Arizona Wildcats football

History

Arizona has had a long football history since it first played in 1899. Although the football program has been mostly playing in the shadow of the Wildcats' elite basketball program in terms of winning and recruiting which has been leading to many mediocre and losing seasons, it has, however, had successful winning seasons sporadically over the years, primarily during the early part of the 1990s when it had a dominant defense that was known to fans as the "Desert Swarm".

1899–1950s (Early history)

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 Wildcats' home basketball venue, was opened in 1973 and named in McKale's honor. In 1931, Arizona joined the Border Conference and Fred Enke replaced McKale as coach and in one season as the head coach, he posted a record of 3–5–1 before getting demoted to assistant coach. Gus Farwick served as the head football coach at Arizona in 1932, compiling a record of 4–5 before his resignation. Tex Oliver coached the Arizona Wildcats to a 32–11–4 record in five seasons. During that stretch, his teams never had a losing season. Oliver's "Blue Brigade" played an expanded, more nationwide schedule, and Arizona produced their first All-Americans under Oliver. The team's 1938 record of 8–2 was a school best to date. Oliver resigned after the 1937 season to accept the head football coach position at Oregon. Orian Landreth replaced Oliver and struggled in his one season as head coach, compiling a 3–6 record before he was fired. That season was the first losing season for the Wildcats in several years.

1960s–1977 (The WAC era)

In 1962, Arizona (and rival Arizona State) left the Border Conference and joined the Western Athletic Conference, and LaRue posted records of 5–5, 5–5, 6–3–1, 3–7 and 3–7 before being was fired due to poor results as well as pressure from fans and alumni.

Darrell Mudra came to Arizona from North Dakota State in 1967 to lead the team after LaRue's dismissal. His first team posted a record of 3–6–1 but in his second year, Mudra's Wildcats posted a record of 8–3, capped with a loss to Auburn in the Sun Bowl, only the Wildcats third bowl appearance in school history and first since 1949. Mudra left Arizona after two seasons to accept the head football coach position at Western Illinois. His final record is 11–9–1. Mudra was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000. In 1969, Bob Weber was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach following Mudra's departure. Under Weber, the Wildcats were 16–26, with their best season being a 5–6 1971 season. Weber failed to post a winning season as Arizona's head coach and was fired after four seasons.

In 1973, Jim Young, formerly defensive coordinator at Michigan, was hired to turn around the downtrodden Wildcats football program. Improvement came immediately, as Young's team surprised the nation with an 8–3 record in his first season and shared the WAC title with Arizona State, Unfortunately, the Wildcats did not go to a bowl game due to losing the head-to-head rivalry game to ASU that season (at the time, only the outright conference winner earned a bowl since there were fewer bowl games available, unless a team from the same conference appears in a major bowl). Young's Wildcats went on to post records of 9–2 in 1974 and 1975, the latter ending with a No. 13 and No. 18 ranking in the Coaches and AP polls, respectively (like in 1973, both seasons ended in no bowl appearances for the Wildcats due to them finishing second in the WAC). In a rebuilding year, Young's team posted a 5–6 record in 1976 to cap Young's mark of 31–13 in four seasons. Young departed Arizona after the 1976 season to accept the head football coach position at Purdue. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1999.

By 1977, Arizona hired Tony Mason from Cincinnati to replace Young. Under Mason, the Wildcats went 5–7, 5–6 and 6–5–1 for a combined record of 16–18–1. The 1977 season was the last for Arizona as a member of the WAC.

1978–1980s (The early Pac-10 years)

Before the 1978 season, both Arizona schools accepted an invitation to join the Pacific 8 Conference (which became the Pac-10). After a mediocre inaugural Pac-10 season, the Wildcats would rebound in 1979, and played in the Fiesta Bowl, ultimately losing to Pittsburgh. Mason was let go as head coach after the season due to an alleged slush fund scandal involving him and the program during his tenure.

Prior to the start of the 1980 season, Arizona hired Tulane coach Larry Smith, to replace Mason. His first season was Arizona's third in the Pac-10. Smith put great emphasis on in-state recruiting, built up the rivalry with ASU, and focused the team on what he called "running and hitting". His first team went 5–6, including a 44–7 blowout loss to ASU; it would be his only losing season at Arizona. The highlight of the season was a 23–17 upset of second-ranked UCLA (the Bruins were poised to become No. 1 as top ranked Alabama had lost earlier in the day). The team improved to 6–5 during his second season, highlighted by a major 13–10 upset of #1 USC on the road. It was Arizona's first victory over a top-ranked team in program history.

In 1982, the Wildcats improved and finished with a record of 6–4–1, which included upset victories over Notre Dame and rival ASU (with the latter being knocked out of the Rose Bowl as a result). However, Arizona was ineligible for a bowl game due to self-imposing a postseason ban prior to the start of the season as a result of the scandal under Mason's watch. The NCAA would eventually punish the Wildcats by placing them on probation and barred them from bowl eligibility in the 1983–84 seasons.

Despite the NCAA sanctions, Arizona continued to become competitive in the Pac-10 under Smith's leadership, and began to dominate Arizona State, and by 1985, their bowl ban was lifted. They played in the Sun Bowl, where a tie with Georgia gave the Wildcats an 8–3–1 record. In 1986, they defeated ASU yet again and defeated North Carolina in the Aloha Bowl for their very first bowl victory and finished with a 9–3. Seven Arizona players earned All-America honors during his tenure, including two-time consensus All-American linebacker Ricky Hunley and All-Americans linebacker Lamonte Hunley (Ricky's younger brother), Morris Trophy-winning center Joe Tofflemire, safety Allan Durden, placekicker Max Zendejas (who is known for kicking game-winning field goals against Arizona State in 1983 and 1985), linebacker Byron Evans, and safety Chuck Cecil (who is known for returning an interception for a touchdown in the win against ASU in 1986). Over twenty of Smith's Wildcats players went on to play professionally. Smith departed after the season to accept the head football coach position at conference foe USC. Smith ended has Arizona tenure with a 48–28–3 record. He died in 2008 and was voted as the second-best Wildcat football coach only behind his successor, Dick Tomey.

1990s–2000 (Tomey and the "Desert Swarm")

In 1987, Tomey arrived in Arizona from Hawaii to replace Smith. During his 14-season tenure with Arizona, he coached five future NFL first-round draft choices, 20 All-Americans, and 43 Pac-10 first team players.

His best teams were in the 1990s, highlighted by a tenacious defense nicknamed the "Desert Swarm". He led Arizona to at least ten wins in 1993 and 1998 and resigned after the 2000 season.

In Tomey's first year, the Wildcats seemed to miss Smith's presence and had to rebuild, leading to a season where they had three ties, with one of them against Arizona State (the only tie in the rivalry's history). However, Arizona would improve from 1988 to 1990 as they started to win under Tomey, and won against North Carolina State in the Copper Bowl in 1989 (which was played at Arizona Stadium, the first time that the Wildcats played a bowl game on their home field). In 1990, the Wildcats would lose to Syracuse in the Aloha Bowl.

The Wildcats played a rebuilding season in 1991, which led to a poor record and losing to Arizona State for the first time since 1981. Arizona entered the 1992 season with Tomey on the hot seat due to the team's performance during the previous year. However, the so-called "Desert Swarm" defense began to dominate and was characterized by tough, hard-nosed tactics. Arizona led the nation in scoring defense and nose guard Rob Waldrop was a consensus All-American. The season included an upset victory over top-ranked Washington, which fans called the biggest Arizona win in the decade and the turning point for the program at the time. It was also Arizona's second win over a #1 team (with the first occurring against USC in 1981). To date, it remains the last time that Arizona defeated a top-ranked opponent. The Desert Swarm would ultimately lead Arizona to a winning record. However, Arizona's offense seemed to be overshadowed by the dominant performance by the "Swarm" and it led to them scoring fewer points, and lost to Baylor in the Sun Bowl (then known at the time as the John Hancock Bowl). The Wildcats ended the year with a 6–5–1 record, with the tie occurring early in the season at Oregon State, which would ultimately become the last ever for the Wildcats, as ties became abolished after the 1995 season. For the team's efforts, Tomey was awarded the Pac-10 coach of the year.

