# Arizona Wildcats football
**Arizona Wildcats football** is the intercollegiate [American football](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-football) program of the [University of Arizona](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-arizona) in Tucson, which has played its home games at Arizona Stadium, now branded Casino Del Sol Stadium, since 1929 and competes in the [Big 12 Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/big-12-conference) under head coach Brent Brennan.[1](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2013/4/18/208224400) • [2](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2026/7/14/Casino-Del-Sol-Stadium) • [3](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/47851996/arizona-extends-coach-brent-brennan-2030-season)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Home stadium | Arizona Stadium (Casino Del Sol Stadium), Tucson; home of the Wildcats since 1929, permanent capacity 56,500[1](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2013/4/18/208224400) |
| Current listed capacity | 50,800[2](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2026/7/14/Casino-Del-Sol-Stadium) |
| Conference | Big 12; 2024 was Arizona's first season in the conference[4](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2026/09/04/arizona-wildcats-football-2026-preview) |
| Head coach | Brent Brennan, extended through the 2030 season at $4.7 million annually[3](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/47851996/arizona-extends-coach-brent-brennan-2030-season) |
| 2025 season | 9-4 overall, 6-3 in Big 12 play; lost the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl 24-19 to SMU[5](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/football/schedule/2025) |
| Rivalry | Territorial Cup against Arizona State, first presented in 1899 and designated by the NCAA as the oldest trophy for a rivalry game in America; all-time series 52-47-1 through 2025[6](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2017/6/19/208236797) • [7](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/football/opponent-history) |
| Recent investment | $50 million Board of Regents facilities project for Arizona Stadium and McKale Center approved September 2025[8](https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2025/9/25/general-facilities-infrastructure-upgrades-and-fan-enhancement-feasibility-study) |
## Home stadium
Arizona Stadium was built in 1928 with only 7,000 seats on the west side of the field and has served as the football team's home since 1929.[9](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2005/6/21/207925834) • [1](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2013/4/18/208224400) Expansion came in stages: the end zones were filled nine years after the original construction, and in 1950 the horseshoe at the south end was completed, giving the facility a capacity of 22,671 seats.[10](https://static.arizonawildcats.com/old_site/pdf/m-footbl/arizonafootball2010presskit.pdf) A second tier of seats on the east side later raised capacity from about 40,000 toward the current figure.[11](https://wildcat.arizona.edu/124670/sports/a-history-of-arizona-stadium-renovations/) In 1989 a $6.3 million structure housing the media, skyboxes, and loge seating was added, and a stadium-record crowd of 59,920 watched the Arizona-Arizona State game that November.[10](https://static.arizonawildcats.com/old_site/pdf/m-footbl/arizonafootball2010presskit.pdf)
**Recent facility work** has reshaped the venue. The $72.3 million Lowell-Stevens Football Facility was completed in 2013, giving Arizona Stadium a lower bowl configuration for the first time and a 360-degree fan experience.[2](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2026/7/14/Casino-Del-Sol-Stadium) • [12](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/arizona.sidearmsports.com/documents/2023/8/30/2023_Arizona_Football_Media_Guide.pdf) A $30 million renovation of the east side, which completely rebuilt the Zona Zoo student section and added restrooms, concessions, retail, and open-air patio areas, was finished before the 2018 season as part of a $66 million strategic investment that also included the $16.5 million Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center.[2](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2026/7/14/Casino-Del-Sol-Stadium) • [13](https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2019/11/11/inside-athletics-arizona-athletics-begins-stadium-renovation-planning-process) In September 2025 the Arizona Board of Regents approved a $50 million project addressing deferred maintenance and infrastructure upgrades at Arizona Stadium and McKale Center, alongside a fan-enhancement feasibility study on the stadium's future.[8](https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2025/9/25/general-facilities-infrastructure-upgrades-and-fan-enhancement-feasibility-study) • [14](https://apps.ufs.arizona.edu/project/detail/19-9485) The stadium's highest recorded average attendance was 56,612 per game in 1993.[1](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2013/4/18/208224400)
## Conference history and recent seasons
Arizona spent decades in the Pacific-10/Pac-12 before moving to the Big 12. The program's recent record has swung widely: 1-11 in 2021, 5-7 in 2022, then 10-3 in 2023 with a Valero Alamo Bowl appearance under [Jedd Fisch](https://www.edgepedia.org/jedd-fisch), followed by a 4-8 season in 2024, the program's first in the Big 12 and first under Brent Brennan.[15](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2017/9/6/arizona-football-stats-archive) • [4](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2026/09/04/arizona-wildcats-football-2026-preview) The Fisch era ended with a 10-3 season in which Arizona finished ranked No.
