Arizona Wildcats football

Arizona Wildcats football
2017 Arizona Wildcats football team
First season	1899 (1899)
Athletic director	Greg Byrne
Head coach	Rich Rodriguez 6th year, 36–29 (.554)
Other staff	See Coaching staff section
Stadium	Arizona Stadium
Year built	1927
Seating capacity	55,675[1]
Field surface	FieldTurf
NCAA division	Division I FBS
Conference	Pac-12 (1978–present)
Division	South (2011–present)
Past conferences	Independent (1899–1930) Border (1931–1961) WAC (1962–1977)
All-time record	601–552–33 (.521)
Bowl record	9–10–1 (.475)
Playoff record	0–0
Conference titles	6 (1933, 1934, 1941, 1964, 1973, 1993)
Division titles	1 (2014)
Consensus All-Americans	16[2]
Current uniform
Colors	Cardinal and Navy Blue[3]
Fight song	Fight! Wildcats! Fight!
Mascot	Wilbur the Wildcat
Marching band	The Pride of Arizona
Outfitter	Under Armour
Primary Rivals	Arizona State Sun Devils New Mexico Lobos Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

The Arizona Wildcats football program represents University of Arizona in the sport of American college football. Arizona competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southern Division of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12).

Arizona officially began competing in intercollegiate football in 1889. The Wildcats joined the Pac-10 Conference in 1978 as one of the inaugural members of the conference and the Wildcats began competing in the Pac-12 South Division when the conference divided in 2011. Arizona has achieved none undefeated seasons and won six conference championships (Independents, Border, WAC, Pac-10), along with first ever divisional championship (Pac-12). The Wildcats have made thirty-eight post season bowl appearances; including ten historically major bowl berths. The Wildcats have the 12th most wins in FBS history with over 600 victories and have finished ranked in the Top 25 of either the AP or Coaches polls 37 times, including finishing in the top ten 18 times (ranked 12th nationally for top ten finishes).

Arizona's home stadium is Arizona Stadium, which opened in 1939 and becomes Arizona's fifth largest city on gamedays with a capacity of 87,451. Arizona's archrival is in-state foe Arizona State Sun Devils. The Wildcats and Sun Devils meet annually in the Territorial Cup, one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports. The Wildcats are currently led by head coach Rich Rodriguez.

At the completion of the 2016 season, Arizona's all-time win/loss/tie record is 601–552–33. With the recent tenure of Rich Rodriguez starting in 2012, the Wildcats have compiled a 36–29 record including 3 bowl wins.

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.^[4][5] Stuart Forbes became the first head coach of Arizona football history and the team compiled a 1–1–1 record.^[6] From 1900 to 1901, William W. Skinner served as head football coach at the University of Arizona.^[7] While there, he also studied geology. He guided Arizona to 3–1 and 4–1 records, respectively.^[7] 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".^[8] Pop McKale was a very successful high school coach in the Tucson area when he was hired at UA.^[9] 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."^[10] 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.^[9]

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^[11] 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^[12] before his resignation. Tex Oliver coached the Arizona Wildcats to a 32–11–4 record in five seasons.^[13] During that stretch, his teams never had a losing season.^[13] 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.^[13] Oliver resigned after the 1937 season to accept the head football coach position at Oregon.^[14]

Orian Landreth replaced Oliver and struggled in his one season as head coach, compiling a 3–6 record^[15] before he was fired. That season was the first losing season for the Wildcats in several years. Miles Casteel came to Arizona from his post as an assistant coach at Michigan State. In his eight seasons (Arizona did not field football teams in 1943 or 1944 due to World War II), 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.^[16] 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.^[17] Winslow resigned after three seasons.

Warren Woodson era (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.^[18] Luppino became the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in rushing twice.^[18] He also tied for the national title in all-purpose running and was third in scoring.^[18] Woodson was replaced after five seasons and a 26–22–2 record^[19] and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1989.

Ed Doherty era (1957-1958)

Ed Doherty came to Arizona from his post as an assistant coach for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.^[20] In two seasons, Doherty compiled a record of 4–15–1^[21] before getting fired. Doherty is the only person to serve as head football coach at both Arizona and archrival Arizona State.

Jim LaRue era (1959-1966)

Jim LaRue, formerly running backs coach at Houston, was hired to take over the Arizona Wildcats football 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.^[22] 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.^[22][23]

Darrell Mudra era (1967-1968)

Darrell Mudra came to Arizona from North Dakota State and breathed life into a seemingly lifeless Arizona football program.^[24] 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.^[25] Mudra left Arizona after two seasons to accept the head football coach position at Western Illinois.^[26] His final record is 11–9–1.^[24] Mudra was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000.^[24]

Bob Weber era (1969-1972)

Bob Weber was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach following Mudra's departure.^[27] Under Weber, the Wildcats were 16–26, with their best season being a 5–6 1971 season.^[28] Weber failed to post a winning season as Arizona's head coach and was fired after four seasons.

