title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: In his later years at U of A, Olson fielded competitive teams with extremely talented point guards. Continuing the reputation and nickname "Point Guard U," recent standouts include Jason Gardner, Salim Stoudamire, Mustafa Shakur, Jerryd Bayless and Nic Wise. Arizona would win Olson's last Pac-10 title during the 2004–2005 season under the spectacular play of seniors Salim Stoudamire and center Channing Frye. That team also made it to the Elite 8 and the verge of the Final Four before blowing a 15-point lead with four minutes to play and losing in overtime, 90–89, to the No. 1 seed and eventual national runner-up, University of Illinois.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Olson took an unexplained leave of absence at the beginning of the 2007–2008 season. Assistant coach Kevin O'Neill took over interim head coaching duties for the Arizona Wildcats. At that time, Olson announced that he intended to be back for the 2008–09 season and finish out his contract, which was scheduled to end in 2011. His departure was criticized by some members of the media. They also questioned how he and the U of A athletic department handled his return and the verbal succession agreement with coach O'Neill. However, on October 23, 2008, he unexpectedly announced his retirement from the program (by way of an announcement from Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood). A few days later, Olson's personal physician held a press conference and explained that the retirement was strongly advised due to health concerns.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: After Lute Olson's abrupt retirement, Arizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood appointed assistant coach Russ Pennell as the interim head coach for the 2008–2009 season 23 days before the start of the season. The appointment came after Mike Dunlap, the associate head coach brought in to replace Kevin O'Neill, turned down the job. Under Pennell, the Cats finished 19–13 in the regular season, including a non-conference win over Kansas and a 7-game win streak with wins over UCLA and Washington. Despite a 19–13 finish to the season, Arizona was controversially selected as one of the last teams into the field of 65 as a 12th seed in the Midwest region, extending its NCAA consecutive tournament appearances to 25 years. The Cats made it to the Sweet 16 (regional semi-finals) with wins over 5-seed Utah and 13-seed Cleveland State, before falling to overall 1-seed, Louisville. Despite Pennell's post-season success, he was not retained, as Arizona announced before his hiring they would hold a national coaching search after the season ended. (On April 9, 2009, Pennell was hired as head coach of the men's basketball team at Division II Grand Canyon University, a member of the Pacific West Conference.)


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Following Olson's retirement, reports of NCAA violations arose regarding payment of impermissible benefits to players and recruiting violations. In response, Arizona self-imposed sanctions that included a reduction in the number of recruiting visits by coaches and prospective players, the disbanding of a booster group, and implementation of a series of administrative and rules changes to prevent further violations. The NCAA upheld most of those self-imposed sanctions but determined the school had used two ineligible players in 2007-08 and would have to vacate all wins involving those players and eliminate their statistics. The NCAA reduced the number of scholarships and visits with recruits Arizona was allowed to make. The NCAA found that Olson failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance at the university but decided against sanctioning the coach because he was retired and had health issues. "I think that was my fault," Olson said during a 2008 interview with ESPN.com. "That wasn't anyone else's fault. It was my error and it was a big error. But I guess in 26 years you are allowed to make a mistake once in a while anyway and that's not to say I haven't made a lot of them but in terms of that, that was a big mistake on my part."


