Arizona Wildcats football


The Arizona Wildcats football program represents the University of Arizona in the sport of American college football. Arizona competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
Arizona officially began competing in intercollegiate football in 1889. The school joined the Pac-10 Conference in 1978 alongside rival Arizona State, and became a member of the Pac-12 South Division when the conference realigned in 2011. Arizona has won six conference championships, including the 1993 Pac-10 title, and have appeared in 21 bowl games.
Arizona's home stadium is Arizona Stadium, which opened in 1939 and has a capacity of 50,782. Arizona's archrival is in-state foe Arizona State Sun Devils. The Wildcats and Sun Devils meet annually in the Territorial Cup. As heading into the 2019 season, Arizona's all-time record is 618–452–33.

History

Early history (1899–1951)

The varsity football program at the University of Arizona began in 1899, though the Wildcats nickname was not adopted until later. Stuart Forbes became the first head coach of Arizona football history and the team compiled a 1–1–1 record. From 1900 to 1901, William W. Skinner served as head football coach at the University of Arizona. While there, he also studied geology. He guided Arizona to 3–1 and 4–1 records, respectively. On November 7, 1914, the team traveled to the west coast to play Occidental, then one of the reigning gridiron powers in California. Occidental won 14–0. Arizona later received the name "Wildcats" after a Los Angeles Times correspondent, Bill Henry, wrote that "The Arizona men showed the fight of wildcats". Pop McKale was a very successful high school coach in the Tucson area when he was hired at UA. In 1921, Drop-kicker/receiver Harold "Nosey" McClellan led the nation in scoring with 124 points. Wildcats finished the regular season 7–1, and were invited to UA's first bowl game, the East-West Christmas Classic in San Diego, to play powerhouse Centre College of Kentucky; Arizona lost the game 38–0. The Wildcats did not compete in football in 1918 due to World War I. On October 18, 1926, UA quarterback and student body president John "Button" Salmon died from injuries sustained in a car wreck. His final words, spoken to coach "Pop" McKale, were: "Tell them.....tell the team to Bear Down." Soon thereafter, the UA student body adopted "Bear Down" as the school's athletic motto. On October 18, 1929, Arizona opened up Arizona Stadium for college football play. They won their first game against Caltech with a shutout score of 25–0. McKale retired after sixteen seasons at Arizona. The McKale Center, the University of Arizona's home basketball venue, was opened in 1973 and named in McKale's honor.
Fred Enke replaced McKale as head coach of the Wildcats and in one season as head coach, he posted a record of 3–5–1 before getting demoted to assistant coach. Gus Farwick served as the head football coach at the University of Arizona in 1932, compiling a record of 4–5 before his resignation. Tex Oliver coached the Arizona Wildcats to a 32–11–4 record in five seasons. During that stretch, his teams never had a losing season. Oliver's "Blue Brigade" played an expanded, more nationwide schedule, and Arizona produced their first All-Americans under Oliver. The team's 1938 record of 8–2 was a school best to date. Oliver resigned after the 1937 season to accept the head football coach position at Oregon.
Orian Landreth replaced Oliver and struggled in his one season as head coach, compiling a 3–6 record before he was fired. That season was the first losing season for the Wildcats in several years. Mike Casteel came to Arizona from his post as an assistant coach at Michigan State. In his eight seasons, Casteel compiled a 46–26–3 record and led the Wildcats to the first bowl berth in three decades in his final season, a loss in the 1949 Salad Bowl to Drake. Robert Winslow served as Arizona's head football coach for three seasons, posting a record of 12–18–1, with the team improving every year under his tutelage, going 2–7–1, 4–6 and 6–5 in Winslow's three years. Winslow resigned after three seasons.

Warren Woodson (1952–1956)

In 1954, under coach Warren Woodson, who came to Arizona from Hardin–Simmons, the Wildcats were led by starting halfback Art Luppino. He went on to lead the nation in rushing, scoring, all-purpose running, and kickoff returns. Luppino became the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in rushing twice. He also tied for the national title in all-purpose running and was third in scoring. Woodson was replaced after five seasons and a 26–22–2 record and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1989.