Jim Young era (1973-1976)

Jim Young, formerly defensive coordinator at Michigan, was hired to turn around the downtrodden Wildcats football program.^[29] Improvement came immediately, as Young's team surprised the nation with an 8–3 record in his first season.^[30] 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.^[30] 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.^[30] Young departed Arizona after the 1976 season to accept the head football coach position at Purdue.^[31] He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1999.

Tony Mason era (1977-1979)

Tony Mason came to Arizona from Cincinnati.^[32] Under Mason, the Wildcats went 5–7, 5–6 and 6–5–1 for a grand total of 16–18–1.^[33] In Mason's third and final season, the Wildcats played in the Fiesta Bowl, a game they lost.^[33] Mason retired as head coach after three seasons.^[34]

Larry Smith era (1980-1986)

Larry Smith, previously head coach at Tulane, was hired to take over the Arizona football program after Mason's retirement.^[35] His first season was Arizona's third in the Pac-12 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 Bruins were poised to become #1 as top ranked Alabama had lost earlier in the day).^[36] The team improved to 6–5 during his second season, highlighted by a major 13–10 upset of #1 USC on the road.^[37] 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.^[36] 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 (Ricky's younger brother), 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.^[36] Smith departed after the 1986 season to accept the head football coach position at USC.^[38]

Dick Tomey era (1987-2000)

Dick Tomey came to Arizona from Hawaii.^[39] During his tenure, 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 "Desert Swarm" defense. He led Arizona to the only two ten-win seasons in school history, highlighted by a 12–1 campaign in 1998, in which they 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.^[40] His 95 wins are the most in Wildcats history.

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, continuing a streak of not being selected for the Rose Bowl. Arizona to this day, is the only team in the original Pac-10 that has never played in the Rose Bowl Game.

In 1998, the team posted a school-record 12–1 season and made the Holiday Bowl in which it defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers.^[41] 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' primary arch-rival. Dick Tomey resigned under pressure after fourteen seasons as head coach of the Wildcats.^[42] The Wildcat football declined in wins and went on a bowl game drought over the next several years.

John Mackovic era (2001-2003)

Former Illinois and Texas head coach John Mackovic was hired to replace Tomey.^[43] Tomey had been serving as a college football analyst at ESPN at the time of his hiring.

Mackovic served a disastrous tenure as head coach during this period; he alienated his players and never posted a winning record in two and one-half seasons in Tucson, with a 10–18 record (a .357 winning percentage).^[44] Midway through the 2002 season, Mackovic told tight end Justin Levasseur that he was a disgrace to his family. This and other incidents led 40 players (including future Pro Bowler Lance Briggs) 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.^[45][46]

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.^[47] School officials said they had to act because it was obvious the Wildcats would not win with Mackovic at the helm.^[48]

Mike Stoops era (2004–2011)

In 2004, Arizona hired Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, brother of famed Oklahoma head football coach Bob Stoops, to take over the Wildcat program.^[49] Under Stoops, Arizona started 6–18;^[50] 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,^[50] the first non-losing season for the school since 1998 when the Wildcats went 12–1. In 2008, the Wildcats earned their first bowl berth in a decade, defeating BYU by a score of 31–21.^[51] In 2009, the Wildcats earned their second straight bowl berth and a second straight eight-win season.^[50] 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.^[52] Arizona was defeated 33–0 by Nebraska in a rematch of the 1998 Holiday Bowl.^[50][53] Following the Holiday Bowl, offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes left the Wildcat program to become the head coach at Louisiana Tech,^[54] and defensive coordinator Mark Stoops, a brother of Mike, became the defensive coordinator at Florida State.^[55] 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 (the sole victory was against FCS Northern Arizona).^[56] 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.^[57] (Stoops returned to the Sooner program soon thereafter as defensive coordinator; Kish, who had known the Stoops brothers for many years, followed Stoops and joined the Sooner staff as the linebackers coach.)^[58]

Rich Rodriguez era (2012–present)

On November 21, 2011, Arizona announced the hiring of Rich Rodriguez, at that time a CBS Sports college football analyst and formerly head coach at Michigan and West Virginia, to replace Stoops.^[59] 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.^[60][61][62] He first developed this offensive approach at Glenville State and refined it during his stops at Tulane with Shaun King, at Clemson with Woodrow Dantzler, and at West Virginia most notably with dual-threat quarterback Pat White. This strategy features frequent use of the shotgun formation. Rodriguez is also credited for inventing the zone read play run out of the shotgun formation.

