Opinion: Tucson is not an easy place to win at for Arizona Football

It’s not easy being an Arizona Football fan, and as just a fan with no expertise, I can voice my opinion, but in reality Tucson isn’t an easy place to win.

Let me preface this by saying, this is a warning for those who don’t like strong opinions, especially when it comes to the realities of Arizona Football, and if you don’t like the cold, hard truth, than this isn’t for you. The purpose of this article is of course to discuss why I think Tucson isn’t an easy place to win.

Now if you got through that first paragraph, and are sit their scoffing, meanwhile telling yourself “well, Lute Olson built an elite basketball program here…” Let me just stop you right there. This isn’t basketball, and also kindly step into 2019… because it’s not 1983 anymore, and coach Olson doesn’t coach football.

Arizona Wildcats

The driving/ deciding factors for coaches and players aren’t quite like what they used to be, and collegiate basketball and collegiate football are two, completely different animals.

I know this may be largely assumptive on my behalf, but seemingly gone are the days of coaching or playing for pride. Everyone thinks or at least hopes they’re the next superstar, and coaches are looking for that next big paying gig.

To take this a step further, but at the end of the day, Arizona isn’t a top destination to coach or play at when it comes to football, so keeping and attracting top players or coaches isn’t as easy as some fans like to naively think it is.

“But Lute did it for basketball here…”, I’m aware, I also think Arizona hit the proverbial lottery when it came to hiring him. Those instances of finding that coach that brings a team from the depths of ineptitude and continual losing don’t really happen all that often, and more specifically for Arizona Football certainly have not been that fortunate.

So why is it so hard? Well, I think it can be boiled down to a myriad of reasons as to why I think it’s difficult to win here and I hope you get where I’m coming from…

Tradition:

Arizona lacks a STRONG, football tradition. To this day, Arizona is still the only original Pac-10 member school to have not played in the infamous Rose Bowl, and our overall record as a program has been sort of average at best, going just a combined 617-468-33 (.567) since its inception. By comparison our rivals up north (barf) have a slightly better record at 619-395-24 (.608), have played in two Rose Bowls and also play in a bigger market. Meaning they have a larger, local talent pool, and more players are prone to want to play in a bigger market compared to Tucson.

If you want to take a deeper dive into it, our “peak” was unquestionably during the Dick Tomey years, which is 20 years ago at this point. During his tenure, the Wildcats went a combined 95-64-4, highlighted by a 12-1 season in 1998, a Fiesta Bowl win over Miami in 1994, and of course the infamous Desert Swarm era. Since his departure? It’s been downright awful.

Since 2000, the program is just 107-122 (including this season) with eight bowl appearances in 20 seasons. We’ve compiled just a 4-4 bowl record, and this shouldn’t really come as a much of a surprise to anyone, but that’s not good!

Facilities & Amenities:

On top of the little tradition, what amenities or sort of special experiences here are going to help recruits get over the fact that the program has been mediocre for the past 20 years? The Lowell-Stevens Facility? The Indoor Practice Facility? C’mon…

Now, let me abundantly clear so as to not have my point be completely misconstrued. I do think the Lowell-Stevens Facility, and the Cole and Jeannie Davis Indoor Practice facility are first-class facilities that are both important and vital pieces to our overall success as a program, however, I believe they are necessities at this point, not advantages.

Their existence certainly don’t put us over ‘the edge’ compared to other programs when it comes to recruiting, it just keeps on the same page in the facilities arms race of college football. In 2019, virtually all other division one programs have what we have.

What they can get at Arizona, they can certainly get almost anywhere else, and depending on the school, perhaps they get more exposure, or have better chances of winning championships.

Geographic Region:

Look, I’m a Tucson native, and I love it here and will always be biased towards my hometown, but let’s be real, this isn’t a place for everybody. When you try to sell Tucson to a 17-year old kid, it’s not as easy as you think, and the things we might find endearing may not be as important to a recruit.

Especially when you comparatively have a city like Los Angeles being home to two, historic programs in your own conference, the recruiting becomes more challenging. Also throw in the big markets of Seattle and the Bay Area  as well, and that becomes quite the uphill battle if you ask me.

Why play in Tucson, AZ, when you can play football in one of those other markets, with those other schools that maybe have a little more tradition?

Look, this isn’t a pity party by any means, but I think we as fans need a bit of a reality check, because let’s be honest, this isn’t an easy place to win at, and Lute Olson’s don’t exactly exist in college football.

Arizona Basketball has had the privilege to become a powerhouse for basketball, using their tradition to attract recruits. The program sells itself. That’s not what Arizona Football is able to do.

Anyways, that’s just my thoughts on why it’s hard to win here. Have any ideas yourself? Let us know and as always, Bear Down, Arizona!