Married to the haul: Husband-wife team steers Arizona football equipment to road games

CINCINNATI — As soon as Arizona concluded its homecoming win over the Kansas Jayhawks last week, the UA equipment team snapped into action to prepare the Wildcats’ gear for the next game.

It was the big one — Arizona’s longest road trip of the season, and the Wildcats had to quickly prepare for a roughly 1,800-mile trek from Arizona Stadium in the heart of Tucson to Nippert Stadium for the UA’s second-to-last road game of the regular season against the 25th-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats.

“As soon as the Kansas game ended, it was go, go, go and get everything packed up for Cincinnati,” said Arizona equipment operations director Sean Kenneally. “It was a little bit of a fun challenge this week.”

Arizona’s equipment crew loaded up an 18-wheeler truck with uniforms, helmets, sideline equipment, medical tents and every piece of equipment required for a football game. UA’s truck departed for its three-day haul to Cincinnati on Tuesday, traveling through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. 

The equipment truck is driven by the husband-and-wife duo of Cristian and Rosa Mayo from Horizon Moving and Logistics. The couple has been married for over 25 years. The Phoenix residents first met 27 years ago.

“They’re awesome,” Kenneally said. “Every week, the trailer gets dropped off at Arizona Stadium and we’ll load everything up. Obviously this week was a little bit of a longer trip for them, so they left on Tuesday.”

Christian Mayo, who grew up in El Paso, Texas, became Arizona State’s equipment truck driver under head coach Dennis Erickson nearly 15 years ago and has driven for the Sun Devils ever since. He took on the UA role over two years ago and drives both equipment trucks, alternating each week.

“Since I know the layout for football, it was easy doing it at the U of A, too,” Mayo said.

This season, the Mayo tandem has been to Starkville, Mississippi; Salt Lake City; Ames, Iowa (twice); Houston and now Cincinnati. They have another trip to Boulder, Colorado with ASU this upcoming Saturday. In 10 road games during the regular season, the Mayo team will drive 10,925 miles. Last season, the Mayos drove ASU’s equipment truck to the Big 12 championship in Dallas and the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

“Now that we’re in the Big 12, I gotta relearn the stadiums and the hotels,” Christian Mayo said. “We’re learning the different stadiums and hotels.”

Mayo wasn’t a part of the trip to Orlando for Arizona’s road game at UCF last year, but said “it’s pretty much the same trip” as Cincinnati.

“Just go, go, go and don’t stop until you get there,” Mayo said.

Being in a conference that stretches across four time zones contrasts with the previous Pac-12 era, where every opponent was along the West Coast. Rather than driving upward along the coast, Arizona is trekking through the Midwest and the eastern part of the U.S.

“Sometimes you go to a place that has crazy snow,” Christian Mayo said. “You’re just trying to survive through it to get there. Other than that, every trip is different, every stadium is different.”

After several years of driving ASU’s equipment truck, Mayo bought another 18-wheeler for hauling college football equipment. There was one issue: “I don’t like other people driving my truck,” he said, so he proposed the idea of Rosa getting her CDL (commercial drivers license) and joining him every week.

“That’s how she became a driver,” he said. “The opportunity to do football together makes it even better. It’s great because a lot of times you’re working with someone you have no idea who it is. When you drive with them, sometimes it can be no fun. I’d rather drive with someone I really know.”

Becoming a certified truck driver “is a long process and it took me about a year, because I kept failing,” Rosa joked.

It’s not only required to learn how to drive the truck, a driver has to learn the truck itself from the inside out, “like the oil tank, antifreeze tank and the gauges,” Rosa said.

Once she became CDL certified, she fell in love with driving the equipment of the Wildcats and Sun Devils every week in the fall.

“I didn’t think I was going to like the driving, but I do like the driving and the scenery,” Rosa Mayo said. “Being at the games on the field with the players and everyone else involved, it’s pretty exciting. ... I just love being on the road. I was scared at first driving this humongous thing. My husband took a picture of the first time I drove and you can tell I’m terrified driving. Other than that, everything is good. We have fun, we’re together all the time.”

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She joked: “Oh, we’re together all the time.”

With the Mayos at the wheel, the Arizona equipment truck left Tucson on Tuesday and exchanged shifts driving. One drove, while the other slept. Rosa Mayo drove the first 11 hours, Christian Mayo drove the next 11. Rosa Mayo had another 11-hour shift, and Christian Mayo ended the trek with a five-hour shift.

“The first day isn’t that hard, but it’s the second night that gets you,” Christian Mayo said. “The roads are bad and when you’re trying to sleep, that’s not fun.”

Rosa Mayo added: “The truck bounces and it’s hard to sleep because you’re constantly getting bounced out of your sleep, but we’re here, so thank God.

“It was long, it was beautiful and it was stressful.”

Before arriving to Nippert Stadium, they washed the truck, “you don’t want to show up with a nasty truck.”

To pass the time, Christian Mayo listens to country music, “especially if you’re trying to stay awake.” Rosa Mayo listens to “corrido” music and snacks on low-salt sunflower seeds.

“That keeps me up,” she said.

Since he became an equipment truck driver, Christian Mayo has developed a passion for college football. He said, “I love football. Before this, I knew nothing about football.”

They don’t have a dog in the fight for the Territorial Cup. The Mayos represent both schools — the two programs writing their paychecks.

“I’m for both,” Rosa Mayo said. “I’m a fan of both. It’s a win-win situation. I’ll be home cheering them on and Christian will be helping U of A get to ASU. ... Everybody at the U of A is so cool and so nice. They treat us so nice. We love it.”

The Mayos are two of several unsung heroes for the Wildcats this season.

“They’re a fun group to work with,” Kenneally said. “We enjoy having them on all of our trips.”

Cats in Bengals territory

Arizona held a walk-through session at the Cincinnati Bengals’ training facility on Friday, the team posted on its social media platforms.

The Wildcats have one connection with the Bengals in practice squad running back Gary Brightwell. The Bengals recently waived tight end Tanner McLachlan and running back Quali Conley.

Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor coached with former UA head coach Jedd Fisch with the Los Angeles Rams. Taylor was the Rams’ quarterbacks coach, and Fisch was a senior offensive assistant. They coached together in the Rams’ run to the Super Bowl in 2018.

UA honors late JuCo coach

Laney College (Oakland, California) athletic director and former football coach John Beam died on Friday, days after he was shot on campus.

Beam, 66, is a longtime Oakland football icon and coached Laney College for 12 seasons. Laney was featured on “Last Chance U,” a hard-knocks-esque docuseries on Netflix that follows junior college football programs and players.

Arizona released a statement and said, “We are heartbroken to learn on the passing of Coach John Beam. For decades, Coach Beam changed lives through service and mentorship. His impact will be felt for generations. He will be missed, but he will not be forgotten. Arizona football sends our deepest condolences to the Beam family and everyone who loved and learned from Coach John Beam.”