According to his contract, Rodriguez was scheduled to earn $1.45 million in his first year, $1.5 million in his second, $1.6 million in his third, $1.7 million in his fourth and $1.8 million in his fifth season for a total of $9.55 million over a span of five years.^[63] The contract also includes an extra $300,000 per year from Nike, as well as bonuses for academic achievement, BCS rankings, season ticket totals and bowl appearances. There are extra bonuses for milestones such as playing in the BCS title game, playing in any other bowl, and for winning the Pac-12.^[64]

Rodriguez' hiring ended a 41-day search for a head coach which started after Mike Stoops was dismissed after eight seasons as Wildcat head coach. Following West Virginia's victory in the 2012 Orange Bowl, 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.^[65] 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.^[66]

In his first season, Rodriguez took the Wildcats to the 2012 New Mexico Bowl, where they defeated Nevada.^[67] The Wildcats finished the 2012 campaign with a (8–5, 4–5 Pac-12) record.^[67]

In his second season, Rodriguez took the Wildcats to the 2013 AdvoCare V100 Bowl, where they defeated Boston College.^[68] The Wildcats finished the 2013 campaign with a (8–5, 4–5 Pac-12) 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 (who earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year among other honors), 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 Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where they were defeated by the Oregon Ducks, 51-13.^[69] 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 (7–2 Pac-12), 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 his fourth year as the head coach, Rodriguez's Wildcats finished with a record of 7–6 (3–6 Pac-12).^[70]

Personnel

Head coaches

The current head coach of Arizona Wildcats football is Rich Rodriguez who hired in 2012.

Years	Coach	Record
1899	Stuart Forbes	1–1–1
1900–1901	William W. Skinner	7–2
1902	Leslie Gillette	5–0
1904	Orin A. Kates	3–1–2
1905	William M. Ruthrauff	5–2
1908–1909	H. B. Galbraith	8–1
1910–1911	George F. Shipp	8–1–1
1912	Raymond L. Quigley	2–1
1913	Frank A. King	2–2
1914–1930	Pop McKale	81–32–6
1931	Fred Enke	3–5–1
1932	August W. Farwick	4–5
1933–1937	Tex Oliver	32–11–4
1938	Orian Landreth	3–6
1939–1948	Miles W. Casteel	46–26–3
1949–1951	Robert Winslow	12–18–1
1952–1956	Warren B. Woodson	26–22–2
1957–1958	Ed Doherty	4–15–1
1959–1966	Jim LaRue	41–37–2
1967–1968	Darrell Mudra	11–9–1
1969–1972	Bob Weber	16–26
1973–1976	Jim Young	31–13
1977–1979	Tony Mason	16–18–1
1980–1986	Larry Smith	48–28–3
1987–2000	Dick Tomey	95–64–4
2001–2003	John Mackovic	10–18
2004	Mike Hankwitz	1–6
2004–2011	Mike Stoops	41–50
2011	Tim Kish	3–3
2012–present	Rich Rodriguez	36–29

Coaching Records: cfbdatawarehouse.com^[71]

Coaching staff

Arizona Wildcats coaches
Head Coach Rich Rodriguez (6th year, West Virginia (1986)) Assistant Coaches Calvin Magee – Assistant Head Coach/Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach (6th year, South Florida (1990)) Marcel Yates – Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach (2nd year, Boise State (2000)) Rod Smith – Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach (6th year, Glenville State (1997)) Tony Dews – Assistant Coach/Wide Receivers Coach (6th year, Liberty (1996)) Jamille Addae - Assistant Coach/Safetys Coach (2nd year, West Virginia (2005)) Jim Michalczik - Assistant Coach/Offensive Line Coach (4th year, Washington State (1988)) Vince Amey – Assistant Coach/Defensive Line Coach (Arizona State (2010)) Donté Williams – Assistant Coach/Cornerbacks Coach (2nd year, Idaho State (2006)) Matt Dudek - Director of On-Campus Recruiting Coordinator and Player Personnel Director (5th year, Pittsburgh (2003)) Charlie Ragle – Tight Ends Coach/Special Teams Coordinator (6th year, Eastern New Mexico (1998)) Chris Allen - Associate Athletic Director, Co-Strength and Conditioning Coach (6th year, West Virginia (2000)) Troy Ramsey - Assistant Coach/Co-Strength and Conditioning Coach (4th year, North Texas (2007)) Ovid Goulbourne - Assistant Coach/Strength and Conditioning Coach (5th year, West Virginia (2009)) Brett Gerch - Assistant Coach/Co-Strength and Conditioning Coach (4th year, Appalachian State (2000))

Coaching Staff Sources: ArizonaWildcats.com^[72]

