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A couple of Arizona’s most memorable games have been played in Salt Lake City in football and basketball. The Wildcats’ football team returns there tomorrow for the first time in seven years and only the third time since 1976, when both teams were in the Western Athletic Conference. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the “Snafu of 1972″, when the Wildcats lost to Utah 28-27 on Nov. 4, 1972, in Salt Lake City after leading 27-0 early in the fourth quarter. It stands as the greatest comeback victory by an opponent in UA football history. …

The UA still led 27-14 with 4:30 remaining and with possession of the ball at the Utah 36. Although the Utes had no timeouts left and the Cats faced a second-and-14, UA senior quarterback Bill Demory committed the snafu, by calling an audible for a pass instead of sticking to a fullback plunge to eat more clock. Demory’s pass was intercepted by a Utah defender, who returned it 68 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 27-21 with 4:19 to play. After forcing the UA to punt with 2:20 left, the Utes drove 72 yards for the game-winning touchdown and extra point with 10 seconds left. After the collapse, Arizona lost two of its last three games to finish 4-7 and

coach Bob Weber was fired. … Another unforgettable outcome for Arizona in Salt Lake City was the basketball team losing in the first round to Steve Nash and Santa Clara in the 1993 NCAA tournament. The Wildcats were a No. 2 seed playing against the 15th-seeded Broncos. Santa Clara rallied for a 64-61 win on March 19, 1993, after falling behind by 13 points in the second half. It was only the second time that a 15th-seeded team had won a game since the tournament field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The Wildcats (24-4) lost in the first round for the second consecutive season (they lost to East Tennessee State the previous year). Nash and teammate Kevin Dunne missed four free throws in the last 7.3 seconds but Damon Stoudamire’s 23-foot heave at the buzzer fell off the mark. ….

Not all outcomes have been bad for Arizona in Salt Lake CIty. The top-seeded Wildcats hung on to beat Gonzaga 96-95 in double-overtime in a 2003 West Regional second round game at Salt Lake City. The Wildcats survived when Gonzaga junior guard Blake Stepp misfired on a wide-open 8-foot bank shot following a rebound as the second overtime ended. Arizona (27-3) ultimately advanced to the Elite Eight, where it lost to Kansas in Anaheim, Calif. Jason Gardner and Channing Frye led Arizona with 22 points apiece against Gonzaga. Incredibly enough, in the high-scoring dramatic game, Salim Stoudamire scored the last points with 2:03 still showing on the clock. … So the Wildcats have played dramatic games at Salt Lake City in the NCAA tournament in 1993 and 2003. Guess where the 2013 West Regional first and second rounds will be held? You guessed it: The EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. …

Interesting that Demory made the snafu in 1972 that contributed to Utah’s historic comeback. The following year he was starting in the NFL for the New York Jets in place of the injured Joe Namath. Demory was the last former UA quarterback to throw a pass in the NFL — in that 1973 season — until Nick Foles replaced the injured Michael Vick for Philadelphia last Sunday against Dallas. Foles will be the first former UA quarterback to start an NFL game, since Demory in 1973, when the Eagles play at Washington on Sunday. … Foles’ Philadelphia teammates call him “Shaggy” because his shoulder-length hair bears the resemblance of Scooby Doo character Shaggy Rogers. “Shaggy is a pretty composed guy,”defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins told the USA Today. “He has a really bright future.” Also in that USA Today article, it was noted that Foles was a roommate of tight end Brent Celek’s brother, Garrett Celek, at Michigan State during their freshmen season. Foles transferred to Arizona after that season. “He’s got all the tools,” Brent Celek told the USA Today. “He’s calm, cool and can take charge. He can do everything. I love Nick. … He’s a good quarterback. We have to win behind him. … Everyone needs to do their own jobs and play within the offense. Nick will do his and we’ll be fine.” …

