Iowa - Arizona in Pictures

A little late in getting photos up from the weekend in Tucson. It was definitely a dry heat, but with a breeze on game night, the climate was very pleasant while in Arizona.

The J.W. Marriott in Tucson was the home for the Hawkeyes while in Tucson. A decent drive from Tucson, but a quiet place to get away from the buzz of the college town.

Cacti all over the grounds of the hotel

A name familiar to many Iowa fans. Former Iowa and Arizona basketball coach, Lute Olsen and his late wife have the court at the McKale Center named for them.

The McKale Center is home to Arizona basketball and volleyball. Located adjacent to Arizona Stadium, the Hawkeye basketball team of the '86 - '87 enjoyed success by beating Santa Clara and Texas El-Paso here in the NCAA Basketball Tournament First and Second Round.

The "Zona Zoo" is the official name of the Arizona Student Section. Students line up for general admission seating at this gate off the NE corner of the stadium

The origin of the term, "Bear Down." John Salmon, who was critically injured in an auto accident, proclaimed to his fellow student-athletes from his hospital bed to "Bear Down."

Sun setting on Arizona Stadium.

It was a "Red Out" for the Iowa game. All Arizona fans were encouraged to wear their Arizona red.

But the Hawkeye fans were prominent. At least 10,000 Hawkeye fans stood out in their gold shirts.

Arizona head coach, Mike Stoops prior to the kick off with Iowa. Stoops was one of three brothers who played at Iowa. Bobby is the head coach at Oklahoma while younger brother Mark is the defensive coordinator at Florida State.

Sun sets on the Tucson downtown district.

Joined by my colleague at the University of Arizona, Tim Cummins.

Destination Tucson

The first road trip is upon the Iowa Hawkeyes, and it is one of the longest regular season trips this team has taken for a while. Saturday night at 9:30 the Hawkeyes will take on the Arizona Wildcats.

Packed within are the different shirts and hats that may be needed for availability as well as equipment needed by the Hawkeye training, managerial and video staffs.

Drivers Jeff and Billy closed the doors on the attractive semi just before 1pm and headed down the road for Arizona. They plan on pulling into town sometime Thursday evening. On Friday morning they will drop off the hotel required at the team's hotel then meet the team at the airport to pick up extra items that were needed to be flown down on the same flight as the Hawkeyes.

Game time is 9:30pm (Iowa time) and can be seen on ESPN. This is the only match-up of the day between two teams voted in the top 25, and one of three on the slate facing teams from the Big Ten and Pac 10.