Tuesday, June 4, Hour 1

Guest Co-Host: Matt Reynoldson, TV Sports Anchor
Guest: Rocky LaRose, Retired Arizona Athletics Administrator

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
This is I on the Ball withSteve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports
fourteen fifty powered by Nova Insurance Servicesand Sure Your Most Prized Possessions katz R
two SAG and iHeartRadio Station at Hey. Good afternoon, everybody, Welcome to
RI on the Ball Hero Fox Sportsfourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. You're

(00:23):
not Jagan's Aunes, but you're MattReynoldson. Back for your last day.
Yeah, glad to be back hereand back in the studio. A couple
of times last week Jake comes back. I don't think you're gonna be like,
uh, what's that show? Ialways forgetting. I'll remember this after
a while where he gets his brakescut and do well. He doesn't.
He lost his job and you're you'rein, you know what I'm I'm ready

(00:43):
to fill in and anytime, though, call me a pinch hitter up on
the dugout. Yeah, show girls, showgirls. Yeah you remember that she
tripped her and she took over thejob. Okay, so but you know
that's for another day. And wegot our boy Ryan and Ryan, good
to see you. You scared methere for about ten minutes. Sorry about
that that's a that's age real quickly. I used to have dark hair.

(01:03):
No, I don't thank you Ryanfor coming in. I guess did you
guys see that Tommy Lloyd's gonna haveonly eleven scholarship players on the roster and
you know the faithful crazy fans thatArizona has. Oh, they don't have
depth, they don't have this.What are your thoughts, because I have

(01:23):
mind? How many times are youplaying thirteen scholarship players? Exactly? We
talked about it a little bit lastweek, the same thing, you know,
and Tommy Lloyd goes eight, hedoes, He'll maybe go ten early,
but then guess what in the biggames, he's going seven or eight,
right, And they figured out thatrotation pretty early on last year and
that made a big difference kind ofdown the stretch of that back twelve season
when they wrapped up the regular seasonconference title. No disrespect to Tommy,

(01:47):
but I don't know he knows howto spell depth because he doesn't use it.
No, but they could add topotentially it leaves open for potentially a
late portal edition or maybe even anotherhigh school scholarship piece. Another after a
five star guard and a six'ten guard and Will Riley, who could
reclassify from the twenty twenty five classto the twenty four class, so could
be another edition to the roster thatcould play a role in that rotation this

(02:09):
year. So just joking, sonobody can create a big Facebook page and
sudden, you know what I meanthat Tommy was joking, of course with
a depth thing. But he doesn't. He doesn't. He doesn't use it
a whole out, not in crunchtime. And guess what time it is
in crunch time in March all thetime, right right, So, and
I mean it's way basketball is approachedright now. You know, you have
to look at who your best playersare, who your closers are, who

(02:31):
you can trust to make the rightplays at the right times. And you
know, I think we saw itin March last year of they really shrunk
that rotation after having a lot ofturnover issues against Long or against Long Beach
and against Dayton, and they shrunkthat rotation a little bit in the second
half of that Dayton game and kindof cleaned up a lot of the turnovers

(02:51):
because they were able to run awaywith that. And they got yeah,
and they got a little scared becausethey were you know, they were doing
stuff they don't usually do with theturnovers. Like you said, yep,
they eventually pulled away, but butthen came the next game and it was
over. Yeah. Yeah, it'swhat happens when you shoot what two for
twenty eight from three or something likethat was bad and who knows that could
always happen again at any time,but it only matters in March. That's

(03:14):
basketball. That's uh. Yeah,we should start a podcast on something.
I'll throw this idea at you later, right. I know you're looking for
issues to get out out of townand get a job, but well,
we can do podcasts from anywhere.That's the beauty of twenty twenty four,
you know, true, Steven,Steve and I will dominate the podcast market.
You know. It will bring everybodywith us and we'll have love great
listeners that follow us, just likethey do here on Fox Sports fourteenth fifty.

(03:37):
Right. No, I like theway you're thinking. We'll bring on
Ryan to monitory our podcast and we'llbe fine. Yeah, Ryan, you're
gonna keep us in line. Igot it. I'll be there. Okay,
good. We need a monitor,we need a monitor, okay,
cool? Cool, Last day foryou, Ryan, You not you Ryan.
But Matt Jay comes back tomorrow andwe'll see how tan he is.

(03:59):
But we have a good show today. I've got Rocky of the Rose coming
in for the first hour. Iwanted to talk to her about kind of
kind of going back to what we'redoing before reminiscing about the PAC twelve Pack
ten when she was involved a longtime ago as an AD, as a
player, as an AD and anadministrator, talking about some of the great
stories. And I also want toget her take on what's going on today

(04:21):
with women's sports and obviously the hottopic with Caitlyn Clark we've been talking about
the last couple days. Obviously,did you see the game this weekend.
I'm sure you've seen enough for thehighlights and all that. Yeah, what's
your take? You know, Ithink they women's sports have grown in such
an exponential way. I think overthe last five years that it might just

(04:43):
discredit the overall movement in it tocredit it to one player. You know,
I've seen volleyball grow exponentially to thepoint where there is you know,
professional volleyball taking off, you knowall around this country. You know,
women's soccer has been huge, especiallywith the US women's national team leading the
way and then the National Women's SoccerLeague really having a bunch of momentum.
I know in Kansas City they builta stadium specifically for the Kansas City Current,

(05:09):
which is the soccer team there.And so I think, I think
we're seeing growth in those realms allacross the country. And I think as
much as NIL grows and as muchas the interests in the college games grow,
you start to see, you know, these athletes that are representing schools
that people love in so many differentways, carry their careers forward and maybe

(05:30):
do it in more of a fouryear sense as opposed to a one and
done sense, and I think thatwill create some more momentum, continue to
create more momentum and women's sports.And we see at the u of A
as well, what more momentum fromyou? And you're out the door there
right, just kidding and of courseyour guests for those who don't know,
Steve is very anti momentum in sports. But this is more of a trend