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: After the end of the season, various coaching names were considered to succeed Lute Olson on a permanent basis. Arizona was perceived to have interest in Gonzaga's Mark Few, Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon and then-Memphis coach John Calipari (before he accepted the vacant position at Kentucky) to take the job. Arizona even brought USC's Tim Floyd on campus for an interview and while Arizona claims no formal offer was ever presented, Floyd ultimately turned down the job publicly.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Arizona hired Sean Miller from Xavier University to fill the head coaching position. He initially turned the job down before changing his mind and accepting the job on Apr. 6, 2009 despite having never visited the Arizona campus. Miller was formally introduced as the 13th head men's basketball coach at Arizona at a press conference on April 7, 2009 at McKale Center. At the press conference, Miller acknowledged Lute Olson's impact on the Arizona program by addressing Olson personally: "One of the reasons I sit here today is because of the great legacy you built." Miller also promised U of A fans that they would enjoy the style of both offense and defense he would bring to Wildcat basketball. Miller's salary is $1.6 million per year; he will receive an additional $400,000 per season from Nike and media contracts during a five-year deal, as well as a $1 million signing bonus and other amenities such as season tickets to other Wildcat sporting events and the use of a private jet. Within three months of joining the program, Miller compiled a strong five-player recruiting class that ranked 13th nationally in 2009. After going 16–15 and missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in 25 years during Miller's initial 2009–10 campaign.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: In his second season as the head coach at Arizona, the Cats finished the season with 30–8, 14–4 Pac-12 play, behind the play of sophomore Pac-10 Player of the Year Derrick Williams. It would be the Wildcats' first outright Pac-10 regular season title (its 12th overall), 4th 30+ win season (1st overall) and Elite Eight appearance (8th overall) since the 2004–2005 season. In addition, Miller led the Wildcats to their first unbeaten home record (17–0) in 14 years and was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. This was the first time an Arizona coach received this honor since Lute Olson in 2003. The 17 wins without a loss at home is tied for the second-most in school history. Miller would add to the season's success by guiding the Cats to their first Elite Eight appearance since the 2004–2005 Season as a 5-seed. In the second round, Arizona secured a 2-point victory over 12th seeded Memphis (coached by former Wildcat (and member of the 1997 national title team) Josh Pastner) with a blocked shot in the final seconds by Derrick Williams. Arizona would follow with another close game—a controversial one-point win against 4-seed Texas. In the Sweet-16 match-up, Arizona found itself pitted against top-seeded Duke, the first time since the 2001 title game that the two schools had met. Duke would extend an early lead, but 25 points from Derrick Williams kept the Cats in the game and down by 6 points at the half. In the second half, Williams' teammates picked up the slack, dominating the Blue Devils by scoring 55 second-half points and routing the defending champs 93–77. Arizona's run at the Final Four would fall 2 points short, losing to 3-seed (and eventual national champion) Connecticut 65–63.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: For his third season, Arizona's 2011 recruiting class was ranked 7th, notably signing Nick Johnson and Josiah Turner. Arizona secured three players in the top nine of the ESPNU 100, with all four newly signed players within the top 36. This has cemented Arizona as the No. 1 signing class nationally, surpassing Kentucky who held the No. 1 spot 2010 and 2011. The Wildcats missed the postseason for the second time, reached to the NIT Tournament before falling to Bucknell to finish the season 23–12 overall, 12–6 in Pac-12.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: In his fourth season, Miller guided to its second top-5 ranking in the AP poll (the first coming in weeks 7–10 of the 2012–2013 season), Arizona reached the Sweet 16 in 2013 falling to Ohio State, finished the season with 27–8, 12–6 in Pac-12.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: In his fifth season with the most talent Coach Miller has had since arriving in Tucson. On December 9, 2013, Arizona became the #1 ranked Team in the Country for the 6th time in school history, after a 9–0 start with wins over traditional national powerhouses Duke and UNLV. The Wildcats followed this up by securing a key come-from-behind victory on the road at Michigan on December 14 and led the Wildcats to their second outright Pac-12 Regular Season Title (its 13th overall, 26th regular season overall) in Sean Miller's fifth year as the head coach. Arizona reached the second unbeaten home record at (18–0), Coach Miller again named the second Pac-10/12 coach of the year, 5th 30+ wins season (2nd overall), 2nd Elite Eight appearance (9th overall) in 2014. But in the 2014 NCAA tournament, the Wildcats would fall to Wisconsin in overtime, they finish the season with 33–5, 15–3 in Pac-12.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: In his sixth season as the Arizona Wildcats basketball head coach, after Gonzaga's home loss to BYU on February 28, 2015, Arizona claimed the longest active home winning streak in D-I men's college basketball (38th home win at 2nd all-time, 82nd home win at 5th all-time). Arizona defeated #13 Utah in Salt Lake City the same day, winning its share of the Pac-12 regular season title. After three losses to Pac-12 archrival Arizona State, Oregon State and UNLV, Arizona won their third Pac-12 regular season championship title (2nd straight year, its 14th overall, 27th overall). Arizona reached the third unbeaten home record at (17–0). The Wildcats completes their sixth ever 30+ win (3rd overall) and won their first Pac-12 Tournament title (5th overall) since 2002. In the 2015 NCAA tournament, the Wildcats fell to the Wisconsin Badgers in Elite Eight, 85–78, and finished the season 34–4, 16–2 in the Pac-12.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: In his seventh season, they finished the season 25–9, 12–6 in Pac-12 play to tie with California for third place. They defeated Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Oregon. In the 2016 NCAA Tournament, as a 6-seed in the South Region. They lost in the first round to Wichita State.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: In his eighth season at U of A, AP polls & 81-straight coaches polls. The 97-consecutive weeks in the AP poll is currently the second-longest streak in the nation behind Kansas at 161 weeks.[1] They have been ranked every week in the 2016–2017 season, bringing those totals to 97 weeks for the AP & 100 weeks for the coaches poll. Arizona won its first 10 conference games, the best start since the '97-'98 season when they started 16–0. They finished the season at seventh ever 30+ wins with 32–5, tied at 16–2 with Oregon in Pac-12 play for first place to win their 3rd Pac-12 regular season championship title for the 15th time (28th overall). The Wildcats entered the Pac-12 Tournament as a 2-seed, the Wildcats defeated 7-seed Colorado in the quarterfinals, 3-seed UCLA in the semifinals and 1-seed Oregon in the championship game, Wildcats won their 2nd Pac-12 Tournament championship title for the 6th time. In the 2017 NCAA Tournament, as a 2-seed in the West regional, Arizona defeated the 15-seed North Dakota 100–82 in the first round, 7-seed Saint Mary's 69–60 in the second round and losing to Xavier 71–73 in the Sweet Sixteen.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: As Miller's ninth season as the head coach at Arizona was about to get underway, federal prosecutors announced, on September 26, 2017, bribery, soliciting a bribe and wire fraud charges against assistant coach Emanuel "Book" Richardson as part of a far-reaching, college basketball-wide scandal. Perhaps in part due to the ongoing scandal, the Wildcats ranked No. 2 in the country at one point, lost three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Arizona would eventually fire Richardson for his role in the scandal and the team would recover to lead the Pac 12 for the majority of the season. On February 24, 2018, Associate Head Coach Lorenzo Romar was temporarily named head coach after news broke the previous day that Miller had been caught on an FBI wiretap offering to pay players to come to Arizona. On March 1, Miller held a joint press conference with the University denying all allegations and stating he would be retained as men's head basketball coach. That same night, the Wildcats won their 29th regular season conference title, 16th in the Pac-12, and secured the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament by defeating Stanford 75–67. On March 10, Arizona defeated USC to win a record seventh conference tournament title. As a result, the Wildcats received an automatic bid to their sixth straight NCAA tournament (35th NCAA tournament appearance, 12th all time) as the No. 4 seed in the South regional. The Wildcats, a trendy pick to make the Final Four and win the championship were blown out in the first round by No. 13 seed Buffalo, losing 89–68.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: 2018–2019 marked the tenth season for Sean Miller as the Arizona Wildcats head coach. Arizona replaced all 5 starting players, 3 via the NBA draft. After a victory against UTEP, Miller recorded his 250th win for Arizona (370th win overall), in only 324 games, which was the 5th fastest of any coach at any Division 1 program all-time. On January 5, 2019 Arizona won its 600th game in the McKale center with an 84–81 overtime victory over Utah. Arizona became the first Pac-12 team to achieve 100 wins against conference opponents since the conference expanded to 12 teams before the 2011 season, after defeating Stanford 75−70 Jan. 9, 2019. The Wildcats would go on to finish the season in Pac-12 play 8–10, 9th place overall & lose their first round Pac-12 Tournament match up against USC, 65−78. They would end the season with an overall record of 17–15 & decline an invitation to the CBI.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: 2019–2020 marked the eleventh season for Sean Miller as the Arizona Wildcats head coach. Despite again losing all 5 starting players, Arizona would bring in the 6th overall best recruiting class & ranked pre-season 21st by the AP Poll. Arizona would open the season 9–0, capped off by winning the Wooden Legacy tournament located in Anaheim, California led by tournament MVP Nico Mannion & defeated Wake Forest 73–66. Arizona finished non-conference play ranked 16th with an overall record of 10–3. On February 1, 2020, Miller would win his 400th overall game of his career in a 75−70 over USC to move their record to 16–6 & 6–3 in conference play. They would defeat Stanford in Maples Pavilion for the conferences longest active streak 20th time, 69–60. Arizona would finish the regular season with an overall record of 20–11 & 10–8 in conference play, which was good for 5th. The Wildcats would face 12 seed Washington in their first-round match up & win 77–70, to set up a second-round matchup versus 4 seed USC. The season would end due to the COVID-19 Pandemic which shut down sports globally & end the 2019–20 season. Arizona would have an overall record 21–11 & were a projected 7 seed but could have moved higher pending the remainder of the Pac-12 tournament.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: In 2020–21, Arizona would begin its twelfth season under Head Coach Sean Miller. The Pac-12 announced before the season started that schools would not allow for fans to be in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also due to travel restrictions, financial impact & COVID-19 testing, Arizona was forced to cancel non-conference match ups against pre-season top 5 teams, Gonzaga & Illinois, as well as cancel their appearance in the 2020 NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn against top 15 ranked Texas Tech, Cincinnati & St. John's. In total Arizona would have 14 games cancelled, postponed or rescheduled but none of which were due to COVID-19 issues within the Arizona Wildcat program.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: This season also marked the introduction of expanded Pac-12 play with each team adding two games, one home & one road, during the months of November & December for a total of 20 with the Wildcats adding games at home against Colorado & on the road against Stanford. Arizona again would replace the entire starting 5 for a third straight season but bring in another top 10 recruiting class, 7th overall led by six international players from Canada, Estonia, France, Lithuania & Turkey, as well as the United States. Arizona would finish non-conference play with an overall record of 6–0 against its opponents. Arizona would lose its opening Pac-12 game against Stanford 75–78 which would snap the Wildcats' 20-game winning streak against the Cardinal.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Following 88–74 victory over Colorado, the Wildcats' announced a Self-Imposed one-year postseason ban, which included the 2021 Pac-12 tournament.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: On February 20, Sean Miller would win his 300th game at Arizona in only his 408th, 3rd fastest for any coach at any Pac-12 school by defeating the #17 USC Trojans by a score of 81–72. During the halftime of match up against Washington, Arizona would induct former players Ernie McCray (1958–60) & Al Fleming (1972-76) as the 26th & 27th members of the program's Ring of Honor. Arizona would end the season with an overall record of 17–9 overall and finish 5th in the conference at 11–9 but because of their self-imposed ban would not participate in the conference tournament. Many bracketologists stated that Arizona would have been an NCAA tournament team if not for the self-imposed ban.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: In March 2021, a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA, originally issued in October 2020 at the conclusion of the NCAA's initial investigation, was released to the media by the University after a lawsuit was filed by ESPN; the school received five Level I violations, considered the NCAA's most serious, one specifically against Miller for failing to monitor his assistant coaches accused of academic misconduct and other rules violations. None of the allegations included anything regarding former player Deandre Ayton.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: On April 7, 2021, Arizona fired Sean Miller after 12 years. Miller finished his coaching career with an overall record of 302–109, five regular–season Pac-12 championships, three conference tournament titles & seven NCAA appearances. His 302 wins are 3rd most in school history.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: After the University decided to part ways with Sean Miller, various coaching names were considered to succeed him on a permanent basis. Three former Wildcats who played under Lute Olson - Damon Stoudamire (head coach at the University of the Pacific), Miles Simon (assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers), and Josh Pastner (head coach at Georgia Tech), as well as Arkansas' Eric Musselman, were under speculation to take the job. On April 14, 2021, it was announced that Tommy Lloyd, the longtime top assistant coach at Gonzaga under Mark Few, would become the 18th head coach of Arizona men's basketball. Both Lloyd and Few have been heavily influenced by the European style of basketball (and a focus on recruiting international players), as well as the uptempo, player-focused offense as implemented at Arizona under Lute Olson. A formal press conference was held at McKale Center on April 15 to introduce Lloyd as the head coach.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Coach Lloyd got his first victory as a head coach versus the Wildcats' in-state rival Northern Arizona 81–52. His 29-point victory versus NAU was the second largest margin in a coach's debut in school history & largest since 1915. He would win his first Pac-12 game on December 12, 2021 against Oregon State, 90–65. Coach Lloyd & Arizona would go on to lose their first game of his career & season in Knoxville, 73–77 against no. 19 Tennessee.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The Wildcats would finish the regular season undefeated on their home court at McKale Center for the 2021-22 campaign, one of only five programs in the nation to do so. The Wildcats would be led by sophomore guards Bennedict Mathurin, Kerr Kriisa and Dalen Terry, as well as junior center Christian Koloko and sophomore forward Ąžuolas Tubelis. Coach Lloyd & the Wildcats would win their 1st regular season conference title under Lloyd & 17th overall as a program with a 91–71 road win over USC. In the season finale Arizona would defeat California 89–61, becoming the first program & coach to win 18 conference games in the Pac-12 in one season. Arizona clinched the top seed in the 2022 Pac-12 tournament; they would go on to defeat No. 9 seed Stanford 84–80, No. 4 seed Colorado 82–72 & No. 2 seed (No. 16 in the AP poll) UCLA 84–76 to win their 8th overall conference tournament title & Coach Tommy Lloyd's 1st. Following the end of the Pac-12 season Lloyd was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Arizona finished the Pac-12 portion of the season with a 31–3 record, earning a number 2 ranking in both the AP & coaches poll. Following the Pac-12 tournament title win, Arizona was selected as the second overall number 1 seed in the South Regional of the 2022 March Madness Tournament where they would go on to play 16 seed Wright State in their first round matchup. Arizona reached its 20th "Sweet 16" by defeating TCU in overtime 85–80. The Wildcats' season would end with a Sweet 16 loss to Houston 72-60. Lloyd was named as a finalists for the Naismith Award. Following the end of the season Coach Lloyd won the AP Coach of the Year, NABC Coach of the Year & USBWA Coach of the Year.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Since Arizona State became a University on December 5, 1958, Arizona leads ASU 77–58. Since both schools joined the Pac-10 conference in the 1978–79 season Arizona leads ASU 63–28. Since Lute Olson took over as head coach for the 1983–84 season Arizona leads ASU 61–17. Sean Miller took over for the 2009–2010 season Arizona & finished with a 17–7 record against ASU.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The most recent matchup came in Tucson, AZ on February 7, 2022, where Arizona beat Arizona State 91–76. Arizona lead the all-time series with 157–86.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Since then, the two schools competed for the Pac-10 (now Pac-12) Championship every year, with the two teams winning 22 out of the 30 conference titles, and 8 of 17 conference tournament titles. Arizona clinched their first conference title in 1986, when they won on the road at UCLA in Olson's third season. The UCLA-Arizona basketball rivalry is still seen as the match up of the two premier teams in the conference. Also, the performance of the two schools influences the national opinion of the conference. California Coach Mike Montgomery has stated, "...If those two are not good, the conference is not perceived as being good. People don't give credit to the schools across the board in the league." Since the mid-1980s, Arizona has also had a basketball rivalry with UCLA, as the two schools competed for the Pac-10 Championship every year. Since 1985 the two teams have combined to win 24 out of the 34 conference titles. The UCLA-Arizona basketball rivalry still is seen as the match up of the two premier teams in the conference. Also, the performance of the two schools influences the national opinion of the conference.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The most recent matchup came during the 2022 PAC-12 Tournament, where Arizona beat UCLA 84–76. Arizona Wildcats trailed the all-time series lead by UCLA with 62–46.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Arizona has in-state rivalries with NAU & Grand Canyon. They also has historic rivalries with Kansas, Duke, San Diego State and Gonzaga.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The Wildcats have had 18 coaches in their 116-year history. To date, one Wildcats’ coach has won the National Coach-of-the-Year award: Lute Olson twice, in 1988 and 1990. Additionally, 3 Wildcats coaches have been named Pac-12 Conference Coach-of-the-Year: Lute Olson in 1986, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1998 and 2003, Sean Miller in 2011, 2014, and 2017, and Tommy Lloyd in 2022.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The following Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players have represented their country in basketball in the Summer Olympics:


