Arizona and Hawaii Open Football Season in "Dick Tomey Bowl"

Legendary coach Dick Tomey spent time with both Arizona and Hawaii

Sep 24, 1994; Stanford, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Arizona Wildcats head coach Dick Tomey clapping his hands during the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images | Imagn Images

Arizona will open its football season in just over one month against Hawaii at home. It is a game between two programs who were both coached by legendary head coach Dick Tomey. 

Tomey got his first head coaching job with the Rainbow Warriors in 1977, coaching them through the 1986 season. He helped lead Hawaii to its first top-20 AP ranking in 1981. The Rainbow Warriors also had their first AP first-team All-American player in Al Noga that year. Tomey was also named the Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1981. He had departed Hawaii as the program’s winningest coach. 

After leaving Hawaii, Tomey took over the head coaching job at Arizona in 1987. He helped lead the Wildcats to their best season in program history in 1998 when they finished 12-1 and ended that year No. 4 in the AP Poll after a 23-20 win over Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.

Toney left Arizona as the program’s winningest coach with a 95-64-4 record. He helped lead one of the best defenses in the 90’s alongside Rich Ellerson and Larry Mac Duff on the coaching staff when UA formed the “Desert Swarm" on the defensive side of the ball.

Toney later coached San Jose State from 2005-09. He finished his overall head coaching career with a 183-145-7 record. He was also 5-3 in eight career bowl games. 

Arizona coach Brent Brennan has long ties to Tomey throughout his coaching career in multiple places. 

Brennan was part of Tomey’s staff for one year at Arizona when he was a graduate assistant in 2000, and then later at San Jose State as an assistant coach from 2005-09.

That included a 9-4 season at San Jose State in 2006 when they were both on the coaching staff in a year that ended with a win over New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl.

Brennan’s brother, Brad, also played five years as a wide receiver at Arizona under Tomey. 

"Every single day I think about what would Coach T do here," Brennan said when he was introduced as Arizona’s coach last year.

Tomey passed away in Tucson on May 10, 2019. 

The opening game between Arizona and Hawaii in Tucson will kickoff on August 30 at 7:30 MST. 

What was your favorite memory of Tomey as a head coach at Arizona? Let us know and be sure to follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.