(05:54):
talk. You know it is andthen that is it and it's trending up.
Obviously in a huge situation for kiddoncar gonna ask here about that because
at no point in my life,probably no question in yours, that has
has have the women dominated the headlineslike they are doing now, outside of
maybe the USA soccer team a fewyears back when they were doing so well,

(06:14):
right and taking out their uniforms andall that stuff, you know,
kind of the highlight of the teamsback to back World Cups for them,
and I mean they're just they werea dominant team, and I think that
really rallied the country around soccer likeit maybe hasn't been. I think with
the generation younger than me, Iconsider myself a back end millennial, but
with the generation younger than me,I think a lot of them have gravitated
towards soccer in the international sense.And you know, the US men are

(06:38):
getting better, but they they're nevergoing to be a perennial, you know,
World Cup final contender, I don'tthink in my lifetime. But you
know, the women have set thestage and set the standard I think for
international soccer for a long time.And I think that was maybe a spur
of momentum in and of itself,because people love rallying around teams, and
I think that's a really unifier.They like winning teams and that's what they

(07:00):
were so rocky at the first hour. And then we're going to go to
Tempe and Hoad Rabino from Devil's DigestI wanted to get his take and then
we've had him on a few timesbefore, but wanted to get his taken.
What the people on Tempe think aboutthe new recruits for basketball? Right?
You know? The it was atrickle effect with Lloyd and with Love
coming here, Arizona losing a coupleone going to Tempe and now they have

(07:23):
like two or three pretty good playersup there. I already saw something today
that kind of struck me where they'resaying they're maybe one or two people a
big deal, that the Sun Devilscould be a sleeper for the Big twelve
champion or whatever. Up up,tie because they got a couple of good
players. Shut up, Shut up. Two dudes is not going to move

(07:46):
the needle all that much for ateam that needs to get a lot more
players. Yeah, and that's myhumble opinion. Take it for what it's
worth, and I'll say that twodudes, two young dudes, Good luck
with that. Good luck? Youknow what? And I think I know
there's a there's a very very obviouslyas there should be, you know,
slant toward the U of A downhere in southern Arizona, and U of

(08:09):
A has been the better program.And I think you could say it every
sport too, because you know,the Territorial Cup stays in Tucson this year.
But you know, the ASU hasquite a bit of momentum now that
they finally settled down the athletic directorsearch, killing were mooted from it,
promoted from within. They have positivenews, finally a su they got Edwards

(08:30):
out of the door. They havefinally some recruits coming into Bobby Hurley's program.
Kenny Dillingham is a very likable guy, a good young coach, and
they have better things going their wayin the Big Twelve given. But when
it comes to basketball, I can'tmake even any argument under the sun that
they're going to be a top eightteam in that conference totally degree. There

(08:52):
would have to be a lot ofthings that go well for that to happen,
even top eight, top top halften. Good. Weal with that,
it's not going to be easy.It's a loaded league. Yeah,
we'll see, we'll see what theoptimism is up there. It's shirt.
It's very high, as it shouldbe, but realistically where it fits into
the whole scheme of things right andbasketball, they the Big twelve lost Texas

(09:13):
and Oklahoma, but those were nottwo of the best basketball programs in the
conference. I mean, you've gotKansas, Houston, We've talked about Baylor,
Texas Tech has an incredible home HomecoorState, Iowa State, West Virginia
has an incredible home. So that'salready five or six. That's six six
at Colorado always going to have atough time surviving that place, especially on
the road, tough out where guesswhat they're they're gonna get the kid in

(09:37):
Clark treatment because hey, you're thenew kid in town or in the conference.
We're gonna show you how it workshere and welcome in, well,
come in, come with the water'swarm. Yeah, and and let's see
how this plays out. Those gameswill be so fun to watch. It's
gonna be fantastic because those crowds willbe juiced. You're not you're not going
up to Oregon State or going tocal or Stanford where they're you know,
happy, half half sleep, halfasleep, half arenas Most of the kids

(10:01):
are in the library. You know. No, that's not the case in
Morgantown, West Virginia. That's notthe case in Lubbock, Texas or Lawrence,
Kansas. These are fun home courtarenas and they're gonna be ready for
Arizona, Yeah, to come backinto town, just as Arizona should.
Should have the same type of feelingwith these teams coming in. In fact,
UVA doesn't pay me a cent,but if you don't have tickets to

(10:22):
if you have money to buy ticketsfor basketball, you should get them.
Do it. I'm in that schedulenext year. It's gonna come out probably
in the next month or two.But you will see Duke on the home
schedule. We know that already.You know. We'll talk maybe a bit
a little bit about a potential rebirthof the rivalry with UCLA coming up later
in the show. There's a littleteaser for you. But you know,
you have better teams coming in toMcHale this year in conference, potentially Kansas,

(10:46):
potentially Houston, Baylor. They'll bringall of these teams into McHale because
they want those cash cow basketball games, because that's where the Big twelve makes
up for the gap between the BigTen and SEC and football the Big twelve
makes it up in back skip allbecause it's so much better than those conferences
with the addition to these fourteams.Yeah, and it'll be a lot of
fun to go to those games.In fact, the people who've had tickets

(11:09):
for a long time and haven't reallygot their money's worth over the last five
ten years are going to start toget their money's worth now because of those
big games. Yes, well it'sgoing to be exciting, certainly. Yeah.
The unfortunate thing is I could alreadysee it like I saw against North
Carolina when No North Carolina came intotown. The people had tickets were scouring
those babies for the big, bigprices. And you're talking fifteen sixteen years

(11:31):
ago when Luke played the you know, coach Williamson, he brought him in
and North Carolina kicked the crap outof Arizona. Arizona Blut was on his
final years and and people sold thosetickets because there was worth. They were
worth a lot of money. Ihope that doesn't happen here because you know,
the loyal fans will love the willlove the schedule. Yeah, and

(11:52):
not to put the car ahead ofthe horse. But how do you win
in the Big twelve? You winwith grown men, and Arizona has a
roster roll of grown men right now, up class and guys that have seen
a lot of balls. And we'llfind out how tough they're gonna be,
because we've seen that needs still needto get tougher. The key shot.
You lose an enforcer and Keyshot Johnson, do you bring one in and Trey
Townsend, do you bring a guyin like Tobyo Walka to be that guy?