Arizona women’s basketball coach Niya Butts is in one word: Intense. I sat two rows behind the Arizona bench Tuesday night at the game between the Wildcats and UNLV at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. Something caught my eye that I have not seen before in all my years of attending sporting events. Butts did not sit once during the UA’s 83-82 win over the Rebels. Not once. Other observations: Senior point guard Davellyn Whyte of Phoenix was a major recruiting coup by Butts to get her away from ASU. Whyte is every bit as meaningful to the women’s team as Mark Lyons is to the men’s team. Whyte is vocal and tenacious and she plays with a purpose, not with reckless abandon. Another recruiting victory for Butts was signing 6-foot shooting guard Kama Griffitts from North Idaho Junior College. Griffitts could challenge any of the men’s players — Nick Johnson, Gabe York and Lyons, etc. — and win a three-point shooting contest. I covered women’s basketball when Joan Bonvicini coached the Wildcats and Griffitts’ shooting touch is the best I’ve seen from a player in that program. Griffitts made seven three-pointers and finished with 25 points in the win over UNLV. She led North Idaho to a junior-college national championship in 2011. She was the tournament’s MVP. … Former Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood, who holds the same position at UNLV, attended Tuesday night’s game. He hugged some UA fans who were in attendance. Livengood was responsible for bringing Butts on board after making the tough decision to fire Bonvicini after she coached at the school for 17 years. …

Livengood also hired Sean Miller, who is the best hire of his career. To think some skeptics questioned whether Miller could recruit five-star talent to Arizona after not having that kind of track record at Xavier. On the same day that five-star recruit Rondae Jefferson of Chester (Pa.) High School signed a national letter of intent with Arizona, the best player in California — forward Aaron Gordon of San Jose Archbishop Mitty — announced that Arizona is among his final three choices. Gordon is rated the No. 7 prospect in ESPN’s Top 100 for the Class of 2013. Jefferson is ranked No. 17. Arizona’s other signee — shooting guard Elliott Pitts of Dublin (Calif.) De La Salle is the No. 91 prospect. Miller beat Washington coach Lorenzo Romar for Pitts. Now they battle for Gordon, who reminds some recruiting experts of Blake Griffin. … Jefferson, a 6-8 versatile player who could handle the point if necessary, signed his letter of intent Thursday at a press conference at his high school with his his 5-year-old sister Rayna Harris-Jefferson, father Ross Jefferson and mother Rylanda Hollis huddled around him with big smiles on their faces. “I just feel like as though that’s a home away from home out there,” said Jefferson, as quoted by the Delaware County (Pa.) Times. Jefferson averaged 12.1 points per game last season to go with 9.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.7 blocked shots and also garnered Pennsylvania Class AAAA Player of the Year honors. “The campus love is awesome. The coaching staff are great guys. It’s like a family out there. They all love each other. I think we have a great chance of competing for a national championship at the college level. It’s all about heart, and with me, I bring that a lot, and it tends to rub off.” …

Speaking of De La Salle, former Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama is serving as an assistant coach with the Lancers, who are 10-0 and in the North Coast Section Division I playoffs. They are in the postseason for the first time since 2009 and head coach Russell Gordon compliments Tuitama for helping his team reach that level because of how he’s managed his starting quarterback. Senior Austin Wallis has thrived under the tutelage of Tuitama, who is the older brother of Lancers’ volleyball coach Tiare Tuitama. “Coach Tui has done a great job of teaching Austin how to play and understand that if he doesn’t have an open look, to just throw the ball away or tuck it and run,” Gordon told Pasadena Sun. “I’m amazed with how Tui has picked up our offense and taught that to Austin.” Wallis has thrown 20 touchdowns this season with no interceptions, while completing 66 percent of his passes for 1,394 yards. Wallis’ first love is baseball; he did not play tackle football until he attended De La Salle. … Las Vegas Bishop Gorman senior quarterback Anu Solomon, who could be starting for Arizona next season as a freshman, will lead the Gaels tonight in the Sunset championship game against Las Vegas Centennial. In last week’s win over Las Vegas Palo Verde, Solomon recovered from throwing an interception to rushing for a 19-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter for a 14-0 lead. He later threw a pair of touchdown passes to help Gorman score 21 points in each of the first and second quarters en route to a 71-28 victory. …

Site publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner