Newly appointed head football coach Mike Stoops could earn close to $1.2 million in salary and incentives, according to his five-year contract made available by the UA yesterday.

Stoops was hired last week to replace former UA head football coach John Mackovic and interim head coach Mike Hankwitz after the Arizona program suffered its first 10-loss season in school history, finishing 2-10 overall. The team also finished last in the Pacific 10 Conference for the first time ever with a 1-7 mark. [Read article]

It doesn't take a meteorologist to notice that it is unseasonably warm outside.

But it's not just the heat that is affecting Tucson, it's a lack of rainfall, too.

For the past seven years Tucson's average annual rainfall has declined 20 percent causing a serious drought, said UA urban horticulture agent John Begeman.

"Ordinarily this doesn't seem like a significant decline in rainfall, but we really depend on every bit of rain," Begeman said. [Read article]

The Faculty Senate discussed policy amendments yesterday that would more clearly define which thefts and misuses of university property must be reported to administrators.

If the changes are passed, they will require university employees to report illegal behavior, incidents involving items worth more than $500 and misuse of university property that benefits an employee.

The proposed changes will be up for review at the next meeting in January. [Read article]

Student lobbyists said they are optimistic that ASU and NAU student government officers will be starting off next semester donning "I love UA," T-shirts.

That will be the punishment if UA claims victory in this year's Voter Registration Challenge that will end this Friday.

"NAU has typically won the competition, however, UA has had several strong years and has pulled through as No. 1 on numerous occasions," said Alistair Chapman, a student lobbyist. [Read article]

"Arizona Idols" may not produce the next pop-star, but the video is receiving international attention.

The nine-minute video is a parody of the popular show "American Idol" and is meant to take a humorous look at disruptive behavior in UA classrooms.

According to the Dean of Students office, 26 universities from around the U.S. and two universities in Canada have contacted the UA to receive copies of the video to use on their own campuses. [Read article]

A malfunctioning fire alarm prompted two evacuations of the UA Main Library yesterday.

Sgt. Eugene Mejia, UAPD spokesperson, said that technicians had to override the entire system to stop the alarm.

"They allowed people back into the building while repairs were being made," Mejia said.

Jim Fromm, senior program coordinator at the library, said that students and faculty waited about 15 minutes to be allowed back into the building after the first alarm. [Read article]

Wildcat warns psychology sophomore about the dangers of wearing headphones near gym

Wildcat: Hi. My name's Nathan ... I like long, nature hikes ... and you're On the Spot. Where are you off to? You look like you just came from jogging.

Reynard: No, I was going to the rec.

Wildcat: Oh. You shouldn't wear headphones. Sophomore year, I almost ran over this one girl. She was jogging on Highland, like, right by the rec center. She thought Highland had a stop sign, but it's like straight through from Broadway from Sixth. She ran out into the street and I almost hit her. She actually ran into my car and I skid into the other lane, and I felt her bump off my car. And her hand slammed on the back. [Read article]

Snow in Tucson: Students go insane

"The cold and the rain, mixing in the right way, brought the people out Tuesday night. Suddenly, when everybody was getting ready to go to bed, this stuff began to tumble down. Tons of it. From the sky. And pretty soon the campus filled with people - people running and sliding, people screaming in the excitement of a million snowball fights, people walking, silently enjoying the incredible feeling of it all. Even the campus cops participated. Good-naturedly, they allowed students to take pot shots at their cars, which appeared in heavier and heavier numbers as the night wore on." [Read article]

Things you always never wanted to know