In 1993, the Swarm continued its dominance and it led to Arizona winning nine games in a season for the first time since 1975, and won a share of the Pac-10 title with UCLA and USC. However, the Wildcats split the two games against the two during the season, winning against the Trojans and losing to the Bruins, and it prevented Arizona from earning a trip to the Rose Bowl. The Wildcats would be invited to the 1994 Fiesta Bowl and the Desert Swarm led the way to a victory over Miami by a score of 29–0. It was the bowl game's first shutout in its history. Arizona ended the year with a 10–2 record, which was the first time in school history that the Wildcats won at least ten games or more in a season. The dominant Swarm, led by Waldrop and linebacker and future Super Bowl champion Tedy Bruschi, led the nation in total defense and rushing yards allowed. Waldrop would be named the Pac-10 defensive player of the year.

2000s (Decline and rebuild)

After the 2000 season, former Illinois and Texas head coach John Mackovic was hired to replace Tomey for the 2001 season. Mackovic was brought to Arizona in an attempt to restore the Wildcats to their winning ways and to take them to the Rose Bowl, something that Tomey was unable to do. Mackovic was a college football analyst at ESPN at the time of his hiring.

Mackovic's tenure became a disaster, as he alienated his players and failed to post a winning record in his two and a half seasons in Tucson. Also, he finished with a 10–18 record and never earned a bowl appearance. In his first season, which was affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Wildcats won their first three games but would struggle in Pac–10 play and narrowly missed a bowl game yet again with a 5–6 record despite a season-ending win over Arizona State, which would become the only high point of Mackovic's time at Arizona.

In 2002, Arizona got off to a promising start after winning three of their first four games before Mackovic became embroiled in controversy that affected the team. Midway through the season, Mackovic told one of his players that he was a disgrace to his family due to his poor performance on the field (the player would later be arrested possessing 87 pounds of marijuana). He also told another player to quit therapy or he would be kicked off the team. This and other incidents led 40 players (including future Pro Bowler Lance Briggs) to hold a secret meeting with school president Peter Likins. The players complained about Mackovic's constant verbal abuse, such as ugly tirades after losses. Mackovic offered a public apology to his players, the university, and fans. Arizona was unable to recover from the Mackovic scandals and finished with a 4–8 record. After the season ended, Arizona announced that Mackovic would return as coach for the 2003 season.

In 2003, however, whatever goodwill that he'd managed to restore quickly evaporated. Many players had lost their love for the game due to Mackovic's brusque manner and fans chanted "Fire Mackovic" during games. Five games into the season, Mackovic was fired and replaced on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz for the rest of the season. School officials said they had to act because it was obvious that the Wildcats would not win with Mackovic at the helm. Mackovic was known as the worst Arizona coach in history (his predecessor, Dick Tomey, was the best). Arizona also had poor recruiting during Mackovic's tenure that led to bad results, and were embarrassed by their opponents in most of their losses. The 2003 season was the worst in program history with a record of 2–10, with the ten losses being a school record at the time. Wildcat fans across Tucson and the state of Arizona had seen enough of Mackovic and shifted their attention to basketball after the season ended.

2010s (The Pac-12 era)

Arizona began the 2010 season with a possible shot at a Rose Bowl berth. However, despite having a record of 7–1 entering November, they would collapse and went on a losing streak due to poor performances on the field, including a heartbreaking overtime loss to Arizona State in the finale. They ultimately lost to Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl by a score of 37–10, and ending the year with a 7–6 record.

