Arizona Wildcats football
| Arizona Wildcats football | |||
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| First season | 1899 | ||
| Athletic director | Greg Byrne | ||
| Head coach |
Rich Rodriguez 6th year, 36–29 (.554) |
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| Other staff | See Coaching staff section | ||
| Stadium | Arizona Stadium | ||
| Year built | 1927 | ||
| Seating capacity | 55,675 | ||
| 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) |
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| 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 | ||
| Current uniform | |||
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| Colors | Cardinal and Navy Blue |
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| Fight song | Fight! Wildcats! Fight! | ||
| Mascot | Wilbur the Wildcat | ||
| Marching band | The Pride of Arizona | ||
| Outfitter | Under Armour | ||
| Primary Rivals | |||
| Wildcats in the NFL | |
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| 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 |
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 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.
The varsity football program at the University of Arizona began in 1899, though the Wildcats nickname was not adopted until later.Stuart Forbes became the first head coach of Arizona football history and the team compiled a 1–1–1 record. From 1900 to 1901, William W. Skinner served as head football coach at the University of Arizona. While there, he also studied geology. He guided Arizona to 3–1 and 4–1 records, respectively. 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".Pop McKale was a very successful high school coach in the Tucson area when he was hired at UA. 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." 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.
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