Jim Bolla Obituary

Jim Bolla was a college basketball coach from the United States. Bolla, who was born in Pittsburgh, graduated from Bishop Canevin High School in 1970.

From 1971 to 1975, he played college basketball at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was the starting centre from 1973 to 1975.

The 1974 team finished 10th in the country and set a school record with a 22-game winning streak. The Panthers advanced to the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight in 1974. Bolla earned a degree in physical education in August 1976.

From 1982 to 1996, he was the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he won 300 games, the most in the team’s history.

Bolla was named Big West Coach of the Year three times. He moved into administration in the UNLV athletic department after his coaching days and became the development director until 2001.

Bolla was diagnosed with cancer in August 2017 after visiting an emergency room. Carcinoid tumours began in the small intestine and spread to the liver.

The tumour could not be removed by surgeons. He died on the evening of October 21, 2022, at the age of 70