Robert Anae coached with Dick Tomey in 1986 at Hawaii.
Photo from BYU

Less than an hour after coach Mike Stoops offered an assistant coaching position to Robert Anae — who accepted — the former BYU offensive coordinator called the man who gave him his first coaching job.

Dick Tomey.

“He is really fired up about being a Wildcat,” Tomey said Tuesday night from his home in Hawaii.

“I have talked to him several times, and he is so excited about coming to Tucson. … He is fortunate to be coming to Arizona, and Arizona is fortunate he’s coming. It’s a win-win.”

Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne broke news of the hiring on his Twitter account on Tuesday night, although it was already well-known that Anae was likely to replace offensive line coach and co-offensive coach Bill Bedenbaugh, who is leaving for West Virginia.

Still to be determined (or announced) is whether Anae will handle any of the coordinator or play-calling duties.

(more…)

Here’s something I did not know: Former Arizona Wildcats coach Dick Tomey helped launch the coaching career of Denver Broncos interim head coach Eric Studesville.

As told in a very fine feature by Terry Frei in Sunday’s Denver Post, Studesville graduated from Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1989 and worked as a personal trainer for a year before deciding to go to graduate school.

He is an excerpt from Frei’s story:

He was admitted to the University of Arizona’s exercise physiology program and went to Tucson in 1990. He found himself missing football and began checking out the Wildcats’ practices. Dick Tomey was Arizona’s coach.

“I pestered Coach Tomey for about a semester,” Studesville said. “About every two weeks, I’d go over to the football offices and leave him a message saying who I was and that I’d like to talk to him about anything I could help him with, anything to be around football. Finally, after the Christmas break, I was able to sit down and talk with him — for a few moments.”

Studesville laughed and added: “This week, I talked with Coach Tomey and reminded him of the fact that, at that moment, when he said, ‘OK, you can be around,’ that opened the door for me to be exposed to this business. I’m always going to be indebted to him.”

Tomey, 72, retired from coaching last year after a five-season run as San Jose State’s head coach.

“He was obviously very persistent,” Tomey said from his home in Hawaii. “He also was terrific, right from the start. We were really, really glad we brought him on. He was assertive and he was confident, and you could tell he knew what he wanted, but he could make that known while being kind and articulate in stating his case well. We were just putting together our program at Arizona, and he worked with a tremendous group of people.”

For the rest of the story, follow the link.

Studesville’s head coaching debut didn’t go so well Sunday, as the Broncos committed six turnovers while losing at the Arizona Cardinals 43-13.

Dick Tomey was 0-5 against Boise State when he was the head coach at San Jose State/Photo by Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Consider former Arizona Wildcats football coach Dick Tomey a Boise believer.

Tomey saw plenty of the Boise State Broncos when he was coaching at WAC opponent San Jose State from 2005 to 2009. He saw Boise State as recently as last Saturday when he served as an analyst for the WAC Sports Network during the Broncos’ game at New Mexico State.

Boise State is 4-0 and ranked fourth nationally, and there could be quite a discussion about their worthiness for the national championship game should the Broncos finish 12-0.

“I think they stack up,” Tomey said in a phone interview Thursday.

“I think their defensive front is as good as anybody’s, including Alabama or whoever, and that’s where you start on defense. That’s the biggest difference in their team now and their team four years ago. Four years ago, they were not nearly as strong in the defensive line.

(more…)

Rob Waldrop earned All-American honors in 1992 and 1993/Tucson Citizen file photo

I received an e-mail last week from a Sports Illustrated staff writer, asking for help tracking down former Arizona all-star defensive tackle Rob Waldrop for a story.

On Wednesday, ESPN.com’s Pat Forde, in his always-informative Forde-yard dash column, was curious about the same thing. Forde wrote:

Putting out an APB for …

… Former Arizona defensive lineman and Desert Swarm linchpin Rob Waldrop. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the 1993 Outland Trophy winner, please apprise The Dash.

OK, so what gives?

Why the sudden interest in the guy who was selected the 1993 national Defensive Player of the Year in 1993 by the Football Writers’ Association of America?

I talked with Waldrop on Wednesday morning to find out.

(more…)

This was Miami's Lamar Thomas on his way to the end zone against Arizona in 1991.
Photo by Xavier Gallegos, Tucson Citizen

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved three football rules changes Thursday, including one that had me thinking of 1991 and Lamar Thomas and Heath Bray and Gino Torretta and Dick Tomey.

Starting in the 2011 season, the rules will be different for a player who is penalized for taunting on his way to the end zone — stuff like high-stepping, diving when no defender is around or pointing at the other team.

As it is, those penalties are worth 15 yards on the extra point attempt, the 2-point conversion or the ensuing kickoff.

In 2011, the penalty will be enforced at the spot of the foul, which means the touchdown will be wiped out.

Anyway, that had me thinking of the most egregious taunting moment I can remember seeing in person, which happened in the 1991 Arizona-Miami game in Arizona Stadium. It involved Thomas, a Hurricanes receiver, and here is the story I wrote about it in October 2006 for the Tucson Citizen:

Arizona fans with long memories were not surprised by the announcing antics of Lamar Thomas.

Thomas was the TV analyst last week for the Miami-Florida International game, carrying on like a fool as players brawled on the field, swinging helmets, stomping on legs and — in the case of injured players — using crutches as clubs.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Thomas, a Miami alum, boasted on air.

“You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked. You don’t come into the OB (Orange Bowl) playing that stuff. . . . I say, why don’t they just meet outside in the tunnel after the ballgame and get it on some more.”

His employer, Comcast Sports SouthEast, dealt with Thomas. He was fired.

In the Phoenix area, former Wildcat Heath Bray watched with interest.

Lamar Thomas is one player he can never forget.

“It’s been 15 years, and it’s like yesterday,” Bray said. “As soon as I heard that audio, I turned to my fiancée and told her the story.”

The story goes like this:

It was 1991, and Arizona was in the midst of a tough 4-7 season that wouldn’t get any better when unbeaten Miami visited Tucson on Oct. 26.

Early in the second quarter, quarterback Gino Torretta caught UA in a blitz, lofting a pass to Thomas, a speedy receiver who beat cornerback Darryl Morrison in one-on-one coverage. Thomas was off to the races down the east sideline of Arizona Stadium.

Thomas, all alone as he approached the end zone, slowed down and, curiously, stopped completely.

In a brazen look-at-me moment, full of the lack of sportsmanship he would display on the air 15 years later, Thomas put a toe over the goal line and gently placed the ball in the end zone.

“I had blitzed from the right side, and hit Gino in the mouth as he was throwing the ball,” Bray said. “We’re both on the ground on our backs . . . and we see him running down the field and just place the ball in the end zone. Gino turns to me and says something to the effect of, ‘What a (expletive).’ ”

The crowd booed, but what were the young, injured Wildcats to do? They lost 36-9, and coach Dick Tomey, still outraged a day later, called Thomas’ play “the height of showboating, the height of taunting.”

“That was certainly premeditated,” Tomey said. “I couldn’t believe he wasn’t called for a penalty.”

Bray, a vice president in a Scottsdale financial advising firm, was not surprised when Thomas said of Saturday’s melee, “I was about to go down the elevator to get in that thing.”

In 1992, Arizona was almost involved in one of those brawls with Thomas and the Hurricanes in a game at the Orange Bowl.

As Bray and punter Josh Miller went out for the coin toss, they attempted to shake hands with Miami’s Kevin Williams and Jessie Armstead.

“They put their hands behind their backs and looked at the ground,” Bray said. “(Linebacker) Charlie Camp saw that and started going ape crazy. The whole team came out into the middle of the field.”

Miami was already there.

After the near-skirmish, the fired-up Wildcats transformed into Desert Swarm that day, losing 8-7 to the top-ranked Hurricanes.

Arizona had entered that game coming off a tie at Oregon State, basically on life support. Perhaps in part because of guys such as Thomas and the over-the-top swagger of Miami, that group of Wildcats left the Orange Bowl knowing it found the emotional level it took to be successful.

In a strange way, perhaps a thank-you is in order.

That’s probably not the way Bray will see it. He and Torretta actually became friends after college — “he’s one of the nicest, most sincere guys I know,” Bray said — but he still does a slow burn if you mention Lamar Thomas and the 1991 game.

“That play colored the way I have thought about Miami for 15 years,” Bray said. “It will take something monumental to change it.”

Anthony Gimino can be reached at anthonygimino (at) gmail.com

Jennie Finch's 60 consecutive pitching victories might be the most impressive individual streak in Arizona history.

The Arizona Wildcats have the now dearly departed Streak in basketball — 25 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Thanks, Lute.

Arizona has The Streak in football — the upset-filled nine-season unbeaten run against Arizona State, from 1982 to 1990. Thanks, Larry Smith and Dick Tomey.

Arizona has so much more.

With a big boost from coach Mike Candrea‘s eight-time national championship softball program, the Wildcats have plenty of other (lower-case) streaks to celebrate.

Here are 12 of the best team streaks, in no particular order:

1. Softball’s 16 consecutive appearances in the College World Series, from 1988 to 2003. If not for a shocking upset in the regionals when the Wildcats were ranked No. 1 under interim head coach Larry Ray, the streak would be up to 22.

2. Softball’s 17 consecutive seasons with an All-American pitcher, from 1991 (Debby Day) to 2007 (Taryne Mowatt). This helps explain that College World Series streak.

3. Men’s basketball 71-game winning streak in McKale Center (1987-1992). It included a double-overtime win against eventual national champion Duke in 1991 and ended with an 89-87 loss to UCLA on Jan. 11, 1992.

4. Softball’s 18 consecutive years of being ranked No. 1 at some point of the season. That streak ended in 2009.

5. Women’s swimming current streak of 19 consecutive top 10 finishes in the NCAA meet. Thanks, Frank Busch. (The women also have a streak of six top three finishes in a row.)

6. Men’s swimming current streak of 12 consecutive top 8 national finishes in the NCAAs. Thanks again, Frank Busch. (Men’s and women’s swimming each won a national title in 2008.)

7. Men’s basketball 312 consecutive appearances in the AP regular-season poll. But not one week in 2009-10.

Not only was Lute Olson the author of the The Streak, he had significant runs at McKale Center and in the AP poll/Tucson Citizen photo

8. Softball’s 38-game winning streak over Arizona State (1991-2000). All the more amazing because the Sun Devils had a decent program, but Candrea owned his alma mater.

9. Men’s basketball’s 81-game winning streak in Bear Down Gym (1945-51). All that in the watch of coach Fred Enke.

10. Football’s 214-game scoring streak. It started with the 1972 season and ended with a 28-0 loss to Syracuse in the 1990 Aloha Bowl. It was the second-longest streak in the nation at the time.

11. Softball’s 47-game winning streak from April 1996 to March 1997. That’s an NCAA record.

12. And here’s one more from softball: The Wildcats had a 70-game winning streak at Hillenbrand Stadium from 2000 to 2002).

Individually, it’s hard to believe anything tops Jennie Finch‘s 60 consecutive pitching victories from 2000 to 2002. Another super softball streak: Caitlin Lowe stole 56 bases without being caught.

In softball, Amy Chellevold has the school’s longest hitting streak at 30 games. The baseball hitting streak belongs to Brian Anderson (2003) and Jason Donald (2006) at 26 games.

More impressive might be what Jake Thrower did in 1997. He had hits in 11 consecutive at-bats.

Have a favorite streak we missed? Let us know in the comments section or at anthonygimino (at) gmail.com.

Offensive lineman Conan Amituanai is one of the current Wildcats with Polynesian ties. His uncle is UA defensive coordinator Mike Tuiasosopo/2007 Tucson Citizen photo

The Arizona football team, building on its tradition of recruiting American Samoa and players of Polynesian heritage, has added defensive tackle Aiulua Fanene to its recruiting class.

Fanene, the brother of defensive end Jonathan Fanene of the Cincinnati Bengals, is from Tafuna High School on the island and was part of a recent “60 Minutes” feature on football in Samoa. You can watch it here. I’d recommend watching the whole thing if you haven’t seen it, but the part with Fanene begins at about the 6:12 mark.

Fanene was recruited by UA defensive line coach Mike Tuiasosopo, who has known the family since he recruited Jonathan to Utah.

In a 2006 story in the Tucson Citizen, Tuiasosopo talked about Arizona’s connection to the island.

