The Arizona Wildcats are targeting dual-threat quarterback Alin Edouard from Hialeah, Fla., who has been committed to Miami.

Edouard took to Twitter on Wednesday to announce that the Arizona coaches had offered a scholarship, and he confirmed in a premium story on WildcatAuthority.com reciprocal interest in the Wildcats, citing, among other things, the similarity in offense to what his high school team runs.

Eduoard (6-1, 180) is rated the 10th-best dual-threat quarterback in the country by 247Sports.

He is a self-described “soft commit” to Miami at this time, also looking at, among others, Louisville and Cincinnati in addition to Arizona. Other scholarship offers include Penn State, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.

GOT MY 18 OFFER TODAY FROM ARIZONA , ALSO #1 ON THEIR BOARD ..#Wildcats #Pac12 #TbredFam

— Alin Edouard #10 (@ALLEN_EDWARD2) June 13, 2013

* * *

Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez and some assistants visited with the Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday during the team’s offseason training in Glendale.

Rodriguez was at least taking some mental notes, telling ArizonaSports.com — the website for 620-AM in Phoenix — he was interested in seeing the organization and structure of practice.

“Nowadays, particularly in days like [Wednesday] when you don’t have pads on, what can you do to have a productive practice when you don’t have the full pads on?” Rodriguez said.

Former UA receiver Dan Buckner is working out with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent.

* * *

Wide receiver Jordan Morgan, who has committed to Arizona, was a standout last weekend at the NFTC (Nike Football Training Camp) in Eugene, Ore.

Morgan, a three-star recruit from Beaverton, Ore., was chosen the top performer of the camp by Justin Hopkins from 247Sports.

Wrote Hopkins:

“The Arizona commit was flat out unstoppable. Bad wind, poor throws and opposing DB’s couldn’t slow down the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder from making catch after catch. Morgan flashed great speed along with a knack for getting open due to his clean route-running. Morgan committed on his only Pac-12 offer, Arizona, and the Cats scored a gem of a receiver in Morgan.”

* * *

Arizona has released the fourth and final part of its video tour of the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, hosted by Rodriguez and athletic director Greg Byrne. This go-around covers the fifth floor — the Sands Level, which will have some of the best seats in the stadium.

Here it is:

* * *

Speaking of Arizona Stadium, the turf has been installed and here is the best look at it so far, an under-the-lights shot that nicely shows off the “Bear Down” ghost lettering across the field (photo via Twitter, @ArizonaAthletics)

Sean Miller reacts as Michael Irving signals for the technical foul vs. UCLA. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Pac-12 released its independent report on men’s basketball officiating Sunday, and the big, grand take-away from events surrounding the “He touched the ball!” incident is this:

Uh, not much.

The conclusion of the independent review law firm — which goes by the name Ice Miller, LLP — was that no further action was required.

That shouldn’t be a big surprise.

The Pac-12 already conducted its investigation; the independent review was a further step to establish trust in the system after Ed Rush, the league’s coordinator of men’s basketball officials, resigned in April, after the “bounty” scandal during the conference tournament in March.

You be the judge. You can read the 52-page report, which was released by the Pac-12 CEO Group, here.

“We are appreciative of the effort by the CEO Council to commission an independent review of the issues related to the Conference tournament,” Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne said in a statement.

“Coach Miller and I have discussed the report, and we are ready to move forward. We remain hopeful this report will lead to improvements in our officiating program. At this time I will have no further comment.”

University of Arizona president Ann Weaver Hart said: “I am pleased the report by the Ice Miller Collegiate Sports Practice will result in positive change to the Pac-12’s oversight of its officiating program. The Conference’s commitment to maintain integrity and improve the quality of officiating was important to the executive committee. I look forward to seeing major changes in the way in which the Pac-12 organizes and oversees basketball officiating.”

The review yielded four core conclusions after interviews with 45 people:

* Rush’s comments, made in two meetings, about awarding cash or a vacation to anyone who gave a technical foul to Arizona coach Sean Miller were not offered literally and were not taken as such by the game officials.

