While questions linger about the Alabama Crimson Tide’s out-of-conference game with a Pac-12 opponent this season, the University of Alabama athletic department announced it has added a home-and-home series with the Arizona Wildcats for the 2032 and 2033 football seasons.
“We are excited to announce another home-and-home for our future football schedules with the addition of Arizona for the 2032 and 2033 seasons,” said Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne in a release from his department. “These meetings will be the first between the Crimson Tide and Wildcats, providing our teams and our fan bases exciting new opportunities during the regular season. As I said early on, we are going to work hard at adding more home-and-homes to our non-conference schedules, and we are pleased that we’ve been able to do that, securing nine of them thus far that will begin in 2022 with Texas.”
The Wildcats come to Tuscaloosa on Sept. 4, 2032, with the Crimson Tide heading west to Tucson on Sept. 3, 2033.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban sees the series following in the pattern of top-tier competition for his program.
“The addition of Arizona is another example of the commitment our administration has to creating outstanding schedules for many years to come,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “Arizona is a tremendous football program and the opportunity to play this type of competition only makes our program stronger while providing a lot of excitement for both fan bases.”
Earlier this year, Saban reached yet another astonishing milestone when he became the first head coach to have players at all 22 positions drafted in the first round of the NFL draft.
As for this season’s Pac-12 opponent, the Crimson Tide and the rest of the college football world await decisions from West Coast schools on when, and if, they plan to start the season as they deal with COVID-19. The Crimson Tide are scheduled to open against USC on September 5 in Arlington, Texas.
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One national pundit based in Los Angeles has reported the game will not be played. Paul Finebaum has reported that Alabama is exploring options with other opponents for the same weekend in the event USC is unable to play.
Mike Bohn, USC’s director of athletics, has said the school has “every intention” of playing the game. Bohn is scheduled to appear on Finebaum’s radio show on Thursday afternoon.
Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia
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