Olsons reach divorce settlement

Lute Olson's attorney confirmed Thursday that the couple reached a settlement, ending months of legal wrangling and public nastiness, which included radio appearances by both parties.

Attorney Leonard Karp said the couple "resolved their issues amicably" and that a decree should be entered within a matter of days.

Karp would not comment further, indicating Lute Olson will issue a news release in the coming days.

Christine Olson's public relations firm released a statement late Thursday afternoon.

"I'm very saddened to find myself at the ending of a chapter of my life," Christine Olson said. "I still care deeply for Lute and am at a loss to explain the path that brought us here."

Lute Olson, 73, filed for divorce from the former Christine Toretti last December, saying the marriage was "irrevocably broken."

The filing came approximately one month after Olson took a leave of absence, leaving the program in the hands of assistant coach Kevin O'Neill.

The Wildcats ended the season with a 19-15 record and a seventh-place finish in the Pac-10. They also made their 24th straight NCAA tournament bid, but they lost in the first round.

When Olson began his leave, he said: "There are personal issues within my family that need to be addressed, and I must devote my full energy to that." Olson went on to say he was facing a "personal matter" that was not a health scare.

When he came back, Olson said there "were things going on in my life that did create health issues that I needed time to address."

Olson blamed Christine Olson's public relations firm for the wording of the initial statement, but would not offer further detail.

During the 2000-01 season, when his first wife, Bobbi, died of ovarian cancer, Olson missed five games and 18 days of work.

The Wildcats reached the NCAA championship game that season, and also reached the Elite Eight in 2003 and 2005.

Even before the Olsons went on local radio to discuss the divorce, court filings indicated the proceedings were far from amicable.

Early on, the attorneys were discussing the enforceability of the couple's prenuptial agreement.

Christine Olson's attorney, Kathleen McCarthy, alleged the coach's attorney scheduled Christine Olson's deposition earlier than is normal in divorce proceedings, in part "to avoid taking a position on the prenuptial agreement," before receiving Christine Olson's records.

Karp denied McCarthy's allegations and indicated there were serious issues with the prenuptial agreement.

"It appears that the pages were not signed where indicated they should be, Christine's lawyer did not sign the certification, the parties did not initial each page as is customarily done and there is a great deal of uncertainty as to what pages were actually part of the agreement when it was signed."

Karp went on to write that despite being asked several times over five years, Christine Olson didn't give Lute Olson, his attorney, his accountant, his estate planning attorney or his financial adviser a copy of the prenuptial agreement.

In April, McCarthy accused Lute Olson of unlawfully transferring funds from one of the couple's five joint accounts to a Charles Schwab account that only bears his name.

Karp responded by saying his client transferred the money only because Christine Olson had withdrawn funds from their joint account and sent them to Pennsylvania "without satisfactory explanations."

Then, both Olsons called popular radio station KRQQ to discuss the divorce.

During his appearance, Lute Olson accused Christine Olson of filing spurious petitions in their divorce case to "harass" him and tarnish his reputation.

Olson said, "I've been told, like, 'I'm going to ruin your reputation. You're going to be a dead man in this town.' " He went on to say, "It's strictly a matter of trying to get publicity, to try to question my integrity, and I don't think anyone has been able to question my integrity ever. So it's a harassment and nothing more than that."

Christine Olson denied the allegations, saying she still "cared deeply" for him, but he had changed inexplicably.

Under Olson, the Wildcats made 23 straight NCAA tournament appearances and won or tied for the Pac-10 Conference title 11 times.

The Wildcats won the national championship in 1997.

Olson amassed a total of 1,063 wins over his 49 seasons of coaching, 780 of them at the Division I college level. He is 589-187 over 24 seasons with Arizona.

Christine Olson, who has three sons attending school here, said she plans to stay in Tucson and to continue her community work.

"My children and I have grown to love it here. I am proud of the role I played as a member of the U of A basketball family and will continue to be an ardent courtside fan of the Wildcats," Christine Olson said in her statement.