“Others claim they have been there, but if anybody has a history, or can make that claim it is Arizona,” said Tuiasosopo, who was born in Samoa and has a nearly endless list of relatives who have played football in the United States.

“Utah and BYU can make a claim they have been involved because of their Mormon influence, but Washington and Oregon, I get a tickle out of that. They can say that now, but trust me, Arizona has a history.”

Former Arizona coach Dick Tomey, who had previously been the head coach at Hawaii, was, “instrumental in building the Samoan pipeline,” as described in a 2003 Sports Illustrated story titled “Football in Paradise.” And not just the pipeline to Arizona — the prolific pipeline from Samoa to colleges to the NFL.

The magazine wrote that Tomey had more than 120 Samoan players on his rosters at Hawaii and Arizona, spanning 24 years.

“There are no athletes that are, in my estimation, more competitive, more athletic or more family-oriented, or who fit into a team concept as well as Samoan athletes,” Tomey told SI. “The more we could get on our team, the better I felt.”

The Wildcats have sent at least a dozen players of Polynesian ties to the NFL: DL Stan Mataele, OL Mu Tagoai, OL Pulu Poumele, OT Edwin Mulitalo, TE Brandon Manumaleuna, DE Van Tuinei, OL Makoa Freitas, OL Makai Freitas, OL Steven Grace, OL Kili Lefotu, OL Manu Savea and DT Joe Salave’a.

The long list of Polynesian players at Arizona includes quarterbacks George Malauulu and Willie Tuitama. Malauulu is the president of the AIGA Foundation, which, according to its blog, seeks to “bring exposure to Pacific Islander football players excelling at the high school, collegiate and professional level.”

Many of the current and former Arizona players with Polynesian ties come from Hawaii or the West Coast, but some have come directly from American Samoa, including Savea and the late Young Thompson.

Salave’a, who was born in Samoa and grew up there, lost several family members in last September’s devastating tsunami and has been active in relief efforts through his foundation.

In another good story on the subject, this one a 2000 story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer written by Ted Miller, now of ESPN.com, then-UA defensive coordinator Rich Ellerson was quoted about the values of the Samoan culture.

“Their physical profile is outstanding for the game,” Ellerson said, “but I think the cultural profile — the family values, the idea of sacrifice, taking pride in your performance, the importance of toughness — that’s also important. Their chances of success are impacted by how close they are to their culture.”

Family values, sacrifice, pride and toughness: In the 60 Minutes profile, Aiulua Fanene was said to “do a day’s work before school under the direction of his father, David.”

Fanene will see plenty of friendly faces when he arrives in Tucson, and he won’t be fazed by the rigors of coach Mike Stoops‘ fall camp.

Safety Tony Bouie (far right) and linebacker Sean Harris (top) were part of Arizona's 1990 recruiting class.

It’s football signing day, and the fun of it is to get caught up in all the hope, all the rankings. Somewhat sadly for Arizona, those rankings are expected to be fairly average.

Whatever.

The thing is, you just never know how these classes are going to work out. (Related: Cats get three signing day surprises.

Several seasons ago, I wrote a story for the Tucson Citizen that revisted what is almost inarguably Arizona’s greatest recruiting class ever. I reached into the archives for the story from February 2005, which is posted below in its near entirety (taking out parts that are now irrelevant).

It is, to me, nearly impossible to believe it has been 20 years since these guys signed, but, anyway, here is the story …

* * *

In 1990, Dick Tomey signed 24 players in a class that had some sizzle — including Parade All-Americans Mike Ciasca and Chuck Levy — but was largely relegated to the middle of the Pacific-10 Conference by recruiting analysts.

The headline in the Tucson Citizen read: “UA recruits get ‘average’ tag.”

Average?

“There was a lot of attitude in my class,” said Rob Waldrop, a defensive tackle who became the cornerstone of the Desert Swarm defenses.

“You couldn’t tell us that we couldn’t do something. We knew we were going to be better than a lot of people who were already there, and I think that rubbed some of the older guys wrong sometimes. But we knew we would change things.”

Individually, the group is without peer in the history of UA football and, judging by the postseason honors, would rank as one of the best in the Pac-10.

The class signed in early 1990 featured:

**Two national award winners: Waldrop (Outland Trophy, Football Writers Association of America defensive player of the year) and place-kicker Steve McLaughlin (Lou Groza Award).