(12:13):
Can Mo creeve us, you know, extend to that level of what
Whomarbala was from a physicality standpoint.That's part of the fun of the off
season. We'll kind of see thatgrow, right and you've toll these games
out with the guys that are comingback, you know, with Crevis obviously
be one amoment the back court.I think they're gonna be fantastic too.
It's doesn't matter from November to Marchtenth, because after that it's that's what

(12:37):
it counts. And I know they'velooked more toward the transfer portal than maybe
high school recruiting, especially with losinga couple high school recruits, which we
will talk about coming up in theshow. But I think with the guys
that they brought in from the highschool standpoint, Carter Bryant and Emmanuel Steven,
those two guys look the part ofguys that could come in and contribute
it right away. They're gonna havea nice first year because they'll play they'll

(12:58):
play Steven's I'm not too sure,but they will definite play. I mean
that five star with that. Ilove the mix. But we'll see how
Caleb Love adjusts to his new roleif he does have one, or his
adjustment to his new role. Uh, and then Bradley how he fits in
with the ball in his hands mostof the time. Yeah, I want
to bring that up a little bit. You talked about Caleb Love adjusting to

(13:20):
a new role. Could one ofthose roles be a backup point guard to
Jaden Bradley. Yeah, because youdon't see a one behind Jayde and Bradley
on the match, and that's wherethe depth, that's where the concerns are.
Yes, because he'll have to beUh. You don't know how he
adjusts to it, but guess whatat the next level, guess what he'll
have to be that guy he'll betrue combo so you'll have to say,

(13:41):
okay, as the shot not asgood as the pass should be and he'll
have to pass more. And hisassister turnover ratio took a big jump last
year. I think it was thebest year of his career from that in
all aspect. And that's what youwant for that's what you want with a
true combo guard, a true guythat's going to be in the point guard
rotation. Jaden Bradley gets a breather, right. I just my whole thing,

(14:03):
with the whole thing is these twoguys who love the ball in their
hand. How are you going tohow are you going to adjust to that?
There's always only one basket, that'sright, and there's five dudes on
the court, yep, with theother dudes winning the ball too, But
the big things, you still haveto have them motivated to the end result,
which is winning the ball game.It's not about me, it's not
about stats. It's about getting theways. Okay, you millennials, you
got to you gotta figure that out, right, you gotta figure that out.

(14:26):
The W. It's all about theW. Okay, We're going to
take a break, get a reachgoing to try to tracktail Rocky and then
talk about the good old days andmaybe some things that are going on today.
The Window Depot has everything you needto create the kitchen or bathroom of
your dreams. Frowsy aisles of instockcabinets available in a variety of sizes and
configurations, and instantly elevate your space. Today, visit a showroom and let

(14:48):
our experts guide you. Whether you'rechoosing for money to go designs or creating
a custom masterpiece. We can helpyou select the perfect wood type, color
and style and top it off withunique hardware to complete your love. Find
a location near you at the windowdeepot dot com. The Window Depot more
than a windows store. Steve Riverahere to talk about Dorato Rock Materials.
I needed a lot of gravel formy driveway, so I called Eric at

(15:11):
Dorato Rock. He found out theamount and color I needed and boom,
it was taken care of and ata great price. How do I know
radio commercials work? I heard oneof his on the radio. Dorato Rock
Materials provides a wide range of landscapingmaterials, including decative rock, boulders,
gravel, soil and sand for residentialand commercial use in the Tucson area.
They are locally owned and have beenaround for more than fifteen years. Give
them a call at five two zerofour zero zero four two three three.

(15:37):
Where do you buy exercise equipment?Arizona Health Arizona Health Arizona Health. Of
course, to feel better and lookbetter, it makes sense to buy your
fitness equipment from the people who knowit better than anyone else. At Arizona
Health, our goal is to helpyou choose the equipment you need to reach
your goals. Your health and fitnessdeserve the best you deserve. Arizone net

(16:00):
Health the leading edge and exercise equipmenton twenty seconds just west of will Not
We're into twenty twenty four and it'stime to think of recognizing your employees,
salespeople, managers, team members andagents with the Creative Award for the great
job they did in twenty twenty three. Come visit Creative Awards beautiful showroom with
over one thousand items to choose from, located the two to twenty eight West

(16:22):
Drachman Street, or visit their websiteat Creative Awards az dot com. Celebrate
fifty years in business and see allthe creative products they carry from recognition to
promotional products and premium gifts for yourspecial clients. Give creative awards A call
today five two oh eight A twoeighty six seventy seven. At Nova home
Loans, we believe everyone deserves theopportunity to enjoy the independence that comes with

(16:42):
home ownership. Paul Volpi is readyto help you find an option that best
fits your needs. Whether you're afirst time or veteran home buyer or want
to get cash out with the refinance. Nova has a variety of home loan
programs to meet your unique situation.Visit voltpeteam dot com, that's volpe team
dot org or call five to twooh six eight five six two six today

(17:03):
in MLS three oh eight seven Arizonako Ninez two nine four two Equal Housing
Opportunity, How to commitment to lindrixoncredit rates and available loan programs or subject
to change with Unumbice. Did youknow sports cards that memorabilia are setting record
sales last month of nineteen fifty twotops Mickey Mantle SO for twelve point six
million, Lebron James Rookie SO forfive point six Also, collecting cards is
a family fun hobby that can bevery profitable. If you want to start

(17:26):
a collection or expand your collection,check out Showtime Cards. They are one
of the leading card shops in thecountry and have served our local community for
twenty five years. They are locatedon e Speedway. That's show Time Cards.
Ready to save but not sure whereto begin? Take the Pyramid Federal
Credit Union ten thousand dollars saving Challengeand we'll guide you along the way.

