Editing University of Arizona (section)

====Football====
{{main|Arizona Wildcats football}}
[[File:Arizona Stadium East Side.jpg|thumb|[[Arizona Stadium]] has a total capacity of 55,675.]]
The [[American Football|football]] team began at The University of Arizona in 1899 under the nickname "Varsity" (a name kept until the 1914 season when the team was deemed the "Wildcats").<ref name="History 7">{{cite web | title=The First Football Team – 1899 | publisher=Arizona Board of Regents | year=2005 | work=UA History | access-date=March 29, 2006 | url=http://www.arizona.edu/tours/history/history7.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701033605/http://www.arizona.edu/tours/history/history7.php |archive-date=July 1, 2007 }}</ref>

The football team was notably successful in the 1990s, under head coach [[Dick Tomey]]; his "Desert Swarm" defense was characterized by tough, hard-nosed tactics. In 1993, the team had its first 10-win season and beat the [[Miami Hurricanes football|University of Miami]] Hurricanes in the [[Fiesta Bowl]] by a score of 29–0. It was the bowl game's only shutout in its then 23-year history. In 1998, the team posted a school-record 12–1 season and made the [[Holiday Bowl]] in which it defeated the [[Nebraska Cornhuskers football|Nebraska Cornhuskers]]. Arizona ended the season ranked 4th nationally in the coaches and API poll. The 1998 Holiday Bowl was televised on [[ESPN]] and set the now-surpassed record of being the most-watched bowl game in the network's history. From November 2003 until October 2011, the program was led by [[Mike Stoops]], brother of [[Bob Stoops]], the head football coach at the [[Oklahoma Sooners football|University of Oklahoma]] (the 2000 [[BCS National Championship|BCS national champions]]); Stoops was fired on October 10, 2011. Former Michigan and [[West Virginia Mountaineers football|West Virginia]] head coach [[Rich Rodriguez]] was hired on November 21, 2011, to lead the Wildcats. The announcement was made by UA athletic director [[Gregory Byrne|Greg Byrne]] via Twitter. In his first season, Rodriguez took the Wildcats to the [[2012 New Mexico Bowl]], where they defeated the [[Nevada Wolfpack football|University of Nevada]] Wolf Pack. In his third season, the Wildcats won the Pac-12 South and played in the [[2014 Fiesta Bowl (December)|2014 Fiesta Bowl]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Wildcats Stick a Fork in ASU|url=http://uanews.org/photos/wildcats-stick-fork-asu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929001417/http://uanews.org/photos/wildcats-stick-fork-asu|url-status=usurped|archive-date=September 29, 2015|website=UA News|date=December 2014|access-date=April 10, 2015}}</ref> In 2015, the Wildcats played in their fourth consecutive bowl game, defeating the University of New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gildan New Mexico Bowl Info – The University of Arizona Official Athletic Site|url=http://www.arizonawildcats.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=210498669|website=Arizona Official Athletic Site|access-date=January 22, 2016|archive-date=January 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129210533/http://www.arizonawildcats.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=210498669|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, they lost to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Foster Farms Bowl, the Wildcats 21st bowl game.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/only-victory-in-foster-farms-bowl-would-ensure-arizona-wildcats/article_8fa2f6b2-e297-5634-8185-93700506c36c.html |title=Only victory in Foster Farms Bowl would ensure Arizona Wildcats' glass is half full |date=December 24, 2017 |access-date=February 21, 2018 |archive-date=February 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222045000/http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/only-victory-in-foster-farms-bowl-would-ensure-arizona-wildcats/article_8fa2f6b2-e297-5634-8185-93700506c36c.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Dave Heeke]] was named Arizona's 13th Director of Athletics in February 2017 and officially started in that role on April 1, 2017. Heeke served as Athletics Director at [[Central Michigan University]] for 11 years and as a staff member in the [[University of Oregon]] athletics department for 18 years. ([[Gregory Byrne|Greg Byrne]] resigned from the post in January to accept the same role at the [[University of Alabama]].)

Rodriguez was relieved of his duties on January 2, 2018, in the wake of an internal university investigation of sexual harassment claims made by Rodriguez's former administrative assistant.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/football/updated-timeline-how-rich-rodriguez-s-firing-unraveled-at-arizona/collection_3c46524c-f645-11e7-b584-5b031e78e749.html#3|title=Updated timeline: How Rich Rodriguez's firing unraveled at Arizona, which led the Wildcats to Kevin Sumlin|work=Arizona Daily Star|access-date=2018-03-13|language=en|archive-date=March 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314043033/http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/football/updated-timeline-how-rich-rodriguez-s-firing-unraveled-at-arizona/collection_3c46524c-f645-11e7-b584-5b031e78e749.html#3|url-status=live}}</ref> After a nationwide search and much media speculation, [[Kevin Sumlin]] was hired on January 14, 2018, as the new Wildcats head football coach. Sumlin was head coach at [[Texas A&M Aggies football|Texas A&M University]] and the [[Houston Cougars football|University of Houston]]. After a disappointing three-season tenure, with the Wildcats posting a 5–7 (4–5 in Pac-12) record in 2018 and a 4–8 record (2–7 in Pac-12) record in 2019, Sumlin was fired at the conclusion of the 2020 season (a truncated schedule due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]).

After a nationwide search and much media speculation, former college and NFL coach [[Jedd Fisch]] (most recently the QB coach for the [[New England Patriots]] and a previous assistant at [[UCLA Bruins football|UCLA]], [[Michigan Wolverines football|Michigan]], [[Miami Hurricanes football|Miami]] and [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Minnesota]]) was chosen as the Wildcats’ 32nd head football coach, as announced in December 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lev|first=Michael|title=Wildcats name Jedd Fisch new head coach; comes endorsed by Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll|url=https://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/football/wildcats-name-jedd-fisch-new-head-coach-comes-endorsed-by-bill-belichick-pete-carroll/article_e0a838d6-4535-11eb-8463-f37cd0c3feca.html|access-date=2021-08-27|website=Arizona Daily Star|date=December 23, 2020 |language=en|archive-date=December 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224115335/https://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/football/wildcats-name-jedd-fisch-new-head-coach-comes-endorsed-by-bill-belichick-pete-carroll/article_e0a838d6-4535-11eb-8463-f37cd0c3feca.html|url-status=live}}</ref>