By
Ryan Finley
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Four days after losing a member of its UA coaching fraternity, numerous Wildcat coaches remembered former football coach Dick Tomey as a man with his priorities in place.
"He's a class act," UA volleyball head coach David Rubio said of Tomey, who resigned following Friday night's 30-17 loss to Arizona State. "For one thing, he did what was best for his players. That's what a coach should always be about."
UA cross country head coach Dave Murray - who has been at UA for 34 seasons - will remember Tomey as a man who went out of his way to make every coach feel welcome.
"I've seen every coach since 1960, and each has had his good and his bad points," Murray said. "I could never find anything bad about coach Tomey. A lot of coaches in the past didn't have the faintest idea of who you were (because) they were so into their sport. He knew. I'm saddened and disappointed that he's leaving us."
Murray said he and Tomey would often interact during recruiting season, when prospective football players also indicated that they would also like to run track while at UA.
"We always tried to help each other whenever possible," Murray said. "He always had his players as his main focus. He wanted to do good by them."
Murray, Rubio and UA head women's basketball coach Joan Bonvicini all said that the pressure from the fans and media eventually forced a good man to resign.
"I felt bad when people were calling for him to resign," Rubio said. "I think it's fine to set sights high, but, unfortunately, our society determines success and value on money you make or by wins and losses, not what you're teaching young people along the way.
"There may have been reason to make a change, but there's so much more to evaluate than wins and losses."
Murray agreed.
"Fans are fickle," he said. "Everyone got on his case and he's gone. Knowing the man, he was very, very good for the University of Arizona."
Bonvicini portrayed Tomey as a tragic hero, someone who did what he thought was best for the university rather than thinking of his own feelings.
"He's always been a great team player," she said. "When you work at a major institution, it's tough. In the big picture, Dick has done so much... he's done it the right way."
Replacing a coach that was popular on the field and with his coworkers will likely be a tough job for Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood, who counted Tomey as a friend off the field.
"When you're a fan, you always want your team to win," Bonvicini said. "The new coach is going to have to be a good leader of young men and bring in an exciting style of football."
Rubio is doubtful that a new coach will be able to match Tomey's popularity.
"I don't know if they can find a better person for this job," he said. "If I had a child, there's nobody I'd rather have coach him than Dick Tomey."
