New ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ track coach Andrew Dubs, formerly an assistant coach at Virginia Tech, won’t get any break-in time in the Big 12. His cross country teams, coached by former Drake head coach Jay Koloseus, are in the most difficult distance-running league in America. In the first USTFCCA Top 25 poll, released last week, Big 12 rivals dominated the men’s rankings. Iowa State is No. 1, Oklahoma State is No. 3, defending NCAA champion BYU is No. 4 and Colorado is No. 13. It’s no easier on the women’s side, where BYU is ranked No. 1. Welcome to the big leagues, Mr. Dubs.
– In 2023, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ sluggers Chase Davis and Kiko Romero dominated Pac-12 offensive statistics. The two all-conference players combined for 42 home runs. Romero, a lefty from Canyon del Oro High School, broke a 49-year UA RBI record, driving in 89 runs. But they have struggled since being drafted (Davis was a first-round pick of St. Louis, Romero a seventh-round pick of the Yankees). In fact, the Yankees released Romero last week after he hit a cumulative .213 in the low minor-leagues with just two home runs this season. Davis, playing at Double-A Springfield, was hitting just .227 through Friday with 138 strikeouts in 102 games.
People are also reading…
– Former ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ athletic director Greg Byrne (2010-17), now the AD at Alabama, has a difficult decision coming: Will he cancel the home-and-home football series he scheduled against ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ in 2032 and 2033? The SEC recently expanded its conference football schedule from eight to nine games, meaning Byrne has to cancel at least one non-conference game per year. He already canceled two games with West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez (2026, 2027), the man he hired to coach ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ in 2012. Alabama’s 2032 and 2033 nonconference schedules include UA and Minnesota. Byrne, who is probably viewed as one of the two or three leading ADs in America, probably won’t be going anywhere. He is only 53 years old.
– ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥â€™s men’s golf team will play host to an NCAA Regional in May, at the Gallery Golf Club. It could create a home-course advantage to get coach Jim Anderson‘s team to the NCAA finals. The ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ are loaded this season, with elite players Zach Pollo and Filip Jakubcik returning. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ has home tournaments scheduled at Tucson Country Club and Omni Tucson National in the spring, but also play an impressive road schedule in Seattle, Chicago, North Carolina and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. But the top meet for the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ could be at Southern Hills in Oklahoma, site of three U.S. Opens and four PGA Championships.