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: 13 different NBA championships have been won by 13 Wildcats players. Since the NBA draft was shortened to two rounds in 1989, 46 Arizona players have been selected. Former Wildcats have had successful NBA careers, totaling over $1.6 billion in total contracts through the 2022–2023 NBA season


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: A total of 31 NBA championships have been won by 13 former Wildcats, consisting of 14 different finals years (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022). 6 of the last 8 championship teams have had a former Wildcat as a player and/or coaching staff member on the team.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The individual honors, awards, and accomplishments listed in the succeeding subsections are aggregated by player in the following table. Players with only all-conference honors (other than conference player of the year), lower than first-team All-America honors, or later than second-round draft positions are not included.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Arizona has had 30 All-American All-Americans selections. They have had 7 players selected as Consensus First Team All-Americans 8 times. Also have had 5 Consensus All-Americans.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The following 27 McDonald's All-Americans listed below have signed with Arizona. An asterisk, "*", Indicates player did not finish his college career at Arizona. A cross, "†", indicates player did not begin his college career at Arizona.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The following is a list of Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players that were named first, second or third team All-Pac-12:


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: A total of 31 Wildcats have earned entry into McKale Center's Ring of Honor, the display of names that begins in the southeast corner of the building's rafters. In order to join this elite group, players must meet at least one of the following six criteria:


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Though the automatic berth in the NCAA tournament is given to the conference tournament winner, the Pac–12 declares the team with the best record in the regular season the "official" conference champion.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: U of A has won the Pac-10/12 Tournament a record eight times, including three straight times from 1988 to 1990.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The University of Arizona has made 36 NCAA tournament appearances (two other appearances in 1999 and 2008 were later vacated by the NCAA, 35 total), beginning with the first in 1951 and were the National Champions in 1997. Including a run of 25 consecutive years from 1985 to 2009, which is second only to the North Carolina Tar Heel's 27-year streak from 1975 to 2001. Their combined record is 58–35 (), including one national championship (1997) and 4 Final Fours (1988, 1994, 1997, 2001). Arizona is also one of only seven #2 seeds to ever lose a first-round game, losing 64–61 to #15 seed Santa Clara, led by future NBA star Steve Nash in 1993. In addition, the 1997 Arizona team is the only team to date to beat three #1 seeds to win the national championship.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The Arizona Wildcats have been to four Final Fours, which is tied for 21st all time among Division I schools.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The Arizona Wildcats have appeared in the four National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Arizona's combined record is 0–4.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The Arizona Wildcats lead the all-time series regardless of conference affiliation vs. ten other Pac-12 opponents, trailing only UCLA.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Arizona joined the former Pac-8 conference in 1978 to create the Pac-10 conference with rival Arizona State. Utah and Colorado joined the Pac-10 in 2011 to create the present Pac-12. Arizona has a winning home record over every conference opponent since joining the conference. Arizona has an overall winning record over every conference opponent other than UCLA. Since Lute Olson became head coach in 1983, Arizona had winning records over all 9 conference opponents(Colorado & Utah didn't join until 2011). Sean Miller had winning records against 9 of the 11 opponents.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The Associated Press began its basketball poll on January 20, 1949. The following is a summary of those annual polls. Starting in the 1961–62 season, AP provided a preseason (PS) poll. AP did a post-tournament poll in 1953, 1954, 1974 and 1975. The following table summarizes Arizona history in the AP Poll:


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The Wildcats all-time record versus ranked teams is 158–189 (). The Wildcats all-time record versus ranked teams at McKale Center is 61–38 ().


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Arizona's home games include many traditions involving The Pride of Arizona pep band and the Zona Zoo.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Prior to playing its games at the McKale Center, Arizona played games at Bear Down Gym from 1927 until 1973. Arizona would win its inaugural game against Arizona State, then known as Tempe State Teachers College by a score of 29-18.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: Arizona plays its home games at McKale Center, located on the campus in Tucson, Arizona. Since moving into the McKale Center in 1973 the Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team has experienced a high winning percentage with an outstanding home court advantage.


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The current flagship radio station for men’s basketball is Tucson sports radio station KCUB, branded as “Wildcats Radio 1290”. From 1983 until 2004, the flagship station was news/talk radio station KNST. The primary play-by-play voice of Wildcat football, baseball and men’s basketball, since 1987, is Brian Jeffries (after starting out as the color commentator for former CBS Sports announcer Ray Scott, who called Wildcats games from 1984 through the spring of 1987).


title: Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

text: The Phoenix radio affiliate for Arizona Wildcats football and men's basketball is KGME, branded as "Fox Sports 910."


title: Lawn jockey

text: A lawn jockey is a statue depicting a man in jockey clothes, intended to be placed in front yards as hitching posts, similar to those of footmen bearing lanterns near entrances and gnomes in gardens. Because of the prevalence of black lawn jockeys with exaggerated features, the item is often regarded as being symbolic of the racism and racist imagery prevalent in the United States during the eras of slavery and Jim Crow laws. Today, lawn jockeys are often depicted as Caucasian boys to distance the artifact from racial connotations.


title: Lawn jockey

text: The lawn ornament, popular in certain parts of the United States and Canada in years past, was a cast replica, usually about half-scale or smaller, generally of a man dressed in jockey's clothing and holding up one hand as though taking the reins of a horse. The hand sometimes carries a metal ring (suitable for hitching a horse in the case of solid concrete or iron versions) and, in some cases, a lantern, which may or may not be operational.


title: Lawn jockey

text: Originally a welcoming symbol to guests and providing to those on horseback a practical and novel hitching post, later statues eventually became only decorative and not well suited for hitching a horse, often favored by those wishing to evoke an Old South or equestrian ambiance.


title: Lawn jockey

text: Historically, black jockeys depicting racist caricatures of African Americans were commonplace. Several styles have been produced, with the most prolific being a shorter version commonly known as "Jocko" and a taller version known as "cavalier spirit". The former is of stockier build, with a hunched posture; the latter generally is more slender. Typically these statues are made of concrete, but also are made of other materials such as iron, and may be found in polyresin and aluminum. The item has a history rooted in racism and slavery, and the original racial cariactures it employed are no longer in use.


title: Lawn jockey

text: The earlier "Jocko" design usually depicts the right arm raised, and was styled as a racist caricature of a young black boy, often with exaggerated features, such as big eyes with the whites painted in; large lips painted red; a large, flat nose and curly hair. Typically, these pieces were painted in gaudy colors for the uniform as with racing colors, with the flesh of the statue a gloss black. As of the 20th century, these statues have been considered racist, and many remaining samples have now been repainted, using pink paint for the skin while the original sculpture's exaggerated features remain.


title: Lawn jockey

text: The "cavalier spirit" design usually depicts the left arm raised and uses the likeness of a Caucasian young man, lacking the minstrelsy features of its Jocko counterpart . These statues would also be painted in stark colors, with skin in either gloss black or pastel pink, red lips, etc., white breeches, black boots, and usually with the vest and cap of either bright red or dark green. Occasionally, the vest and cap might be painted in the bright shades of a jockey's racing silks. Several of the "cavalier spirit" jockey statues are prominently displayed at both the entrance of the 21 Club in Manhattan and the entrance of the Santa Anita Park clubhouse in Los Angeles.


title: Lawn jockey

text: A 1947 magazine advertisement uses two images of cavalier-style lawn jockeys to underscore the statue's use as a symbol of the hospitality associated with Old Taylor Kentucky Bourbon, stating: "Jockey hitching posts that invited guests to tarry are an old Kentucky tradition – another sign of a good host."


title: Lawn jockey

text: Charles L. Blockson, Curator Emeritus of the Afro-American Collection at Temple University in Philadelphia and author of "Hippocrene Guide to the Underground Railroad", claims the figures were used in the days of the Underground Railroad to guide escaping slaves to freedom: "Green ribbons were tied to the arms of the statue to indicate safety; red ribbons meant to keep going ...".


title: Lawn jockey

text: Patterns and markings on the clothing also are said to have indicated messages understood by fleeing slaves.


title: Lawn jockey

text: However, these claims of an association with the Underground Railroad have not been corroborated by historians. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia also notes that "there is very little, if any, primary source material for the claim that lawn jockeys were used as signaling devices for escaping slaves on the Underground Railroad."


title: Lawn jockey

text: An apocryphal account of the figure's origin portrays the statue as representing a hero of African American history and culture. According to the River Road African American Museum, the figure originated in commemoration of heroic dedication to duty: "It is said that the 'lawn jockey' has its roots in the tale of one Jocko Graves, an African-American youth who served with General George Washington at the time that he crossed the Delaware to carry out his surprise attack on Hessian forces at Trenton, NJ. The General thought him too young to take along on such a dangerous attack, so he left him on the Pennsylvania side to tend to the horses and to keep a light on the bank for their return. So the story goes, the boy, faithful to his post and his orders, froze to death on the river bank during the night, the lantern still in his hand. The General was so much moved by the boy's devotion to his duty that he had a statue sculpted and cast of him, holding the lantern, and had it installed at his Mount Vernon estate. He called the sculpture "The Faithful Groomsman"."


title: Lawn jockey

text: The most frequently cited source for the story is Kenneth W. Goings in "Mammy and Uncle Mose" (Indiana University Press, 1994), though he regards it as legend. The story was also laid out in a 32-page children's book by Earl Kroger Sr., "Jocko: A Legend of the American Revolution" (1963). There is also a 13-page typescript titled "A Horse for the General: The Story of Jocko Graves" (1972), by Thomas William Halligan, in the archives of the University of Alaska Anchorage / Alaska Pacific University Consortium Library.