Current Roster

Offense Quarterbacks 10 Zach Werlinger – Sophomore 12 Anu Solomon (C) – Junior 13 Brandon Dawkins – Sophomore 14 Khalil Tate - Freshman 16 Gunther Johnson - Freshman Wide Receivers 2 Tyrell Johnson – Junior 3 Cam Denson – Junior 5 Trey Griffey – Senior 6 Shun Brown – Sophomore 7 DeVaughn Cooper - Freshman 9 Tony Ellison – Sophomore 10 Samajie Grant – Senior 11 Nate Phillips - Senior 18 Cedric Peterson – Freshman 19 Shawn Poindexter - Junior 24 Darick Holmes Jr. – Freshman 83 Joshua Mason - Freshman 84 Abraham Mendivil – Junior 87 Zach Benjamin - Junior 88 Jordan Bogardus - Freshman 89 Justus Lee - Freshman		Running Backs 21 Orlando Bradford – Sophomore 25 J.J. Taylor - Freshman 28 Nick Wilson – Junior 32 Jake Laudenslager - Freshman 34 Zach Green – Junior 38 Branden Leon – Freshman 42 Richie Estrada - Sophomore Offensive Linemen 50 Josh McCauley - Freshman 54 Bryson Cain – Freshman 55 Levi Walton - Sophomore 58 Layth Friekh – Junior 59 Christian Lopez – Freshman 63 Keenan Walker - Freshman 64 Nathan Elridge – Freshman 67 Gerhard de Beer – Junior 69 Christian Boettcher - Sophomore 72 Freddie Tagaloa – Senior 74 Alex Kosinski – Freshman 75 Michael Eletise - Freshman 76 Cody Creason – Freshman 77 Harper Sharman - Freshman 78 Jacob Alsadek – Junior		Tight Ends 8 Trevor Wood – Sophomore 15 Matt Morin – Senior 17 Josh Kern – Senior 48 Brian Anduze – Freshman 85 Jamie Nunley - Freshman Defense Defensive Linemen 50 Justin Holt - Freshman 55 Darrell Cloy Jr - Sophomore 60 Luca Bruno – Junior 62 Aiulua Fanene – Senior 86 Justin Belknap - Freshman 91 Finton Connolly – Freshman 92 Jack Banda – Junior 93 Parker Zellers – Junior 94 Calvin Allen – Junior 96 Marcus Griffin – Sophomore 99 Sani Fuimaono – Senior Linebackers 7 Kahi Neves - Freshman 11 Michael Barton - GS Senior 15 Jacob Colacion - Freshman 18 Brandon Rutt – Sophomore 24 RJ Morgan – Junior 28 Carrington Vaughn – Freshman 30 Jamardre Cobb – Sophomore 32 DeAndre' Miller – Junior 33 Corey Selenski - Freshman 39 Franciso Nelson - Freshman 47 Jake Matthews - Senior 51 Lee Anderson III - Freshman 52 Alex King - Senior 53 Richard Merritt - Freshman 56 John Kenny - Junior 57 Cody Ippolito - Senior 59 Matthew Stagg - Senior 61 Marquis Ware - Sophomore 81 Jalen Cochran - Freshman		Cornerbacks 2 Lorenzo Burns - Freshman 8 Antonio Parks - Freshman 9 Dane Cruikshank – Junior 10 Malcolm Holland – Freshman 13 Devin Holiday – Senior 15 Kwesi Mashack - Junior 17 Jace Whittaker – Sophomore 19 DaVonte' Neal – Senior 23 Devon Brewer – Sophomore 27 Samuel Morrison – Sophomore 29 Jarvis McCall Jr. – Junior 35 Isaiah Strong - Junior 41 Isaac Steele – Freshman 49 Lee Pitts - Freshman Safeties 1 Tellas Jones - Senior 3 Jarrius Wallace - Freshman 5 Gavin Robertson Jr. - Freshman 6 Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles - Freshman 14 Paul Magloire – Senior 20 Chacho Ulloa – Freshman 21 Isaiah Hayes - Freshman 25 Anthony Mariscal – Freshman 31 Tristan Cooper - Freshman 36 Jalen Jenkins - Freshman 37 Carter Hehr - Junior 40 Kyeler Burke - Freshman 43 Tyler Grammar - Senior 46 Albert Green – Freshman 49 Peyton Morris - Freshman Special Teams Punters 16 Jake Glatting - Sophomore 26 Matt Aragon - Freshman Kickers 9 Josh Pollack – Sophomore 82 Edgar Gastelum – Sophomore Long Snappers 51 Donald Reiter - Freshman 56 Nick Reinhardt – Sophomore
Sources: 2017 Arizona Wildcats roster

Team achievements

Conference championships

Dating back to their days in the Western Athletic Conference, Arizona has claimed at least a share of six conference titles.

Arizona Conference Championships
Season	Conference	Coach	Conference Record	Overall Record
1935	Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Tex Oliver	4–0	7–2
1936	Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Oliver	3–0–1	5–2–3
1941	Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Miles W. Casteel	5–0	7–3
1964	Western Athletic Conference	Jim LaRue	3–1	6–3–1
1973	Western Athletic Conference	Jim Young	6–1	8–3
1993	Pacific-10	Dick Tomey	6–2	10–2
Conference Championships			6
Denotes co-champions

Divisional championships

In 2011, the Pacific-10 Conference added Colorado and Utah, bringing the membership total to 12 teams, leading to the creation of the Pac-12 Conference. At that time, the conference split into two six-team divisions, north and south and created a Conference Championship Game. The champions of each division face off in the Conference Championship Game, with the team with the highest conference record hosting the game. In 2014 the Wildcats won the South Division in their first game of the season, becoming the first team to win the Pac-12 South Division outright.

