This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
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They're good. Afternoon, everybody.
Welcome to Iron the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
I'm Steve Rivera. In with me today is Troy Hutchison. Goazy cats. I'm trying to see if I said your last name correctly, but I did. You got it right today and our guy won, yes, sir, and we got Ray in the corner.
Can't put baby in a corner. Cool.
So hey, welcome to the Monday Show, A pretty good show and the Collectic Show. I think we're gonna have Tony Daniel and from the u A. He's the marketing guy, and we're gonna talk to him about a lot of different things. They're going on their caravan again I think tomorrow, and then we're gonna talk to him about other things going on at u of A. You know how they hope to hype that place up even more or better or whatever word you want to use.
I think this is in his first year here or the completed his first.
Year here, so we'll talk to him about that and then We're going to talk to Chrissy Perham from U formerly of the U of a long time ago Olympic swimming medalist, gold medalist, I think it was. She's going to be in town helping out raise some funds I think for some people, So we'll talk to I haven't talked to her. She's kind of a crazy, crazy friend of mine, so we've talked to her before. Could to see everybody Monday. You didn't go to the football thing.
I was a little bit busy, A little bit busy, okay, sure, Yeah. Did you get a permission slip from anybody?
Yeah?
Okay, cool, I got it from coach Brennan. Oh you did, coach. Unfortunately, you know I can't be there Saturday. I help you, help you, and he gave me a rating thing. You could have tried out for that long snapper job. First off, First off, I think we've established I'm a five star water boy. In case Coach Brannan you need a five star water boy, I'm your guy. Yeah, I'm no long snapper. That's what mister Justin you were. You were better than with Adam Sandler.
Well I get the high quality East tool. Yeah yeah, yeah, there you go. That's it.
Yeah, yeah, you sound like it. So what'd you think? What'd you make of Saturday? You know, I thought it was a good community event. They did a good job of making sure the community was involved. Uh, the first time I've ever seen fans on the field during a practice, so that was unique. You have the beer garden, you had the concert going on. I think it draw drew a lot more people than what you would have saw in a typical spring game. Yeah, especially after the season
that they are coming off of. So I think it was a smartity and a good job by the coaching staff to get everybody involved.
Yeah.
No, I agree with you. It was just like a regular practice. That's what it seemed like to me. Right, you go to practice?
Was it pretty much the same exact thing, nondescript, a couple of nice plays? Yeah, eleven on eleven's Yeah.
Did you do you like this team today?
April twenty first, As of right now, do I think they're going to be better than last year? Yes? Does that mean bold?
No?
Does that mean better? More wins?
More wins by one? As of right now they've finished five and seven, and I mean we still have to see what they're going to do in the transfer portal, around out their roster and kind of see how this team comes together come training camp. I think midway through training camp is when you get a sense of what a team is going to be.
So did you You were there in the press room, right, I had never really listened to Daggie and Gonzalez at length and Brendan you know, he was kind of like the the main main event, but not really because the other two coaches were very good.
And Noah.
There's two things that struck me, well, three things. Gonzales very outspoken, very talks really fast, it says interesting things. Deagie was very interesting in as much as he's a young dude who gets it and you could tell he's dynamic in a way.
Right.
And lastly from him is I've never and I've tried to think about this last few days or since then twenty four or forty eight hours, I've never heard a coach and maybe I'm wrong and I just don't remember because I'm older. Guys wax poetic on a player here at Arizona like they did. Noah how such a great dude. He is a great, a great dude, a great person, a great not so much a leader because they didn't
go there all that much. But he's going to be a better leader, right and they think highly of him obviously, but just that dude to lead this team, yeah, because they they ranted about this guy like unbelie, Like I'm thinking, well the crap. I should do a story just on I've never heard this before, just how much they wax poetic on him.
To sum it up, A good person and a good leader, yes, and a good just a good overall guy he is. Yeah, And I'm talented and talented and it's kind of what you want your face of the program to be. And they're putting him on that pedestal and I'm not trying to put them on a pedical, but they're putting him right there to be the focus point of the program and the focus point of Arizona football for this upcoming season.
Right, which of course you need that. You need that.
You could sell that last year you got Teta McMillan. This year is the no.
Feet the year right right now, he just has to kind of come through. It's not gonna be just on him. It's going to be on the whole team. Because they got a block for him and make him look good again.
They got a block for him, They got to catch the ball that was the problem last year outside of Tetro McMillan, and the defense has to stay healthy. Last year they were dropping like flies. So a lot of things have to go right compared to what we saw last season.
And then the last thing that struck me is Gonsales and how he talked very fast, but very insightful to me. And you guys have talked to him enough that you saw this, But he was talking about how this community needs to circle a circle of wagons, if you will, to try to keep these kids here to make sure that they're loved, whether nil helping with an ale or
just maybe unfortunate that this community loves his team. And I'm thinking, I don't think I've ever heard that before too, where you're afraid that these kids who are talented, that's what they say, could get perched or poached from some other school. Yeah, today and movie, when's the when's the when's it closes?
Fifth?
Twenty fifth?
That's Friday ish, Friday ish around Friday at some time.
Okay, So there's you know, the thought that they could go somewhere else, even in this small window.
You know, you never know in today's you know, college football world, you know, for this happy year. But and again I think, no, it's that I'm not trying to throw out that. No, it's gonna leave. But he's staying at Arizona. But you never know, Like let's say, I know, how State comes calling their quarterback. It's going in the spring, so everyone's up for grabs.
Who knows.
You know, you can't guarantee a guy is staying on campus anymore.
And he said this a couple of times, maybe three times, where he talks about teams poaching teams, contacting them.
Oh yeah, what's what's the word he was using. I know what you're trying to but it's against the rules technically. But it didn't happen. Everybody does that, right, And you know, Danniganzal is one of the first coaches I've ever heard say, hey, you know what, I can cry about it, but let's just say it's happening and we all he didn't say we all do it, but the reality of the situation, everybody does.
I still believe Henry was that guy all for sure, that they were talking to him during the season.
And if not him directly his agent. Because remember a lot of these guys sucually, the high profile guys have agents working behind the scenes. How many times have you seen on social media recently. I don't know if you filew rivals transfer portal Twitter, but they'll talk to a guy and it says not a swords confirms is da da da da agent rivals.
So you kids have fancy s, fancy gadgets, and you have fancies. Now we have agents agents. Unbelievable to me because they were not allowed to have anything back in the day, and just as recently as two three years ago.
And the weird thing is, you know, you look at NBA agents, NFL, MLB, whatever, You look at those guys and these are high profiled agents. These college guys, they have five hundred Twitter followers, and it's like, who the heck is this dude? So are they follow the right people's advice? And that's another thing they have to be worried about it. It's unbelievable to me. It's just the way it is. I guess yeah.
It just just kind of circle back on the community rallying behind these players. I think Tucson is a good place for that to happen because you look at a guy like Henry who left to who's leaving to North Carolina, you didn't see almost any hate for it. Everyone understood, yeah, he's gonna go get his money, and that's a great program to go get money at yea And even even this, I think it was Saturday, his girlfriend had the senior night.
Did she play?
She's the first base coach?
As like okay, and everyone was all excited to see him because there were some ramblings though on Facebook.
I think it was when they had his picture saying that.
What they always will be for the most part, For the most part, Tucson, I think is a great place for that to happen.
And then they should. He was fantastic here while he was here, Tasi here while he was here. I know the coach and staff would love to have had him. But when you're looking at numbers that potentially he got, the rumor is going around around two million. Who knows if that's true and accurate, But if you're looking at that number, it's like, okay, well, Arizona has five three star recruits coming in and potentially trying to get Carter
Brian to come back. You only have so much money, sure are you going to spend it?
Month?
So I just saw Goodman tweet out something that the Kentucky has a ton of money, by you obviously has a ton of money. So you're competing with that now, which makes it it's just the rich getting richer.
I mean, look at sports BYU.
Basketball has been study, but have they ever had the number one overall recruit and these type of players coming in no money talks.
It's unbelievable to me football to come on the teams that are always good at Alabama's Ohio States, they're in Tennessee, you know those types in Texas, Texas. Now, what's to prevent them from not becoming that team again?
Or still with all that money?
I think, well prevent them. I think it's more of this is how it's been going now, it's just open and right. This is why they're good, this is why they've been good for so long.
Well, what is what kind of hope does that give you? For being an alumn of you.
With the don't ask me right now, ask me in a month when I am an actual alum.
But you know what I'm saying, and you're on both sides of it, you're you know, kind of professionally here and and still a students.
It'll be interesting to see how Arizona handles it because we all know that Arizona is not in Ohio State. They're not at Kentucky. It has never been, never and more than likely we'll never get.
To that point.
But all we have to go off is our traditions are somewhat credibility. You know, we've wanted Arizona's won the National Chamber of Successes. Yeah, the success of the past. That's pretty much all you can go off of. You can say two sons of great community, it's a great university. So then Kentucky calls and says, oh, we have the green.
Of course, Miss America is calling you, and you're you're here and you're chick. There's your chance, baby, there's your chance. I'll say this, and you're not.
Are you gonna say no? Absolutely not.