**Four All-Americans: Waldrop, McLaughlin, free safety Tony Bouie and punter Josh Miller.

**Five first-team All-Pac-10 players: Waldrop, McLaughlin, Bouie, Miller and linebacker Sean Harris.

**Two second-team All-Pac-10 players: Wide receiver Terry Vaughn and offensive lineman Mike Heemsbergen.

The depth of the class was also impressive, with starters such as offensive linemen Mike Ciasca, Pulu Poumele and Mu Tagoai, defensive end Richard Maddox, defensive back Mike Scurlock and several others, including Vincent Smith, a mammoth transfer from Colorado.

“Anybody would be hard-pressed to point to any class at any school during the period we were at Arizona and say that that class had a better result,” Tomey said.

Collectively, this group would provide the main thrust to Tomey’s best days in his 14-year UA career, including a 16-3 victory over No. 1 Washington in 1992, a co-Pac-10 title in 1993, a 29-0 shutout of Miami in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl and the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 1994 season preview issue.

How did Arizona pull it off?

The recruiting pitch was simple.

Tomey had just completed his third season and was coming off a 17-10 Copper Bowl victory over North Carolina State, only the second bowl win in school history.

“You know, they weren’t overselling anything. That was the neat thing,” said Ciasca, who was rated the top offensive lineman in the country by SuperPrep magazine.

“Michigan, USC, Florida State … they were selling tradition, ‘we’ve done it, we’ll do it again.’ One of the things that stood out in my mind was the chance to be the first to start the history, to not just be a spoke in the wheel.

“It was all the same pitch to everybody. We all bought into the fact that we wanted to be the first.”

Tomey’s plain talk appealed to Waldrop, even if the coach might have taken the regular-guy approach a bit too far.

“Tomey came into my house on a recruiting visit, opened the fridge and pulled out a carrot cake and starting eating it,” Waldrop said. “Who was I to argue? I mean, he must have been comfortable.”

Ciasca led a large Tucson contingent that included Harris and his uncle (but more like a brother) Lamar, who were considered “at-risk” academically but earned degrees. Ciasca’s teammate, Joe Lohmeier, suffered a broken leg in his senior season of high school, but Tomey visited him in the hospital and assured him he still had a scholarship.

In all, six local high school players signed with the Wildcats, most of whom weren’t heavily recruited.

“I think back then, diamonds in the rough were what we were looking for,” said former UA assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Bill Morgan, now the Arizona athletic department’s compliance director.

“We had a good feeling about so many in that class. There was a kind of a satisfaction when it was over. And then we got them here in August for camp and some of the luster goes off and you say, ‘Hey, he doesn’t look as tall as when we were recruiting him.’”

Waldrop and Vaughn were a couple of the instant hits, playing as true freshmen. Others took longer to develop.

“The first time I saw Josh Miller punt — and we laugh about it to this day — he was awful,” Tomey said.

Much of the class signed in 1990 was rushed into duty as redshirt freshmen in 1991, when injuries decimated the starting lineup. By early 1992, it was all systems go, and an 8-7 loss at No. 1 Miami — when the Wildcats were four-touchdown underdogs — signaled that the class had arrived.

“Something happened on that trip,” Waldrop said. “Everyone just let loose. We lost, but we destroyed them statistically. That is where a lot of frustration came out.”

It was this class that propelled Arizona to the second-most overall victories (71) in the Pac-10 during the 1990s.

“I think that the run in the 1990s is probably underappreciated in Tucson, but as time goes on it will be looked at as a real outstanding decade of football for Arizona,” Tomey said. “And, no question, this class really helped get it going.”

Related links from the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network:

Brad Allis, Wildcat Sports Report: Cats mostly fill their needs, Part I

Brad Allis, Wildcat Sports Report: Cats mostly fill their needs, Part II

It was the week before the 1998 Holiday Bowl, and Arizona coach Dick Tomey was riding a theme.

Arizona defenders bring down Nebraska's Shevin Wiggins in the 1998 Holiday Bowl/Tucson Citizen photo

That “N” on the Nebraska helmet?

“He kept telling us the ‘N’ stood for ‘Not today,’” remembered Brandon Nash, a receiver/special teams player on the 1998 Wildcats who is now a local sportscaster.