Arizona Divisional Championships
Season	Division	Coach	Conf Record	Overall Record	Championship Game Result	Opponent
2014	Pac-12 South	Rich Rodriguez	7–2	10–2	L 13–51	Oregon
Division Championships				1
† Denotes co-champions

Note: bold years indicate outright conference titles ***Co-Championship, shared with UCLA, who defeated Arizona by 20 points in their only head-to-head matchup. Arizona has yet to win an outright Pac-10/12 conference championship.

Bowl games

Among those eligible for the Rose Bowl under the previous rules (Pac-10 and Big Ten champs until 1997 and runner up if one or both is eligible for the national championship game after that year), Arizona is the only one of the original teams in these conferences to have never participated in the bowl game.

While Arizona was the only member of the Pacific-10 Conference to never have participated in a Rose Bowl, Utah and Colorado, as the newest members of the expanded Pac-12 Conference, have also not represented the conference.^[73]

Arizona played in no BCS bowl games during the existence of the BCS (1998-2013). However, they did play in a New Year's Six bowl game in the first year of the College Football Playoff, losing to Boise State in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl, as well as a Bowl Coalition Game, beating Miami in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl.

Season	Date	Bowl	W/L	Opponent	PF	PA
1921	December 26, 1921	Christmas	L	Centre	0	38
1949	January 1, 1949	Salad	L	Drake	13	14
1968	December 28, 1968	Sun	L	Auburn	34	10
1979	December 25, 1979	Fiesta	L	Pittsburgh	16	10
1985	December 16, 1985	Sun	T	Georgia	13	13
1986	December 28, 1986	Aloha	W	North Carolina	30	21
1989	December 31, 1989	Copper	W	NC State	17	10
1990	December 25, 1990	Aloha	L	Syracuse	28	0
1992	December 31, 1992	Sun	L	Baylor	20	15
1993	January 1, 1994	Fiesta*	W	Miami	29	0
1994	December 27, 1994	Freedom	L	Utah	16	13
1997	December 20, 1997	Insight.com	W	New Mexico	20	14
1998	December 30, 1998	Holiday	W	Nebraska	23	20
2008	December 20, 2008	Las Vegas	W	BYU	31	21
2009	December 30, 2009	Holiday	L	Nebraska	33	0
2010	December 29, 2010	Alamo	L	Oklahoma State	36	10
2012	December 15, 2012	New Mexico	W	Nevada	49	48
2013	December 31, 2013	AdvoCare V100	W	Boston College	42	19
2014	December 31, 2014	Fiesta**	L	Boise State	30	38
2015	December 19, 2015	New Mexico	W	New Mexico	45	37
Total	20 bowl games	9–10–1

* denotes Bowl Coalition game. ** denotes New Year's Six Bowl game.

Record by bowl game

Bowl Game	#	W	L	T	%
AdvoCare V100	1	1	0	0	1.000
Alamo Bowl	1	0	1	0	0.000
Aloha Bowl	2	1	1	0	0.500
Christmas Classic	1	0	1	0	0.000
Copper Bowl	1	1	0	0	1.000
Fiesta Bowl	3	1	2	0	0.333
Freedom Bowl	1	0	1	0	0.000
Holiday Bowl	1	1	1	0	0.500
Insight.com Bowl	1	1	0	0	1.000
Las Vegas Bowl	1	1	0	0	1.000
New Mexico Bowl	2	2	0	0	1.000
Salad Bowl	1	0	1	0	0.000
Sun Bowl	1	0	1	1	0.500

Rankings

College Football Playoff final rankings

The Arizona Wildcats football team finished in the Top 25 in the first College Football Playoff final rankings and both the Pre-season and Final rankings for the Associated Press Poll (AP Poll) and Coaches' Poll for the Arizona Wildcats.The College Football Playoff Rankings began in 2014.^[74]

• 2014 - 10

Final Polls

The Arizona Wildcats football team has never finished the season ranked #1 in the Final AP Poll. The Wildcats has not ranked #1 in the Final Coaches' Poll The Wildcats also never finished #2 in the Final Associated Press Poll and the Final Coaches Poll.

The AP Poll began in 1936^[75] and The Coaches' Poll began in 1950.^[76]

Year	Record	AP Poll	UPI/Coaches Poll
1993	10-2	10	9
1994	8-4	24	20
1998	12-1	4	4
2014	10-4	19	17

Pageantry

Rivalries

The Wildcats have three main football rivals: Arizona State Sun Devils, New Mexico Lobos and Northern Arizona. All three rivalries were first contested over 100 years ago, though the series records are disputed in two cases.

Arizona State

The main rivalry for the Wildcats are the Arizona State Sun Devils. The rivialry consists of two schools within the state of Arizona and Pac-12 South Division. The "Duel in the Desert", the name of yearly matchup the two schools. Starting in 1899, the Wildcats lost the first matchup 11–2. Arizona win the most recent 2016 meeting 56–35 in Tucson. Arizona currently leads the series at 49–40–1.