According to the report:

“However, the officials present at the meetings understood the Coordinator’s statements as serious expressions of his desire for the officials to focus on head coaches’ bench decorum. Although the Coordinator did not intend to target Arizona’s Head Coach, the context in which the Coordinator’s statements occurred led eight of the fifteen officials present at either meeting to report that the Coordinator was particularly focused on strictly enforcing bench decorum guidelines regarding the Head Coach.”

* Rush’s comments did affect the officiating of bench decorum in the Arizona-UCLA semifinal game of the Pac-12 tournament.

Arizona’s Mark Lyons was called for a double-dribble violation with 4:37 left — which was the incorrect call, because a UCLA player touched the ball, negating double dribble. Miller, in an effort to argue the call, stepped out of the coaches’ box. Arizona had previously been warned about its sideline behavior.

According to the report:

“The official approximately eight feet from Arizona’s bench saw the Head Coach on the court and promptly called a technical foul as the Head Coach stepped back toward the sideline. As the Coordinator (Rush) and an officiating leadership team colleague watched the violation call, they both saw that a UCLA player touched the ball and that Arizona should retain possession.

“While waiting on the first two officials to confer and make the correct call, the Coordinator saw the third official call the technical foul. According to the Coordinator’s colleague, the Coordinator’s immediate reaction was, “Oh, s—. That’s not good,” because the technical foul did not appear warranted. The Coordinator was hopeful that the conferring officials would determine that the ball had been touched by UCLA, award the ball to Arizona, and rescind the technical foul pursuant to the “elastic power of the official.” Instead, both the incorrect double-dribble violation and the technical foul stood.”

The report concluded that, while the official — Michael Irving — could have used better discretion, “under a strict application of the rules, the technical foul on the Head Coach is a defensible, correct call.”

* The Arizona-UCLA game was officiated fairly.

A review of the game found 13 incorrect calls, or no-calls. Six favored the Wildcats, seven benefitted the Bruins.

* The $25,000 fine imposed by the Pac-12 upon Miller were within commissioner Larry Scott’s authority and were reasonable.

And we now know Miller’s favorite curse word.

At the conclusion of the game, Miller stepped out of way to lean into Irving, and, according to his own recollection, spewed “F— you” five or six times. He was still steamed when he entered the hallway to the locker room in a “level 10, chaotic, angry” manner, according to an unnamed Pac-12 junior female staff member.

Miller, according to the report yelled, “That f—— technical with four minutes left, are you f—— kidding me?”

More from the report:

“The Junior Staff Member recalls that when the Head Coach was twelve to fifteen feet away he seemed to pause and make eye contact with the Junior Staff Member and yell, “F— the Pac-12″ and, “You’re a f—— cheap-ass conference.” The Junior Staff Member did not feel physically endangered, but the Junior Staff Member was “very concerned” that the Head Coach might tear down the Pac-12 banner that was positioned in the alcove as a backdrop for interviews.”

Miller said he never noticed the junior staff member, but it was this incident, combined with the on-court post-game profanity toward Irving that formed the basis of the $25,000 fine.

Miller and Byrne argue mitigating factors, specifically that it all stems from a bad call.

According to the report:

“The Athletics Director also acknowledges that the Head Coach’s post-game confrontation with the official was “wrong,” but believes the impropriety of the Head Coach’s conduct is mitigated because the post-game confrontation would not have occurred but for an incorrect violation call and resulting unwarranted technical foul at the 4:37 mark.”

In the end, the independent review found the $25,000 fine to be fair.

In a press conference last month, Miller couldn’t address the investigation directly, but did say:

“One of the things I can comment on … is I haven’t really had the opportunity to express my gratitude at the very highest level for the support that I’ve gotten from Dr. Hart and from Greg Byrne.

“As a basketball coach in a situation like this, not every place would have the incredible support I’ve been fortunate to have. That’s something that is not lost on me. That’s probably the most meaningful thing that’s happened to me since I’ve been the head coach at Arizona.

“Just to watch their undying support and the communication we’ve had … that’s a great feeling to have.”

University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. Photo by Christian Petersen, Getty Images Sport

Arizona Wildcats athletic director Greg Byrne, in his weekly Wildcat Wednesday e-mail, reinforced the news that “it is a good possibility” that Arizona’s football game at UNLV will be moved to Glendale.

Arizona has been scheduled to play in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, the second game of the season.