(17:51):
Save five hundred dollars over six monthsas a member and you could win big.
Watch your savings grow to help youreach goals like buying a car,
owning a home and more. VisitPyramid FCU dot com Slash ten k challenge
to get started today. That reallyinsured and see you ay. It's that
time of year, Summer in Tucson. Time to take control with Temperature Control

(18:15):
for all your air conditioning needs.We'll keep you cool during all the hot
streaks. All you have to dois stay in control with Temperature Control where
we handle everything you need with promptresponse, affordable pricing, and sound solutions.
We also excel in plumbing and electricalwork. We handle everything you need.
Give us a call at five twooh eight one five five six sixty
five or visit our website at tempdashcon dot com and remember stay in control

(18:40):
with temperature control. Need concrete,hard Works Concrete has it. We have
more than twenty five years of experiencewith all things concrete. Installing sidewalks and
patio floors are our specialty, andhandle masonry work and retaining walls. We're
locally and family owned. Just letus know what you need, how you
want it, and we'll take careof it. Leave the heart hard work

(19:00):
up to us. We're Hardworks Concrete. Call us at five one two nine
six two five six six zero orvisit our website Hardworksconcrete dot com. We'll
put the work in for you.Gut bugs, termites, bees, are
rodents, Arizona Pest Control will huntthem down. Arizona Pest Control is your
complete desert pest management. Specialist testscan't run or hide from Arizona Pest Control.

(19:22):
They use only the latest and mosttechnologically advanced methods of pest elimination available,
which minimizes the effects on the environment. Let Arizona Pest Control get rid
of your bad bugs, termites,bees, or rodents serving Tucson and Southern
Arizona since nineteen forty seven. Goto azypest dot com to schedule your free
evaluation Today streaming live, I'm theiHeartRadio WAPP. This is I on the

(19:48):
Ball with Steve Rivera and Jacin Salezon Fox Sports fourteenth fifty. Hey,
welcome back to I'm the Ball.Heare on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm
Steve Rivera. He's Reynoldson, gotRyan with us and now you have Rocky
the Rose former. You a associateA D. Is that right? Associate

(20:08):
Deputy a D and athletic directors justa short period of time. No,
no, yeah, right right,there's been a few here. Welcome to
the show. We've been wanting tohave you on to kind of go back
in time and reminisce about the PACtwelve. Now, back in the day
Pac ten you played in it.Here was the PAC ten back then?

(20:29):
What was it? Actually? Wewere the Inner Mountain Conference. The women
joined about see the men joined inseventy eight, women joined in eighty six.
Okay that late? Okay? Goddoes it seem forever ago or no?
It just does seem forever ago.Well, it's like all things,
you know, You're like, wheredid the time go? I mean,
in some ways, it seems likeyesterday, right right, you must be

(20:52):
amazed at how things have progressed forwomen, women's athletics and women totally in
this league and in every other league. Oh I can't. I am so
happy and proud what's happening these dayswith women's athletics. I mean, we've
worked hard over the last three yearsto grow women's athletics and then all of
a sudden, it just seems likeit's kick starting and it's taking off,

(21:14):
which is just wonderful. Right right, let's go to today. What's going
on today? Then we can reminisceabout the ten and PAC twelve. Okay,
so you must how are you lookingat the Katelyntle Clark situation. I
kind of don't want to get intothe weeds, but if you can,
she's brought the game to a newlevel, but there seems to be some
hiccups. Well, there's no denyingshe's the star of women's basketball and she

(21:40):
has brought attention directly to the game, and I mean there's just no denying
that, and it's amazing. Allthese years we've said what we need is
a star, what we need iswinning, you know, as much money
and marketing and TV exposure that youcan throw there, you still need that
spark and Kate lends the one thathas brought it right right. You've had

(22:03):
through the years a number of peoplewho have come through in a number of
different sports obviously, but she's kindof been the beacon. Well, it's
kind of like, you know,all the storms came together finally, you
know, we've been building and buildingand building, and then she comes on
the scene. I mean, it'sjust been incredible to watch. It really
has been so one thing. Youplayed sports. You played softball, very

(22:26):
good at it. You played alot of different sports probably, but I'm
sure you were a tough competitor.How would you describe yourself? And today
everyone's talking about competing and being toughand being rugged. I'm sure it hasn't
changed forty years later now, ithasn't. We were just as competitive back
then. I was so fortunate tobe on a national champions national champion team

(22:49):
for a fast pitch tria A softballand then later played for the USA in
the World Cup in Tokyo, Japan, So we were just as competitive.
I will say this, I thinkthe difference is in softball. You know,
we were pretty strong one through six, but now they're strong one through
nine. I mean, you know, the women, the depth of all

(23:11):
the teams and the athleticism is somuch better that there's no doubt about that.
But competitive, we were just ascompetitive. Yeah, well, said
Rocky matt here trying to connect it, you know, throughout the history of
women's athletics, especially you know,bringing it into a focus at the u
of a from your standpoint and seeingit kind of from the external view.

(23:33):
This year it was we celebrated fiftyyears of Arizona softball, and that got
a chance for the current team toconnect with all five decades of the Wildcat
softball program, which is obviously oneof the most accomplished in any level of
college athletics, in any sport,but certainly means a lot to the community
here in Tucson. How did yousee that and how do you think that

(23:55):
the players on this current team wereable to connect and make it mean something
more than just oh, this isa celebration before a few games. Well,
that was a wonderful celebration. Ittruly was seeing everybody back and down
on the field and then yes,seeing the connection between our alums and the
current student athletes, you could tellthey were truly in awe, especially prior

(24:18):
to the game when we had achance to talk to some of them,
and then after the game. Yeah, it was really it was heartwarming.
And then you know, especially tohear some of the current players that said
they looked up to, you know, some of the former players that played
on national championship teams and that theywere their mentor and now they finally got
to meet them. That was reallyspecial. Back in ninety one, I

(24:41):
was there with Kendrea at Oklahoma City, I think it was ninety won maybe
ninety two when he won his firsttitle. You were what was what was
your capacity? I think you mayhave been an assistant to said at the
time. How was that did comingof age? That's right, Yeah,
I was. As I said,Dempsey was our director of athletics. One
was our first championship. All Iremember from that was I didn't ride with

(25:04):
the team to the stadium, andsince we won, I could never ride
with the stadium from then on.So superstitious. So ninety two, I
don't know. They wanted back inninety two too, So you didn't take
that you didn't take that trip either. Well, yeah, that became our
our second summer home, I guess, so to speak. I mean you'd

(25:26):
be there for like two weeks andtry to avoid the tornadoes and the whatever.
How many you know, you're right, because I remember there were tornado
warnings that that that two year,those two years, how many times in
rain delay or we'd be playing atmidnight? And I'm glad they've kind of
switched up some of that now anddon't allow that to happen anymore. But
right, well, yeah, wehad some late nights in that stadium for

(25:48):
you. For you though, becauseyou played the game and you played it
here, it must have been Idon't know, did you party cry or
get emotional? Because throughout the careerof Kensrea, it was like, we're
going back to Oklahoma. We're goingback to Lahoma. We have a chance
to win it all. Yeah,you just sort of planned on it,
you know, ut least on goingto the College World Series. We never
planned on winning because you know,you had to focus on that part.

