Greg Hansen's top 10 former Wildcats who became UA coaches
- Updated
Star sports columnist Greg Hansen counts down the top 10 UA athletes who went on to become Wildcats head coaches.
Editor's note: This summer, Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today's list: The top 10 UA athletes who went on to become Wildcats head coaches.
Charles Ott’s lineage to Tucson goes back so far that his grandfather was a Pima County sheriff in 1870, a man who helped do the surveying for the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico.
Ott’s father regularly worked the Wells Fargo stage line from Guadalajara, Mexico, to Nogales.
In 1935, Ott became captain of the Tucson High football team, then a lineman on the UA’s 1938 football team, triggering a career in sports that would make him one of the most revered names in UA history.
After reaching the rank of Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II and the Korean War, Ott returned to Tucson and became Arizona’s swimming coach, a position he held for 23 years. He simultaneously was a trainer for more than two decades, on the sidelines in a medical capacity for hundreds of UA sports events.
Arizona wasn’t a nationally-recognized swimming school, but Ott worked out of an office in Bear Down Gym for 33 years and was on a first-name basis with hundreds of UA ballplayers and fans.
He was the first UA letterman to become a head coach at the school, a list that includes some of the top names in Arizona athletics history. Here’s how I rank them, with this reminder: any of the first five are worthy of being No. 1. Tough call at the top.
DeMont arrived at Arizona in 1976, a transfer from Washington with a big name: he was a former world record holder and known for a 1972 Munich Olympics gold medal that came into dispute for decades for the inadvertent use of an asthma medication. DeMont was an assistant coach for 27 years, coaching dozens of All-Americans and Olympians, before becoming head coach three years ago. He retired last month.
Not many have better stories than the son of a Clifton electrician who went on to become the head of the USA Track and Field operation. Cooper was a football and basketball letterman at Arizona from 1935-40, and the head track coach from 1951-68, during which he coached Olympians George Young, Gayle Hopkins and Ed Caruthers. He also worked as a UA assistant football coach for 12 years.
Sancet, a UA football letterman in 1929, served as Arizona’s baseball coach from 1950-72. Sancet compiled a 831-275 record and finished second at the College World Series in 1956 and 1959.
A top UA distance runner in the 1960s, Murray became the UA’s head cross country and later track and field head coach from 1968-2002. He was six times the Pac-10’s cross country coach of the year.
A first-team All-American outfielder in 1968, hitting .366 for the Wildcats, Stitt returned to campus to build a resume as one of the nation’s top hitting coaches for 20 years. He then became the head coach from 1997-2001, going 155-125 and taking the Wildcats to the 1999 NCAA Tournament.
The man who coached Weber State to the 1959 NJCAA championship scored 99 points for Arizona during the 1949-50 basketball season. He became the UA’s head basketball coach from 1961-72, winning 310 games at a time the Wildcats were waiting for McKale Center to replace outdated Bear Down Gym.
Ott was so versatile that he was the trainer for Team USA’s baseball tour of Mexico following the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
As a UA golfer from 1999-2003, Ianello — then Laura Myerscough — helped the Wildcats win three Pac-10 titles and the 2000 NCAA championship. After time on the LGPA Tour, she became head coach of the Wildcats in 2010 and led Arizona to the 2010 and 2015 Pac-12 championships.
Believed to be the youngest UA head coach in modern sports history — he was 25 when he took charge of the men’s gymnastics team in 1971 — Bennon was a standout at Catalina High and at Arizona, and simultaneously was one of the top divers in WAC swimming and diving. He coached the Wildcats from 1971-78. Before that he was the 1968 WAC diving champion and, in 1973, the WAC coach of the year.
The top women’s basketball player in school history is just getting started, preparing for her second season as the UA’s head coach.
Editor's note: This summer, Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today's list: The top 10 UA athletes who went on to become Wildcats head coaches.
Charles Ott’s lineage to Tucson goes back so far that his grandfather was a Pima County sheriff in 1870, a man who helped do the surveying for the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico.
Ott’s father regularly worked the Wells Fargo stage line from Guadalajara, Mexico, to Nogales.
In 1935, Ott became captain of the Tucson High football team, then a lineman on the UA’s 1938 football team, triggering a career in sports that would make him one of the most revered names in UA history.
After reaching the rank of Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II and the Korean War, Ott returned to Tucson and became Arizona’s swimming coach, a position he held for 23 years. He simultaneously was a trainer for more than two decades, on the sidelines in a medical capacity for hundreds of UA sports events.
Arizona wasn’t a nationally-recognized swimming school, but Ott worked out of an office in Bear Down Gym for 33 years and was on a first-name basis with hundreds of UA ballplayers and fans.
He was the first UA letterman to become a head coach at the school, a list that includes some of the top names in Arizona athletics history. Here’s how I rank them, with this reminder: any of the first five are worthy of being No. 1. Tough call at the top.
DeMont arrived at Arizona in 1976, a transfer from Washington with a big name: he was a former world record holder and known for a 1972 Munich Olympics gold medal that came into dispute for decades for the inadvertent use of an asthma medication. DeMont was an assistant coach for 27 years, coaching dozens of All-Americans and Olympians, before becoming head coach three years ago. He retired last month.
Not many have better stories than the son of a Clifton electrician who went on to become the head of the USA Track and Field operation. Cooper was a football and basketball letterman at Arizona from 1935-40, and the head track coach from 1951-68, during which he coached Olympians George Young, Gayle Hopkins and Ed Caruthers. He also worked as a UA assistant football coach for 12 years.
Sancet, a UA football letterman in 1929, served as Arizona’s baseball coach from 1950-72. Sancet compiled a 831-275 record and finished second at the College World Series in 1956 and 1959.
A top UA distance runner in the 1960s, Murray became the UA’s head cross country and later track and field head coach from 1968-2002. He was six times the Pac-10’s cross country coach of the year.
A first-team All-American outfielder in 1968, hitting .366 for the Wildcats, Stitt returned to campus to build a resume as one of the nation’s top hitting coaches for 20 years. He then became the head coach from 1997-2001, going 155-125 and taking the Wildcats to the 1999 NCAA Tournament.
The man who coached Weber State to the 1959 NJCAA championship scored 99 points for Arizona during the 1949-50 basketball season. He became the UA’s head basketball coach from 1961-72, winning 310 games at a time the Wildcats were waiting for McKale Center to replace outdated Bear Down Gym.
Ott was so versatile that he was the trainer for Team USA’s baseball tour of Mexico following the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
As a UA golfer from 1999-2003, Ianello — then Laura Myerscough — helped the Wildcats win three Pac-10 titles and the 2000 NCAA championship. After time on the LGPA Tour, she became head coach of the Wildcats in 2010 and led Arizona to the 2010 and 2015 Pac-12 championships.
Believed to be the youngest UA head coach in modern sports history — he was 25 when he took charge of the men’s gymnastics team in 1971 — Bennon was a standout at Catalina High and at Arizona, and simultaneously was one of the top divers in WAC swimming and diving. He coached the Wildcats from 1971-78. Before that he was the 1968 WAC diving champion and, in 1973, the WAC coach of the year.
The top women’s basketball player in school history is just getting started, preparing for her second season as the UA’s head coach.
Tags
View this profile on Instagram#ThisIsTucson 🌵 (@this_is_tucson) • Instagram photos and videos
Most viewed stories
-
Cheer on the Wildcats in the Final Four at these local restaurants and bars 🐻⬇️
-
Over 70 fun events happening in Tucson in April 🎡🐰
-
Over 30 fun events happening in Tucson March 27-29!
-
New Eats! 20 new restaurants that opened up in Tucson this winter 🍽️
-
Viral fruit ice cream and strawberry Oreos: the $25 challenge at Sandyi Oriental Market
-
5 basement bars and speakeasies to visit when you want a fun drink and cool AC
-
Bloomfest celebrates palo verde blooms and Tucson culture
-
OaxaRico opened their first brick-and-mortar, serving up delicious mole and gorditas
-
Vintage band tees take center stage at Tucson’s new shop Almandel
-
Over 40 exciting events to check out this weekend! 🌱