By
Ryan Finley
Arizona Summer Wildcat
The cancellation of Camp Cochise - the Arizona football team's annual two-week summer training session - came quietly, nestled at the bottom of a press release.
But to James "Bo" Hall, the athletic director at Cochise College in Douglas, the news was loud and clear - it was time for a change.
That change came in the form of new UA head coach John Mackovic, who decided to leave Cochise College - the Wildcats' summer home since 1981 - and relocate the team's summer practices to Murphey Field, located just off campus, in an effort to revitalize local interest in Arizona football.
Mackovic, currently on vacation, did not answer repeated requests for an interview.
According to Cochise officials, the decision to bolt the Douglas campus has caused the school to take a major financial hit.
The Wildcats paid the 1,500-person college $92,620 last year in exchange for usage of facilities and residence halls over two weeks.
"There wasn't a building here that they didn't own when they were on campus," Hall said. "It was an awful good fit. People from Wilcox, Bisbee and Sierra Vista would come watch the practices all the time. We made money, but it gave the area a good relationship with the University of Arizona."
According to John Perrin, the UA's assistant athletic director in charge of business administration, the move will save the football program money.
The Wildcats will now practice - free of charge - at Murphey Field and UA's practice field across from McKale Center.
"At Cochise, (players and coaches) were charged $80 per day they were there for use of facilities and food and things like that," he said.
Douglas Mayor Ray Borane said he heard through the rumor mill that the Wildcats were leaving Cochise.
"The thing that was the most disconcerting was the fact that we had no forewarning that it was going to happen," he said. "We heard that it was announced at a cocktail party in Sierra Vista. It was totally unprofessional."
Both men agreed the decision to move the camp had to do with the departure of former head coach Dick Tomey, who resigned following a 5-6 season.
"(Tomey) was a person - he wasn't a big-timer," Hall said. "He didn't let his position interfere with how he treated people. If you came up to him on campus, he would say 'hello' and talk to you. The people here at the Cochise College loved Dick Tomey."
Though the mayor said he and Mackovic were amicable when they spoke recently, there are still hard feelings regarding the end of the Wildcats' stay.
"It was a very capricious and arbitrary condition," Borane said. "Though it may have seemed like a small decision to him, it was a major decision for this community. As far as the city was concerned, we had many tourists, parents and media here - not to mention the notoriety we had as a city because (the football team) was here. We feel like we've lost a lot.
"It was a snub to us. We did everything we could for 20 years to make them feel welcome."
Both men would like UA officials to consider returning to Douglas next season.
"The door's still open for them to come back," Hall said. "I'm hoping they will want to. Maybe they just wanted to go in a different direction for one year."
Borane agreed.
"They made Douglas a Wildcat town," he said.
