Until this weekend, Pac-12 breakup had separated Wildcats from Bay Area alums

The Wildcats were playing two games in the Bay Area during the NCAA West Regional, providing a rallying point for Arizona’s Northern California alumni group, just like they did almost annually for decades to play at Stanford and Cal.

The presence of the BayCats and other UA fans — plus the lack of overly competitive Bay Area teams — would often result in roughly half of the most recent crowds at Stanford's Maples Pavilion and Cal's Haas Pavilion rooting for the Wildcats.

Earlier, there were fuller crowds, especially during the dramatic rivalry between Arizona and Stanford when Lute Olson was leading the Wildcats and Mike Montgomery did the same with the Cardinal over two decades ago.

There were also dramatics in the East Bay, including UA’s triple-overtime win in 2011 and the loss that ended Arizona’s 21-0 start in 2013-14.

“Seriously, you’d go to Maples — it’s a small place — and all you hear are the 'U of A' chants,” BayCats president Stephanie Pang said. “It was almost like there were no Stanford fans there. We just called it 'McKale Bay Area' because that’s what it felt like.”

Memories, all. But the baton was passed once the Wildcats jumped to the Big 12 starting in 2024-25, while the Bay Area schools made the odd geographic leap to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Now, Arizona fans in other cities around the country are getting their chance.

“I was just talking to some of the chapters in Texas, and they're super excited because now they get TCU and Houston all within a reasonable driving area,” Pang said. “They're basically living the dream now, versus us back in the day. We’re pretty much left with just game-watch parties, and that has been a challenge.”

UA’s West Regional games with Arkansas and Purdue over the weekend gave them a chance for more. The BayCats and UA Foundation scheduled pregame gatherings in San Jose’s downtown entertainment zone, San Pedro Square.

While Arkansas and Texas also hosted pregame events in other establishments in the zone before the Sweet 16 games on Thursday, Arizona’s party overflowed out of the Old Wagon Saloon & Grill, flooding the restaurant with Wildcat fans (and appearing to overwhelm the staff).

Then everybody filed into the SAP Center and gave UA the biggest and loudest presence in the Sweet 16.

The Wildcats noticed. While they had drawn big crowds at games in Big 12 metro areas such as TCU and UCF earlier this season, it was a different sort of feel.

“You can definitely see a difference when you're playing closer to where most of your fans are,” UA point guard Jaden Bradley said. “The support makes a difference for the players. You can hear it throughout the games, when we go on runs and when we need a stop. The fans are amping us up, and we definitely appreciate that.”

Bradley was one of three Wildcats on hand the last time Arizona came through the Bay Area for Pac-12 games, along with center Motiejus Krivas and walk-on guard Addison Arnold.

“When we played Stanford and Cal, we got a lot of of fans,” Arnold said. “There’s a lot of alumni here in California, and the San Jose area, too. We definitely felt it.”

They earned their trip back to see those fans again. Winning the Big 12 in all those faraway cities meant the Wildcats would be given the most geographically sensible path through the NCAA Tournament.

Which meant they’d be sent through their old Pac-12 trail, and into the BayCats’ backyard.

“At the beginning of the season that’s something that you're not really thinking about or talking about,” Bradley said. “But as you keep winning and you get those (top) seeds, you notice that stuff. It definitely helps with playing these kind of games.”