Arison for basketball, at least at least Arizona is in the competitive pool football, that's where oh yeah, you got to be a realist. Of course, you gotta be like back in the day. If you can get seven to eight wins consistently at Arizona, Rich Rodriguez, Tik Toll me, Mike Steeves kind of was getting there to that point. That's good every now and then tend to eleven games and for the best.
Well, that's what we talked about when they got into the Big twelve, right, that their chances of becoming even better is the playing field was a little more level, because in the Big Twelve, there's no USC, there's no organ there's no Washington. Right, So now you have, you know, a couple of good teams all the time, but not to that degree.
Your top dogs that you're trying to get over generally in any given ball season. Kansas State, Oklahoma State, I know they were very bad this year, and maybe a Texas stack.
Yeah, maybe a Texas stick. I think Iowa State starting just hoppus themselves. Yeah yeah, but there's yeah, but they don't strike. Yeah, yeah, you don't strike fear in the and then you could catch catch hot and catch lightning a bottle of time or two and become that team.
Like, to be honest, let's say that Jet Fish team, that ten and three team, let's say you put them in the Big twelve last year, they probably would have rolled that conference with how deep they were, Yeah, you do that in the Pac twelve. Hey, you're finishing the top three. Congratulations. So I think I think the talent level is different than the BED twelve.
Sure, now it's up to Brendan to get that going. We'll see.
It takes you know, it takes some consistency. We'll see if he gets that. You said, you're they're better this year, They'll be better. Next year, they'll be better. So they finished six and five and seven, six and six. I think anywhere from five and seven to seven and five. The schedule. I liked the schedule for them, if I could talk correctly. Out of the twelve games this season upcoming season, eight of them are in the state of Arizona, with one being at ASU and then the road trip Cincinnati,
Iowa state. You know, you have a tough i Aloways Tay game, but it's not that difficult. There are winnable games there. Now, you got to take care of business at home. You have to be who you need to be at home, and then hopefully you get a couple upset wins along the way.
Yeah, okay, let's take a break here. How much is a break? Five minutes? Five minutes Okay, let's do that. Let's take it to about three fourteen. Let's take a break. We'll get ahold of Tony Daniel from the u of A and talk more about what's going on there.
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Steve Rivera, He's got his Eye on the ball on Tucson Sports stationed Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to why on the Ball? Here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera and with me today is Troy Husha said, we got one at the controls here now on the phone, we have Tony Daniel, the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Revenue Generation and Engagement at to you of a Tony, how are you doing well?
Doing well?
Hope everybody's doing well out there in Wildcat Country.
I think today I haven't uh, I haven't really officially met you, but I think you were. Uh you haven't been here officially your year or have you coming up?
Yeah, coming up on a year in June, So yeah, getting getting close ten months now.
Yes, Just how has your experience been here?
Kind of you did your uh what do you call a feet running or hit the ground running when you got here?
Yeah?
Yeah, we hit the ground run and we got here. Uh yeah, but it's been great. I also love waking up every morning and knowing what the weather is going to be.
And I love that for me.
Uh I I played football at the University of Buffalo, so you know what you're gonna get there, A lot of cold, a lot of snow, and and just the opposite here, so so love that part. But yeah, we've we've hitting the ground running. Uh, lots of lots of great things going on and and now paying off and some some big twelve championships here in the in the spring.
Uh, and more to come, we hope.
I was gonna say, how does that success? You just had it in tennis, you had it in golf.
Uh.
You know, you guys are hoping to have it in the bigger sports obviously, but you know you've got to start somewhere right with these great sports help you and your job.
Yeah, it's success is contagious.
Uh.
You know, it was an incredible week with with our with two championships in one week.
Doesn't happen very often.
But just really proud, uh you know of our of our teams mint, men's tennis, women's golf, and like I said, more to come, we hope down the line here. But it's it helps us, all right. We everybody loves success. Everyone everybody wants to be a part of a winner. Our fans just gravitate towards that. Our staff, it makes us excited, uh to come to work every day and work with such great athletes and and and great partners
and fans. So you know, it always makes our jobs easier and gives us, gives us an excitement to continue to take on the next one, and and and waiting for the next one. We got got some big ones coming up baseball and softball playing really well this year and hoping for long postseason runs and ending championships for them as well.
You guys just had the Spring Showcase and saw the fan engagement with that, marketing obviously want to get people engaged. Where have you seen from Arizona fans during your time here in the last ten months that maybe has surprised you or shocked you about Tucson.
