Arizona AD Dave Heeke talks coaching hires, COVID-19, and his expectations for 2022

Dave Heeke has had no time to rest during a hectic 13 months.

Since December 2020, the UA’s athletic director has hired five new coaches: Jedd Fisch (football), Tommy Lloyd (men’s basketball), Chip Hale (baseball), Caitlin Lowe (softball) and Becca Moros (soccer) while promoting cross country coach Bernard Lagat to permanent role. He extended the contracts of four others.

Last spring, he watched as several Arizona programs enjoyed historic seasons, including the UA women’s basketball team — led by star Aari McDonald — falling one basket shy of winning a national championship. There were College World Series and Women’s College World Series appearances, and deep runs in women’s golf and men’s tennis.

The next several months are expected to be eventful as well; the Wildcats’ men’s and women’s basketball teams are both ranked in the top 10 nationally and expected to play well into March, and the UA baseball and softball again carry high expectations.

The Star talked to Heeke this week about his busy year and what he expects in 2022:

How will you look back on 2021 for the UA athletic department?

A: “It was really a historic year on a number of fronts. To have all the challenges we had with the pandemic, a lot changing nationally — but at the same time, it was a historic year of success for our student-athletes and for our programs, both in the classroom and competitively. We hit records academically, we had 14 of our teams in the postseason, our women’s basketball team was in the national championship game, softball was back in Oklahoma City, baseball was in Omaha, women’s golf went back to the national semifinals, the two Pac-12 championships with baseball and men’s golf — there were so many accomplishments in the backdrop of a global pandemic. I’m really proud of our coaches and certainly our student-athletes and our staff through the past year.

“Going back to the academics, we had the highest GPA we’ve ever had for a single semester. Our overall cumulative GPA, with all 500 student-athletes, is a little over a 3.2. That’s really remarkable and it’s the highest it’s ever been and it continues to rise. Lots of good work has been done through the year, but since I’ve been here we’ve consistently risen that number, and I’m really proud of that.

What would you say was the biggest accomplishment?

A: “The great effort by our campus, our staff to support our student-athletes and work through the pandemic of all the challenges last year, because it really was week-to-week and almost hour-to-hour. It kind of continues to get that way again, but I think just getting through that was our biggest accomplishment. What highlights that even more is the unbelievable success we’ve had. … Women’s basketball going to a national championship game? That’s pretty big. Having Mike Candrea go back to Oklahoma City in his final year as head coach? Pretty neat. Women’s golf, we’re the only program in the nation to be in the semifinals in three consecutive years and winning it once. So, I hesitate to single out just one program, because so many great things happened. Those were some big marks there, that’s for sure.”

What do you take away from a year that included six coaching hires?

A: “Another interesting element to last year was the number of coaching changes we went through, but I feel really good about the people that we brought in. You don’t expect to do essentially six coaching hires in one year and three huge ones in football, men’s basketball and baseball, and then have a retiree in Mike with softball. Those were some major, major decisions. But I feel really good about it, because it shows the strength of the programs, what we’re all about here, and we’ve attracted some outstanding people. I feel really good about it.”

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With so many new coaches around, how would you describe the change in culture?

A: “I think the culture is in a fabulous position. Having such positive, energetic people in our leadership roles is important. They’ve embraced the university, our program and the community of Tucson. They’re just upbeat, positive and engaging people, and that has been well-received across the board. I love the culture and I love our interaction with the coaches. I’ve had coaches who’ve been here a long time say, ‘Boy, this is great. This feels like we’re back in the ‘90s and early 2000s with the great culture and great vibe that’s going on.’ … That’s because we brought in really great people. It’s all about the people. I’ll always go back to that, what makes this place great is the people, and we’ve got tremendous people in our leadership positions. We have head coaches who care about the university, care about the program, care about the student-athletes, care about Tucson and Southern Arizona.”

How has feedback been since the launch of mobile ticketing for games?

A: “We’ve had positive feedback. Fans have been ready and wanting to come back to the venues and be in our stadiums and arenas, cheer on the student-athletes and our programs. It’s a big part of our culture and what makes Tucson great. They enjoy it and are cherishing the opportunity to be back in the arena. It’s good to hear the roars of Wildcat fans again. I know our student-athletes enjoy it, because it was definitely a little strange last year without fans. We’ve been pleased with it and I know our fans are, too.”

With a rise in positive COVID-19 cases nationwide and Pac-12 games getting postponed or canceled, has there been any consideration for limited attendance at McKale Center?

A: “Since the onset of the pandemic, we’ve had to take everything day-to-day and hour-to-hour. Good example of that is (Monday) night: We’re sitting in the (men’s basketball) game when we found out that the Arizona State game couldn’t happen. We’re always in constant communication with campus leadership, the leadership of the city, county, state and health officials. We want to continue to move forward and have our facilities open in a safe and healthy manner, so people can watch games.”

Not many universities can say they have both basketball programs ranked in top 10. What’s your assessment of Barnes and Lloyd so far?

A: “Terrific job by Adia and Tommy. Their programs are performing at a high level and I’m excited about the future on both sides. We have terrific student-athletes in the programs and both play an exciting style of basketball that our fans enjoy. The players and student-athletes want to play for it and be a part of, and that’s exciting for the future. This is cementing, I think, our place among college basketball’s elite on both the men’s and women’s side. It’s pretty remarkable what we’re doing.”

How would you grade Fisch and the football program after a year into the new regime?

A: “I’m very excited about the job Coach Fisch and his staff have done in revitalizing our football program. That was the plan: a complete rebuild of our football program. My vision and Jedd’s vision aligned. We wanted to strip this down to the studs and rebuild it. That’s what we’re doing, that’s what Coach Fisch and his staff are doing. They’re committed and bringing back Arizona football by doing it the right way. I’ve seen a lot of progress. There were a lot of wins in difficult times. We didn’t win as many games as we wanted, but there were a lot of wins inside of those losses. … I was incredibly proud of our players for how they came back and that’s a big credit to our coaches and everyone being on board with what’s taking place. We also have a historic recruiting class, continue to make progress in the transfer portal and rebuild the roster, and that’s going to bode well moving forward. Couldn’t be more excited about the future of our football program. We’re doing it steady, doing it the right way, building it back strongly going forward.”

What are your expectations for the upcoming spring?

A: “It was a tremendous year last year and I look forward to the excitement of this spring with both baseball and softball programs with new head coaches in Chip Hale and Caitlin Lowe, two outstanding players who played here as well. They definitely epitomize what it means to be a Wildcat. … Men’s and women’s golf are set for really outstanding springs. Jim (Anderson) and Laura (Ianello) have done a great job leading both programs and I look forward to them being in the national picture as well. Our men’s tennis program, coming off a remarkable year, they’re very talented once again and could go even further this year. That’s an exciting story. … It’s going to be an exciting spring. Our programs have always competed for national championships and we’ll be right there as we go forward.”