Having emphasized the importance of culture again this season while leading Arizona to the No. 1 ranking in college basketball, UA coach Tommy Lloyd expanded the message to legislators during the Arizona House of Representatives' Opening Day Ceremony on Monday in Phoenix.
"Arizona has all the ingredients to be the best place in the country to attract, develop and retain talent in athletics and academics and in the corporate world," Lloyd told the legislators. "But our true competitor, our true competitive advantage, will not be our weather or our geography. It will be our culture. It will be what it feels like on the inside. It will be whether people believe this is a place where leadership is steady, people are good, institutions are trustworthy, and success is pursued the right way.
"If we get this right, if we lead out of love, not fear, demand integrity and dream big, Arizona won't just be a magnet for talent. It will retain it, and those people who choose to live here will build something that benefits this state long after we are all gone as leaders in this state."
Toward the end of his speech, Lloyd also told legislators that "it's not about winning every game, it's about being undefeated at doing the right thing every time."
Following ASU football coach Kenny Dillingham as special guest speakers during the Opening Day Ceremony, Lloyd delivered his address in his usual down-to-earth style.
Wearing a seldom-seen blazer and button-down shirt, Lloyd started by thanking House Speaker Steve Montenegro for an introductory "hype speech," told Dillingham he "crushed it" with his preceding address, joked that the "first order of business" should be to turn the heat up inside the Arizona State Capital room, and wondered whether he had the right speech in front of him.
UA Coach Tommy Lloyd Tommy addresses the state House Monday on the first day of the session.
"I hope this isn't the Arizona State scouting report," said Lloyd, whose Wildcats will host ASU on Wednesday. "I hope I grabbed the right paper."
After those opening remarks, Lloyd's full address was as follows:
"Thank you for the opportunity to be here today, and thank you for your service to this great state. I want to start with a simple premise: Talent is the new currency.
"In today's world of college athletics, you can only thrive if you can attract talent, develop talent, and, as important, retain talent. I believe the same things apply when it comes to our state. That is why I love Arizona, because it is uniquely positioned to do all three of those things.
"Attracting talent here is not a hard sell. We have world-class weather. We have amazing natural beauty. We have innovations happening across our universities, our businesses and our communities. And we have people -- genuine, welcoming, hard working people who make this state a great place to call home.
"Developing talent is essential for good leaders. It requires the humility of a growth mindset, the discipline to make consistent progress the top priority. And I'm sure all of you here today have a strong relationship with development, but retention that is our real challenge.
"People don't stay somewhere just because it looks good on the outside. They stay because of how it feels on the inside. People may come to Arizona for the weather, but they stay because of the people who create the culture.
"In my world, college basketball, how it feels on the inside is everything. It's what keeps players committed when things get hard. It's what keeps coaches invested. It's what allows teams, businesses and institutions to sustain success, rather than just touch it briefly. And the same is true for our state and you are the ones who create and cultivate this culture so 7.6 million Arizonans can experience and enjoy it on a daily basis. How it feels on the inside is what retains people.
"What I love most about Arizona is that I believe this is a place where values still matter, and where those values align with my own. At its best, Arizona is a state built on great people and healthy environments, environments where leaders serve others, not themselves, where success is about something we can all benefit from, where people are held accountable but also supported. When I think about Arizona, I think about people who are honest, steady, hard working and trustworthy. To me, that is what defines Arizona.
"And when I think about the people I want to be around, whether they are student-athletes, coaches, entrepreneurs, elected officials or business leader, those are the type of people I want to be associated with, people who show up every day, people who do the right thing when no one is watching, people who understand that trust is built slowly and lost quickly.
"That kind of feel on the inside doesn't happen by accident. It's not a strategy. It's not a public relations headline. It is tough work, shaped every day by leadership decisions, by policy choices and by the tone we all set at the top.
"The choices made in my office and yours matter far beyond our walls. They matter to a high school student deciding where to attend college. They matter to a young professional, deciding whether to build a career here or somewhere else. They matter to a family, deciding whether Arizona is the place they want to put down roots. Talent wants opportunity, yes, but talent also wants integrity, stability, vision and purpose. When people believe in the environment they're stepping into, they commit more fully, they invest more deeply. They stay longer, and when they stay, they help build something that lasts.
"Arizona has all the ingredients to be the best place in the country to attract, develop and retain talent in athletics and academics and in the corporate world. But our true competitive advantage will not be our weather or our geography. It will be our culture. It will be what it feels like on the inside. It will be whether people believe this is a place where leadership is steady, people are good, institutions are trustworthy, and success is pursued the right way.
"If we get this right, if we lead out of love, not fear, demand integrity and dream big, Arizona won't just be a magnet for talent. It will retain it. And those people who choose to live here will build something that benefits this state long after we are all gone.
"As leaders in this state, I hope you value others, create value and as important, feel value. Because it's not about winning every game, it's about being undefeated at doing the right thing every time.
"In closing, the work you do in this session matters and will set the tone for how the citizens of Arizona feel on the inside. I know that you will take this responsibility seriously, and the Arizona men's basketball program wants to thank you for your service. Thank you for your leadership and thank you for believing in what Arizona can continue to be. Bear Down. Go Cats."