And with that, you've been a few places, right, so you have a lot of experienced background for this.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Coming from Old miss most previous stops are Old Miss Missouri, it's been amazing that the fans support here is exceptional. I think maybe not a surprise, but something that we've noticed more here I think than maybe other places is tucsons of grassroots town. You know, the spring showcase you mentioned was an amazing event. Our fans really took to that, and it's exciting for us to get out in the community to meet people that
we haven't before. It was an awesome opportunity to showcase our football program, but also our stadium. I talked to some people at the at the event on Saturdays, like I've been a u of a fan or i lived in Tucson for twenty five years and I've never stepped foot on the field, you know, And we and that's something you know, maybe some of us in the athletic department take for granted at times. Right We're we're down there all the time. We were part of that environment.
We're part of that engagement at all times. And so given our fans and our community the opportunity to be down there and even something as small as an egg hunt or you know, letting little kids throw the football on the field. It was dangerous at times, but having having some little kids to play some play some games and throw the football on the field, like you just
can't beat it. My son and I were down there, and you know, it just really gives that passion that we feel on a day to day basis from our fans. They can come and it can translate to those type of events and and so that's what we're looking to do. We're looking to connect our community and that's you know, the championships on the fields and courts and and and pools of play are going to happen. But it's a byproduct of what we can do with our community and
how that support works in our ecosystems. So, you know, we just can't we can't say enough how excited we are about being here and doing those those sorts of things for our community. As we as we continue to move down this path, and and as we expand into the Big twelve.
When when does we convince you to come from Missouri? I'm not sure she she's told you this is what we want to do. But given your title, what's your task and what's your task at hand to get things going here?
Yeah?
Growing revenue number number one name of the game. Right, everybody knows something about the house settlement and and revenue sharing with with with the student athletes. You know, we got to find new ways to do that, and we are every day, you know, things that our community will will recognize and latch onto. Right, We're doing a partnership with the Rio Nuevo District Downtown Tucson, something different, unique
that we haven't done before. Our corporate sponsors, we're engaging with them in different in ways than we have in previous years. And then our fans like showing up and supporting, like all those things matter. Uh and and it and it and it works towards the bigger picture. And Tucson has been has answered the call right on all that and and need to continue to do so. We were excited about the new iteration of college athletics. You know, people ask me, oh, what's what's the biggest challenge or
what what's what scares you the most about this? And and it is. Paying the players is a challenge, and it's and it is scary, but it's also a huge opportunity for us.
It levels the playing field.
Uh, it gives us an opportunity to take the next step into college athletics on the on a level playing field with everybody else. So you know, I know our our staff and internally we're up for it, and I know Tucson and and the Wildcat Nation.
Is up for it as well.
We're we're ready to we're ready to take on this new generation of college college athletics.
Did you I think you're you're going on another caravan tomorrow? Is that right?
Or is that sir? Yeah?
We we've uh yeah, done done a couple so far and uh and got a few more this week. We've got three stops this week, including tomorrow, Yeah, downtown at the Monica. UH So if, yeah, anybody listening wants to come out, we'll have h A lot of our football team members and coaches will be there, other staff and and and and student athletes will be there as well, and it's just a great again, another great opportunity to
get out in the community. We're doing twenty of these around UH Tucson, UH, state of Arizona, and then we're also dipping into southern California, which everybody knows obviously is a is a big place for a lot of Wildcats after graduation and beyond. So, yeah, twenty twenty stops. You know, we're uh, I think you all get to talk to Desire a good bit. You know that we're not scared.
We're gonna get out there in the community and we're going to hit the ground hard and hit it, hit it running, and and that you know director came from her and so we yeah, we're we're just excited. It's been the few opportunities we've had so far. We've done three stops so far, they've been great and UH and looking forward to the other seventeen that we've got remaining. So if you talk real quick Monica tomorrow. What's the
other two this week? Yeah, we have no gallus on on Thursday, and then we have another another Tucson stop youth on their own. It's kind of a community double community service block party with youth on their own on Friday.
Okay cool.
We had Kim Dare and Ray Flores here on Friday talking about their you know, bear down fifty to fifty things.
Can you speak to that?
And and and Ray and I go along that way back and he talked to me about this maybe about a year ago, and I'm thinking, what a fantastic idea finally came to fruition. Just your thoughts on that, because any any way to help generate money here you go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you asked what my my job entails?
That was That was a part of it when when I met Ray when I got to Tucson. That was one of the first things he pitched the Desirae and I and and uh, you know, we got to the finish line here with our with awesome partners over at the Arizona Bowl, and Ray and his team and yeah, so it's a great opportunity. It's given our student athletes revenue opportunities to get money in for us on our
multi media rights partnership side. But yeah, it's it's a great opportunity and just another way for fans to get involved again. That's that's that's part of our our mission, right is some people can buy tickets and want to
buy tickets. Some people can donate at high levels, some people can buy merchandise, some people want to play fifty to fifty right there, There's so many ways for for Wildcat fans to be a part of this and and help us, and that that's just this is just another way and reason to do that is is this fifty to fifty raffle And we saw good success in the first two weeks, gave away almost fifteen hundred bucks to
the winner. Uh so exciting, exciting for that and looking forward to continuing to watch that grow here over the next year plus with the Arizona.