(26:11):
But oh, it was just tremendous. But the nerves, you know,
would get so much to me.I would end up I just couldn't sit
in the stand, So I wouldeither be on the sidelines or somewhere somewhere
in the outfield because it just gotIt would be so intense sometimes and then
so exciting when it happened, Andof course I'd have to whip out my
camera at the end, you know, and try to catch those special celebration

(26:34):
moments. Yeah, Rocky. Beforewe circle back on the PAC twelve,
one more thing about Arizona softball.The two teams playing for the national championship
tomorrow through Friday will be Texas andOklahoma, two teams in the Big Twelve.
They're obviously moving to the SEC,but now Arizona has a chance to
come in and be one of theflag carriers for the Big Twelve in now

(26:56):
a new era of softball for theconference. Obviously the PAC twelve was so
success, but what kind of opportunityawaits the Wildcats in this new league.
Well, that's an interesting question becauseyou know, we've always considered the Pac
twelve to be a strong softball Imean conference, right, maybe the best
with when you put together UCLA andArizona's victories over the years, I don't

(27:19):
know, I don't think there aretwo teams that would equal up to those
national championship titles. So so Idon't know, I think, well,
it's a great opportunity moving into theBig twelve and show what we can do.
You know, Texas and Oklahoma's incrediblehow their programs have grown over the
years. You know, they've puta lot of money into it, a
beautiful stadiums, so it'll be interesting. I just think it's kind of a

(27:44):
new challenge. So maybe it's takea deep breath and you know, get
at it and see what we cando. So being an administrator for all
these years too, outside of softball, you've got a couple of championships,
well a lot of them in swimmingobviously, golf and baseball. So what
were some of your prouder moments tokind of be at and witness. Well,

(28:07):
it's always the first, I haveto tell you, the first time
you win national championship, it justfeels like nothing else. I mean,
it's so exciting. So i'd haveto say the first, you know,
I remember winning men's golf when wewere in Albuquerque. I also remember the
last I remember, you know,being at the College World Series when Andy
Lopez's team won in twenty twelve.So gosh, they're all so exciting,

(28:33):
you know, being with the women'sgolf, just seeing those athletes when they've
worked so hard and the coaches andeverything they've put into it to all come
together. Those are just incredible,incredible moments. But you know what,
I also remember, I also rememberwinning our first Pack ten or PAC twelve
championships, because those were major steps, you know, the pack man,
that Pack ten the PAC twelve wasone tough conference, and so to win

(28:57):
a conference championship and then to lookback and know that we've won what sixty
seventy of them over the you know, over the years, amazing what kind
of a run we had in thepack Rockey. The EU of A has
a very long and good history ofstrong women's administrators within the athletic department,
between yourself and now in current dayat Erica Barnes as well. But Desiree

(29:21):
Reed Francois is the first female athleticdirector in the University of Arizona's history.
How much does that take athletics toanother realm and just open doors for female
administrators really around the country and theregion, but especially at the u A.
Well you just said it. Itopens the doors I mean to actually
see that and have someone as successfulas Desiree and what she's done in her

(29:45):
career and what she's accomplished so farto this point, it just absolutely opens
doors. But we had to takeall those small steps along the way.
You know, I was proud tobe the first woman in the country to
oversee football men's basketball day to dayoperations thanks to said Dempsey who put me
in that position in the early nineties. And then you know, once some

(30:06):
of those little uh, positions andchallenges started to fall for the women.
Uh, it's been great to seeit grow and to finally, you know,
come to a head and see notonly does Arae but some other women.
You know, Jennifer jan over atUSC and uh, you know,
Barbara Hedges was the first A Dand packed twelve. I believe what she

(30:27):
had been packed ten when she becamethe A D at Washington. Uh.
You know, slow, slow growth, but you see the win changing.
Were you the administrator in charge ofbasketball when they won in ninety seven?
Sure so, cheer what so thenagain, let's go back there because you
know, who would have thought,who would have thought? Realistically? Uh,

(30:48):
Arizona wins the title they're a fourseed. Uh, not having a
great season in the Pac twelve,but you know packed ten at the time.
Uh. And then here they areplaying the title game with Kentucky.
Yeah, had beating the number oneseeds all the way up. How about
that? Yeah, I'll tell youwhat though. You know, I love
photography, and my nightmare was missinga shot with Now I'm drawing a blank

(31:15):
to coach at Kentucky, Patino Patino, So I, you know, ran
down on the court, we're celebrating, I'm taking photos, and then afterwards
I come back down into the hallwayand he's walking towards me and his head
is bowed and I just couldn't liftmy camera. And I'm too sick to
the day that I didn't get that. Photos are respect, the respect for

(31:36):
him or because Yeah, I thinkso. I think it is because I
know how coaches feel when you knowthey work so hard and it doesn't come
to fruition, and you know theyget that close and they don't win.
But it's just one of those photosI can see in my mind that I
wish I had captured self estential,Where do you where do you keep these
photos? Do you have them?Oh? I've donated them all back to

(31:57):
the UFA and this time went Iyou know, gave them all my negatives
and stuff. So yeah, youknow, some memories like after that,
we got invited to the White Housefor Yes, yeah, President Clinton and
I went there and they only allowedthe official White House photographer and myself to
take images. So that was prettyspecial, was Matt and having the team

(32:21):
have a private meeting with the president. That was that was pretty spectaculars So
because I have the photo and it'sone in your champions think with when Loot's
at the podium and and Clinton's tothe side and Gors to the back right
next to him, and and Lootlooks actually more presidential. You could tell
everybody when the President Clinton and andLout walked into the East room, Oh

(32:45):
my gosh, all eyes were onLoot. It was it was it was
a magical moment. Was that yourphoto or the press the the But I
think that's my photo, Yeah,that's my photo. The the official White
House photos were the ones that werekind of stage with the people looking forward,
you know, I did not knowthat all up on the bleachers,

(33:07):
and I think the one when Milespresented the Jersey to uh to President Clinton.
Those were the official White House.I mean I got them too,
but I think we in that presentationin the Hall of Champions, I think
those are the official White House.That was a lot of fun. That
was a lot on because I thinkSantra dal O'Connor took took the us.

