Meet the expert

Mike Candrea began his tenure as Arizona’s interim athletic director on February 2, 2024 after being appointed to the position by Arizona President Dr. Robert C. Robbins. Candrea spent four decades at the helm of the Arizona Softball program, and his iconic career included eight national championships, 23 appearances at the Women’s College World Series as well as retiring in 2021 as the all-time winningest coach in college softball history.
 
Candrea was also an international fixture in the game of softball as he coached in the Olympics and guided Team USA to the gold medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece. He was also a pioneer in the game as the University of Arizona became the first school to build an on-campus facility dedicated to softball with the construction of the original Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in 1993. The facility was renovated in 2018 as one of the top softball facilities in the country. After Candrea’s retirement in 2021, the venue officially became Mike Candrea Field at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium.
 
"Every Wildcat knows the history of Mike Candrea and what he means to our university and community, and I am grateful for Mike's willingness to step into the interim role," said President Robbins at the time of Candrea’s appointment. "I am confident Mike will ensure a smooth transition as we immediately begin a national search for a new Director of Athletics. With our transition to the Big XII, success in our high-profile programs, a passionate fan base, and institutional alignment, I am confident that we will be able to attract a tremendous new leader of our athletics program."

ALL-TIME RECORD

• Record at Arizona: 1,674-436-2 (36 seasons¹)
• Record Overall: 1,859-505-2 (40 seasons²)

¹ Interim head coach Larry Ray was credited with Arizona's 2004 and 2008 record while Candrea was on a leave of absence to coach the U.S. Olympic team, thus Candrea's record is over 34 seasons as Arizona's head coach.

² Prior to Arizona, Candrea was the head coach of Central Arizona College, where he won consecutive National Championships and was named NJCAA Coach of the Year in back-to-back years. His teams went 185-68 (.728) in five seasons.

CANDREA AT A GLANCE

• NCAA softball leader in wins (1,674)
• On April 19, 2019, became the fastest coach in NCAA history, any division, any sport, to accumulate 1,600 wins.
• Fourth-most Division I victories of any coach in any sport.
• Led Arizona to eight national championships, more than any coach in NCAA Softball history.
• Arizona has made 24 trips to the Women's College World Series in his tenure, missing just eight times in the last 33 years.
• Under Candrea, Arizona has a spectacular postseason record of 178-65. The Wildcats have played in an NCAA-record 34 consecutive postseasons.
• Fifty-three All-Americans with a staggering 108 total citations have played in the program since Candrea took over.