title: Lawn jockey

text: The Revolutionary War legend is not corroborated by historical records. Mount Vernon's librarian Ellen McCallister Clark wrote in a 1987 letter to Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library: "No record of anybody by the name of Jocko Graves, nor any account of somebody freezing to death holding Washington's horses, exists in the extensive historical record of the time."


title: Lawn jockey

text: In media and popular culture, lawn jockeys sometimes appear as a prop or conversation piece, in most cases merely trivial and non-notable in nature, although notable racial connotations are often associated with earlier examples of lawn jockeys versus more modern contemporary examples. Sometimes a reference to a lawn jockey is used to illustrate a racist or race-based point in popular culture. For example, in a Season 1 episode of "The Golden Girls", Sophia makes a subtle hint at Blanche's southern American roots being steeped in racism, suggesting to the woman that she "tar and feather the neighbour's lawn jockey" in order to make her father feel at home during his visit to the more liberal city of Miami, Florida. In "All in the Family", the gift of a black lawn jockey is bestowed to main character Archie Bunker to annoy him, owing to his reputed racial bigotry, although in an unexpected twist, Archie actually finds the racist gift inappropriate and bothersome, refusing to put it out on his own property. In Season 1, episode 13 of "Maude", Arthur refers to a black man protesting slumlords on Maude's front lawn as "so much more animated than those little black jockeys".


title: Lawn jockey

text: Lawn jockeys are often associated with wealthy white American families in popular culture, either for satire and sociopolitical symbolism, or for legitimate aesthetic appeal. Examples of this trend include, but are not limited to, the following:


title: Lawn jockey

text: The central character in Frank Zappa's song "Uncle Remus" is a student protester who vows to visit Beverly Hills in the night and "knock the lawn jockeys off the rich people's lawn, And before they get up I'll be gone, I'll be gone".


title: Kirsch

text: Kirschwasser (, ; , German for "cherry water") or kirsch is a clear, colorless brandy traditionally made from double distillation of morello cherries, a dark-colored cultivar of the sour cherry. It is now also made from other kinds of cherries. The cherries are fermented completely, including their stones. Unlike cherry liqueurs and cherry brandies, kirschwasser is not sweet. It is sometimes distilled from fermented cherry juice.


title: Kirsch

text: Kirschwasser is usually imbibed neat. It is traditionally served cold in a very small glass and is taken as an apéritif. It is an important ingredient in fondue. People in the German-speaking region where it originated usually serve it after dinner, as a digestif.


title: Kirsch

text: Because morellos were originally grown in the Black Forest regions of Germany, kirschwasser is believed to have originated there.


title: Kirsch

text: Kirschwasser is colourless because it is either not aged in wood or is aged in barrels made of ash. It may have been aged in paraffin-lined wood barrels or in earthenware vessels.'


title: Kirsch

text: Rivals in producing high quality "Kirsch" are Switzerland and Elsass (Alsace), the latter even has a kirschwasser route ("Route-du-pays-du-kirsch"), and other quality cherry production german speaking areas like South Tyrolia.


title: Kirsch

text: In France and in English-speaking countries, clear fruit brandies are known as "eaux de vie". The European Union sets a minimum of 37.5% ABV (75 proof) for products of this kind; kirschwasser typically has an alcohol content of 40%–50% ABV (80–100 proof). About 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of cherries go into the making of a 750 ml bottle of kirschwasser.


title: Kirsch

text: Compared with brandy or whisky the characteristic features of kirsch are ("a") that it contains relatively large quantities of higher alcohols and compound ethers, and ("b") the presence in this spirit of small quantities of Hydrogen cyanide, partly as such and partly in combination as benzaldehyde-cyanhydrin, to which the distinctive flavour of kirsch is largely due.


title: Kirsch

text: Kirsch is sometimes used in Swiss fondue and in some cakes, such as the . It is also commonly used in the dessert cherries jubilee.


title: Kirsch

text: Kirsch can also be used in the filling of chocolates. A typical kirsch chocolate consists of no more than one milliliter of kirsch, surrounded by milk or (more usually) dark chocolate with a film of hard sugar between the two parts. The hard sugar acts as an impermeable casing for the liquid content and also compensates for the lack of sweetness that is typical of kirsch. Swiss chocolatiers Lindt & Sprüngli and Camille Bloch, among others, manufacture these kirsch chocolates.


title: Bonnie Langford

text: Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series "Just William". In the 1980s, she played companion Mel Bush in "Doctor Who". She has also been known for appearing in various musicals in the West End and on Broadway, including shows such as "Peter Pan", "Cats", "The Pirates of Penzance" and "Chicago". From 2015 to 2018, she portrayed the role of Carmel Kazemi on the BBC soap opera "EastEnders", for which she received the 2016 British Soap Award for Best Newcomer.


title: Bonnie Langford

text: Bonnie Langford attended the Arts Educational School, St Catherine's School, Twickenham and the Italia Conti Academy stage school. She first came to public attention when, aged six years old, she won the talent show "Opportunity Knocks". This led to the role of Scarlett O'Hara's daughter in the London production of Scarlett (1972), and work in the 1974 Broadway revival of "Gypsy" starring Angela Lansbury, in the 1976 film "Bugsy Malone", the 1977 film "Wombling Free", and to still greater fame playing Violet Elizabeth Bott in the 1977-78 television series "Just William". During this time, she was appearing as a regular on a children's prime-time show made by Yorkshire Television called "Junior Showtime", along with child stars Lena Zavaroni, Neil Reid, Perry Cree, and Glynn Poole among others.


title: Bonnie Langford

text: Between 1986 and 1987, Langford played the role of Mel, companion to both the Sixth and Seventh Doctors in the classic science fiction series "Doctor Who". She returned to the role in 1993 for "Dimensions in Time", a special charity "Doctor Who"/"EastEnders" crossover episode as part of the BBC's "Children in Need". She has continued to reprise the role in several audio dramas alongside the Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy Doctors and in a cameo in the episode "The Power of the Doctor".


title: Bonnie Langford

text: Langford was a featured dancer in BBC One's popular light entertainment series "The Hot Shoe Show" which she co-presented with Wayne Sleep. On 23 October 2005, she performed in "Children Will Listen", a 75th birthday tribute to Stephen Sondheim at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She is also a panto regular; recent credits include Peter in "Peter Pan" at the Richmond Theatre in Surrey (2008–2009); and Fairy Snow in "Cinderella" at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford (2013–2014).


title: Bonnie Langford

text: In 2006, Langford was a celebrity contestant in the first series of ITV's "Dancing on Ice", partnering professional figure skater Matt Evers. Their routines were characterised by the dramatic lifts and tricks they performed and were amongst the most ambitious in the competitions. Viewers saw her bang her head as she was spun on the ice during rehearsals, illustrating the danger of some of the moves they were attempting. Their appearances were also notable for the differing reception they received from the panel of judges (which consistently voted them highly, awarding them the highest total scores and the only two maximum scores from individual judges) and the voting public (who twice placed them in the bottom two pairs, forcing a "skate off" to remain in the competition). They finished in third place overall.


title: Bonnie Langford

text: Langford and Evers appeared again on the programme in the one-off "Champion of Champions" show which followed series two. They were scored second overall by the judging panel but again the public vote was less favourable and they were amongst the four teams eliminated in the first round of the competition. Langford then toured with "Torvill and Dean's " in 2007.


title: Bonnie Langford

text: In 2014, Bonnie returned to "Dancing on Ice" for the ninth and final series (10 Week run), which saw the favourite celebrities from previous series. This time she was partnered with professional ice skater Andrei Lipanov. She was eliminated in Week 5 after losing out to Sam Attwater and his fiancé Vicky Ogden. In February 2014 she was announced as one of eight celebrities that would be appearing in Torvill & Deans Dancing on Ice: The Final Tour between March & April 2014.


title: Bonnie Langford

text: Langford's appearance on "Dancing on Ice" sparked a regeneration in her career. She returned to the West End theatre in 2006 playing the role of Roxie Hart in "Chicago".


title: Bonnie Langford

text: In 2006 and 2007, Langford appeared in the Birmingham and Plymouth tours of "Guys and Dolls" playing Miss Adelaide Adams, a dance hall hostess.


title: Bonnie Langford

text: Langford played the role of Roz in the first UK tour production of the Broadway musical, "9 to 5", which was launched at the Opera House, Manchester on 12 October 2012.


title: Bonnie Langford

text: In 2018 she took over the leading role of Dorothy Brock in the West End revival of 42nd Street, until the show closed on 5 January 2019; a recording from the end of the 2018 run aired as part of PBS's Great Performances’ third annual “Broadway’s Best” lineup in November 2019.


title: Bonnie Langford

text: In 2021, Langford appeared on "The Masked Dancer", masked as Squirrel. She reached the final and was announced as the runner up on 5 June.


title: Bonnie Langford

text: On 5 April 2015, it was announced that Langford had joined long-running BBC soap opera "EastEnders" for a guest role, later promoted to a regular role as character Carmel Kazemi, the mother of established character, Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami). Carmel is described as an "overly protective" and "outspoken" mother. Commenting on the casting, Langford said: "I’m so thrilled and delighted to be part of "EastEnders". I’m a great fan of the show and think the recent 30th Anniversary was sensational and shows just how good British television can be. To be part of this family is an absolute privilege."


title: Leeteuk

text: Park Jeong-su (born July 1, 1983), known professionally as Leeteuk (), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, presenter, radio personality and actor. He debuted as the leader of the boy band Super Junior in November 2005 and since then has participated in its subgroups Super Junior-T and Super Junior-H. He began his career as a television presenter on the music show "M! Countdown". He is best known for his role in presenting "Strong Heart", "Star King", "The Best Cooking Secrets", "I Can See Your Voice", and "Idol Star Athletics Championships".