Ble, Anthony's events. When you guys are allen and what what what can fans expect to see when they go out and you obviously are going to have desirat reframs while I talk to them coaches, players, But what what is event detail for fans that are thinking about going now?
Yeah, yeah, so yeah, you mentioned a lot of it, you seeing talking, hearing from our athletic director, coaches, staff, and and and student athletes, but also just a chance to connect with other Wildcat fans, right, That's that's that's one.
Of the reasons we want to do this.
Everybody doesn't doesn't always have that opportunity to connect with people in their community who are Wildcat fans, or you might meet somebody new, So just an opportunity to do that. But but doing a lot of what we're doing today, hear about the successes of our of our student athletes and coaches in our programs. Uh, hearing from our student athletes and and what makes them tick, what their day
to days are like. It's been one of the most rewarding parts of of these these caravans is our fans come up to us after we do our programs like, oh, it's so cool to hear you know what the volleyball players are doing on a day to day basis, and like, I didn't realize they're waking up at five am and going to bed at ten pm. You know what their days are like so it gives you that inside look into Arizona Athletics. You get to hear it right from the people that are that are in the trenches every
single day. And again just gets that opportunity to connect and meet with our community and and and all the Wildcat fans out there can come together and of what we're supporting on a day to day basis. So that's a little bit of what to expect. Good food, good drinks are usually at our at our venues as well for for purchase and and uh and fans can be a part of that. But again, just a good, good opportunity to connect and be part of something something bigger.
When you have programs like women's golf and men's tennis winning Big twelve championships, what does that do for fan engagement?
Does?
How much more does that draw when you have these little maybe not so out in the spotlight pro winning championships helping out when the big ones don't.
Yeah, I mean, like I said, success, it is contagious. And you know triathlon obviously won the national championship this year, a huge thing for our community that they're only the second year, in the second year programs so again that that stuff just that's that's so contagious, and and all of our other student athletes are talking to them every day. We've had a few triathlon members on our caravan stops and they're talking about their experience and like what it
took to get there. And and when our fans hear that, right, like all of our athletes are working incredibly hard, and because they don't win it that year doesn't mean you know, they're not out there working as hard as they can. But hearing it from the student athletes directly what it took to win a triathlon championship, especially in their second year, you know, just continues to bleed over into all of
our sports. And you know, I think it just continues to build the legas of success in championships that we have here at Arizona just continues to build and build on that.
And and all.
These athletes, like I said, they're in the dorms together, they're in the dining hall together, and they're all talking. So you know, that stuff goes around, right, like, oh, that was easy. We we won a big twelve championship in our first year. Right, We're we're men tennis. We want an easy one, right, So they're getting on on the other athletes, and and so that just continues to breed that success and and and so it's fun, right,
it's it's it drives that. But I think the fan engagement again that all our fans, we all are striving for for those championships, and no matter big or small, we want them all.
So so, Tony, when you first arrived here almost a year ago, let me let me so this that you and I'll give you some background just for me. I've been here thirty seven years. I was a newspaper guy for twenty five before you know, papers kind of crumbled. I'm doing other things now media wise, and now doing some of this when you first got here, and I wouldn't know this. So I went to a game when
you first got here. Did you kind of walk the halls and go through, you know, kind of like doing your own audit in your mind to saying, okay, maybe we should do this better, Maybe I see this needs a paint job here, blah blah blah?
Did you do that?
One?
And two?
I was a fan a couple of games this year. It would never get to be a fan, you know, I usually covering the game, and I was at the football game and people were complaining about the audio. You know, you could bare to hear it, or it was very mumbled or whatever. And I'm thinking, now, that's not a thing. And then I guess what it affected me because I was a fan for a day and I'm thinking, they're right, I can't hear certain things, you know, So is that going to be addressed?
And did you do your audit, your walk through?
Yeah, did a personal one.