Before the 2011 season began, the Pac-10 was renamed the Pac-12 after Utah and Colorado joined membership. The Wildcats began the year hoping to rebound and Stoops coaching for his job, as he entered the season on the hot seat. After starting off with a win against in-state foe Northern Arizona in the opener, Arizona would lose in blowouts to a series of ranked teams (including a rematch with Oklahoma State) and fans became incensed by the team's poor performance and began calling for Stoops to be fired. In early October, the Wildcats would continue to lose and Stoops was fired for good, and finished with a 41–50 record in his seven and a half seasons as Arizona coach. Arizona said that Stoops' firing was a result of "the inability to win more games, below-average recruiting, and being unable to achieve the team's goal to make a Rose Bowl appearance", as well as Stoops' frequently misbehavior towards officials on the sidelines (which was often seen during TV broadcasts of Arizona games). 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.) Under Kish, the Wildcats partially rebounded and won three of the final six games to finish with a 4–8 record. The later years of the Stoops era featured quarterback Nick Foles breaking Arizona records, including the single-season and career records for most passing yards and touchdowns. Foles would later win a Super Bowl in 2017 for the Eagles.

After the conclusion of the 2011 season, Arizona hired Rich Rodriguez, former coach at Michigan and West Virginia, to become the Wildcats' new coach for the 2012 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. Rodriguez hired Jeff Casteel, who served under him during his tenure at West Virginia, as the new defensive coordinator for Arizona. Casteel is considered one of the top defensive coaches in the nation, and considered master of the 3–3–5 "odd stack" defense.

2020s–present (Future and Big 12 era)

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic put an effect on the Wildcats as well as the entire college football season. Prior to the start of the year, Arizona announced that Sumlin would return as coach after fans called for him to be fired late in the previous season due to team's underperformance. It followed an offseason of poor recruiting and players taking COVID-19 opt-outs. The year began with Sumlin being placed on the hot seat, meaning that he needed to take the team to the postseason in order for him to keep his job. The COVID-19 outbreak would cause several cancellations of games and leading schedules to be shortened and truncated, and playing only conference games for each team, including the Pac-12.

Arizona, unfortunately, continued to lose by being affected by the pandemic, as well as poor coaching and no fans at their games, and was destroyed by Arizona State by a 70–7 score in the finale. Sumlin was fired after the conclusion of the season, with Arizona citing wins and losses and Sumlin finishing with a 0–3 record against ASU. Fans expressed disapproval with Sumlin's leadership, including lack of winning, poor coaching decisions, weak recruiting, and an overall decline in the reputation of the program, all of which were major factors for Sumlin's firing, though Arizona said that Sumlin not meeting expectations was the main reason for his dismissal.

Soon after Sumlin was fired, Arizona conducted a national coaching search. Former college and NFL coach Jedd Fisch was chosen as the Wildcats' next head football coach, as announced on December 23, 2020. Fisch and San Jose State coach Brent Brennan (a former assistant under Wildcat coach Dick Tomey in his final year in Tucson, as well for a few seasons at San Jose State) were the two finalists for the opening. Fisch has previous ties to Arizona president Dr. Robert Robbins, and has extensive NFL assistant coaching experience (for five different franchises) and was previously a collegiate assistant at UCLA, Minnesota, and Miami.

In Fisch's first season in 2021, he began to clean up the mess left behind by Sumlin and the Wildcats played an average defense that kept them in most of their games. However, injuries and inexperience on the offense led to scoring fewer points and would cost them a chance at wins. After an 0–8 start which included an upset loss to Northern Arizona earlier in the season (Arizona had not lost to NAU since 1932 before then), Fisch would finally earn his first victory as Arizona coach when the Wildcats defeated California in early November, with several players and coaches for the Golden Bears were out because of COVID-19. It turned out to Arizona's only win of the season, as they finished with a 1–11 record, including a loss to Arizona State for the fifth straight year. The eleven losses are the most in a single season for Arizona, surpassing the record of ten set by the 2003 team.

Conference affiliations

Independent (1899–1930)

Border Conference (1931–1961)

Western Athletic Conference (1962–1977)

Pac-12 Conference (1978–2023)

Pacific-10 Conference (1978–2010)

Pac-12 Conference (2011–2023)

Big 12 Conference (2024–present)

Head coaches

The following are the head coaches of the Arizona Wildcats.