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.

Northern Arizona

The Wildcats have a minor in-state rivialry against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. Arizona won the 2015 meeting 77-13 in Tucson. Arizona leads the head-to-head series at 13–1

Arizona vs. In-State NCAA Division I schools

From 1905 to 2015, Arizona played two In-State NCAA Division I schools for 193 times.

School	Record	Home	Away	Netural	Streak	First Meeting	Last Meeting
Northern Arizona (Rival)	13–1 (.929)	12–0 (1.000)	0–1 (.000)	1–0 (1.000)	Won 14	Oct. 29, 1932	Sept. 2, 2017
New Mexico Lobos (Rival)	44-20-3 (.679)	21–11–1 (.652)	21–9–2 (.688)	2–0 (1.000)	Won 1	Nov. 26, 1908	Dec. 19, 2015
Overall: Arizona 57 – In-State NCAA Division I Schools 21 (.722)
Home: Arizona 33 - In-State NCAA Division I Schools (.744)
Away: Arizona 21 - In-State NCAA Division I Schools 9 (.688)
Neutral: Arizona 0- In-State NCAA Division I Schools 1 (.000)

Arizona vs. Pac-12 schools

Updated through the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits violations) against the current football members of the Pac-12 Conference as of the completions of the 2017 season. Arizona's all-time win/loss/tie record is 601–552–33, has won 6 conference championships and has made an NCAA-record 20 postseason bowl appearances. Other NCAA records include 2 10-game or more winning streaks and 2 seasons with a 10–0 start. The program has 2 10-win seasons and has 9 bowl victories, both NCAA records. Arizona has completed zero undefeated seasons, zero of which were perfect seasons. The Wildcats leads the Pac-12 South Division with one division title and played the first appearance in the Pac-12 Football Championship Game in 2014.

School	Record	Home	Away	Neutral	Streak	First Meeting	Last Meeting
Arizona State (Rival)	49–40–1 (.550)	32–19 (.627)	17–21–1 (.449)	0–0 (–)	Won 1	1899	2017
California	16–14–2 (.531)	9–7 (.563)	7–7–2 (.500)	0–0 (–)	Won 3	1978	2017
Colorado	5–14–0 (.263)	2–8 (.200)	3–6 (.333)	0–0 (–)	Lost 1	1931	2017
Oregon	16–25–0 (.390)	6–13 .316	10–11 .476	0–1 (.000)	Lost 1	1931	2017
Oregon State	22–15–1 (.592)	12–6 (.667)	9–8–1 (.528)	1–1 (.500)	Lost 1	1966	2017
Stanford	14–16–0 (.467)	8–8 (.500)	6–7 (.462)	0-10–1 (.000)	Lost 5	1979	2016
UCLA	15–24–2 (.390)	11–10 (.524)	4–11–1 (.281)	0-3–1 (.125)	Lost 5	1971	2017
USC	8–32–0 (.200)	4–13 (.235)	4–18 (.182)	0–1 (.000)	Lost 4	1979	2017
Utah	19–21–2 (.476)	10–9–1 (.524)	9–11 (.450)	0-1 (.000)	Lost 1	1936	2017
Washington	11–21–1 (.348)	7–8–1 (.469)	4–13 (.235)	0–0 (–)	Lost 2	1978	2016
Washington State	26–16–0 .619	13–9 .591	11–5 .688	2–2 .500	Lost 2	1963	2017
Overall: Arizona 185 – Pac-12 Schools 212 (.467)
Home: Arizona 195 – Pac-12 Schools 164 (.543)
Away: Arizona 84 – Pac-12 Schools 112 (.430)
Neutral: Arizona 3 – Pac-12 Schools 10 (.250)

Arizona vs All Time Conference records

Official record against all current and former conference opponents of the Arizona Wildcats football program. In their 121–122 year history, the University of Arizona has been a member Border Intercollegiate Athletc Association, Western Athletic Conference, and then called Pacific-10 and currently the Pac-12 Conference. The History section of the Pac-12 Conference article provides a membership history of the Pac-12 Conference. Current as of the 2017 season.

^[77]

Division I FBS conference record

Conference	Win	Loss	Tie	Pct.	PF	PA	Delta
The American	2	4	0	.333	105	123	-18
ACC	6	5	0	.545	183	194	-11
Big 12	21	40	5	.356	996	1517	-521
Big Ten	16	24	1	.402	713	955	−242
C-USA	43	15	2	.733	1445	862	583
Independents	13	11	1	.540	485	446	39
MAC	7	0	0	1.000	248	58	190
MWC	100	51	5	.657	3320	2254	1066
Pac-12	200	230	9	.466	9937	10688	−751
SEC	1	9	1	.136	142	304	−162
Sun Belt	43	7	1	.853	1481	324	1157
Totals	452	396	25	.532%	20182	16142	4040

