Arizona will host Colorado on Dec. 2 next season and play at Stanford on Dec. 19 to flesh out its portion of the Pac-12's new 20-game schedule in 2020-21.
The add-on games effectively plug back in two of the four games UA would have skipped under the current 10-year rotating schedule. The Wildcats were scheduled to skip the Bay area trip and not host Utah or Colorado; now they will only miss a road game at Cal and a home game with Utah.
The Pac-12 said it selected the extra games from the skipped ones on the current rotation and added back games as teams' already added nonconference dates allowed.
The Pac-12 says it has not determined yet whether it will continue the underlying rotation in 2021-22.
It is possible the league could set another rotation into place and plug in half of the scheduled skips as it will next season, or it could establish an entirely different rotation.
Pac-12 deputy commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said at the conference's preseason media day that it will set a new rotation but it will not completely blow up the traditional two-game weekend sets, which cut down on travel cost and missed class time.
“We’ve looked at it three or four times and every time we bring (a new format) back to the ADs, there’s just never been momentum for doing that,” Zaninovich said. “It just creates too many unintended consequences pulling the games apart.”
The add-on dates mean the Wildcats will take four road trips before New Year's next season: They'll play in the NIT Season Tip-Off over Thanksgiving week, then play at Gonzaga on Dec. 5, at Illinois on Dec. 12 and at Stanford on Dec. 19.
