The first half of the Arizona basketball game plays on the video board in the football stadium

Whatever momentum it is Arizona football team had built up is now gone.

After winning ten games last season, it ended with a bowl victory against Oklahomawhere previous head coach Jedd Fisch left Washington which prompted the Wildcats to bring in Brent Brennan.

On paper it seemed like a great acquisition.

Brennan turned things around San Jose Statewhich has historically been a tough place to win, to make three bowl games and finish in first place in the Mountain West Conference twice.

Adding to the excitement came when several star players announced they were returning to Arizona, something that has become rare as coaching changes take place across the country.

But as the Wildcats enter their game on Friday, they have a 3-6 record that has put their postseason chances on life support, and need to win or they won’t even make it to a bowl game in a year when they were expected to would do that. at least compete for a Big 12 title.

After the bye week, Arizona may be motivated to get results, but the community as a whole may not have the same motivation to support the football program at this point in the calendar because of how poorly things have gone thus far.

Another challenge to drum up interest is that the basketball season has started, and with a hardcourt team seen as a national championship contender, a lot of attention will be on the ninth-ranked Wildcats heading into Wisconsin travels for their first big game. test of the year.

Knowing that, Arizona is trying a different approach.

According to Justin Spears from The Arizona Daily Star, the video board in the football stadium will be used to show the basketball game as the football team prepares to play.

“To attract fans to the football game, the video board (112 by 47 feet) at Arizona Stadium will show the first half of the Arizona-Wisconsin game, and then play relevant highlights from the second half during the Arizona-Houston game.” he reports.

While that sounds mind-boggling at first, it makes perfect sense.

Basketball has been king in Arizona for decades, so the administration should do everything it can to bring the same kind of fans to the ballpark when a huge game takes place on the hard court.

With tipoff happening about an hour before kickoff, the broadcast of the basketball game is sure to be a draw for Wildcats fans who want to support both teams but would otherwise have chosen basketball over football.

Still, that shows exactly where this program is under Brennan, just nine games into his tenure.

It will be interesting to see what happens after this campaign.

There are some rumors that Brennan could be on the hot seatand with their top recruit in the class of 2025 free agencythe momentum is long gone for Arizona football.

Winning three straight games to reach a bowl game would certainly help get this program back on track, but they will have to start that quest on Friday with the basketball game played during their warm-up.