The word for the past couple of weeks has been that the schools have been negotiating, and Rebels athletic director Jim Livengood told the Las Vegas Review-Journal last week that he was optimistic a deal would get done.

Livengood — who preceded Byrne as Arizona’s athletic director — announced his retirement Wednesday. Livengood, 68, will step down June 30. His departure isn’t expected to affect the deal to move the football game to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

For UNLV, it makes financial sense, potentially a million dollar payday. For Arizona, it takes a road game and makes it something of a home game, as Byrne continues to emphasize the University of Arizona as a state-wide program.

Arizona recently signed a deal for a three-game series with BYU, starting with a game in Glendale in 2016.

This back-lit logo sits on the north face of the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

For most of his 14 years as the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats, Dick Tomey worked out of a small, windowless office in McKale Center, his assistants cramped into even tinier spaces, some with low, slanted ceilings.

Second-year coach Rich Rodriguez is going to have a view of the Santa Catalina Mountains on the third floor of a football-only facility in the north end zone of Arizona Stadium, sitting amid spacious accommodations that very much look like the “game-changer” he says it will be for the program.

And, oh yeah, he has his own personal bathroom and shower.

The athletic department took the local media on a tour of the $72 million Lowell-Stevens Football Facility. It’s still a work in progress, but the team is on pace to move into the posh digs in July and officially join the college football arms race that had nearly lapped Arizona when Tomey was forced out in 2000.

“The amenities are very much going to modernize Arizona football,” said athletic director Greg Byrne.

“For so many years, that was an Achilles’ heel for us. It was an issue. Now, we’ll be able to look at all of our recruits and say, ‘You’ll be able to come here and have the same experience you would have at any place,’ and that’s on top of the other strengths we already have at Arizona.”

Let’s start at the bottom.

FIRST FLOOR
The main lobby, in the east end of the facility, will feature Arizona football tradition and heritage, including interactive videos. That area will look upon a weight room, which also will have a nutrition bar. Beyond that to the west is the equipment room, medical treatment room and the locker room. TVs will be prevalent throughout.

The locker room, featuring 120 wood lockers and 20 shower heads, is roughly round, allowing Rodriguez to stand at the front and have a good view of everyone.

This will be the Arizona locker room. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

The athletic department will accessorize the locker room by fitting a 4,000-pound back-lit “block A” logo in this round space above the entrance to the locker room. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

SECOND FLOOR
The second floor is a strip along the north side that will serve as the cardio area, looking out over the weight room (and TVs suspended from above).

Looking down into the weight room from the second floor. That’s the main lobby to the left. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

THIRD FLOOR
There will be plenty of activity on this level, the home of the coaches’ offices, a coaches’ conference room, a 120-seat auditorium for team meetings and a players’ lounge.

There is an academic area, but Byrne said the football players will still have to make the short walk to McKale Center for much of their academic services.

There also is a media room at the west end, where the team will conduct postgame interviews and, presumably, hold their weekly in-season news conferences, among other things.

The view from the north windows from Rich Rodriguez’s office. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

FOURTH FLOOR
This will be the home for the cafeteria and training tables, and the south end serves as a concourse that connects the east and west stands. In the middle, there is a breezeway, with restrooms and concession stands, which will help alleviate traffic to other areas of the stadium.

“And, as we all know,” Byrne said, “that’s an issue on game day for us.”

Most of the new end zone seating, featuring gray chair-backs — the UA chose gray because it won’t fade in the sun as badly as red or blue — are all below this level.

The back end of this floor, as well as the next, offer nice views of campus and the Catalinas.

This concourse connects the east and west stands. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

One of the new concession stand areas in the breezeway. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

From the back of the fourth level, looking down at Bear Down Field, which will be returned to university use in August after the facility is completed. Arizona will be covering the area with FieldTurf. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

FIFTH FLOOR
This is the Sands Level, names after Louis “Buzz” Sands, one of the major financial contributors to the facility.

Inside, there will be a large area for food and drink, and table top seating. Outside, there will be four-seat club boxes, protected from the weather by a long overhang. This should be high-demand seats for those seeking a more up-scale football experience.

“Sometimes, people are a little biased, saying, ‘I don’t want to sit in the end zone,’” Byrne said. “The views from these seats are great. You are going to be able to see to one end of the field very easily and still be very close to the field.”