I think one of the things that was really cool for me my first day here. I walked through the hallways and obviously you know the history of Arizona and the championships that come with it. And I walked down the softball hallway and you remember, right, yeah, Arizona Softball. But then you walk down the hallway and you see eight championships in a row with coach Candre and you're
just like, man, this is so cool. And then you walk down the basketball hallway and you walk and you walk and you walk, and there's NBA legends everywhere and you just forget how many even went here. Right, So that was the first audit that I did that was really really cool. But you know, it reminds you of what you're working for and why I came here, and the potential the championship pass and history that we have
and the championship future that we're trying to build. You know, those are the things I kind of took in at first, right, But then you get into the day to day and you're right, we took an audit and we are continually auditing everything. You've if you've had Desre on you, you've heard her talk about our fan surveys and those type of things, and believe me, we do here hear everybody on that. We're also in there and and visualizing what this could look like. The sound is something that we
are taking into pool consideration. It is an expensive undertaking. Yeah, so we're trying to find ways to rectify that now smaller, smaller bits on the short term so then get to the larger picture of a full sound renovation. So we're hoping to have that done here in the next few years. It is not something unfortunately we'll see this year at Arizona Stadium, but hoping that a lot of other changes that we're going to make our impactful on the game day.
Because we do recognize that the.
Sound is is a barrier right now, and hoping to improve that in small incremental ways here to start until we can get the big picture done.
Yeah, we've been writing and talking about the deficit for for a couple of years now, two three years now, and you guys are tasked to desiree in yourself and many others trying to fix that, right, And I think it's going to be fixed pretty soon in fact. But for you, you've been probably been in the business long, you're still a young man. But here's here's a huge challenge.
And I don't mb you guys at all. You guys have to raise money athletically to help the kids have to got to get paid, so you're helping with that or trying to fix that and get that done. And then other things like the the cost of of audio and things like that. How difficult is it and and just you know, you're you're asking a lot of people in all that.
Yeah, it's definitely a challenge. But but again, our fans see the value uh in in all in the things that all these brings. We're just trying to have to right now to prioritize and make the main things the main things, and and right now that that happens to
be revenue sharing. Uh and some so some of these things are not necessarily taking a back seat, but we're we're pushing them down the line and again trying to make incremental improvements until we can get a little better handle on on revenue sharing and beyond.
So yeah, it's it's a.
Challenge, but again we look at it as as an opportunity for us to meet new people, bring new people into the fold and different ways and and find what their priorities are. That's our development team will will tell you that, you know, we we want to meet with donors and and fans and figure out what their priority and are and what they're passionate about from a sport
perspective or beyond. So you know, it gives us the opportunity to meet them and meet them where they are to provide an upgraded experience or an upgraded athletic experience for our student athletes.
Sure, of course, real quick, before we leave tomorrow, what times does it start? And it's again at the Monica, But what time does it start?
Yeah, Monica tomorrow at six pm and then yeah, program will be probably about an hour in so seven o'clock PM. Yeah, at the Monica tomorrow night. Okay, I'm wrong, I'm off five pm tomorrow. Oh five okay, five to seven. Five, five to seven is total. That's where I was getting mixed up. Five to seven is our is our full event. Like I said, five o'clock will kind of be the start.
We'll go for about an hour and then we'll start speaking to our coaches, athletic director and student athletes about six pm.
Great, okay, no shaking hands, kissing babies, all that good stuff. Yeah. Well, thank you Tony. Great, great to talk to you. I'll introduce myself to you next time I see you.
Yeah. Great, talking to you all. Thank you.
And Verdowm Yeah, take care. Thank you, Tony. Daniel from the UVA appreciate it. From the marketing, development, strategic stuff going on right now, let's take a break and come back. If you're an Arizona men's basketball fan, you know it's
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This is I on the ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Want to take part in the show Call up Steve now went five to two oh four one six seventy four.
Ford, Hey, welcome back to one of the marginal Fox Sports fourteen fifty on stieverver and we.
Be joy what you say from goyscats. We got Juan, we got Ray. Let me ask you guys, so I give you the opportunity to do what Tony does.
And you guys were there often enough. I used to be there a lot.
I don't kind of walk through that place anymore as much as I used to give me your audit?
What also needs to be looked at?
Michael?
Michael, okay real quick, and anybody wants to call and let us know what you think with your ideas, because I'm sure you guys go to both football, basketball and other places. What needs to maybe have a little paint chot whatever, you know, whatever the audit is, let me know, so you McHale.
They spent a lot of money, and they have.
But in terms of the lighting, maybe this again, I think the lighting is a major thing.
Well who said it?
Were you guys with me here with maybe the other group where you wanted to be more the whole placean just the centerpiece, which was a Sean Miller special. He wanted that to be kind of NBA stadium lighting. That's that's the way Sean wanted it, because remember at the beginning of Sean's career, it was lit up and then it changed the stadium lighting around the Aaron Gordon whonder what.
The point was.