Championships

Conference championships

Arizona has claimed at least a share of six conference titles.

† Co-champions

Division championships

The Wildcats claimed the South Division title of the Pac-12 in 2014.

Bowl games

Arizona has appeared in 23 bowl games, posting an overall record of 10–12–1. The team's most recent appearance in a bowl game was a loss to SMU at the 2026 Holiday Bowl (January).

The team's first official bowl game was the 1968 Sun Bowl, under coach Darrell Mudra. The Wildcats lost to the Auburn Tigers 34–10 in that contest. The team's next bowl game was the 1979 Fiesta Bowl, losing to Pittsburgh. After tying Georgia in the 1985 Sun Bowl, Arizona finally earned their first bowl win when they defeated North Carolina in the 1986 Aloha Bowl.

Arizona has been invited six times to one of the "New Year's Six" major bowl games (the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, Orange, Cotton, and Peach Bowls), including two appearances in CFP in 2014 and Bowl Coalition game in 1993, both of which were Fiesta Bowls.

Not included in this tally of bowl games is Arizona's first "post-season" game, played in 1921 against the Centre Colonels during the San Diego East-West Christmas Classic. Arizona lost that game 38–0. Also not included was the 1949 Salad Bowl, against the Drake Bulldogs, Arizona lost 14–13.

All-time series records

Arizona's season records are from the record books of the university's athletic association. Through December 1, 2025, Arizona has compiled an overall record of 646 wins, 510 losses, and 33 ties (including post-season bowl games).

All-time record against in-state opponents

Arizona's athletic program operated with a limited budget for the first several years after its establishment in 1899. To reduce travel costs, early Arizona football teams played limited slates of games, mostly against squads from nearby schools. Local scheduling resulted in the development of gridiron rivalries with several in-state private colleges, most notably Arizona State and Northern Arizona.

All records accurate as of the conclusion of 2025 Season.

Rivalries

Arizona State

The primary rival of the Wildcats is Arizona State. Both teams are members of the Big 12. The annual matchup the two schools is known as the "Duel in the Desert". The winner receives the Territorial Cup trophy. Originating in 1899, the Wildcats lost the first game by a score of 11–2. Arizona leads the series at 52–45–1 through the end of the 2025 season. Arizona currently has a one-game winning streak against Arizona State.

New Mexico

For most of its history, Arizona has had a secondary rival, the New Mexico Lobos. The series was intense until the annual matchup was cancelled after Arizona joined the Pac-10 in 1978 and the two schools have met sporadically since then. They have met twice in bowl games, with Arizona winning both, as they won the 1997 Insight.com Bowl and the 2015 New Mexico Bowl. Arizona leads the head-to-head series at 45–20–3 and won the most recent game played in 2024. Both teams are considering a revival of an annual matchup in the near future.

Records

Home stadium and facilities

Casino Del Sol Stadium

Arizona plays its home games at Casino Del Sol Stadium, which located on the campus in Tucson. The stadium capacity is 50,800 as of 2022.

Lowell-Stevens Football Facility

Located on the north end of Casino Del Sol Stadium, the 187,000 square foot facility houses the football programs weight room, locker room, medical treatment room, players lounge, cafeteria, coaches' offices, auditorium for team meetings, as well as a media room.

The facility also offers 4,200 chair seating, as well as 500 premium seating.

Traditions

The Wildcats have had several traditions during its history for home games, including tailgating on game days and meeting and greeting players when they get off the team bus before entering the stadium. Also, before kickoff, fireworks go off over the stadium as the players enter the field and fans cheering. In addition, the fans and Arizona's student section often chant "U of A" between quarters and the school's marching band performing "Bear Down" after victories.

