Arizona Wildcats football The Arizona Wildcats football team is the football team of the University of Arizona , located in Tucson , Arizona , United States . The team competes in the Pacific - 12 Conference at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level . History . Early years . The football team began at the University of Arizona in 1899 under the nickname " Varsity " . James " Pop " McKale became the first coach of Arizona football history . On Nov 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 " . 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 . 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 . Coach Gerald " Tex " Oliver ' s " Blue Brigade " played an expanded , more nationwide schedule , Arizona produced their first All - Americans under coach Gerald Tex . The team ' s 1938 record of 8 – 2 was a school best to date . In 1954 , under coach Warren B . Woodson , Arizona was led by starting halfback Art Luppino . He went on to lead the nation in rushing , scoring , all - purpose running , and kickoff returns . Art 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 . During their time in the WAC conference the Wildcats compiled back - to - back 9 – 2 seasons under Coach Jim Young , UA ' s first nine - win campaigns . Receiver Theopolis " T " Bell was named All - American and fullback Jim Upchurch became the second Wildcat to rush for 1 , 000 yards for two consecutive seasons . Desert Swarm and Dick Tomey era . In 1992 , Coach Dick Tomey ' s " Desert Swarm " defense was characterized by tough , hard - nosed tactics . UA lead 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 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 . 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 was fired just after a season - ending 30 – 17 loss to Arizona State , the Wildcats ' primary arch - rival . After Dick Tomey was fired , Wildcat football declined in wins and went on a bowl game drought . Former Illinois and Texas head coach and ESPN football analyst John Mackovic served a disastrous tenure as head coach during this period ; Mackovic 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 ) . Mike Stoops . In 2004 , four years after Tomey ' s firing , Arizona hired Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops to take over the Wildcat 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 1998 when the Wildcats went 12 – 1 under Tomey . 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 Mark Stoops 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 ( the sole victory was against FCS Northern Arizona ) . 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 . ( 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 . ) Rich Rodriguez . On November 21 , 2011 , Arizona announced the hiring of Rich Rodriguez to replace Stoops . Rodriguez previously served as the head football coach at Salem University ( 1988 ) , Glenville State College ( 1990 – 1996 ) , West Virginia ( 2001 – 2007 ) , and the University of Michigan ( 2008 – 2010 ) ; he was also assistant coach , offensive coordinator , and quarterback coach for Tulane University ( 1997 – 1998 ) and Clemson University ( 1999 – 2000 ) ( both under head coach Tommy Bowden ) . Rodriguez was an analyst for CBS Sports during the 2011 football season . 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 . 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 . At West Virginia , Rodriguez guided the Mountaineers to two consecutive bowl games , going to the Nokia Sugar Bowl in 2005 as the Big East champion and its Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) representative , defeating Georgia and a gaining a final Associated Press ranking of fifth ; the next season the Mountaineers won eleven games , defeated Georgia Tech , 38 – 35 , in the Gator Bowl and finished 10th in the final polls . The 2007 Mountaineers eventually achieved No . 2 in the BCS standings and No . 1 in the Coaches ' poll , both the highest position ever for a Mountaineer football team ; Rodriguez was hired by Michigan at the end of the regular season in a highly controversial ( and legally contested ) move , but the Mountaineer team went on to defeat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl under interim head coach Bill Stewart . Rodriguez ' tenure at Michigan was far less successful , as it was plagued by player discontent , NCAA rule violations , lack of major bowl appearances , and a lack of success against Michigan ' s major traditional rivals such as Ohio State and Michigan State ; Rodriguez was relieved of his duties in January 2011 , and joined CBS Sports as an analyst soon thereafter , but stated that he might return to coaching if the right opportunity presented itself . Rodriguez was hired as the 30th head coach of the Arizona football program on November 21 , 2011 . The hiring was first announced by Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne on Twitter while a press conference officially announcing him as the head coach was held a day later at McKale Center in Tucson . Rodriguez will 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 . He will receive an extra $ 300 , 000 per year from Nike , as well as bonuses for academic achievement , BCS rankings , season ticket totals and bowl appearances . He will get extra bonuses for milestones such as playing in the BCS title game , playing in any other bowl , and for winning the Pac - 12 . The contract is subject to UA Board of Regents approval . 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 . Former University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer ( who later accepted the head coaching position at Ohio State ) and former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach ( who later accepted the head coaching position at Pac - 12 school Washington State ) were reportedly also considered for the position . 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 and become 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 .