Ed Doherty (1957–1958)

came to Arizona from his post as an assistant coach for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. In two seasons, Doherty compiled a record of 4–15–1 before getting fired. Doherty is the only person to serve as head football coach at both Arizona and archrival Arizona State.

Jim LaRue (1959–1966)

, formerly running backs coach at Houston, was hired to take over the program as head coach after Doherty's firing. LaRue's 1961 team finished 8–1–1 and finished the season ranked #17 in the final AP Poll. After that season, Arizona joined the Western Athletic Conference and LaRue's teams posted records of 5–5, 5–5, 6–3–1, 3–7 and 3–7 before LaRue was fired, largely because of the sub-par on-the-field performances but also pressure from fans and alumni.

Darrell Mudra (1967–1968)

came to Arizona from North Dakota State. His first team posted a record of 3–6–1 but in his second year, Mudra's Wildcats posted a record of 8–3, capped with a loss in the 1968 Sun Bowl, only the Wildcats third bowl appearance in school history and first since 1949. Mudra left Arizona after two seasons to accept the head football coach position at Western Illinois. His final record is 11–9–1. Mudra was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000.

Bob Weber (1969–1972)

was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach following Mudra's departure. Under Weber, the Wildcats were 16–26, with their best season being a 5–6 1971 season. Weber failed to post a winning season as Arizona's head coach and was fired after four seasons.

Jim Young (1973–1976)

, formerly defensive coordinator at Michigan, was hired to turn around the downtrodden Wildcats football program. Improvement came immediately, as Young's team surprised the nation with an 8–3 record in his first season. Young's Wildcats went on to post records of 9–2 in 1974 and 1975, the latter ending with a #13 and #18 ranking in the Coaches' and AP Polls, respectively. In a rebuilding year, Young's team posted a 5–6 record in 1976 to cap Young's mark of 31–13 in four seasons. Young departed Arizona after the 1976 season to accept the head football coach position at Purdue. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1999.

Tony Mason (1977–1979)

came to Arizona from Cincinnati. Under Mason, the Wildcats went 5–7, 5–6 and 6–5–1 for a combined record of 16–18–1. In Mason's third and final season, the Wildcats played in the Fiesta Bowl, a game they lost. Mason retired as head coach after three seasons.

Larry Smith (1980–1986)

, previously head coach at Tulane, was hired to take over the Arizona football program after Mason's retirement. His first season was Arizona's third in the Pac-10 Conference. Smith put great emphasis on in-state recruiting, built up the rivalry game with ASU, and focused the team on what he called "running and hitting". His first team went 5–6, including a 44–7 blowout loss to ASU; it would be his only losing season at Arizona. The highlight of the season was a 23–17 upset of 2nd ranked UCLA. The team improved to 6–5 during his second season, highlighted by a major 13–10 upset of #1 USC on the road. Under his leadership, the Wildcats became competitive in the conference, began dominating the rivalry with the Sun Devils, and culminated with consecutive bowl appearances in the 1985 Sun Bowl, where a tie with Georgia gave the Wildcats an 8–3–1 record, and the 1986 Aloha Bowl, where a victory over North Carolina allowed the Wildcats to finish with a 9–3 record in his final season. Smith's tenure with the Wildcats ended with a 48–28–3 record. Seven Arizona players earned All-America honors during his tenure, including two-time consensus All-American linebacker Ricky Hunley and All-Americans linebacker Lamonte Hunley, Morris Trophy-winning center Joe Tofflemire, safety Allan Durden, placekicker Max Zendejas, linebacker Byron Evans, and safety Chuck Cecil. Over twenty of Smith's Wildcats players went on to play professionally. Smith departed after the 1986 season to accept the head football coach position at USC.