(33:28):
Yeah, so all the rest ofthe photos are mine up in that display.
But yeah, we met the Wetook the team to meet Sandradale O'Connor.
We also, yeah, we uhCongressman Colby took us around. This
is the women's softball team too.You know. We later went to the
White House and met George Bush withthe softball team twice actually, and uh,

(33:50):
Congressman Colby toured the teams. Weyou know, put them on a
bus. We went around to everything, to the Jefferson, the Lincoln Memorial.
Uh actually got to get right downon the Senate floor, and so
it was. It was quite aneducational trip along with just a celebration for
nice Rocky. Real quickly, beforewe wrap up here, I just wanted
to ask you with the Obviously,the TV contracts were a big reason that

(34:13):
the PAC twelve dissolved. But nowthat We're entering this new era of really
college athletics finances when it comes toTV contracts and il everything like that,
and the popularity of women's sports isgrowing with it. How much of responsibility
do these conferences themselves, who ownthe TV contracts now have to continue to
prop up women's sports and continue thisa word Steve hates, but I love

(34:35):
momentum moving forward. Oh wow,that's just a huge question. And you
know, time will tell what's goingto happen down the road. I mean,
yeah, they have an obligation,you know, federally through Title nine
first of all, so but justmorally also right, And it's not just
the women's sports, it's the Olympicsports. It's our men's non revenue sports
that I worry about even more thanthe women's. At this point, more

(35:00):
and more money gets fed in andfootball more and more. The talk of
football peeling off into their own powerconference, which, to be honest with
you, I am for that,and I can get into that with you
if we have time. But I'mfor that. And then let the Olympic
sports have their own separate regional conferences. I think I really believe that's the
direction we should go in and theylikely could go into that one last question.

(35:22):
So you must be very pleased thatyou're taking photos all over the world
and the wilderness great photos. Infact, if you ever need to see
her stuff, she's got the displayed. But very very pleased that you're no
longer an ad given the NIL andthe craziness that we're going to start to
have to go through. Oh mygosh. I just said that the other

(35:45):
day. I said, you know, because when I was acting AD at
the university for several months and Ireally contemplated going for it, and I
thought, no, no, Andnow when I think back, I think,
oh my gosh, it was aheck of a lot easier back then
and it is now now it's justa nightmare. So all my kudos to
Desiree and all the ads out therebecause they have one tough job, and

(36:08):
not just them, the coaches.I don't know how the coaches are going
to deal with this, honestly,you know, with NIL and transfer portal
and you know, and now we'regoing to pay athletes if this house settlement
goes through, which I think isgreat, but it's just how are we
going to do that? I mean, I just don't know where the money
is going to come from. Unbelievable. That's the that's the stickler, because

(36:30):
twenty million from schools that don't havethe money, right, but don't have
the money that are already in debt. Yes, yes, now where is
that going to come from? Andsometime we're going to have donor fatigue and
they're giving to the nil And thennow the talk is we'll bring the nils
within the department, so they'll haveto manage that, which means you hire
have to hire more people. Ohmy goodness. I honestly don't know how

(36:52):
we can survive. And in someways I hope it kind of all falls
apart and we still start over again. That's that's a good talk Ageally think
it through, you know, alittle bit, good possibility. I I
have, things have been coming atus so fast that it's just it's been
hard for them to really, youknow, contemplate, right how we really
should move forward? Right right?Well, Rocky, thanks again for joining

(37:14):
me. Thank you appreciate it,thank you. Yeah, be well,
thank you see you soon. RockyLoose, former u of a administrator for
a long time, a former athleteas well. I'll just take a break,
we're way over and then we'll comeback and kind of digest some of
it. If you're airs on aman's basketball fan, you know it's been
successful for nearly forty years. Nowtake a look back at the Ludolsen era.

(37:35):
In my new book, Lessons fromLoot, it was a labor of
love through the eyes of twenty fiveformer players, coaches and friends to give
insight to the coach and the manwho led them, competed against them,
and inspired them. Twenty five chaptersfor his twenty five years as Arizona's beloved
coach. Lessons from Lut is aninsight to how he built the program into
a national powerhouse. Want one Emailme at Steve dot RIVERA ninety five at

(37:58):
gmail dot com. Hi, thisis formal while get leman huntly with Arizona
Health. Imagine how home GM canchange your health, your comfort, and
your time. Arizona Health is everythingyou need to transform your personal space and
your life. We off a completeline of cardio machines, multi gms and
freeway equipment. I'll certify fitness expertsand technicians will set you up with the

(38:20):
right equipment and training to get youstarted to keep you going. Visit our
share room today at twenty second inWilmot, Arizona Health the lead edge and
exercise equipment. What's your goal anew career or career advancement? How about
transferring to a four year college.PEMA Community College can help you make Someday
today and reach your goals affordably onyour schedule. With over one hundred programs

(38:43):
to choose from in financial laid available, It's time to earn the degree or
certificate you need to prepare for thecareer you want. PEMA offers free career
exploration classes so you can choose thefield that's right for you. Learn how
at PEMA dot edu, slash somedayeat compare working a state up differ.
Are is it hot in here oris it just me? Honey? I

(39:06):
always think you're hot, but it'sJune and we all know it's gonna get
hot in Tucson. It doesn't haveto be hot in our house, Honey.
You should call Picture Rocks Cooling,eating them Plumbing. They have the
solutions for us for all your aircondition needs all today by few zero four
nine two zero seven four eight orvisit us at Picture Rockscooling dot com chic
Sure Rocks doing cheating and plumbing.This is I on the Ball with Steve

(39:31):
Rivera and Jay Gonzalez Sound Fox Sportsfourteen fifteen. Subscribe now to the podcast
on the iHeartRadio app Just Surgeon Ion the Ball. Hey, welcome back
to our on the Ball here FoxWorts fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera.
He is mister Matt Reynoldson's got Ryanwith us. We got twelve minutes.
We went overboard, a little lushed, lush, the show lust of segment.

