Before the COVID-19 pandemic, ASU was widely regarded as one of the nation's premier athletic schools. The same could not be said for Arizona: football was bottoming out, neither basketball team was meeting postseason expectations, and both baseball and softball saw drastic head coaching changes.
However, in the years since then — and especially over the last two seasons — the University of Arizona has flipped the script and usurped ASU as the most prestigious athletic institution in the state. The most rewarding fruit of this turnaround has been the recent dominance the Wildcats have shown over the Sun Devils.