Dick Tomey era (1987–2000)

arrived in Arizona from Hawaii after ten seasons as the Rainbow Warriors head football coach. During his 14-season tenure with Arizona, he coached five future NFL first-round draft choices, 20 All-Americans, and 43 Pac-10 first team players.
His best teams were in the mid-1990s, highlighted by a tenacious defense nicknamed "Desert Swarm." He led Arizona to the only two ten-win seasons in school history, highlighted by a 12–1 campaign in 1998, where the program finished fourth in both major polls, the highest ranking in school history. Unfortunately, the Wildcats were drubbed in the 1999 season opener against Penn State and never recovered; Tomey resigned after the 2000 season. His 95 wins are the most in Wildcats history. Bear down.
In 1992, Coach Tomey's "Desert Swarm" defense was characterized by tough, hard-nosed tactics. UA led the nation in scoring defense and nose guard Rob Waldrop is a consensus All-American. In 1993, the team had its first 10-win season and beat the Miami Hurricanes in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl by a score of 29–0. It was the bowl game's only shutout in its then 23-year history. In 1994, Arizona was ranked #6. However, Arizona was stunned by Colorado State and the rest of the season went down along with it.
In 1998, the team posted a school-record 12–1 season and made the Holiday Bowl in which the Wildcats defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Arizona ended that season ranked fourth nationally in the coaches and Associated Press poll. The 1998 Holiday Bowl was televised on ESPN and set the now-surpassed record of being the most watched of any bowl game in that network's history.
In 2000, Tomey's Wildcats suffered a season-ending 30–17 loss to Arizona State, the Wildcats' arch-rival. Tomey resigned under pressure after fourteen seasons as head coach of the Wildcats. The Wildcat football declined in wins and went on a bowl game drought over the next several years.

John Mackovic (2001–2003)

Former Illinois and Texas head coach John Mackovic was hired to replace Tomey. Mackovic was a college football analyst at ESPN at the time of his hiring.
Mackovic's tenure was turbulent, as he alienated his players, failed to post a winning record in two and one-half seasons in Tucson, and finished with a 10–18 record. Midway through the 2002 season, Mackovic told tight end Justin Levasseur that he was a disgrace to his family. Levasseur was arrested later that year with 87 pounds of marijuana This and other incidents led 40 players to hold a secret meeting with school president Peter Likins. The players complained about Mackovic's constant verbal abuse, such as an ugly tirade after a loss to Wisconsin. Mackovic offered a public apology to his players, the university and fans.
However, whatever goodwill that he'd managed to restore quickly evaporated a season later; quarterback Nic Costa said that despite a very talented roster, many players had lost their love for the game due to Mackovic's brusque manner. Five games into the 2003 season, Mackovic was fired and replaced on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz. School officials said they had to act because it was obvious the Wildcats would not win with Mackovic at the helm.

Mike Stoops (2004–2011)

In 2004, Arizona hired Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, brother of famed Oklahoma head football coach Bob Stoops, to take over the program. Under Stoops, Arizona started 6–18; his job was in critical danger and his margin for error was very thin. However, in his third season in 2006, Stoops led the Wildcats to an improved 6–6 record, the first non-losing season for the school since 1999 when the Wildcats went 6–6. In 2008, the Wildcats earned their first bowl berth in a decade, defeating BYU by a score of 31–21. In 2009, the Wildcats earned their second straight bowl berth and a second straight eight-win season. On November 21, 2009, the Oregon Ducks came to Arizona Stadium in a game that would decide which team went to the Rose Bowl. ESPN's College GameDay crew dubbed it as the game of the week and ventured down to Tucson to cover it. After a back and forth battle, the Oregon Ducks won in double overtime 44–41 to clinch the Rose Bowl bid. Arizona was defeated 33–0 by Nebraska in a rematch of the 1998 Holiday Bowl. Following the Holiday Bowl, offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes left the Wildcat program to become the head coach at Louisiana Tech, and defensive coordinator Mark Stoops, a brother of Mike, became the defensive coordinator at Florida State. To replace them, Mike Stoops promoted Bill Bedenbaugh and Seth Littrell to co-offensive coordinators, while promoting Tim Kish to be co-defensive coordinators with Greg Brown, who was hired from Colorado.
Midway through his eighth season, Stoops was fired as head coach on October 10, 2011, after starting the season 1–5. Including the prior season, the Wildcats under Stoops had lost 10 consecutive games against FBS opponents, with their last victory over a FBS team taking place nearly a year earlier on October 30, 2010, against UCLA. Tim Kish, the team's defensive coordinator, was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Rich Rodriguez (2012–2017)

On November 21, 2011, Arizona announced the hiring of Rich Rodriguez, at that time a CBS Sports college football analyst and formerly the head coach at Michigan and West Virginia, to replace Stoops. Rodriguez is considered a pioneer of a no huddle, run-oriented version of the spread offense, although a pass-first version was already being implemented by others.
Rodriguez' hiring ended a 41-day search for a head coach which started following Mike Stoops' dismissal after eight seasons as Wildcat head coach. Following West Virginia's victory in the 2012 Orange Bowl, the Mountaineers defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel, who coached under Rodriguez during his tenure there, departed WVU's staff to join Rodriguez' staff as the Wildcats' defensive coordinator. An official announcement, and Casteel's formal introduction to the Tucson media, was made on January 13, 2012. Casteel is considered one of the top defensive coaches in the nation, and considered master of the 3–3–5 "odd stack" defense.
In his first season, Rodriguez took the Wildcats to the 2012 New Mexico Bowl, where they defeated Nevada. The Wildcats finished the 2012 campaign with a record.
In his second season, Rodriguez took the Wildcats to the 2013 AdvoCare V100 Bowl, where they defeated Boston College. The Wildcats finished the 2013 campaign with a record.
In 2014, Rich Rodriguez led the Wildcats to a 10–3 regular season, behind generally solid team performance, including efforts from freshman QB Anu Solomon, sophomore LB Scooby Wright, senior RB Terris Jones-Grigsby, and freshman RB Nick Wilson. The Wildcats won the Pac-12 South Division, the first divisional championship in program history, advancing to the 2014 Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where they were defeated by the Oregon Ducks, 51–13. The Wildcats earned a berth in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl, the school's third major-bowl appearance, where they faced the Boise State Broncos. Arizona lost the game to Boise State, 38–30. The Wildcats finished the 2014 season with a record of 10–4, achieving only the second 10-win regular season in program history; the Wildcats also finished the season ranked #17 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and #19 in the AP Poll.
In 2015, his fourth year as the head coach, Rodriguez's Wildcats finished with a record of 7–6. The Wildcats defeated the New Mexico Lobos in the 2015 New Mexico Bowl by a score of 45–37.
In 2016, the Wildcats finished with a record of 3–9, thus ineligible for a bowl game.
In 2017, they lost to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Foster Farms Bowl, the Wildcats 21st ever bowl game. The Wildcats finished with a record of 7–6. During the season, the performance of sophomore QB Khalil Tate was especially impressive; after an injury to starter Brandon Dawkins in the October 7 road game at Colorado, Tate took over and proceeded to run for 327 yards, a single-game FBS record for quarterbacks, breaking the previous record of Northern Illinois' Jordan Lynch set in 2013. Tate was awarded the Pac-12 Offensive player of the week and would be named the starting quarterback. Tate then led the Wildcats to consecutive victories over UCLA, Cal, and Washington State. Tate was named Pac-12 Offensive player of the week for four consecutive weeks - setting a conference record, and leading to his briefly being spoken of as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy.
Rodriguez was relieved of his duties on January 2, 2018, in the wake of an internal university investigation of sexual harassment claims made by Rodriguez' former administrative assistant.

Kevin Sumlin era (2018–present)

After a nationwide search and much media speculation, Kevin Sumlin was hired on January 14, 2018 as the new Wildcats head football coach. Sumlin was previously head coach at Texas A&M University and the University of Houston. Sumlin, the first African-American coach to lead the Wildcat football program, has a record of 4–3 in seven bowl appearances during his head coaching career to date.

Conference affiliations

The following are the head coaches of the Arizona Wildcats.