Logos and uniforms

Arizona has a history of logos and uniforms for its football program. They have traditionally worn white helmets, blue jerseys, and white pants for home games. During the early to mid-1970s, they donned white helmets with a "UA" logo. From 1977 to 1980, Arizona wore red helmets with a blue "A" and red jerseys. From 1981 to 1989, they wore white helmets with a red "A" and wore blue jerseys. During the 1982 season, the Wildcats wore their road white jerseys for several home games due to winning big on the road that year, including the rivalry game against ASU (an NCAA rule change on uniform colors in 1983 forced Arizona to wear their blue jerseys at home full-time. In 1990, Arizona debuted new white helmets that featured the school's current "A" logo (the "A" was actually created in 1987, though it appeared on Arizona Stadium's midfield in 1989). The helmets would be in use until the end of the 2003 season. The Wildcats wore blue pants for road games during the 1992 season and was worn for all road games until 2000, with the white pants limited to only home games (the blue pants were worn at home for the first time in 2002).

In 2004, Arizona debuted blue helmets and retired their longtime white ones (the helmets were used for all games through the end of the 2009 season until they brought back the white helmets for their 2009 bowl game). They brought back red jerseys in 2005 and debuted red pants in 2008. Starting in the 2010 season, Arizona wore new uniforms. They are simplified versions of the uniforms worn from 2005 to 2009, with the addition of a white helmet with a red-white-blue stripe (which was featured on their white helmet from 1981 to 2003). The team used any combination of its two helmets, three jerseys and three pants. On September 29, 2012, the Wildcats unveiled a new copper helmet for their game against Oregon State and for the Territorial Cup game later that season, they unveiled a red helmet. For their home game against California in 2014, Arizona wore white jerseys at home for the first time since 1982 (as a result of the Wildcats doing a "white out"). On September 20, 2015, the Wildcats unveiled a new "chrome red" helmet which they wore against UCLA (they would wear the same helmets in 2016 against Arizona State).

On August 4, 2021, Arizona announced it would be going back to an updated version of their "Desert Swarm" uniforms worn during the Tomey era. They wore their white jerseys and blue pants for their first two home games of the 2021 season, supposedly due to the extreme Arizona heat during the time. It was the first time since 1982 that the Wildcats wore white jerseys at home. In 2023, Arizona debuted a red version of their Desert Swarm uniforms.

Individual accomplishments

Retired jerseys

Student-Athlete jerseys are retired but not individual player numbers.

Heisman voting

Arizona has had two players finish in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting as of 2024.

All-Americans

There are two former Wildcat players inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Arizona has four former players and three former coaches who have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as of 2017.

Future opponents

On November 1, 2023, Arizona's Big-12 opponents from 2025 through 2027 were revealed, with their rivalry game against Arizona State being a protected annual game.

(*) Arizona and Kansas State will play each other as non-conference opponents in 2025 due to the two teams announcing a home-and-home series prior to Arizona joining the Big 12. They will play as conference teams starting in 2026.

Non-conference opponents

Announced non-conference schedules as of January 24, 2025.

Media

Radio flagship: KCUB (AM) - 1290 AM in Tucson, AZ

Spanish-language radio flagship: KTKT – 990 AM in Tucson, AZ

Broadcasters: Brian Jeffries (play-by-play) and Lamont Lovett (color analyst)

Spanish-language broadcasters: Francisco Romero (play-by-play) and Luis Hernandez (analyst)

Public address announcer: Jeff Dean

The flagship radio station for Wildcat football, men's basketball, and baseball is Tucson sports radio station KCUB, branded as "Wildcats Radio 1290" and simulcast on the FM side on Tucson classic hits station KHYT, branded as "K-Hit 107.5" (football and men's basketball only). From 1983 until 2004, the flagship station was news/talk radio station KNST. The primary play-by-play voice of Wildcat football, baseball and men's basketball, since 1987, is Brian Jeffries (after starting out as the color commentator for former CBS Sports announcer Ray Scott, who called Wildcats games from 1984 through the spring of 1987). The Phoenix radio affiliate for Arizona Wildcats football and men's basketball is KGME, branded as "Fox Sports 910".