Arizona head coach Brent Brennan discussed his memories of attending the 1998 Holiday Bowl to watch his brother Brad play for the Wildcats. Arizona beat Nebraska 23-20 and secured the only 12-win season in Wildcats' history.
Brad Brennan had two receptions for 78 yards that included a 16-yard touchdown catch. Brent Brennan lettered at UCLA in 1993 and in 1994 with one reception for seven yards. In 1998, Brent Brennan was a graduate assistant at Hawaii, working with wide receivers.
Brad Brennan had 15 receptions for 314 yards and three TDs in 1998. Brent Brennan became a graduate assistant coach at Arizona in 2000, in Brad's last season with the Wildcats. Brad Brennan had 66 receptions for 1,221 yards and 11 TDs over five seasons with Arizona.
During the 1998 Holiday Bowl telecast, Mike Tirico, who was calling the game for ESPN, mentioned all the family and friends Brad Brennan had at the game. Brent Brennan did not mention if Brad would be at the 2026 Holiday Bowl.
"I don't know how many deals my younger brother had to cut for tickets, but he cut a lot of them. We had over a hundred family and friends there for the game. It was just an awesome night...I was fairly young then, so the parents and all the older crew, they got the good tickets. So me and the Yahoos, we were up in the nosebleeds, but it didn't matter. It was a lot of fun. Obviously that was a great game for Arizona."Arizona head coach Brent Brennan
The Brennans grew up in Redwood City, California in between San Jose and San Francisco. Brent Brennan's playing career ended before Brad entered college. Arizona beat Hawaii 27-6 in the season opener, with Brad catching two passes for 15 yards and Brent with the Rainbow Warriors.
In 1999, Brent was a graduate assistant working with tight ends at Washington when the Huskies won at Arizona 33-25. Brad had three receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown in two games that season. After Arizona, Brent Brennan was an assistant at Cal Poly, San Jose State and Oregon State.
Brent earned his first head coaching position at San Jose State in 2017. Arizona playing in the 2026 Holiday Bowl is a full-circle moment for the Brennans. Arizona also lost 33-0 to Nebraska in the 2009 Holiday Bowl.
Brad Brennan was also on Arizona teams that played in the 1997 Insight.Com Bowl played in Tucson. The 1998 Holiday Bowl was the last postseason appearance for Arizona until the Wildcats upset BYU 31-21 in the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl.