TUCSON — Almost 30 years ago, Dave Heeke and his wife, Liz, hopped into a Chevrolet Nova and drove from Michigan to Oregon.
His job: To sell Ducks football tickets. Heeke had a desk and a phone book — “we used phone books in those days,” he said with a laugh — but little else.
“We tried to inspire people to come down and go to a football game,” he said. "Really grassroots stuff.”
The job was the beginning of a rise through the University of Oregon. After 18 years there, and another 11 leading Central Michigan's athletic department, Heeke was named the Arizona Wildcats' athletic director.