The view of the field and videoboard from the Sands Level. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

Rich Rodriguez capped his first season at Arizona with a 49-48 win over Nevada in the New Mexico Bowl. Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Wildcats bought low when they hired Rich Rodriguez in November 2011.

Now, they will be spending a little bit more.

The university proposed a raise of $225,000 per year, a one-year extension and other adjustments to Rodriguez’s contract, and those changes were approved Thursday by the Arizona Board of Regents.

You know what? He’s probably still underpaid.

Rodriguez earned $1.5 million last season from the university in his first year at Arizona — $1,005,000 in base salary and $495,000 in peripheral duties (radio and TV appearances, speaking engagements, etc.). He also makes $300,000 per year in non-university funds from Nike and IMG, which markets and broadcasts Arizona athletics.

The contract was a bargain then.

It’s a bargain now … even with an enviable pile of cash thrown on top.

The new five-year deal — which includes a boost of $100,000 in base salary every Dec. 1 — will pay Rodriguez an average of $2.25 million per season. And we haven’t even gotten to any on or off-field bonuses yet.

That kind of money might be crazy, possibly obscene, but that’s the price for an athletic department to get a seat at the big-boy football table. It’s the marketplace.

Consider: There are 68 teams in the nation’s six biggest conferences. According to the USA Today coaching salary database, the average salary for a head coach at a BCS conference school was $2,370,959 last season.

That’s gone up about 20 percent from just two years ago.

“If you would gave told me 10 years ago that the coaches would be making what they are today, I would have looked at you funny,” Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne said in a recent interview, asked about a salary “bubble.”

“I actually think about that quite a bit, and I don’t know if anybody knows the answer right now. We need to be competitive in the marketplace. That’s important for us.”

Five private schools did not report salary data to USA Today. Stanford is one of them. Not including Cardinal coach David Shaw, Rodriguez ranked ninth last season in the Pac-12 in salary, ahead of Oregon State’s Mike Riley and Colorado’s now-fired Jon Embree.

Rodriguez is coming off an 8-5 debut season at Arizona in which the Wildcats exceeded most expectations, topping the year with a victory in the New Mexico Bowl.

He arrived at Arizona with a 75-48 career record in 10 years in the Football Bowl Subdivision, including two BCS bowl game appearances at West Virginia. That’s the resume of someone who could be making north of $3 million a year as a college head coach.

RichRod was making $2.525 million at Michigan in 2010, but he was fired after three tumultuous seasons in Ann Arbor.

Arizona pounced, buying low after Rodriguez spent 2011 out of coaching.

The contract adjustments approved Thursday is a market correction, one UA needed to make after an 8-5 season. You can bet that other schools will come knocking, blank check in hand, if Rodriguez posts another season like that in 2013.

At least Byrne already has pushed Rodriguez’s compensation closer to the middle of the pack within the league and among major conference programs.

Rodriguez said in a recent interview he appreciates being able to talk freely with Byrne, including contract matters.

“Greg and I have such a good relationship that we talk about everything,” Rodriguez said.

Said Byrne: “I talk to Coach Rodriguez and (men’s basketball coach) Sean Miller — as well as a number of our other coaches — on an annual basis about what they need for their program. And part of that is their contracts.

“I think having a coach with four or five years on their contract is important if you believe in what that coach is doing, especially with football and men’s basketball.”

* * *

You can view the contract proposed to the Board of Regents at this link, starting at page 84. A few notable items:

– The creation of a retention fund.

At the end of each contract year from November 30, 2013, through November 30, 2016, UA will deposit $125,000 ($500,000 total) into a Retention Fund for Rodriguez’s benefit. UA will pay Rodriguez the value of the Fund as of July 1, 2014, unless he was earlier terminated for cause, resigned, retired, or otherwise voluntarily ended his employment with UA. Subsequent deposits into the Fund will be paid to Rodriguez on November
30, 2016, unless he was earlier terminated for cause, resigned, retired, or otherwise voluntarily ended his employment with UA.

– Termination

a. Termination Without Cause
University shall owe Rodriguez 100% of his University-funded salary for the time remaining on the Contract should it terminate him without cause.

b. Termination by Rodriguez
Rodriguez shall pay the University $1,500,000 if he terminates the Contract prior to December 1, 2013.