Division I FCS conference record

Conference	Win	Loss	Tie	Pct.	PF	PA	Delta
Big Sky	19	3	0	.864	662	154	508
MEAC	1	0	0	1.000	56	0	56
Missouri Valley	1	0	0	1.000	60	0	60
Pioneer Football League	1	1	0	.500	66	54	52
Southern	1	0	0	1.000	52	6	46
Southland	1	0	0	1.000	28	10	18
SWAC	0	0	0	–	0	0	0
Totals	24	4	0	.857	853	161	692

Division II conference record

Conference	Win	Loss	Tie	Pct.	PF	PA	Delta
LSC	9	3	1	.731	281	180	101
RMAC	0	1	0	.000	0	6	-6
Totals	9	4	1	.679	281	186	336

Division III conference record

Conference	Win	Loss	Tie	Pct.	PF	PA	Delta
ASC	4	6	0	.400	192	226	-34
SAA	0	1	0	.000	0	38	-38
SCIAC	21	10	1	.672	899	511	238
Totals	25	16	1	88.04%	1103	138	965

Total conference record

Conference	Win	Loss	Tie	Pct.	PF	PA	Delta
Division I FBS	452	396	25	.532	20182	16142	4040
Division I FCS	24	4	0	.857	853	161	692
Division II	9	4	1	.679	359	23	336
Division III	25	16	1	.607	1103	138	965
Totals	510	420	27	.547	22497	16464	6033

Traditions

• At the beginning of each school year, freshmen repaint the "A" on "A" Mountain, a Tucson and Wildcat landmark just west of campus.
• One of the two bells rescued from the USS Arizona after the attack on Pearl Harbor has a permanent home in the clock tower of the Student Union Memorial Center on campus. The bell first arrived on campus in July 1946. The bell is rung seven times on the third Wednesday of every month at 12:07 p.m. to honor the achievements of the UA, as well as after football victories over all schools located outside of Arizona.
• The University of Arizona marching band, named The Pride of Arizona, played at the halftime of the first Super Bowl. The band plays at most of the university's athletic events.

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.

Gameday

• The Wildcat Walk, first done in 2010, is one of Arizona's newest tradition. Before every home game, the team's buses take them from their hotel and drop them off several blocks north of the stadium. The fans and the marching band line Cherry Avenue as the team walks to the stadium.
• During pre-game warmups, the team performs a haka. Starting in 2012, the team will perform the haka in front of the student section, where students will also do the haka.^[78]
• At the beginnings of the second and fourth quarters, the cheerleaders lead the crowd in a synchronized U of A chant. The east side of the stadium yells "U!", the north and south sides yell "of!" and the west side yells "A!"
• At the beginning of the second half, for the duration of the kickoff, a large block A banner is unfurled and held up by the center of the Zona Zoo.
• At the end of the third quarter, the team and many members of the crowd hold up four fingers, signifying the beginning of the fourth quarter.
• In a similar tradition to other schools' mascots, after every Arizona score, Wilbur the Wildcat does as many pushups as the Wildcats have points while the crowd counts his pushups. However, unlike other mascots, Wilbur does his pushups one-handed.
• At the end of every home game (and every Arizona athletics event when the band is present) the band plays Arizona's alma mater, "All Hail, Arizona!" Students and fans link arms, sway as they sing and jump up and down while singing the last part of the song.
• After every home game, fans and the band march to the administration building where the band performs a concert for the gathered fans. At the conclusion of the concert, the bell in the student union clock tower (one of the bells recovered from the USS Arizona) is rung, and the band responds by yelling "Bear Down!"

College Gameday

The Wildcats have appeared on ESPN's College Game Day 32 times since 1993, with 20 bowl appearances. The first ever broadcast of the show took place in State College, Pennsylvania when then Arizona Wildcats traveled to play the Penn State Nittany Lions. Arizona is 0–2 in games played when College GameDay has traveled to Tucson. Arizona has hosted the program 2 times, the most by any Pac-12 school. The Wildcats have a 0–3 record when Gameday is on campus.

Date	Location	Home Team	Away Team	Result	PF	PA
August 28, 1999	State College, Pennsylvania	#4 Penn State	#3 Arizona	L	7	41
November 21, 2009	Tucson, Arizona	Arizona	#11 Oregon	L 2OT	41	44
September 25, 2015	Tucson, Arizona	#16 Arizona	#9 UCLA	L	30	56
Totals			0–3		78	219

ESPN's Sports Center has never broadcast from an Arizona Wildcats games.

Homecoming History

Arizona is 10-4 (2-0 on teal turf) all-time in homecoming games.

Year	Opponent	Result
Overall Homecoming Record		0-0

Individual accomplishments and notable players

Event	Year
Conference Champions	1933, 1934, 1941, 1964, 1973, 1993
Undefeated Seasons	1902, 1903, 1908, 1910, 1945
Divisional Champions	2014
Final Top 10 (AP)	1961, 1975, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2014
Final Top 10 (Coaches)	1993, 1994 , 1998, 2014
Bowl Victories*	1986, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015

• Years listed for Bowl victories are seasons for which they occurred.

