Legendary Arizona head coach Mike Candrea was honored in Tucson on Saturday as part of an alumni-filled weekend celebration of his career.
Dozens of program alumni were in attendance for the celebration, which also saw Candrea receive a standing ovation when he was introduced at the Arizona basketball game.
As part of the festivities, Arizona Athletics announced the naming of Mike Candrea Field. Officially to be known as Mike Candrea Field at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium, the Wildcats’ field will now bear the name of the man who won more games than any Division 1 coach during his career.
The victor in 1,674 games in his near-four-decades at UA, Candrea was the fastest coach in NCAA history – in any sport – to reach the 1,600-win milestone when he reached it in 2019.
His eight national championships at the helm of the Wildcats are also an NCAA record, and he led the Wildcats to the Women’s College World Series a total of 24 times. The Wildcats’ 34-consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament are yet another NCAA record.
Candrea retired last summer after leading the Wildcats to back-to-back Women’s College World Series appearances in 2019 and 2021. During his career, he also shepherded fifty-three players who were named All-Americans and who earned a total of 108 awards.
Click here for a video of the field-naming announcement and a brief speech from Candrea himself.
