From a long-time basketball/softball season ticket holder and major donor, I offer the following perspective:
- UA has lost significant talent to key competitors in athletics over the past few years -- AD Greg Byrne to Alabama; Jedd Fisch to WU; Laura Ianello to Texas; Jay Johnson to LSU. It’s not a surprise that these losses were to wealthy Big 10 and SEC schools.
- Mike Candrea retired and our softball team hasn’t performed up to UA standards since
- The despised school up north earned a first-round bye in the college football playoff, winning the Big12 conference in its first year; Bobby’s rag-tag basketball team of transfers at ASU is off to a good start, and our Wildcats will have to prove they can consistently beat ranked teams
I’m not gloom and doom — and I will continue to support Wildcats sports, but the program has a lot to prove in the midst of professional pay to retain its value vs. that despised school up north.
Rob Matteucci
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
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