I think it's to make it feel more like an NBA arena, make it more professional. But I think it's hurt mchail a little bit. I think the crowds are just I mean, I love to sing. Let's let's be honest. The average age at a U of ABU basketball games around fifty five to sixty.
Okay, okay, so what do you say? What do you say? I want to take it happen.
Actually a lot of time to watch the game, so more lit it will keep them lively.
Maybe a little bit more lively. Yeah, you know you're seeing the zone a zoo go crazy. I know a lot of students have told me when they're in the dark like that, they don't feel like they're part of the action really, So.
Go ahead, one, you're one of those. I'm one of those students for the last four years. I was. I was.
I got there early, but not early enough to be right there front section in the lower you need to be part of the band pretty much.
Yeah. At this point, that's all you can see on TV.
Yeah, especially because they're in their reforms of the like Candy Cane.
I wonder if there's like a study, like a like a psychological study the reason why it feels like that. It feels kind of not bored, but kind of like sedated for the darkness.
You know, when they're about to start, like a performance or whatever. If you go to like a Broadway show or everything, the lights go damn and to go to center stage and every really quiets down. Or the movies. Yeah, but that's that's where a stage or play because you want to be quiet.
But I get it. But it's always been kind of that intenda. I think, especially on TV, it doesn't help Michael look full. The lighting. When you have it all lit up, it looks full. It looks intimidating.
When we have or when Arizona has the white outs the redouts or whatever outs, blackouts, whatever, stripeouts whatever.
Whatever.
Yeah, So I wouldn't know this only because I go to the game and I know what it feels like. And obviously the lights you don't have those lights in the light out whatever. It just it's fantastic, right, there's certain there's a handful of games that we were fantastic.
The other ones, I guess.
I guess I really haven't paid attention to the darkness, maybe because I'm used to it already.
I think, I think so.
I think it's I've just been a decade of that lightning. Okay, well, yeah, has been asleep for a decade. And I never would ever thought that because to me it was just normal.
And I'm looking at it from a perspective of because I grew up here obviously, and I went to games my grandparents had had season to get to McHale when it opened back in the seventies. We would sit on the opposite where the team comes out, a couple of rows back behind the walkway there. Yeah, and that used to be lit up. You have the metal bleacher bleacher chair with the backs, and it just felt more lively back then than what it does now inside mcale.
Okay, uh in McHale, I haven't been to too many games, but if I had to pick one thing. Yeah, probably just like moving the student section. I know we've talked about it a couple of times, but.
That ain't happening. So that ain't happening. Yeah, you can take your audit.
And I don't know, it's just I feel the same way like when it comes to like football though, because I've been in the football stadium like a few times, like as of like going to watch the game as a fan, and then also like with press and stuff. Man, those bleachers are rough to sit on, esp like after like in the fall, like in those first few fall games, like if you're wearing shorts, like sorry about your legs, like they're getting a little they're getting a little.
Toast, but's gonna get burnt the time or two Oh yeah, yeah, you know. The one thing that I think could fit, And we talked about the San Diego State Stadium, which is fantastic, great, but it's brand new, so everything's you know, in the honeymoon and it looks great. If they reduced the seat and Arizona it made it more make it more cozy, and make it more full in a reversed way. Well, not only that, I think it's just you know, can you feel almost what is a fifty three thousand used
to be fifty six thousand? They did something like that, make it about forty five forty six. I think about forty five that that should work, and it was working when it was what forty eight back in when excuss here? Yeah, like for eight thousand. Yeah, I'll take your word for that. Well, you guess what if you win?
If you win and you win consistently with your seven eight nine like you were talking about, and that'll bring people out.
Tell that to rich Rod?
Uh?
Was he did insistence?
You know, the sames were not for no, No, we're in two son I remember you guys are two sons. You guys are two sons down five and there you were there, Yeah, I were.
From twenty twelve to twenty twenty eighteen. You were missed a.
Home games as you were as a fan, right, as a fan who your parents bought you the tickets?
Yeah?
Uh, what's the deal with the tickets? And how come there's not more of you guys out there because they've gotten only more and more expensive.
Okay, well there's a there's an issue.
I'll say I'll say this with rich Rod. The first year of rich Rod game we stopped. And it wasn't because of rich Rod because they moved the family section, which was by the end zone where the team used to run out. They moved it all the way up the noseblayed and raised the ticket prices. Well for you know, yeah family, you know, fixed on a budget, you're not going to be able to do that. It's like, well, we loved football. We did it for so they don't.
They don't go anymore at all, No, even to a good game. Uh to find a way to get it.
Find a way if they want to, yeah, but not not to season tickets like they had for twenty five years ago. Was growing up?
Were they too expensive?