He will pay the University $1,000,000 if he terminates the Contract from December 1, 2013, up to and including November 30, 2014.

Rodriguez shall not be obligated to pay the University for terminating the Contract after November 30, 2014, unless he accepts employment as the head football coach of another present member of the Conference, in which case he shall be obligated to pay the University the value of his University-funded Compensation (base salary plus peripheral duties compensation) for the time remaining on the Contract.

– Source of salary

Rodriguez’s salary will continue to be paid entirely from revenue generated by the Athletics Department. No part of his salary will be paid from appropriated funds or donor contributions.

Rich Rodriguez’s feet won’t be on grass next season at Arizona Stadium. Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Wildcats will be installing artificial turf at Arizona Stadium — “sooner rather than later,” athletic director Greg Byrne said — which means the team’s spring game will be displaced for the second consecutive year.

Arizona is finalizing the details of the new surface, Byrne told TucsonCitizen.com, but the pending installation in the offseason means the spring game likely will be held at Jerry Kindall Field at Sancet Stadium.

The former home of the Arizona baseball team, across the street from the Arizona Stadium, served as the football team’s practice home last season.

A year ago, construction of the Lowell-Stevens football facility in the north end zone of Arizona Stadium forced the team to hold its spring game at Kino Stadium, home of the Triple-A Tucson Padres. That was before changes were made to accommodate the football team at Kindall/Sancet.

A date for this year’s spring game has not been announced.

Byrne has considered multiple options for Kindall/Sancet now that the baseball team successful transitioned to Hi Corbett Field, but he said it will remain a football facility, at least for the short term.

“As of right now, we’re going to continue to use it as football practice fields,” he said.

“That has worked really well. It’s good space for our football program. I won’t say you never change, but as of now, we’re going to stay focused on that.”

Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez always has expressed a preference for artificial turf. His teams played on FieldTurf late in his tenure at West Virginia and through his three years at Michigan. He has said the installation of artificial turf will allow the Cats to practice in Arizona Stadium a couple of times a week during the season.

The football program should be able to begin use of the Lowell-Stevens facility in the summer.

* * *

By the time Byrne hired Rodriguez in November 2011, it was too late to submit changes to Arizona’s Nike-made uniforms for the 2012 season.

There will be some tweaks for 2013.

“I guess it’s a little bit different look, but it’s not a whole lot different. I mean, it’s not drastic,” Rodriguez recently told TucsonCitizen.com.

Arizona hasn’t released details or pictures of the new design, and Rodriguez said he wanted to show the players before discussing it.

“It’s not something that you would be like, ‘Sheesh, that’s completely off the wall,’” Rodriguez said.

Arizona wore four helmets this season, including the introduction of copper and red, contributing to the Cats using a different uniform combination for each game (see them all at this link). Red and copper helmets will continue to be in the mix on occasion.

“Our colors are still going to red, white and blue,” Rodriguez said. “There are no plans for a copper jersey.”

* * *

Scout.com released its final list of the top 300 high school recruits Wednesday, upgrading a pair of players committed to Arizona — running back Pierre Cormier and quarterback Anu Solomon — to four-star status.

Scout.com ranks Cormier as No. 226 overall and UA cornerback recruit Derek Babiash at No. 275. Solomon, ranked 35th among quarterbacks, didn’t crack the top 300 despite his upgrade from a three-star recruit.

A crowd of 3,907 came out for a hot Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Super Regional. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

The Arizona Wildcats baseball team ranked 26th nationally in average home attendance, leading to increased ticket revenue of 407 percent over last season.

The average attendance of 2,628 fans for 40 dates at Hi Corbett — including the postseason — ranked second in the Pac-12 behind Arizona State (2,834), according to numbers collected by Tami Cutler of Wichita State athletic media relations.

LSU ranked first with an average of 10,736 fans per home game. Five of the top six teams in average attendance were from the SEC.

Arizona averaged 1,103 fans for 33 home dates in 2011, its final season at Kindall/Sancet Stadium on campus before moving to Hi Corbett. This season’s average attendance works out to be a 138 percent increase.

The Wildcats, who played host to an NCAA regional and Super Regional, open play at the College World Series against Florida State in Omaha on Friday.

“I mean this: I don’t believe we could have done what we’re doing unless we’re at Hi Corbett with that kind of crowd,” said coach Andy Lopez. “I can’t thank (athletic director) Greg Byrne and the administration enough for moving the team here.”

The leasing of Hi Corbett from the city — at $250,000 per year — paid dividends in team success and was covered by the increase in ticket revenue, thanks to increased attendance and a bump in ticket prices.

Byrne told Forbes that revenue from regular-season ticket sales increased from $69,000 last season to $350,000 this season. (Read more about concessions revenue in the Forbes article.)

But don’t expect baseball to become revenue-positive for the Wildcats anytime soon. Typically, only football and (sometimes) basketball turns a profit in athletic departments across the country.

Byrne told Forbes that the baseball program lost $816,000 last season and that he expects the net loss to be around $650,000 this season.

Byrne estimated last summer that it would cost about $250,000 to $300,000 to rebrand Hi Corbett for this season as a UA facility. According to Forbes, he expects the program’s net losses to average less than $500,000 in the next five years.

Arizona total attendance jumped from 36,412 last season to 105,121 this year.

This is how the north end zone project looked at 1:07 p.m. Wednesday. Photo from UA webcam

The Arizona Wildcats will move their spring football game off campus because of construction in the north end zone of Arizona Stadium, athletic director Greg Byrne told TucsonCitizen.com on Wednesday.

“We’ll have it ready for next football season,” Byrne said, “but getting it ready for a game in the middle of the construction time would present a challenge for us.”

Nothing is official, but Byrne said Arizona is considering holding the game at Kino Stadium, the site of the Casino Del Sol All-Star Game last Monday.

Byrne and other members of his administrative staff attended the game.

“I just love college football,” Byrne said. “I wanted to take my boys to the game and, at the same time, see how the event went off.”

Kino Stadium, because of its size, makes the most sense as an alternative for the spring game, which will be held Saturday, April 14.

Attendance for the spring game has been modest in the past couple of years — an estimated 4,500 last year and 6,000 in 2010 — but 10,000 or so would nicely fill Kino. Arizona can anticipate a spike in attendance because of interest in first-year coach Rich Rodriguez.

Crews have torn down the seating in the north end zone of Arizona Stadium, and the university will hold an official groundbreaking for the project on Friday. You can follow the progress at the UA’s live webcam.

Arizona will be constructing a new home for the football program — offices, locker rooms, training areas, etc. — that will help the Wildcats be more competitive in the Pac-12 in terms of facilities. The new north end zone will feature premium seating and other fan amenities.

The project, with an estimated cost of about $72 million, is set for completion in the summer of 2013.

“It’s wonderful that Arizona, after many years of lip service, is finally making a commitment to football excellence, because I don’t think they have done that,” said Dick Tomey, who coached Arizona from 1987 to 2000.

“They have done it in little bits and pieces, but they are making a major commitment.”

Arizona will replace the clock with its block "A" logo, with plaques honoring former coaches Jerry Kindall and Frank Sancet below that. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

Arizona Wildcats coach Andy Lopez, sunglasses on, surveyed his new baseball home Wednesday afternoon, looking out at the sprinklers watering the sun-drenched grass.

“This is a great setting for us,” he would say later. “This could be a really exciting time for our program.”

Yes, the grass really is greener at Hi Corbett Field.

Arizona officials — including athletic director Greg Byrne and director of event operations Matt Brown — gave the media a tour of venerable Hi Corbett on Wednesday, even as workers painted the clubhouse and otherwise readied the facility for Feb. 17 opener against North Dakota State.

There is still plenty of work to do, and the Wildcats might not be able to move in when the team is allowed to start individual drills on Jan. 12, but things are coming together as Byrne and Lopez hoped when Arizona reached a deal with the city to lease the park that held minor-league baseball and major-league spring training for decades.

“In the weight room in the morning, I will see some of our guys on the baseball team and I will say, ‘Have you been out there? Are you excited about it?’” Byrne said.

“And it’s like a kid in a candy store. They are thrilled with the space. They are thrilled with just how different it makes them compared to a lot of their peers at other places. That’s exciting to see.”

New lockers at Hi Corbett are protected while the clubhouse gets painted. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

The Wildcats will have lots of space everywhere, including storage and an equipment room, which weren’t available at Jerry Kindall Field at Frank Sancet Stadium — their on-campus home since 1967.

Lopez will have a double-suite office. The assistants will have offices with windows, instead of being crammed in cement boxes in McKale Center. There is a roomy conference room. There will be an academic center.

And there will be plenty of space in the outfield.

The original plan was to move in the fences at spacious Hi Corbett Field, but there wasn’t enough time to implement that change after negotiations with the city and the stadium’s former tenant, the Tucson Toros, went into late November.

Toros owner Jay Zucker settled with the city for $300,000, ending his fight over eviction.

The Hi Corbett dimensions are about the same down the lines as Sancet Stadium (which is 360 feet), but the alleys are huge — 410 in left-center and 405 in right center. The big field, combined with the bat restrictions imposed by the NCAA last season, is sad news for Arizona’s sluggers but great news for the pitching staff.

“With the new bats and dimensions of Hi Corbett, 3-and-1 counts should be a very safe count to throw a strike,” Lopez said.

“That will be my first speech to the pitching staff on Jan. 1. Throw a strike, get a fly ball and we’ll get out of the inning. If we walk a guy, I may just walk out to the mound on the spot and take someone out of the game.”

There will be some advertising on the outfield wall, and Arizona will be importing its scoreboard from its old stadium. UA is also bringing over plaques honoring legendary coaches Sancet and Kindall, which will be placed on the facade of the main entrance.

Arizona will have access to a separate practice field. Lopez said he can split up the squad on some days or use the auxiliary field during rainy weather to avoid chewing up the stadium turf.

The training room at Hi Corbett will feature cardinal and navy linoleum. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

Full-team practices begin Feb. 1.

“The biggest thing is getting guys out here day in and day out,” Lopez said. “It’s important we get out here and just make his our home. It’s exciting.”

For fans, it’s also exciting, presumably, that beer will be sold through the fifth inning.

“We think it’s an opportunity for something else for our fans to enjoy while they’re here,” Byrne said. “At the same time, we expect them to be responsible in the use of that, too.”

Lopez talked about the positive effect the facility — which should be one of the best on the West Coast — should have on recruiting.

“Those 18 year olds, they really like the trinkets,” Lopez said. “Man, they do. They really like the trinkets. You can get their attention a little bit. This is going to help get those guys.”

The other main benefit is that Hi Corbett will make Arizona a more attractive site to host postseason games. With a team that is ranked No. 20 nationally in the preseason by Collegiate Baseball, home NCAA tournament games seem like a possibility in 2012.

“That would be great for the first year,” Byrne said, before adding with a smile, “No pressure on Andy.”

NOTABLE

Byrne said he has plenty of ideas of what to do with the space occupied by Sancet Stadium — none that he is sharing right now — but nothing is likely to be done for at least a year, he said. “We feel confident going in here (to Hi Corbett) — that’s why we made the decision — but we want to see how it goes out here and make sure this is the right decision for us,” he said.

Arizona baseball Select-a-Seat event

When: Saturday
Where: Hi Corbett Field (located on Randolph Way, between Broadway and 22nd)
What: Exclusive opportunity (9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.) for season ticket holders and Wildcat Club members at the Diamond, Platinum and Gold giving levels to pick their reserved seats for the 2012 season. Sales and stadium tour to purchase season tickets by general public begins at 11 a.m.

Andy Lopez and Greg Byrne will be at the event, along with some UA players. It’s a free and open event to the public from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There will be some interactive games for kids and music as well.

Derrick Williams salutes the student section after his game-saving block against Washington. Photo by Chris Morrison, US-PRESSWIRE

Coaches coming, going and staying. NCAA champions. Memorable games. Unforgettable players.

The year that was in Arizona Wildcats athletics was packed with storylines, good and bad, and we’ll be buzzing about some of it for decades to come.

The longest-standing sports bloggers at TucsonCitizen.com — myself included — voted for the biggest UA stories of the year, trying to sort out individual accomplishments from big games from off-field news … balancing big sports with those that don’t get as much coverage.

