a sea of yellow in the second half of the Wildcats' game against Cal at Haas Pavilion, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, Berkeley, Calif.
Lute Olson statue
Updated
The crowd gathers round to get photos and close look at the new statue of former University of Arizona head coach Lute Olson shortly after its unveiling at the Eddie Lynch Pavilion at McKale Center, Thursday, April 12, 2018, Tucson, Ariz.
Lute Olson statue
Updated
Former University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson stands with his wife Kelly shortly after the unveiling of the statue of Olson at the Eddie Lynch Pavilion at McKale Center, Thursday, April 12, 2018, Tucson, Ariz.
Lute Olson statue
Updated
Former University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson waves to the crowd while making his entrance a statue in his honor at the Eddie Lynch Pavilion at McKale Center, Thursday, April 12, 2018, Tucson, Ariz.
Lute Olson
Updated
Arizona men's coach Sean Miller, left, chats with former coach Lute Olson at halftime of the women's game against Northern Arizona at McKale Center, Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, Tucson, Ariz.
Lute Olson
Updated
Former Arizona coach head Lute Olson watches the first half of the Wildcats game against Washington at McKale Arena, Thursday, February 7, 2019, Tucson, Ariz.
Collection: Lute was star of local photographer's iconic basketball posters
Arizona basketball 1984-85
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1985-86
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1985-86
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1986-87
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1988-89
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1988-89
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1987-88
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1990-91
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1991-92
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1992-93
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1993-94
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1994-95
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1995-96
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1996-97
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1995-96
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1996-97
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 1997-98
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 2000-01
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 2001-02
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 2001-02
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 2002-03
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 2003-04
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 2004-05
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 2006-07
Updated
Arizona basketball poster 2007-08
Updated