**The 2025 rebound** restored expectations. After being widely viewed as one of the bottom teams in the Big 12 entering the season,[16](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2025/08/29/arizona-wildcats-football-low-expectations-2025-preview) Arizona went 9-4 overall and 6-3 in conference, closing the regular season on a winning streak that included a 30-24 road win over No. 25 [Cincinnati](https://www.edgepedia.org/cincinnati) and a 23-7 victory over No. 20 Arizona State in the 99th Territorial Cup, and finished ranked No. 21 in the AP poll before losing the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl 24-19 to SMU.[5](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/football/schedule/2025) • [17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmDS0CejlCQ) • [18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZF_mN8y9Rk) The offense revolved around senior quarterback [Noah Fifita](https://www.edgepedia.org/noah-fifita), whose 2025 season included a stretch in which he threw his first two interceptions of the year in the Big 12 opener at No. 14 Iowa State, a 39-14 loss.[4](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2026/09/04/arizona-wildcats-football-2026-preview) • [19](https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2025/9/28/football-arizona-falls-at-no-14-iowa-state-to-open-big-12-play) Athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois signed Brennan to a two-year extension through 2030 after the season.[3](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/47851996/arizona-extends-coach-brent-brennan-2030-season) For 2026, preseason predictions placed the Cats between fifth and eighth in the conference, with the defense, one of the nation's top pass defenses in 2025, as the team's strength.[4](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2026/09/04/arizona-wildcats-football-2026-preview)
Earlier high points include the 1998 team, remembered as one of the best in school history, which went 12-1 with a Holiday Bowl victory over Nebraska,[20](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2022/08/29/struggling-wildcats-season-optimism) • [21](https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2018/10/24/football-cats-to-celebrate-anniversaries-of-top-teams-on-homecoming) and the 2014 team, which finished 10-4 with a [Fiesta Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/fiesta-bowl) appearance.[22](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/football/schedule/2014?grid=true)
## The Territorial Cup
The program's defining rivalry is the annual Territorial Cup game against [Arizona State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/arizona-state-university), also called the Duel in the Desert. The trophy was first presented to Tempe Normal School after its 11-2 victory over Arizona at Tucson's Carrillo Gardens field on Thanksgiving Day, November 1899, before Arizona was a state, and in summer 2001 NCAA officials designated it the oldest trophy for a rivalry game in America.[6](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2017/6/19/208236797) • [23](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2022/08/29/asu-uofa-rivalry-older-than-arizona) The two schools have met 100 times from 1899 through 2025, with Arizona leading 52-47-1.[7](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/football/opponent-history) A July 2025 account put the tally at 51-46-1 in Arizona's favor before the 2025 meeting;[24](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2025/07/09/sun-devils-wildcats-arizona-top-100-college-football-rivalries) the official series record through the 2025 game stands at 52-47-1.[7](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/football/opponent-history) The rivalry's modern bitterness dates to 1958, when a citizen's initiative renamed Arizona State College as a university over the objection of University of Arizona alumni.[23](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2022/08/29/asu-uofa-rivalry-older-than-arizona)
## References
1. [Arizona Stadium (Football), University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2013/4/18/208224400)
2. [Casino Del Sol Stadium, University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2026/7/14/Casino-Del-Sol-Stadium)
3. [Arizona extends coach Brent Brennan through 2030 season, ESPN](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/47851996/arizona-extends-coach-brent-brennan-2030-season)
4. [Wildcats look to build on last year's success, Axios Phoenix](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2026/09/04/arizona-wildcats-football-2026-preview)
5. [2025 Football Schedule, University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/football/schedule/2025)
6. [Territorial Cup, University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2017/6/19/208236797)
7. [Football History, University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/football/opponent-history)
8. [University of Arizona Announces Athletics Facilities Infrastructure Upgrades and Fan Enhancement Feasibility Study, University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2025/9/25/general-facilities-infrastructure-upgrades-and-fan-enhancement-feasibility-study)
9. [Arizona Stadium, University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2005/6/21/207925834)
10. [2010 Arizona Football Press Kit](https://static.arizonawildcats.com/old_site/pdf/m-footbl/arizonafootball2010presskit.pdf)
11. [A history of Arizona Stadium renovations, The Daily Wildcat](https://wildcat.arizona.edu/124670/sports/a-history-of-arizona-stadium-renovations/)
12. [2023 Arizona Football Media Guide](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/arizona.sidearmsports.com/documents/2023/8/30/2023_Arizona_Football_Media_Guide.pdf)
13. [Arizona Athletics Begins Stadium Renovation Planning Process, University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2019/11/11/inside-athletics-arizona-athletics-begins-stadium-renovation-planning-process)
14. [Project 19-9485, University of Arizona Facilities](https://apps.ufs.arizona.edu/project/detail/19-9485)
15. [Arizona Football Stats (since 2003), University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2017/9/6/arizona-football-stats-archive)
16. [Arizona Wildcats have low expectations at season's start, Axios Phoenix](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2025/08/29/arizona-wildcats-football-low-expectations-2025-preview)
17. [Arizona vs. Cincinnati Full Game Replay, Big 12 Conference (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmDS0CejlCQ)
18. [#25 Arizona vs. #20 Arizona State Condensed Game, Big 12 Conference (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZF_mN8y9Rk)
19. [Arizona Falls at No. 14 Iowa State to Open Big 12 Play, University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2025/9/28/football-arizona-falls-at-no-14-iowa-state-to-open-big-12-play)
20. [Struggling Wildcats may have cause for optimism, Axios Phoenix](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2022/08/29/struggling-wildcats-season-optimism)
21. [Cats to Celebrate Anniversaries of Top Teams on Homecoming, University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2018/10/24/football-cats-to-celebrate-anniversaries-of-top-teams-on-homecoming)
22. [2014 Football Schedule, University of Arizona Athletics](https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/football/schedule/2014?grid=true)
23. [ASU, UofA have a rivalry older than Arizona itself, Axios Phoenix](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2022/08/29/asu-uofa-rivalry-older-than-arizona)
24. [Territorial Cup is 54th on top 100 college football rivalries, Axios Phoenix](https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2025/07/09/sun-devils-wildcats-arizona-top-100-college-football-rivalries)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › College, minor, and international American football › College football programs › Football programs › Central and Western United States programs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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