Michael Bibe

Two weeks before homecoming, Brent Brennan bought 1,000 tickets to the game and gave them away to kids. Then Arizona won 39 to 3. Then on his way home, he walked into a bar near campus and paid for a round of tequila for about 300 fans. Here is the whole thing. Brennan is the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats. After his first season, nobody was sure he would still be here. His first season went 4 and 8. It ended with a lopsided loss to Arizona State. There were real questions about whether he would get a second year. He got one. This season Arizona is 6 and 1, has won five straight, and just clinched bowl eligibility. Second year in a row, which Arizona had not done in about a decade. So when homecoming week came around, he did something. He bought 1,000 tickets to the game against the Iowa State Cyclones. They went to the Boys and Girls Club, the Ronald McDonald House, Kids of Steel, local youth football teams, and girls flag football teams. He said he wanted to make the game available to as many people as he could, and that those groups mattered to him personally. On Saturday, those kids got to watch Arizona take Iowa State apart. Noah Fifita threw for 308 yards. The second play of the game was a 71 yard touchdown. Iowa State ran for less than two yards a carry. Arizona 39, Iowa State 3. Then came the part that got out. On his way home Saturday night, Brennan stopped at Dirtbag's, a bar near campus packed with fans and alumni in town for homecoming. He bought the room a round. About 300 tequilas. A tab of around $2,000. He paid it and left. On Monday someone asked him about it at his press conference. He seemed surprised it came up at all. "I did. I did. I bought a quick round and then I left." Then he explained why. "I think it's important that if you want people to show up for you you've got to show up for them." "I was there for five minutes and it was an expensive five minutes, but it was a good five minutes." Here is the honest part. Not everybody loves seeing a college coach buy a bar full of tequila, and a round of drinks is not charity. But it was not the first thing he bought for the people in that town that month. The first thing was a thousand seats for kids. There is one more reason Tucson matters to him. Back in 2000 he was a graduate assistant here, on Dick Tomey's staff. His brother played receiver for Tomey at Arizona. He has been showing up for these people for a long time. Hat tip to Justin Spears, @JustinESports, who reported this first. For more stories like this, follow us on any platform @thesportsontap