Brent Brennan reveals why he chose to move visiting bench in front of Arizona student section

In late February, Arizona Athletics announced some stadium changes taking place for the 2026 season. One of those changes is moving the visiting team’s bench in front of the Arizona student section.

What most people don’t know is that the move was all coach Brent Brennan’s idea.

Brennan told reporters on Monday that he first came up with the idea two years ago when he was standing on the sidelines of an away game with University of Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois.

The two were talking on the sideline as Arizona got set to play Kansas State, and Arizona’s bench was right in front of the Kansas State student section.

“Her and I were talking about the old Pac-12 rule where you couldn’t put the student section on the visiting team’s sideline, but in the Big 12, that’s not a rule,” Brennan said. “So, right behind me, the students were all over me.

“They found really creative things to say about my mom, my sister, everything and they were relentless. This was pre-game, we hadn’t even played yet.”

That’s when Brennan and Reed-Francois began the conversation about moving the visiting team’s bench at Arizona home games right in front of the ‘Zona Zoo.

“The ‘Zona Zoo is one of the best parts about coming to gameday here. They’re just rowdy, they’re having a great time, add incredible energy to the environment,” Brennan said. “So I was like, ‘Maybe we can turn some of that on the opponent. That would be fun.'”

Now, in addition to a new sound system, new video boards and upgraded lighting for night games, opponents will have to deal with their bench being directly in front of the ‘Zona Zoo at Casino Del Sol Stadium.

“I think everything that they’re trying to do is like, how do we make this a better gameday for our fans and for our teams that have to compete in Casino Del Sol Stadium,” Brennan said. “So, I think it’s going to be awesome.”

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