(39:54):
I have a question for you Ryan. I'm not Ryan, I'm that
both of you guys. Well,Ken, you guys have money in your
pockets. You gears are loyal tothe UBA for years. You've been giving
money. Does a booster? Nowyou see that the school's going to have
to pay them twenty million to variousathletes throughout the whole school. Do you
still dig deep? That's the question? Right it? Does donor fatigue come

(40:16):
into play when it comes to athletesbeing considered workers instead of students, or
instead of scholarship athletes, or insteadof what the traditional definition of amateurism within
the NCAA is, Because as youmentioned, this pool of money. Now
under this new agreement with the NCUBLEAthat came down from a legal decision in

(40:38):
New York just this last week,actually, it creates about a twenty two
million dollar pool for schools to bothrevenue share and pay their athletes on a
yearly basis. And now, doesthat only go towards the revenue generating sports,
because at most schools, the onlyrevenue generating sports are football, best

(41:00):
men's basketball. Women's basketball at alot of schools makes a profit margin,
but not a very big one ata very few schools. Volleyball makes a
profit margin at almost no schools.Baseball and softball make any profit margin.
In fact, they are one ofthe most in the red because of the
travel schedule, because of the weekendson the road, and because of the
equipment costs that come with baseball andsoftball. So, I mean, when

(41:22):
you look at the entire pie,and not just the football part of it,
and not just the media rights dealsand revenue sharing, it's a very
complicated discussion. So Stephanie who's onthe swim team, Margaret who's on the
softball team, are saying, Hey, I work as hard as a football
players. I work as hard asa basketball players, right, what about

(41:42):
me? And I think a lotof schools have good things in place already
preparing for this, bracing for thisto where they do give all of their
athletes a cost of attendance stipend,which does get the base side out.
It depends on the school and itdepends on the agreement with that that some
schools actually have worked that into anyou know, I'm from Nebraska, I
grew up in Lincoln. I wentto the University of Nebraska. And what

(42:04):
the football roster, what the footballteam does with nil there is they give
everybody on their roster a baseline nilthat has you know, a certain amount
of the contribution from the collective,every single person from the very last walk
on on the roster to the startingquarterback who's you know, making a lot
of money. It's the same baseline. And then every and then people get
different things based on their individual endorsements, but also their you know, their

(42:29):
money from the collectives and how muchthey're getting paid. And that'll continue with
the extra twenty two million. That'sthe question, right, Doude. Does
the do the boosters and do thecollectives continue to give the same amount and
continue to give at the same levelwhen the schools are paying these athletes.
Because the way this structure is setup, with the twenty two million that
will be shared among all the athleteson campus, or that's supposed to be

(42:52):
shared and among all the athletes oncampus and not just the football players,
is that will be the contribution.But the collectives will also continue to exist
outside of the university's realm because theuniversity's technically I put a very big emphasis
on technically here because it's a verygray area. But the university is technically,

(43:15):
in a legal sense and an attacksense, have no control over the
collectives. So the collectives will stillcontinue to exist outside of this university revenue
sharing. And see if you mentionedit at the top of this block,
how much does that just donor fatiguekind of whittle that away from the collectives.
Sure, and a lot of thedonors are doing it because they love
the school, they love the purposeof the school, and they have some

(43:37):
loyalty to it and they want tosee the kids succeed and have some money.
But now that it's been taken careof somewhere else, well, I
know what I would do. Idefinitely know what I would do. Good
luck, and I'm going to becheering for you. But Steve, but
you have a very good mindset aboutthe donors. The donor's mindset being altruistic,

(44:00):
wanting to help the athletes, everythinglike that. But what's the other
factor on the other side of this. Donors and alums that are very involved
with these programs are fiercely competitive.Sure, so they pay to beat the
other school. So if it's Arizonaversus ASU, donor in Tucson wants to
spend more than donor in Tempe,sure, sure depends. Okay, no

(44:22):
question, I don't disagree with you. But let's assume for a second that
you're not competing as much as youshould basketball. Right, I pay for
this, right, and I gotthis, And then it starts to be
diminishing returns. Are these athletes notliving up to the money that I'm paying
And we're starting to see that alittle bit too. But sure, that's
been kind of prevalent through the adventat social media too, with people having

(44:45):
unparalleled access to athletes and saying,well, I pay the university this much,
I pay for my seats and you'renot performing. We want this coach
fire. We want this player toplay better. And you see and you
see people jumping ship from their ticketsexactly and not returning. But that's on
them. You know, football willsee because to go to a new conference
a lot of people. You knowthat, you know you were here long

(45:07):
enough to see the football program wherewhere there's a lot of apathy here,
but it's gaining more interest because they'rewinning or gonna win. Maybe here is
a fickle town. I've written thestory a thousand times for the paper.
It's a fick ole place, andit's a walk up place. And if
you're good, they'll come. Ifyou're not so good, I'll watch all
right, and they'll prove it tome. But if they prove it again,

(45:29):
I mean, we saw it inthat four game winning straight over ranked
opponents at the end of twenty twentythree and that seven game win straight to
the end of the season. Peoplecare. Then how did you say,
if they win again? If theywin again, and what's that key word?
There are no guarantees. If theydon't win, you're back to where
you were before. So, ofcourse, in two sons specifically, and
I'm sure every college town, winningsolves a lot of problems or issues,

(45:52):
and one of them is ticket sales. But it'll never be a ghost town
inside Arizona Stadium, even if evenin the tough times, what would you
be considering a ghost less than tenthousand. Oh yeah, no, it'll
never It'll never be that because Imean we've seen universities even on the West
coast here. Yeah, you know, Stanford and UCLA are jokes a lot
of times, no tendence. Ithink though, that the Mendoza line here

(46:14):
would be about forty thousand, thirtyeight thousand. Yeah, that's typically if
you know, a non non goodteam it comes into town. But if
they're winning, yeah we'll show up. Yeah, you go, and it's
something to do, and it's somethinggreat and you want to support your team.
But at the same time, therewill never be a there will never
be just a complete brush it offto the side where nobody's showing up.

