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Former Arizona head football coach Dick Tomey has passed away at the age of 80, according to multiple reports.
KOLD.com reported the news on Saturday morning that Tomey died on Friday night. According to the report, Tomey was battling lung cancer.
Tomey served as the head coach at three programs during his career; Hawai’i, Arizona and San Jose State. He’s most remembered for his time at Arizona, where he coached from 1987-2000. In 14 years with the Wildcats, he compiled a 95-64-4 record and guided his teams to seven bowl appearances.
Arizona’s best season under Tomey came in 1998 when the team finished 12-1 and earned a trip to the Holiday Bowl. The Wildcats finished that year ranked No. 4 in the nation.
Tomey also had great success in 1993, finishing the year 10-2 and tying for first in the Pac-12. The Wildcats appeared in the Fiesta Bowl that season and ranked 10th in the Associated Press poll.
In 14 years at Arizona, Tomey’s teams had just three losing records. His 95 wins are the most in program history.
Overall, Tomey coached for 29 years and compiled a 183-145-7 record.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB