Morris Udall, UA
(1941-1942, 1946-1948)
The St. Johns, Arizona, native was a skilled hoopster despite having only one eye due to a childhood accident. Udall’s UA career was interrupted by military service during World War II, but he was still part of an 81-game homecourt winning streak that included two Border Conference championships. In 1948, Udall became UA’s first professional basketball player as a member of the Denver Nuggets of the NBA. He later represented Tucson for 30 years in Congress and ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976. Udall published his autobiography, Too Funny to Be President, in 1988 and died in 1998.
Ned Wulk, ASU
(1957-1982)
Before there was Lute Olson, there was Wulk. After starting his coaching career at Xavier University, the Wisconsin native gave Arizona its first taste of collegiate hoops excellence, leading the Arizona State University Sun Devils to three Elite Eight appearances (1961, 1963 and 1975) and nine NCAA tournaments overall. He compiled a 406-272 record over 25 seasons at ASU – one of only four coaches with 400 victories at one school when he parted ways with the program in 1982. He passed at age 83 in 2003, just months after being inducted into the Pac-10 Hall of Fame.
Fred Snowden, UA
(1972-1982)
The Wildcat basketball program needed a boost with the opening of the 14,688-seat McKale Center in 1973, so UA hired Snowden – at the time, the second-ever African American head coach at an NCAA Division 1 school. Nicknamed “the Fox” because of his cool demeanor, Snowden brought in talent from his Michigan connections. The Snowden era included six seasons in the Western Athletic Conference and four in the Pacific 10 Conference. His teams reached the NCAA tournament twice, including the Elite Eight in 1976, when he became the first Black head coach with a tournament victory. He died in 1994.
Juliene Simpson, ASU
(1979-1987)
Though she was not the first head coach of Division 1 women’s college basketball in Arizona – that distinction is held by Mary Littlewood, a physical education teacher who gamely guided the ASU Sun Devils in their inaugural season (1975-1976) – Simpson was the first to bring an ethos of modern professionalism to the job, and reap its rewards. The starting point guard on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team, Simpson established ASU as a Pac-10 force during her eight-season run as head coach, making two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances (1981-1982, 1982-1983).
Lute Olson, UA
(1983-2008)
With nary a hair on his nicely coiffed head ever out of place, Olson coached the Wildcats for 24 years after taking over the program in 1983. Previously, he led successful teams at Long Beach State and the University of Iowa. In his second year, Olson’s squad made the NCAA Tournament, beginning 23 consecutive appearances for the coach. The run included 11 Pac-10 championships, five Final Four appearances, and a national championship in 1997. In 2001, the McKale Center playing surface was named the “Lute and Bobbi Olson Court” to honor the coach and his late wife. In 2002, Olson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He died in 2020.