“Every time we saw that helmet, he wanted us to think, ‘Not today, not today.’ You look back at that now, and it sounds so corny, but that has stuck with me forever and it was very motivating back then.”

It worked.

Dec. 30, 1998, was not Nebraska’s day.

It was Arizona’s.

The Wildcats won 23-20 in a thrilling Holiday Bowl in San Diego. Arizona scored two touchdowns in the final quarter, including a 1-yard plunge by Kelvin Eafon with 6:08 left.

On Nebraska’s next possession, freshman quarterback Eric Crouch, who would go on to win the 2001 Heisman Trophy, threw deep over the middle on third-and-11 from the UA 46.

Arizona’s All-American cornerback Chris McAlister made a leaping interception, and UA secured the victory by running off all but the final 34 seconds.

That was so fitting. McAlister started the season with a kickoff return for a touchdown at Hawaii, and he basically ended the season with another big play.

“This is the happiest and saddest time of my life,” McAlister said after the game.

“This was a tremendous win for the University of Arizona, and that makes me very happy. But I’ll never get to strap on my helmet as a Wildcat again … and that’s the sad part. I can’t believe it’s over.”

The interception put the final touch on a 12-1 season — the school’s best-ever record — and the Wildcats finished fourth in both major polls.

“That game felt different than any game I played in at Arizona,” said quarterback Keith Smith, who now lives in southern California.

“It kind of felt like what I thought the Super Bowl would feel like. It was like the lights were brighter. It was different.

“It was definitely fun to play in. It was probably the most fun I had in a football game.”

The lights were a little brighter. At the time, it was ESPN’s most-watched bowl game ever. No Holiday Bowl since then has been as highly rated.

“To this day, anywhere I go, walking around here in California, they bring that game up,” Smith said. “They can tell me more about the game than I can.”

UA took a 9-0 lead on three field goals from Mark McDonald, but Nebraska led 13-9 at halftime, with its touchdown coming on a 45-yard pass to Shevin Wiggins.

Arizona would have led, but McAlister had a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown called back because of a questionable block-in-the-back penalty against Derek Hall. Tomey called it an “awful call.”

Hall said after the game that the official later told him that it might have been a clean block.
“And (he) kinda winked at me,” Hall said.

The score stayed 13-9 until the fourth quarter, when Smith hit Brad Brennan on a 15-yard touchdown pass.

“The first thing I think about in that game is Brad Brennan’s catch,” Smith said. “There was a lot of pressure at that point of the game.

“We kind of looked at each other, and he broke off his route into a skinny post. I knew I had to zip it in there, and I threw it as hard as I could.

“He split two defenders and was excited to come out of that thing alive.”

UA’s defense had dared Crouch to throw all game, devoting an extra linebacker to play across Nebraska’s interior offensive line for run support. UA held the option-based attack to a measly 87 rushing yards.

Crouch, who was the Huskers’ leading rusher with 28 yards on 15 carries, completed just 12 of 28 passes.

“Nebraska was always a team you wanted to play, wanted to beat,” Smith said.

“We were confident. We said, ‘We belong on the field with these guys. They should be excited to play us.’”

Arizona’s team was filled with NFL talent — including three who are still in the NFL — cornerback McAlister, receiver Dennis Northcutt and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna. Offensive lineman Edwin Mulitalo had a long pro career.

Several others played in the NFL, including first-round running back Trung Canidate, defensive end Joe Tafoya, linebacker Marcus Bell, linebacker DaShon Polk, tight end Mike Lucky, offensive lineman Yusuf Scott, tight end/H-back Paul Shields and receiver Jeremy McDaniel.

Several others played professionally somewhere — such as quarterbacks Smith and Ortege Jenkins, Eafon and defensive lineman Daniel Greer — or made it to NFL camps.

No doubt, Arizona’s program was rolling. It had 17 returning starters for the 1999 season and was such a hot property that ABC picked the Cats to open at Penn State in the Pigskin Classic.

Alas . . .

The Penn State game was a 41-7 disaster, and the Wildcats faded in 1999 and 2000, missing out on the postseason and leading to Tomey’s departure.

“It would have been nice to build on that momentum and do better things after that,” said center Bruce Wiggins, who was a sophomore starter for the Holiday Bowl team.

“But we’ll always have ’98.”

The hiring of John Mackovic in 2000 sank the program lower. Then came Mike Stoops. His massive rebuilding project took a significant step with last season’s Las Vegas Bowl victory over BYU.

And now another step — an 8-4 regular season and, 11 years later, a rematch with Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.

The Wildcats can only hope that the “N” on those helmets still stands for “Not today.”

Writer’s note: My first version of this story originally appeared in the Tucson Citizen in August 2008. I tweaked a few things and added a new ending.

Dick Tomey gave Arizona football fans Desert Swarm, Tedy Bruschi, a team of Joes, Mike Streidnig up the middle, the I-bone, Chris McAlister, the Leap by the Lake, playing with your hair on fire, the Fiesta Bowl, the Holiday Bowl, Rob Waldrop, the fumblerooski, the Sports Illustrated cover, the tie that felt like a win, “Burn the Boats,” wins you’ll always remember, losses you can’t forget and teams that fought like the dickens.

Tomey at San Jose State/Photo courtesy of San Jose State sports information

That’s only part of how I remember him.

I got to thinking about all this last night because the news leaked that Tomey, at 71, will announce his retirement Monday as the head coach at San Jose State, bringing an end to 46 years in the coaching profession. Bless him.

I still remember meeting Tomey for the first time. It was the spring of 1991, and I was a way-too-green 23-year-old football beat reporter for the Arizona Daily Star, recently plucked off the copy desk.

I was in his little office at McKale Center. I mean, if Mike Stoops thinks he and his assistants have it bad now in their relatively palatial add-on to McKale, they should have seen how little head room there was before he arrived.

Anyway, I sat on the couch, Tomey pulled up a chair and, to his credit, I never once saw him roll his eyes or look at his watch as I asked my silly questions, tediously going through every position group.

I have always thought that a lesser coach, a lesser man, could have chewed up a rookie reporter, been intimidating, made the job unbearable or made it something other than fun.

It never happened.

Over the next several years — from a 38-14 loss at Ohio State to start the 1991 season to the 23-20 victory over Nebraska in the 1998 Holiday Bowl — Tomey and I developed what I would consider a good working relationship.

That didn’t stop me from criticizing some decisions and it didn’t stop him from pulling me aside or calling me at home (on Thanksgiving!) to say some of my stories were “horsesh–” — which must be his favorite curse word — but if there was thing I learned from Tomey it was this:

Say what you have to say … and then let it go.

It works in football, more so in life.

I actually learned a lot from Tomey. Most of what I think a coach should be, how he should act, how he should respond to adversity, how he should motivate, came from him.

But it is his common decency — or, perhaps his uncommon decency — that I most appreciate and admire.

When he was hired at San Jose State in late December 2004, he said he “unceremoniously left Tucson,” which is another way of saying he resigned under pressure, which is another way of saying he was fired.

But he never stopped being a Wildcat.

Just as I can’t forget my first meeting with Tomey, I know my most recent encounter with him will resonate forever.

Tomey and about 150 other Wildcats spanning five decades traveled to Phoenix in February of 2008 to attend a fundraiser for Tony Bouie, an Arizona All-American safety in 1993 and 1994 who was fighting stage-four lymphoma. (He is doing fine now.)

After a day of $300-a-round golf at the Arizona Biltmore Golf Club, most of the group and other guests ate dinner outside and participated in an auction. Near the end, Tomey got up and spoke for a few minutes on what it meant to be a Wildcat.

Earlier, he had told me, “You coach to win, but you also coach to have a team that feels strongly about one another and is brought together for a lifetime. This is illustrative of the fact that this bunch of guys, and the people who coached them, succeeded in that endeavor. That’s really what it is all about.”

As the evening wrapped up, Tomey led everybody in singing “Bear Down, Arizona,” and, journalistic objectivity be damned, if you didn’t have goosebumps, you didn’t have a heartbeat.

When he leaves San Jose State at the end of the season and retires to his home in Hawaii,
he’ll have been a Rainbow Warrior, a Wildcat and a Spartan across a successful head coaching career.

He’ll have been a lot of other things along the journey and meant a lot of things to a lot of people … even to a little ol’ sportswriter.