title: Leeteuk

text: He is also a regular figure in the South Korean year-end awards; he has presented Golden Disc Awards three times, Gaon Chart Music Awards six times, and Asia Artist Awards six times. He regularly hosts the Dream Concert and the Asia Song Festival annual concerts.


title: Leeteuk

text: Leeteuk was born on July 1, 1983, as the second child of Park Yong-in and Yoo Suk-yeong. His elder sister, Park In-young, is a singer and an actress. His parents divorced in 1998. He has spoken about his parents' relationship publicly on several variety shows. He attended Chungwoon University and graduated with a bachelor's degree. He is also an alumnus of Gachon University.


title: Leeteuk

text: When Leeteuk traveled to Apgujeong-dong to sightsee in early 2000, a talent scout approached him and recommended he audition for SM Entertainment's Starlight Casting System. After several test recordings and performances, he signed with SM Entertainment and became a trainee. In the same year, he appeared as an extra in the drama "All About Eve" which aired on MBC TV, and briefly modelled for Pepsi in 2002. In 2003, he was put into the five-member boyband Smile with future bandmate Donghae, which aimed to rival the group TVXQ. The project was dropped, and they were put into the rotational group Super Junior along with ten other boys. Being older than the other trainees, Leeteuk became the group's leader.


title: Leeteuk

text: Leeteuk has explained that he uses a stage name because of his desire to have a name with the same effects as Kangta, and to prevent confusion between veteran actress Park Jung-soo and himself. His stage name Leeteuk, means "special". He previously rejected two of the stage names designated for him by his agency. The agency's then-chairman, Lee Soo-man, called him "a special child" and said the name Leeteuk suited him better.


title: Leeteuk

text: Leeteuk officially debuted as part of the 12-member project group, Super Junior 05 on November 6, 2005, on Seoul Broadcasting System's (SBS) music program "Popular Songs", performing their first single, "Twins (Knock Out)". Their debut album "SuperJunior05 (Twins)" was released a month later on December 5, 2005, and debuted at number three on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts.


title: Leeteuk

text: Originally, the band was meant to have rotational line-ups, much like the Japanese girl group Morning Musume, but the idea to form new generations of Super Junior was dropped after fans objected. Following the addition of a thirteenth member, Kyuhyun, the group dropped the suffix "05" and officially became Super Junior. The re-polished group's first CD single "U" was released on June 7, 2006, which was their most successful single until the release of "Sorry, Sorry" in March 2009. In February 2007, Leeteuk was placed in the trot-singing subunit, Super Junior-T. The subunit debuted with the single "Rokkugo", which quickly reached number one on the weekly music chart and held the spot for two consecutive weeks. A year later, Leeteuk became a member of Super Junior-H, a subunit focusing on bright and cheerful music, in contrast to the genre of the songs released by the core group. Besides music, he also participated in Super Junior-centric television shows like "Mystery 6" and "Full House". He made his first film appearance with Super Junior members in "Attack on the Pin-Up Boys" in 2007, playing the role of the school's panda mascot.


title: Leeteuk

text: Apart from Super Junior activities, he has hosted several television shows. In 2005, he became the host of a weekly music show, "M! Countdown", his first gig as a host, with bandmates Shindong and Kangin. This eventually landed him his first solo hosting act on the reality show "Leeteuk's Love Fighter", which aired on the cable television channel Mnet in 2008. He received praise for his work as a newcomer and received a plaque of appreciation from the show's crew members on his last appearance on the show.


title: Leeteuk

text: Leeteuk became a radio DJ for KBS "Super Junior's Kiss The Radio" ("Sukira") with Eunhyuk in August 2006. From March to June 2011, bandmate Yesung temporarily replaced Eunhyuk while he was away doing promotional activities for Super Junior-M's third EP "Perfection". Leeteuk left the program in November 2011 because of conflicting work schedules.


title: Leeteuk

text: Between 2008 and 2009, he hosted several television programs including three variety shows which aired on KBS2; "Road Show Quiz Expedition", "Challenge! Good Song", and "Challenge! Golden Ladder"—co-hosting with several senior television presenters such as Jee Seok-jin, Lee Hyuk-jae, Boom, and Kim Shin-young. From 2009 onwards, Leeteuk, Eunhyuk, and Shindong were regular guests on SBS's "Strong Heart", where they hosted a special segment, Boom Academy, headed by Boom. In October 2009, when Boom enlisted for mandatory military service, Leeteuk took over his role and the segment's name was changed temporarily to "Teukigayo", or Teuk's Academy. As of the April 10, 2012, broadcast, following the change in MCs and the departure of Shindong from "Strong Heart", the show was re-vamped with Leeteuk and Eunhyuk billed as two of the 'six-fixed guests'.


title: Leeteuk

text: In 2010, he appeared as one of many hosts of , a special program to support the South Korea national football team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the same year, he became the new host for MBC's "Enjoy Today", replacing Big Bang's Seungri who left the program to focus on his band's new album. He released the single "Grumbling", a duet with f(x)'s Krystal, through the show. Leeteuk was also the MC for MBC's "Love Chaser" and SBS's "Oh! Brothers", further cementing his position as an emerging host for the country's terrestrial television channels.


title: Leeteuk

text: Since 2009, he has been a frequent guest on "Star King", with other Super Junior members. In 2011, following Kang Ho-dong's retirement from the entertainment industry, Leeteuk and Boom took over as co-hosts of "Star King". From September to November, Leeteuk played the role of a father in "Hello Baby season 4", a reality-variety show where the cast had to take care of a baby, with girl group Sistar becoming the baby's mothers. Leeteuk also became part of the MBC reality show "We Got Married", half of a new on-screen couple, with actress Kang So-ra becoming his on-screen wife. In June 2012, he and Mir were cast as additional hosts to raise the ratings of "Jewellery House" but the show's rating continued to plummet, and it was cancelled after four episodes.


title: Leeteuk

text: He appeared in four television dramas in between 2011 and 2012, making cameo appearances as a radio DJ in "Dream High", a blind date partner in "All My Love For You", a television host in "Salamander Guru and The Shadows", and as an extra in "My Bittersweet Life" to support Kang So-ra, who acted in the leading role. He also became the host of the "2011 Melon Music Awards" show, his first year-end awards hosting gig.


title: Leeteuk

text: Leeteuk returned to the silver screen by taking part in the documentary film "I Am." directed by Choi Jin-sung as a member of SM Town, the collective title for artists signed under SM Entertainment. The film, which documented the singers' journey and experience during the SM Town Live '10 World Tour concert at Madison Square Garden in New York, was theatrically released on June 21, 2012. In July, Leeteuk reunited with his Super Junior bandmates for their sixth studio album, "Sexy, Free & Single" which was released on July 4, 2012, just over a month after the band's first world tour Super Show 4 was concluded. In the repackaged edition of the album, re-titled "Spy", Leeteuk composed "Only U" and co-wrote the lyrics with Donghae. He participated in the concert tour SM Town Live World Tour III which began in May 2012 but did not appear at his supposed last appearance on the tour during its Indonesia leg on September 22. He apologized on his Twitter account the following day, revealing he could not perform with his label mates because of exhaustion and enteritis.


title: Leeteuk

text: In September 2011, Leeteuk said he planned to enlist for his mandatory military service in 2012. He made his final appearance before enlistment at the Style Icon Awards on October 25, 2012. He took part in a photoshoot documenting the shaving of his hair for the male fashion magazine "Geek" before his enlistment, and was featured on the cover of its December 2012 issue. On October 30, 2012, he reported to the 306 Reserve Battalion training camp in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, to undergo five weeks of basic training, followed by active duty for 21 months. He was initially ineligible for active duty following a car crash in 2007 and an aggravated herniated disk, but after receiving treatment he was able to enlist for active duty. "Strong Heart" belatedly aired a special episode entitled "Goodbye Leeteuk" on November 13 for his departure from the series.


title: Leeteuk

text: In January 2013, Leeteuk co-starred in the military musical "The Promise". It was co-produced by the Republic of Korea's Ministry of National Defense and the Korea Musical Theatre Association to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice. It ran from January 9 to 20 at the National Theater of Korea, co-starring actors Ji Hyun-woo, Kim Mu-yeol, Jung Tae-woo, and singers Yoon Hak of Supernova, and Lee Hyun of 8Eight. The musical centers around a group of soldiers who keep a promise made to each other during the Korean War. He won the Newcomer Award at the 7th Daegu International Musical Festival for his role as Miss Kim in the musical. In June 2013, he was selected to be the MC for the 2013 Military Service Award Ceremony, an annual military event.


title: Leeteuk

text: Leeteuk completed his military service and was discharged as a sergeant on July 29, 2014. He made his first stage appearance after being discharged at the South Korean leg of SM Town Live World Tour IV concert tour on August 15, 2014, performing "Sorry, Sorry" and "Mr. Simple" with Super Junior. He also returned to the band's line-up for the August performance on "Music Bank", marking the first time he, Heechul and Kangin had been together in the line-up since they each completed their military service. He returned as a television presenter becoming the special MC in episode 783 of "Inkigayo" with Heechul and Lee Yu-bi, standing in for Baekhyun, Suho and Kwanghee who had conflicting work schedules.


title: Leeteuk

text: He hosted three awards ceremonies in January 2015—the 29th Golden Disc Awards with Jun Hyun-moo and Tiffany Young, the 4th Gaon Chart Music Awards with Hyeri, and the 24th Seoul Music Awards, also with Jun Hyun-moo and Soyou. He received praise for his witty remarks during the ceremonies. He was subsequently selected to host the 30th Golden Disc Awards with Jun Hyun-moo and Krystal Jung, and several more editions of the Gaon Chart Music Awards—the 5th edition with Yura, the 6th with Solar, the 7th with Dahyun, the 9th with Itzy's Lia, and the 10th edition, also with Lia.


