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In the macro sense, it’s the well-being and prosperity of the 500-plus student-athletes she oversees as ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥â€™s director of athletics.

In the micro sense, it’s getting football right.

The latter is a multipronged proposition that impacts, well, everything. Even at a so-called “basketball schoolâ€� like ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥, if football thrives, all ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ benefit.

That’s why what happens this Saturday — and all the Saturdays that follow — is so critical. That’s why Reed-Francois wanted to talk Thursday. She wants to get the message out.

“ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Stadium ¾±²õ²Ô’t just where we play,â€� she told the Star in a phone interview. “It’s a place to make memories with people that you care about.â€�

Reed-Francois wants all UA fans — old-timers, diehards, newcomers — to feel excited about coming to campus and attending a football game. The first such opportunity is the season opener vs. Hawaii at 7:30 p.m.

After a year’s worth of surveys, research, enhancements and alterations to the gameday experience, Reed-Francois is hopeful that every fan will view a trip to ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Stadium with the same wonder she saw in the eyes of a group of young women, , who visited her Wednesday.

The girls named Reed-Francois their Poderosa of the Year for her advocacy and mentorship of area youth. They gave her a paper crown. She gave them a tour of ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Stadium.

“It’s just pure joy,â€� Reed-Francois said. “They looked at ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Stadium with this beautiful look in their eyes, like a sense of magic. It just really warmed my heart.â€�

Reed-Francois felt a similar sentiment when she talked to fans during the athletic department’s 20-plus-stop in the spring.

“That’s what I love about Saturdays in the fall,� she said. “They’re full of moments that become indelible memories. Our fans are at the center of it all.�

Reed-Francois spoke a lot about what ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Stadium is. A slightly better way to frame it, in my view, is what ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Stadium can be.

It achieved that place-to-be peak during the breakout season of 2023. Fans flooded the field on multiple occasions. The home finale against Utah was a sellout. The ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ walloped the Utes 42-18.

It hasn’t been like that often over the past decade. You can cite any number of off-field reasons, including game times, ticket prices and the general inconvenience of getting off the couch to be there in person.

But it all comes back to winning. If you win, people will come — and they will go home happy. Which is why this season — in particular the start — is so vital for Brent Brennan.

‘We expect to win’

Brennan’s first season was a flop. The momentum that was built in 2023 was lost amid a string of dreary defeats.

When she announced last December that Brennan would get another shot, Reed-Francois vowed that she’d give him everything he needed to succeed. She has followed through on that promise, and Brennan has done his part.

I’ve written before about all the wins Brennan racked up during the offseason, from hiring Seth Doege, Joe Salave’a and Craig Naivar to elevating Danny Gonzales to defensive coordinator to interacting with the Tucson community.

Reed-Francois has been in lockstep with Brennan as he reshaped the staff, retained key players and reset the culture after a bumpy transition period. She likes what she has seen, from Doege’s intensity to Gonzales’ swagger to Naivar’s attention to detail.

“We’re going to show progress,� Reed-Francois said. “We are going to surprise people.�

It’s a long shot, but a 3-0 start — capped by an upset of Kansas State on national TV — would bring back the buzz.

I can foresee a big, loud crowd for that Friday-night game on FOX — if ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ plays fun, dominant football against Hawaii and Weber State.

The chicken-and-egg element to this dynamic is inescapable.

Reed-Francois hosted a dinner for members of the UA Student-Athlete Advisory Council on Monday night. The football representatives were Rhino Tapa’atoutai, Julian Savaiinaea and Leviticus Su’a.

“They were talking about how exciting it is when the stadium is engaged,� Reed-Francois said. “The energy that they feel from our fans makes a big difference. It impacts their performance, and it fuels winning.�

But will fans show up if the team ¾±²õ²Ô’t winning?

“Make no mistake about it: We want to win and we expect to win,� Reed-Francois said. “We have a scoreboard for a reason. If we’re going to keep score, we might as well be on the right side of that score.�

Keeping pace

A winning football program lifts all elements of a university. It boosts branding, visibility and philanthropy.

Several studies have shown a connection between . That link unofficially began, , when Doug Flutie threw his famed Hail Mary for Boston College against Miami (Fla.). There have been countless examples since, including Colorado’s since Deion Sanders became the Buffaloes’ coach.

“That energy, it goes beyond the field,� Reed-Francois said. “It lifts our entire campus. It strengthens our community. It supports the local businesses that surround us. It paints a powerful picture of Tucson, not just for our community but for the entire country.�

Initial estimates indicate that first-year enrollment at the UA could be down about 20% this fall. Other factors have contributed to that. I’m not suggesting a cause-and-effect relationship with football here. But it wouldn’t hurt if the team is better, more exciting and pulls off a noteworthy upset or two this year.

If you want to get existential about it, you could argue that it’s imperative that UA football flourish. It’s possible — likely even — that college athletics will reorganize again in the near future. A super league of some sort — say, the top 70 athletic programs — feels like an inevitability. Football will be the determining factor in who’s in and who’s out.

The last thing Reed-Francois — or anyone who supports the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ — wants is for ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ to be left behind.

For now, she’s focusing on this Saturday. She wants to see how fans respond to all the gameday changes she and her staff have orchestrated.

New menu options. Lower concession prices. A free pregame concert.

A chance to make memories.