They got expensive? They weren't as bad before, and then when someone came the tickets lowered. They did it for two years, saw the product on the field and said we're good. So yeah, you know, and it's improved since then. I'm sure the price is going on.
Well they have because they have a search charge though for to pay the kids.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's rough.
Okay, So that's football, basketball anywhere else. I haven't been a softball. It's always it's a nice place to still get that newness and they win.
It's a new you know. The only thing, the only thing with softball, and I don't know how you do it, is the outfield bleachers there and Andrea's corner. Find a way to get them shade because it's just a roasting area there. If you had, like I don't, you would have to do conon like a canopy behind the backstop to block the sun from hitting them, because you can't do it above it. It's not gonna it's going to hit you directly in the face, so it had to be from the opposite end.
There's probably a way.
I mean, there's probably a way with those with those shady things, you know those even you can take them off when it's nice out and put them back on.
That's your roof if you will.
Yeah, but that that would be the number one thing for softball is getting those people some shade out in the outfield. I know Andrea wanted to and they said, no, we can't do that. He wanted kind of like Wrigley Field seating on the buildings.
Oh yeah, up there, that would be cool. That would be cool. Yeah, but what insurance? Insurance? Some looney tune you want to jump off the top. Well, anything else like I said, I haven't been to Hyde Corby in a while, right.
Actually I just remember this from when I went to like my first Arizona game in twenty twenty twenty two or twenty twenty three. Was they need to get another like another Well they don't have to obviously, but another elevator would be nice. Is get into that nosebleeds like also football, Yeah, when uh, like when it's hot, you got that's a long.
East side, west side, both sides, probably because both well it's it's an old stadium right with whatever they built it with. Yeah, so you're talking about the east side.
Yeah, to the home side, the home side, yeah, uh.
Yeah, east side.
Yeah.
It's just like because like you know, everybody's waiting for it.
So it's like if if like for some people that need to get on it, you're probably waiting like twenty minutes, and then even then it's like the elevator takes forever.
It's just one is just one.
I mean we only use the press one. Yeah, but there's two on that side. But still, I mean you're still sure.
For thousands of people right to get up into.
Their seats, and then you have the fans that go with you, and it's like, well, we got to stop in the luxury area, then we got to stop here. Then it's like, okay, come on, what I learned from this conversation. You two guys were lazy? Are you going up the stairs?
Big three guys? I'm also I'm not even I'm not ashamed of being lazy.
Come you get into this business for the pre food at the halftime game exactly.
So you guys have sat in the football Seiuma's fans more recently than Steve and I And Steve you you said you went Okay, I remember as a kid the restrooms were horrible. Yeah, and I don't know if they're still that way. But they used to have the trough. Yeah, you're an old.
I don't think they do anymore.
Do that.
And then they used to have no doors on the in the toilet area, so there was no doors separating you from the people. It was just a divider. But there was no front. Really, there was no front. Embarrassing that so if you have to use the restroom, good luck. I don't know if they that way, they should have Okay, it was it was not that way in like nine really, okay, twenty ten, there was the press room.
I tried.
Actually even there, there's only like just a small area.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I don't.
I try not to. I try not to miss anything.
So I just told it and they're not take that extra chicken wing exactly.
And then lastly, I'll say soccer, they need a locker room. I mean that that's that's an ridiculous locker room for Arizona. It's attached to the public restroom and it's attached to the for soccer. Yeah yeah, so it's only is there only one where the visitors go They have to go to their bus. Wow, yeah, they have to go to their bus.
Uh.
There's their locker room, which is attached to the stands where you know, you know, get your hot dog and stuff the vendor. And to the right of that same building is one public restroom which inside of that restroom, the lock doesn't work. It was put in the wrong way, so you have to like keep your foot there. But yeah, no, they need to redo that facility.
This division one program.
Okay, running these notes down for Tony if he hasn't got out there yet.
Saying soccer need they need a little They've done work there with the fen scene and stuff like that. But get the mo locker room.
Yeah, that makes the number one.
See here you go.
So here's more money, right, more money that needed to be had. When I asked him, you got you gotta pay the players, gotta getta find facilities for the u U of a if you know, pay U of a because they had to survive. And then what was the third one? Uh?
Whatever else they gotta do? Kids?
School, you're gonna give when you get your job as an alum?
Absolutely not.
Hello, I just understand you just got your degree. Uh got a job. We'd love to have you in. Your education was nice, wasn't it. Uh click click, Sorry you get the rock number?
Wrong number? Yeah, my girlfriend, Well there's your money's going there. I understand see the data, hot chick. They're tough.
You gotta pay.
You gotta spend money on them. You gotta go, yes, sir. Okay, Well come back, your breaking news start with you guys. Okay, cool,