Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, Noah Fifita honored at Arizona Bowl luncheon

Arizona men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd received the Dick Tomey Arizona Strong Award, and Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita received the Volpe Tucson Strong Award at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa in front of 800 attendees.

The Dick Tomey Strong Award is presented to an individual who has a significant impact on the Southern Arizona community. 

Previous winners include Rob Gronkowski, Tedy Bruschi, Terry Francona and Frank Busch, who died earlier this week. The luncheon honored Busch with a moment of silence before kicking off the event. 

At “The Tonight Show”-themed panel, Lloyd and Fifita were joined on-stage by host and Arizona Bowl executive director Kym Adair, as they discussed the importance of community.

As Lloyd reflected on his time in Tucson, he recalled when he moved into his home during the middle of summer and having one of his movers come up to him with a shoe. The shoe was signed by former Arizona coaches Lute Olson and Sean Miller and the mover wanted Lloyd to add his signature to it, too.

“I don't know if the guy went to the U of A, but he also had a massive block ‘A’ tattoo on his forearm, and I was like, ‘This place is a little bit different,’ ” Lloyd told the crowd. “You don't have to be rich to be a fan. You don't have to be an alum to be a fan. It's about community, and to me, that really has resonated with me to this day. That what we do in athletics is way more important than just alumni and boosters. It's definitely something that permeates all the way through our community.”

Fifita received the Volpe Tucson Strong Award for his dedication to making Tucson and its community a better place through his First Down Faith Foundation.

Previous winners of the award include Edmund Marquez, the president of the Tucson Sugar Skulls and the Flores family, owners of El Charro.

Fifita also reflected on his time in Tucson and remembered being told that the city was a small college town.

“So, when I got here, I was kind of shocked at how big it actually was,” he said. “But for me, it was surprising, and what intrigues me the most is the community and the people. And that's something that I've seen even during my recruiting process. My mom, she was super big on Twitter that she would try to recruit some of my boys on Twitter, and the Tucson community embraced her and called her the ‘recruiter of the year’ for recruiting. So you go back and five years later and just being in this room is amazing. There's the people in this town, the people in this city, that have embraced me, embraced my family, and that continue to show up for our sports teams. That's what makes them so special.”

After a brief chat with the Arizona sports figures, the two participated in a round of “Password,” with special guests Arizona football head coach Brent Brennan and Arizona men’s basketball guard Caleb Holt joining Lloyd and Fifita on stage. Fifita and Brennan took home the “Password” win.

In true football fashion, the event wrapped up with Brennan hyping up the crowd ahead of Saturday’s Arizona-Cincinnati game.

The Arizona Bowl kicks off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027, at Arizona Stadium.