Here are the results. The top 12 Arizona Wildcats sports stories of the year:

No. 12: Record-setter

Somewhat lost amid a frustrating football season was a performance that filled the school and conference record books. Senior QB Nick Foles set conference records with passing yards per game (361.2) and completions for a season (387) and career (933). He established several UA passing marks, including career yardage (10,011) that won’t soon be broken.

No. 11: Legend leaves

Swimming coach Frank Busch, who led the men’s and women’s swimming teams to national championships in 2008, resigned his position to become national team director of USA Swimming. Busch spent 22 years at Arizona, six times winning NCAA Coach of the Year honors and establishing the program as one of the nation’s best.

No. 10: Jumping for victory

Sophomore high jumper Brigetta Barrett won the NCAA indoor championship, the Pac-12 outdoor title, the NCAA outdoor title champion … and she was just getting started. Barrett won the high jump competition at the USA Track and Field Championships in late June with a jump of 6 feet, 4 3/4 inches, and set a personal best of 6-5 in winning gold at the World University Games in August.

No. 9: White Out

The White Out at McKale Center for the Feb. 19 game against Washington sounded like a corny idea, a borrowed idea from an increasing number of “outs” at stadiums and arenas across the country. But not only were the white-clad fans at McKale visually stunning, the game was a beauty, too, as Derrick Williams swatted a last-second shot by Darnell Gant to preserve an 87-86 win.

No. 8: Hello, Hi

Arizona struck a deal with the city of Tucson to make historic Hi Corbett Field the home of Arizona baseball. The facilities at the former spring training and minor league baseball stadium should be attractive to recruits and increase the chances of hosting postseason play. Athletic director Greg Byrne, meanwhile, gets to ponder what to do with the valuable real estate of the on-campus stadium.

No. 7: Home for the Series

It was almost a given that Arizona softball, an eight-time national champion, would play in the Women’s College World Series. The Cats had made it every year but one since 1988, but their pitching and chemistry fell short in 2011, and UA lost to Oklahoma in the Super Regionals. “Sometimes you have to have this happen to really appreciate not having it,” coach Mike Candrea said.

Gino Crump exalts in the victory over ASU. Photo by Pat Shannahan/The Arizona Republic

No. 6: Territorial Cup victory

The Wildcats created a game to remember from an otherwise miserable football season, rallying in the fourth quarter at ASU, with Gino Crump and Juron Criner each shredding tackles after short catches for touchdowns. The defense then held on two possessions, knocking down two passes into the end zone in the final 10 seconds to come away with a wild 31-27 win.

No. 5: Undefeated

Freshman Lawi Lalang won all six of his cross country races, setting a course record at the Pac-12 championships and easily winning the NCAA title to become the third cross country champion in school history. “He is in a class of his own,” said UA coach James Li. “What he has done this year, it has been unbelievable.”

No. 4: Miller stays

When Sean Miller decided in early May to pursue the coaching vacancy at Maryland, what followed was a tense 48 hours for Arizona fans that included some reports that he was gone. For whatever reason, Miller and Maryland never closed the deal, and the flirtation seemed o strengthen Miller’s resolve to be in Tucson for, as he said, the “long haul.”

No. 3: He’s No. 2

Power forward Derrick Williams, after winning Pac-12 Player of the Year honors and leading Arizona to an NCAA regional final, declared for the draft after his sophomore season. He made the right call, going second overall to Minnesota, the first of many players Sean Miller will send from Tucson to the NBA. Tweeted Williams after his selection: “Wait.. Is this real? NBA! wow. Tears of joy”

Athletic director Greg Byrne (left) and coach Rich Rodriguez: A winning combination? Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

No. 2: Run to regional final

If Jamelle Horne’s 3-pointer at the buzzer had gone in against UConn in the West Regional final, the Cats certainly could have gone on to win it all. Still, it was a magical ride — Derrick Williams’ late block against Memphis, his late 3-point play vs. Texas, the rout of Duke … it was a thrilling nine days that stamped UA as a re-surfacing national power.

No. 1: Coaching change

We’ll bundle together the midseason firing of Mike Stoops and the hiring of Rich Rodriguez, a swing-for-the-fences hire by AD Greg Byrne, who ran a drama-free coaching search. Is Rodriguez still the guy who won big at West Virginia? He’s innovative, young (48) and motivated after a difficult three-year stretch at Michigan. On paper, Arizona has never hired a better football coach.