(46:35):
No, I mean even someone era, people showed up. People showed up
and then they had the COVID yearand yeah yeah, So no, I
don't disagree with you with that becausethat's that's not gonna happen, right,
So we'll see. Good luck withthe boosters. I mean, you have
the money, that's your money,spending spending how you want to? Right,
how are you spending how you're spendingyour money? You're still giving the
if the if you know your athletesare getting paid, I'm definitely spending it.

(46:55):
There you go, see you're gonnagive it to them? Oh yeah,
yeah, really yeah, definitely theydeserve it. I think, you
know, I think he speaks fora lot more people than we probably think,
because you know, Steve, youmake the probably a really good hard
line argument of a hardline stance ofOkay, if they are getting their money
somewhere else, why do I haveany motivation to pay them or go overboard?

(47:17):
But you know, I talked aboutthe competitive nature of it, and
when you see somebody across the roadthrowing money at this, even when there's
already money there at the pot,so you're gonna throw money at your pot,
and it's it turns into like justa I guess the question is how
important is it to you and Ryan? I guess it's important to you to

(47:37):
see that a U of A doesbetter than ASU, that does better than
Stanford, that is better than whomembersin the league, the better than Kansas.
Well, yeah, absolutely. Imean, you want to see your
hometown team do good, do betterthan their their rivals, especially like ASU.
And I'm not too sure the moneyis the motivator though. To me,
it's not are you playing for themoney? Are you playing for the

(48:00):
pride of the U of A WellAnd I think there's a deeper level to
this discussion too, when it comesto the layers of collectives and the layers
of nil because it's not just hey, you're paying for Caleb Love to come
back to school. It's Ada Barnessaying that, hey, we need NIL
money to be competitive with the women'sbasketball program. Yeah. Kaitlin Lowe is

(48:22):
saying, you know, we havegreat fans support, but these softball players
need to have NL opportunities to sure, you know, Chip Hale baseball.
These baseball players need to have NLopportunities. Football saying, okay, we
need a little bit better defenders.It's not just no Fafiita and Tetero McMillan.
How many we need more guys,five hundred and fifty student athletes,
five hundred and five hundred and fiftymouths to feed, right, to make

(48:45):
everybody happy, and sometimes you're notmaking them happy, even if they're getting
paid fairly. Well, Steve Iviakind of pie into five hundred and fifty
pieces because I never have no no. But let me tell you, I've
had two kids. I've had twokids, and I don't envy people with
ten kids. And Christmas comes andyou know junior junior, junior, junior,
George Foreman, junior jun Sorry,kids, guess what Christmas is gonna

(49:08):
be a little tight this year.We're gonna get what we get and you
better like it because or there's notrip to Disneyland. By the way,
when does the well run dry withall of this? And that's the thing
I think she I think Rocky kindof brought that up. It's gonna maybe
eventually crash and then you'll have tokind of pick up the humpty dumpty pieces
and put them back together afresh.It's so easy to look at the finances

(49:30):
and say this will always be finebecause the TV contracts are fine, because
the these we have these multi billiondollar deals coming in from the television networks.
But then we on the other sideof that coin, we fail to
realize the kind of uncertain direction ofthe broadcast medium, and how do these
contracts come about when the TV networksthemselves are currently wrestling within a battle of

(49:55):
how do we balance linear and streamingand how do we get this transition and
going, and how do we continueto monetize things that people are trying to
find for free and then at somepoint maybe the money crashes from the TV
contracts. So let me ask you, did you go to the baseball games?
Okay, so you saw it inperson. I know that you were
on ESPN Plus here. I didnot watch the game on Friday or Saturday.

(50:20):
I just didn't things to do.But people were bitching about ESPN Plus.
We'll have the best teams here andthen the ESPN Plus. That's just
the way it is, right Andif you don't see him, you don't
see them right, right, Andthat goes to your kind of your linear
digital blah blah blah. And eventuallyit's all going to go to that.
Eventually it's all going to go toespecially in college baseball and college softball,
because that's just the easiest platform forESPN to put it all out there and

(50:45):
not try and sandwich this on ESPNUor sandwich this on ESPN News. It's
different than when we had maybe acable boon back in the late two thousands
or even early twenty tens. It'sgone a lot to ESPN Plus. And
you know that's how I watched Saturday'sgame. I wasn't going out there one
hundred and five your heat to watchArizona and Dallas Baptist in an elimination game.
And Arizona certainly made my decision worthwhilewith the way they played on Saturday.

(51:07):
Sure, sure so, But soyou didn't go there physically and on
Sataturday? Right, And I'm surea lot of people didn't, right,
because they're already disappointed for the nightbefore. Yeah, plus, I mean
that afternoon versus the six GM sure, first past yeah two Sona's no know
what it is if one o'clock inthe afternoon, Okay, no, no
good. Let's we're gonna go toRyan here after the break for breaking news.

(51:29):
There's a lot of things going on, I think, right, you
have a few things, at least, there's a lot of a lot of
big news, big news, Okay, And uh, then we have at
four fifteen for seventeen, we haveHod Rubino from Tempe to talk about Ashue
stuff, the kind of related toArizona basketball. Everything is sort of in
lockstep a little bit when it comesto Arizona and as they're going to this

(51:50):
new conference together and do you followdo you follow the I'm sure you do.
We got to go. But justthe Internet, the rivalry and the
hatred and the you suck. Wesaw tah blah blah blah and uh and
now it's the basketball. But nowit's like it's got a little bit crazier.
You know, it just has tobecome crazier. Let's take a radio
and I don't even know what wordsto use it without cussing, So let's

(52:13):
go the break