In a five-year period bridging the 1960s and 1970s, the Western Athletic Conference established an arms race of basketball facilities rarely seen in college basketball history.
Utah, BYU, Arizona, ASU and New Mexico all built state-of-the-art basketball arenas with capacities of at least 14,000, an aggressive move that was envied coast to coast, even in the Big Ten and ACC. Pac-10 schools had nothing to compare to WAC basketball.
Home-court advantages at those schools, especially BYU and New Mexico, became so overwhelming that it prompted a building cycle in every basketball conference in America.
The first time I walked into the 22,700-seat Marriott Center at BYU in 1972, I believed my school, Utah State — I was the basketball manager — could beat the hated Cougars. The Aggies had been to the Elite Eight in 1970 and ranked as high as No. 9 in 1971. But playing in the Marriott Center was an unprecedented nightmare.
An hour before tipoff, I stood on the sideline absorbing the majesty of the nation's biggest college basketball arena. Our star player, forward Jim Boatwright, stood next to me. He turned and said, "Well, we'll get them at home."
The Aggies lost 101-82.
I bring this to your attention because No. 1 Arizona men's basketball plays at the Marriott Center on Monday night. Capacity of BYU's arena has been reduced to 18,000 over the years, but it will surely be the most difficult road venue Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats encounter this season. If you are enjoying, say, a 20-game winning streak, prepare for the worst. The Cougars pack the stands with about 6,000 students, standing room only, it will be LOUD.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd gestures during the second half against TCU, Jan. 10, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Remember how difficult it was for Lute Olson’s Top 10 teams to win at uber-hostile Maples Pavilion and Mac Court — the old Pac-10's two most imposing road venues? Monday night at the Marriott Center will make a night playing Mike Montgomery’s Top 10 Stanford Cardinals of yesteryear seem mild. BYU is loaded, perhaps the school's best team since Jimmer Fredette’s Sweet 16 club of 2011, or Danny Ainge’s Elite Eight powerhouse of 1981.
Arizona's most historic season-opening winning streaks, all sports, found unfortunate ways to end epic runs. Here's a painful reminder:
– UA basketball, 1932: Coach Fred Enke’s Wildcats opened the season 16-0 before a mid-February trip to New Mexico. I'm not suggesting there was home-cooking in Albuquerque, but Arizona attempted just two foul shots and lost 30-28 to a bad Lobos team that was 6-12. The Daily Star wrote "The Wildcats met their Waterloo here Friday." Arizona finished the season 18-2.
– UA baseball, 1935: Coach Pop McKale’s club finished the regularly-scheduled portion of the schedule 18-0. But McKale added a three-game series in early May to play at Hermosillo, Mexico, against the government-sponsored pro team. The perfect season went poof. Arizona lost to the Mexican pros, and the 1935 UA baseball record is officially listed as 20-1.
– UA baseball, 1956: The powerful Wildcats, blessed by All-American pitchers Carl Thomas and Donnie Lee, were 25-0 when they went on a five-game road trip to SoCal. The last game of the trip was against the U.S. Naval Training Center semi-pro team. Thomas, who won a school record 14 games, was roughed up. The Naval Team won 7-3. Arizona recovered to finish 49-8 and play in the championship game at the College World Series, its best baseball season to that point.
– UA softball, 2001: With a 31-0 burst to start the season, the No. 1 Wildcats had beaten six Top 25 teams until it played in the championship game of the Kia Klassic in SoCal. Unfortunately, All-American Jennie Finch couldn't pitch every game — she went 32-0 on the season — but unranked Louisiana Lafayette stunned the 31-0 Wildcats 4-3 when backup starter Becky Lemke replaced Finch for a day. Arizona finished 65-4 and won the national title.
– UA softball, 2004. The best start to a UA sports season in history, 34-0, found the No. 1-ranked Wildcats in the Kia Klassic again. The UA was no fluke; it had beaten No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 6 Georgia, No. 10 Texas, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 10 Louisiana Lafayette and No. 15 Fresno State. But on that March day in Fullerton, using No. 3 starting pitcher Wendy Allen, Arizona lost to No. 9 Washington, 7-6. "You can't win 'em all," said UA coach Mike Candrea, "but we sure gave it a good try." The Wildcats finished 55-6.
There have been other notable winning streaks to start the season in Tucson sports. Sean Miller’s 2014 basketball team was 21-0 when it lost to Cal 60-58 on a last-second basket on a night Nick Johnson shot 1 for 14. Last year, Brian Peabody’s Pima College men's basketball team opened 34-0 before losing in the NJCAA semifinals and finishing 35-1.
Perhaps the most notable Tucson team to survive with a historic start-to-finish winning streak was coach Rollin Gridley’s Tucson High football team. The Badgers of 1943, 1944 and 1945 went 32-0, a three-peat of state championships. Peabody's Aztecs broke Gridley's 33-0 streak last year, but a few days later, "met their Waterloo."
We will soon find out if Lloyd's Wildcats can avoid their own Waterloo at BYU.
