11-20-2023, 07:41 PM
(11-20-2023, 06:12 PM)cctop Wrote: I've got a soft spot in my heart for Arizona to win the Pac-12 in its final year.So do I, and I hope they win for another practical reason. Virtually everybody at Arizona believes Fisch is gone at the end of the season. He will get hired at a more "successful" football school for more money. If Fisch leaves, the whole team will go into the portal to follow him. However, everybody in the market wants the new coach ASAP to stabilize recruiting and the portal. If Arizona plays in the championship, Fisch isn't going to be able to avoid coaching in it. If they win, they get an NY6 bowl. Will Fisch be able to say no to coaching in that game? Some say no. That could possibly prevent him from getting hired away. Slim hope, but maybe all their is.
Arizona can't offer Fisch a raise, even if they get money from "donors", because of the $240 million shortfall and the subsequent hiring freeze/ 2% budget cut. This is on top of an athletic department that owes the University $50 million and that has a "systemic budget deficit". Politically impossible.
