Darrell Brooks jokes now that he might have been bad luck.
The former Arizona Wildcats safety went a combined 11-36 in four years as a player. After a brief NFL stint, Brooks returned to the UA to finish his degree and work in the athletic department.
He left for a fundraising job at the University of Wyoming in June — and, almost immediately, his alma mater began winning.
"I tell everybody that I should have gone through with this earlier," Brooks joked.
The Arizona Wildcats' decade-long bowl drought officially ended last week, when they earned their sixth win and a bid in one of seven Pac-10 Conference-affiliated bowl games.
Arizona's success is long-awaited good news for the players who struggled through the program's low points under John Mackovic and Mike Stoops.
People are also reading…
"To see them get to a place I couldn't go to, it's so gratifying," said Brooks. "It's a changing of the tide. We're finally getting to the point where we were 10 years ago. We're finally starting to make a run back to being a Pac-10 power."
If the Wildcats (6-3, 4-2) beat Oregon in Eugene on Saturday, and experience similar success in their final two games, they could land a spot in the Holiday Bowl, the Sun Bowl or the Las Vegas Bowl. If they lose to Oregon, and USC defeats Stanford, the Wildcats can finish no higher than third in the conference.
Former linebacker Matt Molina plans to attend the Wildcats' bowl game, regardless of where they end up.
Molina, 27, who publishes Latino Future Magazine in Phoenix, was born a UA fan. Both parents attended the school.
"It's definitely exciting to be thinking of a bowl game, and to be getting excited about U of A football again," Molina said. "It's been way too long for us to get bowl-eligible."
Tanner Bell said he "couldn't be happier" to see the Wildcats headed to the postseason. Bell played tackle from 2003-05; his career was cut short by concussion issues in 2006.
After graduating with a degree in regional development, Bell took a job at RBC Wealth Management in Tucson. Bell, 24, works as a financial consultant at RBC's Foothills-area office.
In his free time, Bell hangs out with a few of his former teammates, including senior guard Joe Longacre and junior tackle Eben Britton. Bell gets his football fix by attending UA games and coaching 11-to-13-year-olds on the Tucson Chargers youth team.
"I'm so happy for these guys, especially since I'm working here in the community and going to games," he said. "This is the best thing that's happened to Tucson in a long time, and it's great that it's happening now.
"Hopefully, we're witnessing the building of an empire."
All three players know what it's like to lose.
Brooks enrolled at the UA in 2002, Mackovic's second year as head coach, and went 4-8. Seasons of 2-10, 2-10 and 3-8 followed.
Rather than focus on his team's shortcomings, Brooks — and many of his former teammates — focus on what their teams were able to do.
The Wildcats stunned Arizona State in Brooks' final collegiate game, the first of a half-dozen upset wins in the Stoops era.
Bell's final team went 6-6, but was left out of a bowl game.
"I take a lot of pride in what we did accomplish," Brooks said. "Hopefully, what we left for them may have been the foundation that they're building on now."
This year's Wildcats will be able to say they've been in a bowl game, something Bell could only dream of during his time at the UA.
"I had this dream — and it was always just a dream — to be tapping a (bowl) ring while I sat at a table across from a client," he said. "I always wanted to have that ring, that conversation piece. These guys are going to get that, and that's the coolest thing in the world.
"Whether they know it or not now, it's going to pay dividends for them."
Up next
• What: Arizona at Oregon
• When: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
• TV: FSAZ
• Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM, 990-AM (Sp)