Championships

Conference championships

Arizona has claimed at least a share of six conference titles.
1935Border ConferenceTex Oliver4–07–2
1936Border ConferenceTex Oliver3–0–15–2–3
1941Border ConferenceMiles W. Casteel5–07–3
1964Western Athletic ConferenceJim LaRue3–16–3–1
1973Western Athletic ConferenceJim Young6–18–3
1993Pacific-10 ConferenceDick Tomey6–210–2

Co-champions

Division championships

The Wildcats claimed the South Division title of the Pac-12 in 2014.
2014Pac-12 SouthRich Rodriguez7–210–2OregonL 13–51

Bowl games

Arizona has participated in 21 total bowl games. The Wildcats have garnered a record of 9–11–1. The Wildcats went winless in a bowl game until their sixth appearance in 1986. Since then, the Wildcats have managed to win at least one bowl game in the decades since.

Rivalries

Arizona State

The primary rival of the Wildcats is Arizona State. Both teams are members of the South Division of the Pac-12. The annual matchup the two schools is known as the "Duel in the Desert." The winner receives the Territorial Cup trophy. Originating in 1899, the Wildcats lost the first game by a score of 2–11. Arizona currently leads the series at 49–43–1 through the 2019 season.

New Mexico

A major rival of the Wildcats in the 1900s was against the New Mexico Lobos. The series was intense until the annual matchup was canceled after the 1990 season. Arizona won the 2015 meeting 45–37 at 2015 New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque. Arizona leads the head-to-head series at 44–20–3 with the most recent match played in 2015.

Facilities

Arizona Stadium

Arizona plays its home games at Arizona Stadium, located on the campus in Tucson, Arizona. The stadium capacity is 50,782 as of 2019.

Lowell-Stevens Football Facility

The 187,000 square foot facility houses the football programs weight room, locker room, medical treatment room, players lounge, cafeteria, coaches' offices, auditorium for team meetings, as well as a media room.
The facility also offers 4,200 chair seating, as well as 500 premium seating.

Logos and uniforms

Starting in the 2010 season, Arizona wore new uniforms. They are simplified versions of the uniforms worn from 2005–2009, with the addition of a white helmet with a red-white-blue stripe. The team may use any combination of its two helmets, three jerseys and three pants. On September 29, 2012 the Wildcats unveiled a new copper helmet and for the Territorial Cup game later that season, they unveiled an all-red helmet.
On September 20, 2015, the Wildcats unveiled a new "chrome red" helmet which they will wear in their game on September 26, 2015 against the UCLA Bruins.

Individual accomplishments

National winners

University honors
University Honors
Defensive honors
Best defensive player
Top defensive player
Top interior lineman
Top linebacker
Top defensive back
Special Teams
Arizona has had two players finish in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting as of 2017.

Hall of Fame inductees

Canadian Football Hall of Fame

There are two former Wildcat players inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

College Football Hall of Fame

Arizona has four former players and three former coaches who have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as of 2017.

Future opponents

Non-division conference opponents

Arizona plays each of the other 5 schools in the South Division annually, and 4 of the 6 schools from the North Division. Each season Arizona will "miss" two schools from the Pac-12 North division: either Cal or Stanford and one of the four northwest schools. This scheduling cycle repeats after eight seasons.

Non-conference opponents

Announced non-conference schedules as of May 21, 2020.
SeasonDateOpponentSite
2021September 2vs *Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV
2021September 11Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2021September 18 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2022September 3at Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego, CA
2022September 10 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2022September 17 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2023September 2 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2023September 9at Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi
2023September 16Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2024August 31 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2024TBDArizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2024September 14at Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, Kansas
2025August 30at Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, Hawaii
2025September 6 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2025September 13 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2026September 5 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2026September 12at LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, Utah
2026TBDArizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2027September 4at Colorado State Stadium • Fort Collins, Colorado
2027September 11Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2027September 18 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2028September 2Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2028September 9 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2028September 16at Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska
2029TBD Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2029September 8 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2029TBDTBD • TBD
2030August 30at Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, Virginia
2030TBD Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2030September 14Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2031TBDTBD • TBD
2031TBD Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2031September 13 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2032September 4at Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama
2032TBD Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2032TBDArizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2033September 3 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2033TBD Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
2033September 17at War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, Wyoming