Both of Arizona's Big 12 programs step to the podium this week. Big 12 Football Media Days runs Tuesday, July 7, and Wednesday, July 8, at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, and for East Valley fans the schedule could not be friendlier: Arizona State takes its turn Tuesday, and Arizona follows Wednesday.
Media Days is not a game. It is the conference's annual preseason kickoff, where each program sends selected players and its head coach to meet reporters, record interviews and set the storylines the league will carry into training camp. Eight programs are featured each day, and both days air live on ESPNU from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Central, with a simulcast on Big 12 Studios and part of the first day also carried on ESPN2.
Arizona State, Tuesday
The Sun Devils, whose Tempe campus sits a short drive up the road from Queen Creek, arrive with one of the more interesting rooms in the league. Head coach Kenny Dillingham, back for his fourth season after telling his players he would stay in Tempe despite outside coaching interest, is bringing seven players: tight end Khamari Anderson, running back Kyson Brown, linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu, defensive lineman C.J. Fite, offensive lineman Jalen Klemm and defensive backs Lyrik Rawls and Montana Warren.
Notably, no quarterback is on that list. After Sam Leavitt's departure for LSU, Kentucky transfer Cutter Boley, who threw for 2,160 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2025, entered the offseason as the projected starter, though Dillingham has said the job is not guaranteed and no formal pecking order exists. Expect that competition to be the first question Tuesday.
Arizona, Wednesday
The Wildcats counter with an established name. Quarterback Noah Fifita, who threw for 3,228 yards with 29 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2025 according to ESPN, headlines a seven-player Arizona contingent that also includes offensive lineman Tristan Bounds, linebacker Taye Brown, defensive back Jay'vion Cole, receivers Chris Hunter III and Tre Spivey, and defensive end Tre Smith.
The event will not settle a single game, but by Wednesday evening the Big 12's summer talking points will be set, and both in-state programs will have had their say from the Dallas Cowboys' headquarters in Frisco.