title: Leeteuk

text: He began hosting the biannual celebrity sports competition, "Idol Star Athletics Championships" in February 2015 by commenting on the "2015 Idol Star Athletics Basketball Futsal Archery Championships" with Kim Sung-joo, Jun Hyun-moo, Kim Jung-geun and Kwanghee, followed by the "2015 Idol Star Athletics Ssireum Basketball Futsal Archery Championships" in September 2015, again with Jun Hyun-moo, Kim Jung-geun and Kwanghee, as well as new co-hosts Jun Jin and Kim Young-chul. He had participated previously as a competitor in the series with other members of Super Junior in the 2010 and 2011 editions, during which he infamously disqualified himself during the 110 metres hurdles race in both competitions. He was a field reporter in the 2012 Swimming Championships. Since hosting the two editions in 2015, Leeteuk had become a fixture in the series along with senior presenter Jun Hyun-moo as he had hosted the program seven more times, once in 2016, twice in 2018, twice in 2019, once in 2020, and the special edition "Idol Star Championships: Hall of Fame" that aired in 2021 in lieu of the usual competition due to COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Leeteuk

text: A week after he hosted his first "Idol Star Athletics Championships" in 2015, he appeared as the presenter on Mnet's new mystery music game show, "I Can See Your Voice" alongside Yoo Se-yoon and Kim Bum-soo. Kim left the program after three seasons to focus on his music career and was replaced by singer and entertainer Kim Jong-kook. As of 2021, Leeteuk has hosted all eight seasons of the series. When asked about the secret to the series' longevity, he said that although it "has a mild taste" compared to other entertainment shows, it is "full of charm". In a separate interview, he noted that the show's solid format has allowed it to air for a long time. Since its start, the program has grown into a global franchise, spawning shows in different countries and languages, including the UK and the US versions.


title: Leeteuk

text: He appeared as host of several other programs in 2015 like "" with Lee Hwi-jae, a reboot of 2002 program "Kang Ho-dong's Match Made in Heaven", "White Swan" with Lee Seung-yeon, "" with SM Rookies as the Mouseketeers, and episode 782 of "Music Bank", filling in for Park Seo-joon. He returned to the set of "Star King", first as a special host for episode 400 in February 2015, then as a regular host beginning in April 2015, until its cancellation in August 2016. He made a cameo appearance as a music show host in episode 5 of television drama "Persevere, Goo Hae-ra" which aired in March 2015. That year, he participated in his first travel series "Super Junior's One Fine Day" with bandmates Eunhyuk and Donghae, followed by "The Friends in Switzerland" with Ryeowook, both of which were filmed in Switzerland. His band released a compilation album "Devil" in July 2015, followed by its repackaged version "Magic" in September. Leeteuk wrote the track "Sarang♥" on "Magic", and sang it as a duet with Heechul. It was the band's last release before going on a hiatus because most of the band members were carrying out their mandatory military services. Leeteuk returned to hosting.


title: Leeteuk

text: In 2016, he co-hosted the entertainment programs "Hidden Camera Shot Battle" with Lee Kyung-kyu and Noh Hong-chul, "The Birth of a Song" with Jung Jae-hyung and San E, and "Reform Show" with Lee Hwi-jae and Kwanghee. He made a return as radio DJ of "Sukira" in April 2016, replacing Ryeowook who had enlisted in the military. He celebrated the 10th anniversary of the radio show in August before leaving the program for good in October 2016. He took part in the reality-documentary show "Law of the Jungle", filming for "Law of The Jungle in Papua New Guinea". Despite it being his first time participating in an outdoor entertainment program, the program's director, Park Joong-won, praised his effort, commenting that he had worked hard during the filming process, and adapts easily for an urban person. He presented "Star Show 360", season 2 of "Please Take Care of My Vanity", and "Idol Party", as well as participating in the variety show "Lucky Race". He was slated to co-host "Star Coming", a South Korea-China joint program in late 2016, but its production was abruptly cancelled following rising tensions between the two countries. His roles in the industry earned him the top three spots on the Idol MC of the Year list published by "My Daily" news portal. The journalist in charge of the list, Lee Seung-gil, praised him for his unique ability to make his guests or his co-hosts to stand out and considered him a "professional MC".


title: Leeteuk

text: He moved out of his comfort zone of studio work by becoming the MC of "7 First Kisses" press conference, and the preview screening of the documentary film "See-Saw". On top of that, he became a public speaker through SM Entertainment's cultural lecture series, The Moment, which featured lecture collaborations between SM artists and experts in various fields with the theme "Healing the wounded 2016 and welcoming the year 2017 happily": partnering with chef Lee Won-il for the lecture entitled "The Single Man's Lifestyle" in February 2016; with a mental health specialist, Yang Jae-jin for "Healing Counseling for Young People" in May; with Kim Ji-yoon, director of the Institute for Good Relationships for "Love and Romance" in September; and "Leeteuk's Unique Day with Webtoon Writer Lee Jong-beom" in December. In June 2016, he collaborated with Suho, Kassy and songwriter Cho Young-soo in a song titled "My Hero", part of SM Entertainment's music project SM Station, as a tribute to South Korean Olympians past and present in honor of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Leeteuk embarked on his first solo Asia fanmeeting tour, Star;Teuk, making stops in Shanghai, China, in September, and Taipei, Taiwan, in December 2016.


title: Leeteuk

text: Leeteuk became the host of "The Best Cooking Secrets", the longest running cooking show in South Korea, in January 2017, replacing 's Kwanghee, who enlisted in the military. His first episode as host was broadcast on the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) on January 30, 2017. He filled in for Lee Soo-geun and BoA as the host of episode 10 of "Singderella" and episode 6 of "Produce 101 Season 2", respectively. He took part in several variety shows throughout the year including "Hard Workers", as a courier in "We Have Delivery", as a detective in "Sherlock's Room", and as a celebrity mentor in "Fearless Guys". As an actor, he made a cameo appearance as a radio DJ in episode 7 of the television drama "", which aired on October 27, 2017.


title: Leeteuk

text: He became one of the special hosts with other members of Super Junior of the television home shopping program "Super Market" which aired on CJ O Shopping in November 2017, becoming the first idol to do so, . He hosted six concerts in 2017—the K-Drama Festa in Pyeongchang, a concert event to promote Pyeongchang ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics; the Going Together Concert in April, a concert held jointly by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam and the Embassy of South Korea in Vietnam to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries; the 2017 Dream Concert in June; the 2017 Incheon Airport Sky Festival K-pop Concert in September, a part of the annual outdoor music festival held by the Incheon International Airport; the 2017 Asia Song Festival with Jackson Wang in September; and the 2017 Dream Concert in Pyeongchang in November, which was a special edition of Dream Concert held as part of the Cultural Olympiad to accompany the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.


title: Leeteuk

text: Leeteuk joined Super Junior as part of the main cast of "Super TV", which aired on the new television channel XtvN from January 28 until April 13, 2018. The show was immediately renewed and the second season aired from June 7 until August 23, 2018. He wrote the single "Super Duper" for Super Junior, and it became the 50th single of the project after it was released on March 23, 2018. The song was later inserted into Super Junior eighth repackage album, "Replay". He returned with his band for the second time to "Super Market" and sold out facemasks during the hour they were on air. After his appearances on the program, he was cast in the variety show "Sell to Return", a collaboration with Thai and Malaysian home shopping channels.


title: Leeteuk

text: He played a supporting role in the commercial web drama "Secret Queen Makers" in June 2018. The branded entertainment was well-received and has been watched over a hundred million times since its release. In August 2018, he joined the cast and hosted the second season of "Real Life Men and Women", a program that looks into everyday life of celebrities and compares the differences between those of men and women. He hosted of the 2018 edition of "Quiz on Korea" alongside Sam Okyere in September, hosted the 2018 Asia Song Festival on October 2 and October 3, and the 1st Korea Popular Music Awards (KPMA) with Jin Se-yeon in December 2018.


title: Leeteuk

text: In January 2019, he appeared as a special host on the twelfth episode of the reality show "Under Nineteen", filling in for the regular host Kim So-hyun, who had a conflicting work schedule. He also hosted the final episode of the show with Kim, which was broadcast live on February 9, 2019. He participated in a few programs which were filmed overseas for the next few months. In May, he appeared in a Japanese travelling show "Leeteuk's Solo Travel", which showcased his trip to the Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu. From May to July 2019, Leeteuk hosted a Thailand-based talk show "Beauty No. 9", which focused on Korean beauty products. His hosting act was well received by the locals and media. He starred in a YouTube Original series "Analog Trip" with fellow band members, Eunhyuk, Donghae and Shindong, as well as TVXQ's Yunho and Changmin in September 2019. The travel documentary which showcased the band members' close relationships was shot in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. He is credited as one of the composers of the show's soundtrack, "Come a Little Closer".


title: Leeteuk

text: He was cast as a host for JTBC music show "Melody Bookstore" in October. He wrote the soundtrack for the show, "This Is Me", which is sung by Sunwoo Jung-a and Suran. In October 2019, he became the host of the music talk show "Hidden Track", which focuses on introducing artists' lesser known songs. JTBC and KT produced the show jointly. It aired live on Olleh TV for eight weeks, beginning on October 2, 2019. The show was renewed for a second season in March 2020, and a third in April 2021. Leeteuk reprised his role in both seasons.


title: Leeteuk

text: In August 2019, it was announced that Leeteuk would publish a cookbook targeted at single-person households. He became the first idol to do so. It was published on January 20, 2020. He appeared as a talent manager in ', a reality show aimed to produce a trot idol group, and began hosting the Japanese variety show "Super Junior's Idol vs Idol" with bandmate Yesung in July 2020. In the same month, he left "The Best Cooking Secrets" after being its host for more than three years. Following his departure, he appeared in several food related shows, as a chef in "Home Cooking Live" in August, as a host of "Neighbourhood Two-Top" in November, and as a cooking disciple in ' between December 2020 to February 2021. He became a mentor for North Korean and overseas competitors in the reality competition "" beginning in September 2020.