Individual school records

Individual national award winners

Retired jerseys

Student-Athlete jerseys are retired but not individual player numbers.^[83]

No.	Player	Pos.	Career
4	Darryll Lewis	CB	1987-90
5	Antoine Cason	CB	2004-07
6	Chuck Cecil	S	1985-87
11	Chris McAlister	CB	1996-98
22	Art Luppino[84]	RB	1953-56
28	Steve McLaughlin[85]	K	1991-95
68	Tedy Bruschi	LB	1991-95
89	Ricky Hunley	LB	1980-83
92	Rob Waldrop	DT	1990-93

Wildcats in the NFL

Wildcats in the NFL Draft

Wildcats in the NFL
NFL Draft selections
Total selected:	269
First round:	45
NFL achievements
Super Bowl Participants:	69
Super Bowl MVPs	2
Pro Bowl Selections:	76
Pro Bowl Coaches:	1

Arizona has seen 269 players drafted to National Football League teams since 1951.

Year	Round	Pick in round	Overall pick	Player	Team	Position	Current Team
2016	6	44	219	Will Parks	Broncos	S	Broncos
2014	4	17	117	Ka'Deem Carey	Bears	RB	Bears
2014	6	36	212	Marquis Flowers	Bengals	LB	Bengals
2012	3	25	88	Nick Foles	Eagles	QB	Chiefs
2012	7	38	245	Trevin Wade	Browns	DB	Giants
2011	2	10	42	Brooks Reed	Texans	DE	Falcons
2010	2	10	42	Rob Gronkowski	Patriots	TE	Patriots
2010	3	17	81	Earl Mitchell	Texans	DT	Dolphins
2007	6	4	178	Nick Folk	Cowboys	K	Jets

Wildcats with Super Bowl victory

Player (College Years)	Position	Super Bowl	Team
Theo Bell (1972–75)	WR	1978 (XIII), 1979 (XIV)	Pittsburgh Steelers
Brad Anderson (1981–83)	WR	1985(XX)	Chicago Bears
Chris McAlister (1996–98)	CB	2000 (XXXV)	Baltimore Ravens
Tedy Bruschi (1991–95)	LB	2001 (XXXVI), 2003 (XXXVIII), 2004 (XXXIX)	New England Patriots
Josh Miller (1990–92)	P	2004 (XXXIX)	New England Patriots
Michael Johnson (2005–06)	S	2007 (XLII)	New York Giants
Antonio Pierce (1997-00)	LB	2007 (XLII)	New York Giants
Mike Bell (2002–05)	RB	2009 (XLIV)	New Orleans Saints
Rob Gronkowski (2007–09)	TE	2014 (XLIX)	New England Patriots

NFL Pro Bowl MVP award

• Quarterback - Nick Foles (2013 Offensive MVP)

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of January 20, 2016^[86]

2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031
vs Northern Arizona (9/2)	vs BYU (9/1)	at Hawaii (8/24)	vs Hawaii (9/5)	vs BYU † (9/2)	at San Diego State (9/3)			at Hawaii (8/30)					at Virginia Tech (8/30)
vs Houston (9/9)	at Houston (9/8)	Northern Arizona (9/7)	Portland State (9/12)	vs San Diego State (9/11)	vs Mississippi State (9/10)	at Mississippi State (9/9)			at BYU (9/12)	vs BYU (9/11)		vs Virginia Tech (9/8)
at UTEP (9/16)		vs Texas Tech (9/14)	at Texas Tech (9/19)			vs UTEP (9/16)	at Kansas State (9/14)	vs Kansas State (9/13)			at Nebraska (9/16)			vs Nebraska (9/13)

†In Las Vegas, Nevada^[87]

Future Non-division opponents

Arizona plays six Pac-12 North teams as a permanent non-division opponent annually and rotates around the North division among the other six schools. Each season Arizona will "miss" six 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.^[88]

Opponent	2017 & 2018	2019 & 2020	2021 & 2022	2023 & 2024
Stanford	Miss		Miss
California		Miss
Oregon State		Miss
Oregon
Washington	Miss
Washington State		Miss

2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
at California	California	at Stanford	Stanford	at California	California
Oregon State	at Oregon State	Oregon State	at Oregon State	at Oregon	Oregon
at Oregon	Oregon	at Washington	Washington	at Washington	Washington
Washington State	at Washington State	at Oregon	Oregon	Washington State	at Washington State

Pac-12 South

Arizona plays the other five Pac-12 South schools once per season.

Opponent	Even Years	Odd Years
Arizona State	home	away
Colorado	home	away
UCLA	away	home
USC	home	away
Utah	away	home

Facilities

Arizona Stadium

Arizona plays its home games at Arizona Stadium, located on the campus in Tucson, AZ.

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.^[89] The facility also offers 4,200 chair seating, as well as 500 premium seating.^[90]

See also

• List of Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association football champions
• List of Pac-12 Conference football champions

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arizona Wildcats football.

• Official website