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1. Wildcats Be-deviled by Duke in NCAA Championship game
For the second time in program history, Arizona managed to make it to the NCAA Championship game. Despite struggling in the early part of the season with suspensions, injuries and dissension, UA managed to return to the NCAA finals with upset victories against Michigan State and Illinois.
Duke's Mike Dunleavy ended UA's title hopes with three clutch three-pointers in the second half en route to a 82-72 victory and the Blue Devils' third national title under head coach Mike Krzyszewski.
2. Tomey calls it quits
Moments after the UA football team's season-ending 30-17 loss to Arizona State on Nov. 23, head coach Dick Tomey announced his resignation, saying that the "intense public pressure" that came with the job was too much for him to bear. The Wildcats were the surprise of the Pacific 10 Conference midway through the season, only to lose their final five games and a bowl bid, finishing the season with a 5-6 record.
Tomey, the Wildcats' all-time winningest head football coach, was bought out of the remaining years of his contract. He retired to Honolulu, where he once served as Hawaii's head coach prior to coming to Arizona.
3. Mackovic brings new offense, attitude to UA football
Less than two weeks after Tomey's resignation, UA athletic director Jim Livengood announced the hiring of John Mackovic, an ESPN television analyst and former coach at Illinois, Texas and of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.
Saying he will "fill (Arizona) Stadium to the brim," Mackovic's arrival was a sign of hope to fans who grew tired of Tomey's conservative offensive attack. The coach's hiring was the first major football personnel change since the mid 1980s.
4. UA underclassmen hoopers jump ship
Within the same week in early April, Arizona's four underclassmen starters announced their eligibility for the NBA Draft. While Michael Wright, Richard Jefferson and Gilbert Arenas left school and hired agents, sophomore point guard Jason Gardner decided to leave the door open to a possible return.
Should the four underclassmen and departing senior Loren Woods be selected, it would mark the first time all five starters from a team have been taken in the same draft. Should Gardner ultimately decide to leave, the Wildcats would be left with just nine scholarship players for the 2001-02 season.
5. Wildcats lose Osburn
Sophomore Kelsey Osburn, the Wildcats' projected starting shortstop, died July 17 of injuries sustained when he was struck in the head by a batted ball while playing in a Rochester, N.Y., summer league.
The 5-foot-7 Osburn was known more for his enthusiasm on and off the field than his talent on it.
"Kelsey may not have been the biggest guy on the field, but he had the biggest heart," former UA pitcher Ben Diggins said at a memorial service in late October. On Jan. 27, Osburn's jersey number - 41 - became just the fourth number retired by the baseball program.
6. Bonvicini gets 500
Joan Bonvicini became the 17th active Division I coach to reach 500 career wins when the Wildcats knocked off Oregon State, 83-73.
"Honestly, when you're playing and coaching, you just don't think about the big picture (500 wins)," Bonvicini said. "You just try to focus on what's going on."
Bonvicini, who was awarded the Pacific 10 Conference Coach of the Year in 1998, led the Wildcats to yet another 20-win season. This season marked Bonvicini's fifth 20-win season in the past six years.
Bonvicini's offensive style of coaching made the Wildcats the highest scoring team in the Pac-10, averaging 78.8 points per game.
7. Softballers No. 1 in the nation
Heading into the final weeks of the season, the UA softball team is ranked No. 1 in the nation after convincing victories against Pacific 10 Conference foes Stanford and California. The Wildcats, led by undefeated pitcher Jennie Finch and a host of home run hitters, have broken the NCAA team home run record and will be a likely favorite to win their sixth NCAA Championship.
8. DaLee, Burkholder lead Wildcats to Elite Eight
In 2000, the UA women's volleyball team made it to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in school history and became the first team other than Stanford or UCLA to win a Pacific 10 Conference title.
Led by senior middle blocker Marisa DaLee and junior setter Dana Burkholder - the first UA player to win All-America honors in seven years - the Wildcats made a promising run at the NCAA Championship. UA head coach Dave Rubio was named the conference's Co-Coach of the Year for his efforts.
9. Pac-10 officials strip Wildcat women of conference title
The UA women's swimming and diving team thought it had won the Pac-10 Championships until a March 9 phone call from conference officials informed UA head coach Frank Busch that a mathematical error had cost UCLA the title.
UA had originally been named conference champs after clinching the title with a 1,130-1,229.5 win against the Bruins until Pac-10 officials ruled that the diving tallies had not been added. When the new totals were added, UCLA defeated the Wildcats, 1,138-1,130.
"I'm disappointed and not really sure how to react," Busch said at the time. "It's a little bit embarrassing for the Pac-10."
10. Ruggers maul San Diego for largest win in program history
The UA rugby team took a March 4 regular-season match against the University of San Diego and made history. The Wildcats logged 96 points on 16 tries to give UA a 96-0 victory against the Torerros, the largest win in Arizona club rugby history. The contest - which was called three minutes early by the referee in a show of mercy - eclipsed a 90-5 win by the Wildcats against New Mexico State in 1977.
"They just were not prepared to play us," UA head coach Dave Sitton said. "We just started pumping in trys. Everything went our way."