title: Leeteuk

text: In October, he hosted the "2020 Miss Korea" beauty pageant, which aired online because of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. Many events were broadcast online instead of being held in public because of social distancing rules implemented during the pandemic, which include the banning of public gatherings. Leeteuk hosted events such as the K-Pop Global Donation Concert World Is One, a charity concert organised by the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation and World Vision Korea for their COVID-19 pandemic relief fund, the 26th Dream Concert, the 2020 Taekwondo Performance in Seoul, and the DMZ Concert, a part of the 2020 Live in DMZ festival—a peace festival which was held at Imjingak near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). He returned to radio hosting "Party B", which aired on the web radio Naver NOW, from September to December 2020.


title: Leeteuk

text: On April 19, 2007, almost two months after Super Junior-T's release of their first single "Rokkugo", Leeteuk was seriously injured in a car accident with Shindong, Eunhyuk, Kyuhyun, and two managers. Returning home after a recording of the radio show "Super Junior Kiss the Radio", they were on the highway when the front left tire burst as the driver was switching lanes. The van ran into the guard rail on the driver's side and skidded for about 30 metres. At some point, the momentum caused the van to flip over on its right side.


title: Leeteuk

text: While Shindong and Eunhyuk suffered minor injuries, Leeteuk and Kyuhyun sustained more serious injuries, which required both to be hospitalised. Leeteuk had glass shards embedded in his back and above his eyes, requiring over 170 stitches. He was discharged from the hospital on April 30, 2007. Because of the accident, Leeteuk made only a minor appearance in Super Junior's debut big-screen production, "Attack on the Pin-Up Boys" in 2007. He was credited as the panda mascot at the end of the film, although it was later confirmed that it had been Ryeowook who portrayed it throughout most of the film.


title: Leeteuk

text: On January 6, 2014, while Leeteuk was in the military, news broke out that his father, Park Yong-in, and grandparents were found dead in their home. SM initially released a statement saying that the trio had died in a car accident. It was later revealed it had been a murder-suicide, with Park strangling his parents and then hanging himself. A note left near the bodies read, "I will take my parents with me." The news reported that Park Yong-in had been dealing with depression for a long time. He was also struggling with financial problems on top of having to take care of both his parents who were suffering from dementia. According to the police, Park had planned to admit his parents to a nursing home the next day but changed his mind. They concluded that it is highly likely that Park blamed himself for being unable to continue taking care of his parents. The funeral was held on January 8, with the Super Junior members in attendance. Leeteuk, who was granted emergency leave, resumed his mandatory military service on January 11, 2014, and was discharged on July 29, 2014.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Sir Gavin Alexander Williamson (born 25 June 1976) is a British politician who most recently served as Minister of State without Portfolio from 25 October to 8 November 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Staffordshire since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, Williamson previously served in Theresa May's Cabinet as Government Chief Whip from 2016 to 2017 and Secretary of State for Defence from 2017 to 2019, and as Secretary of State for Education under Boris Johnson from 2019 to 2021.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and was educated at Raincliffe School, Scarborough Sixth Form College and the University of Bradford. He was Chair of Conservative Students from 1997 to 1998 and served on the North Yorkshire County Council from 2001 to 2005. In the 2005 general election, he unsuccessfully stood to become MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson was elected as MP for South Staffordshire at the 2010 general election. He served in David Cameron's governments as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Transport, aiding Patrick McLoughlin, prior to being appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister in October 2013. Following Cameron's resignation, Williamson supported Theresa May's bid to become Conservative leader; May subsequently appointed Williamson as Chief Whip in her first government in July 2016. He later served as Secretary of State for Defence from November 2017 to May 2019, when he was dismissed as Defence Secretary, following a leak from the National Security Council; Williamson denied leaking the information about Huawei's potential involvement in the British 5G network.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: After supporting Boris Johnson's campaign to succeed May as Conservative leader, Williamson quickly returned to the cabinet as Secretary of State for Education in July 2019. He served in the role during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, including times when schools were closed to most children, and was criticised for the 2020 school exam grading controversy. In September 2021, he was dismissed as Education Secretary when Johnson reshuffled his cabinet. He was subsequently nominated by Johnson for a knighthood, which he was awarded in March 2022. Williamson supported Rishi Sunak in his two attempts to become Conservative leader; following Sunak’s election in October 2022, he appointed Williamson as Minister of State without Portfolio.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: In November 2022 Williamson resigned, stating he wanted to clear his name "of any wrongdoing" in relation to allegations, which he "strenuously denied", of him having bullied former Chief Whip Wendy Morton and of bullying behaviour previously during his own tenure as Chief Whip and as Defence Secretary.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. His father Ray was a local government worker, and his mother Beverly worked in a job centre. They were both Labour Party voters. He attended East Ayton Primary School and for his secondary education, Raincliffe School, a comprehensive. He studied A-Levels in History, Economics, and Government and Politics at Scarborough Sixth Form College. From 1994 to 1997, he completed a BSc in Social Sciences from the University of Bradford.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson was national chair of Conservative Students in 1997, the penultimate chair before it was merged into Conservative Future in 1998. As chair he accused the National Union of Students (NUS) of acting like a "branch of the Labour Party". In 2001, he was elected as the Conservative county councillor for Seamer division in North Yorkshire. In 2003, he was appointed as the County Council's "Young People's Champion". He did not stand for re-election in 2005. Williamson is a former deputy chairman of Staffordshire Area Conservatives, chairman of Stoke-on-Trent Conservative Association and vice-chairman of Derbyshire Dales Conservative Association.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson worked as a manager in fireplace manufacturer Elgin & Hall, a subsidiary of AGA, until 2004. Williamson had become managing director of Aynsley China, a Staffordshire-based pottery firm by 2005. It sold ceramic tableware and he later became co-owner. In April 2005, Williamson was quoted in reports on the consumer rush to buy items with the wrong wedding date on for Charles and Camilla's wedding. He told "The Daily Telegraph", "We've literally had fights in our own retail shops. On the first day after the announcement I went into our factory shop in Stoke-on-Trent and we had people fighting over the last plate that we had on the shop floor. I think everybody has decided that this is going to be their pension."


title: Gavin Williamson

text: He has also worked for NPS North West Limited, an architectural design firm, until he became an MP in 2010.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: In the 2005 general election, he stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative Party candidate in Blackpool North and Fleetwood. After 2005, Williamson moved to Derbyshire.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: In January 2010, Williamson was selected as the Conservative candidate in South Staffordshire for the 2010 general election. The incumbent, Patrick Cormack, had announced that he was retiring. The selection went to five ballots, but in the end Williamson won over local councillor Robert Light in the final ballot. Williamson was subsequently elected with a majority of 16,590 votes. Shortly after being elected, he cited his political inspiration as Rab Butler and, when asked what department of any he would most like to lead, he said the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as it is "business and manufacturing that can lead the way out of difficult economic times".


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson made his maiden speech on 8 June 2010, on the same day as Nicky Morgan and Kwasi Kwarteng. During his speech, he said that "We do not sing enough the praises of our designers, engineers and manufacturers. We need to change that ethos and have a similar one to that of Germany or Japan. We will have a truly vibrant economy only when we recreate the Victorian spirit of ingenuity and inventiveness that made Britain such a vibrant country, as I am sure it will be again." Williamson campaigned on a number of issues in his first year in Parliament.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: In July 2010, Williamson called for a new law to allow local authorities to clamp down on car boot sales that disrupted traffic flow, citing villages in his constituency as examples. In June 2011, he expressed support for postwoman Julie Roberts, who had been suspended after clinging for over a mile onto the bonnet of her post van that had been stolen. He said that "People want her back in work and they want the Royal Mail to show some common sense and some common decency" and asked the Royal Mail to reinstate her into her old job. Williamson was one of several MPs who was absent or abstained on 21 March 2011 vote on supporting UN-backed action in Libya. The vote ultimately passed 557–13.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: In October 2011, Williamson was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the minister of state for Northern Ireland, Hugo Swire. He replaced Conor Burns, who became Owen Paterson's new PPS. In September 2012, Williamson became PPS to Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport, and in 2013 became PPS to the prime minister, David Cameron.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: In Parliament, Williamson was a member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee and was Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Motor Neurone Disease.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Following David Cameron's resignation, Williamson "privately vowed" to stop the front-runner Boris Johnson from becoming Conservative Party leader. He assessed Theresa May to be the likeliest candidate to defeat Johnson, offered his help to her, and was invited to be her parliamentary campaign manager. When May became prime minister, Williamson was appointed Chief Whip.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Following the Conservative–DUP agreement after the 2017 general election, Williamson visited Belfast to discuss arrangements with the DUP.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson was appointed Secretary of State for Defence on 2 November 2017 after the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon the preceding evening.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: In February 2018, Williamson dined with Lubov Chernukhin, the wife of a former Putin minister, in exchange for a £30,000 donation to the Conservative party. Later that month, Williamson alleged that the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, in meeting a Czech diplomat (later revealed to be a spy) during the 1980s, had "betray[ed]" his country. In response to the statement, a spokesman for Corbyn stated: "Gavin Williamson should focus on his job and not give credence to entirely false and ridiculous smears".


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson has supported the Saudi Arabian-led military intervention in Yemen against the Shia Houthis despite concerns from human rights activists and Labour MPs about war crimes allegedly committed by the Saudi military.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 15 March 2018, in the wake of the Salisbury poisoning, Williamson answered a question about Russia's potential response to the UK's punitive measures against Russia by saying that "frankly, Russia should go away, and it should shut up". Major-General Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman of the Russian Defence Ministry, said: "The market wench talk that British defence secretary Gavin Williamson resorted to reflects his extreme intellectual impotency". Williamson's remark was quoted by the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, who posted a comment on his official Twitter account: "The Kremlin's 'chemical attack' in the UK is nothing but an encroachment on British sovereignty. And our message to Russia is the same as that of British defense secretary Gavin Williamson: 'shut up and go away'."


title: Gavin Williamson

text: In December 2018, Williamson expressed "grave" and "very deep concerns" about the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei providing technology to upgrade Britain's services to 5G. He accused China of acting "sometimes in a malign way". China's Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian criticised Williamson's comments, saying: "The remarks just reinforced the deep-rooted ignorance, prejudice and anxiety among some British people."


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 11 February 2019, Williamson delivered the speech "Defence in Global Britain" at the Royal United Services Institute outlining the future direction of the British armed forces. The speech, among other things, outlined plans to send Britain's new aircraft carrier to the Pacific; the Chinese Government in turn cancelled trade talks with Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and prompted Hammond to state that the decision to deploy the aircraft carrier was premature. "The Mail on Sunday" quoted an unnamed ally of Hammond comparing Williamson to Private Pike, a hapless character in the television sitcom " Dad's Army".


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 1 May 2019, Williamson was asked to resign from his position as Defence Secretary, following the leaking of confidential National Security Council information related to Huawei's potential involvement in the UK's 5G network. He refused to resign because he felt this would incriminate him and be seen as an admission that he was responsible for the leak, and was therefore sacked. Theresa May said that she had "compelling evidence" that Williamson had leaked the information and that she had "lost confidence in his ability to serve in his role". Williamson vehemently denied the allegation, saying that he "swore on his children's lives he was not responsible", and said that a "thorough and formal inquiry" would have vindicated his position. At the time, opposition MPs called for a police investigation into the matter, but the matter was closed.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 10 November 2022 "The Guardian" reported when Penny Mordaunt was defence secretary she had to deal with a security leak and the department believed her predecessor, Williamson caused the leak. There were fears the leak could put “our people’s lives at risk”. Three sources told "the Guardian" that the leak was considered so serious Mordaunt was ready to look for a D notice to warn media that publishing the information could endanger Britain’s national security. Williamson denied leaking the second serious alleged leak. A former government insider said senior Ministry of Defence figures believed at the time that the leak “could only have come from Gavin” and “our people’s lives were put at risk by it”. They would not discuss the details about the alleged leak, for the same security reasons.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson worked on Boris Johnson's campaign during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson became Secretary of State for Education following Boris Johnson's election as Prime Minister on 24 July 2019.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Following deplatforming of history professor Selina Todd and former Home Secretary Amber Rudd by student societies at Oxford University, in March 2020 Williamson called for "robust action" to enforce free speech codes, and stated that the government would intervene to protect freedom of speech at universities if they failed to do so themselves. "HuffPost" reported that Williamson's department had drafted legislation to "strengthen academic freedom and free speech in universities". Williamson brought forward the legislation, titled the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, in May 2021.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister announced schools in England were to be closed to most children from 20 March 2020 until further notice. He said that exams in that academic year would not go ahead. On 6 January 2021, Williamson announced GCSE, AS and A-Level exams would once again not go ahead for students in the academic year, being replaced with teacher assessed grades.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 15 September 2021, Williamson was dismissed as Education Secretary when Johnson reshuffled his cabinet.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: In August 2020, he apologised to schoolchildren for the disruption in the COVID-19 pandemic. He said "...where we haven't got everything great, of course, I'm incredibly sorry for that". There was considerable concern over the A-Level results which, due to all exams having been cancelled in 2020, were based on Ofqual-moderated teacher assessments rather than on moderated exam results. About 39% of results were below the teacher assessment (compared to 79% in 2019) – Ofqual accused some teachers of submitting "implausibly high" predictions. Ofqual rescinded the advice it had given on how the appeals system would operate. "The Daily Telegraph" reported that Williamson had repeatedly defended the algorithm method as the fairest way to produce grades avoiding grade inflation, though several Ofqual board members had come to believe the algorithm method had been shown to be politically unacceptable.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 17 August 2020, Ofqual and Williamson announced that the algorithm method for calculating A Level results would be abandoned, and teacher assessments would be used instead, after pressure from within the Conservative Party and the claim that they had lost the confidence of the teaching profession. There were calls for Williamson to resign, for what "The Daily Telegraph" called "the fiasco". University admission caps were relaxed, as places had already been allocated based on the algorithm results and the change meant many more students would now meet their first-choice university admission offer grades. Teacher assessment would also be used instead of the Ofqual algorithm for GCSE results due to be announced three days later.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: In January 2021, GCSE exams were cancelled. The education secretary stated that schools can use optional exams to decide their students' grades. In April 2021, Williamson said that a mobile phone policy ban would be introduced in schools; he also commented that students' behaviour had become worse over the period of lockdown in January. This comment was criticised by some parents, teachers, and headteachers, claiming that "schools already had bans in place" and that Williamson was "not focusing on important matters".


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson helped Rishi Sunak gain support among Conservative MPs during his failed leadership bid in the July-September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election. Williamson again supported Sunak in the October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, which he won unopposed.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: In October 2022, Williamson was appointed Minister of State without Portfolio, a cabinet position, by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: It was reported by Tortoise Media on 4 November 2022, followed by other news media, that in October 2022 Wendy Morton had made a formal complaint to the Conservative Party about text messages that Williamson had sent her on 13 September, during her tenure as Chief Whip under Prime Minister Liz Truss; Morton confirmed that she had submitted a complaint. "The Sunday Times" subsequently published Williamson's Whatsapp messages to Morton in full.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: It was also reported that former Conservative chairman Jake Berry had warned Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, that a complaint about Williamson had been made during a private meeting. Sunak later acknowledged he knew of concerns but had not seen the specific texts, which he deemed "unacceptable". In one WhatsApp message, Williamson indicated his frustration that he had not received an invite to the state funeral of Elizabeth II, telling Morton "There is a price for everything", before describing her conduct as "absolutely disgusting". He said she had chosen to "fuck us all over". When challenged he responded that it looked "very shit" and that "perception becomes reality". A source, reported on 4 November, said Williamson had not been told by the party of the formal complaint, but that he "strongly refutes these allegations", and would be "very happy to share all communications with the former chief whip with CCHQ [Conservative Campaign Headquarters] if needed".


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 6 November cabinet minister Oliver Dowden said that the messages to Morton had been sent "in the heat of the moment" and "should not have been sent".<ref name="bbc6/11/2022"></ref> Williamson's messages included angry complaints that MPs who were not "favoured" by Liz Truss were being excluded from Queen Elizabeth's funeral. Labour's Ed Miliband said Williamson's reappointment was not in the public interest. Labour leader Keir Starmer and the Liberal Democrats called for Sunak to sack Williamson over the messages.<ref name="guardian6/11/2022">Oliver Dowden defends Gavin Williamson texts as ‘heat of the moment "The Guardian". 6 November 2022.</ref>


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 7 November 2022 "The Guardian" wrote that a current minister told "The Times" that Williamson called her to his office at a time she was campaigning about a politically sensitive matter and raised an issue about her private life "which she interpreted as a tacit threat". Unnamed "allies" of Williamson said it was not a threat, but was raised in a "pastoral capacity".


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 7 November Williamson denied accusations, reported in "The Guardian", that he had used bullying language when he was Defence Secretary and had, on one occasion, told an unnamed senior civil servant at the Ministry of Defence to "slit your throat", and on another, to "jump out of the window". It was alleged that he had made the remarks with other civil servants present and the civil servant felt there was a sustained campaign of bullying. The unnamed source said that Williamson had "deliberately demeaned and intimidated" them. In a statement, Williamson said: "I strongly reject this allegation and have enjoyed good working relationships with the many brilliant officials I have worked with across government". "The Guardian" understood that Williamson did not deny using "those specific words". The former civil servant stated they would take matters to the ICGS due to the "extreme impact" the incidents had on their mental health.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: By 7 November friends of Morton had told the BBC that she had not received an apology or any contact from Williamson. Rishi Sunak said the language used was "not acceptable", but said he still had confidence in Williamson. On 8 November Morton referred Williamson to the parliamentary Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme. Chair of the Labour Party Anneliese Dodds said Morton's decision to report Williamson showed a "lack of faith in the Conservative Party complaints process".


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 8 November Williamson resigned, stating he "refutes the characterisation of these claims" and that he was resigning to avoid becoming a distraction for the government and to enable him to "comply fully with the complaints process that is underway and clear my name of any wrongdoing".


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 9 November two more sources told "The Guardian" that, when he was Chief Whip, Williamson was heard joking or boasting about how his tactics affected the mental health of people he worked with. Anne Milton told "Channel 4 News" that Williamson had used MPs' mental and physical health problems against them, and had collected "salacious gossip" about their "sexual preferences". Milton said that Williamson sent her an email, responding to a female civil servant asking about a minister having to alter travel plans to attend a vote, "Always tell them to fuck off and if they have the bollocks to come and see me. Fuck jumped up civil servants." Milton added "It’s an image he cultivates. I think he feels that he's Francis Urquhart from "House of Cards"." Milton accused Williamson of creating a culture of fear for Conservative MPs by using gossip over their drinking, sex lives or mental health as "leverage" to keep control. Milton thought Sunak's decision to reappoint Williamson was "probably a bit naïve. I don't know that there are many people that would hang out the bunting to see Gavin Williamson back in government."


title: Gavin Williamson

text: At Prime Minister's Questions on 9 November Rishi Sunak said it was "absolutely right" that Williamson had resigned and said: "I obviously regret appointing someone who has had to resign in these circumstances". An unnamed senior Conservative MP told "Sky News" it had always been well known that Williamson was a bully.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: On 10 November the "BBC" reported that several other Conservative MPs would have been ready to make formal complaints to Conservative head office over Williamson if he had not resigned. According to the "BBC" two formal complaints were submitted to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS). Jake Berry stated he told Sunak about Morton's complaint on 24 October, one day before Williamson was appointed.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson married Joanne Eland, a former primary school teacher, in 2001. The couple have two daughters. He was a trustee of a local Citizen's Advice Bureau, and a school governor.


title: Gavin Williamson

text: Williamson is a patron of the World Owl Trust and while Government Chief Whip kept a Mexican redknee tarantula, which he named Cronus, in his parliamentary office, for which he was criticised by parliamentary authorities in November 2016.