Former Arizona quarterback and longtime UA football assistant coach Marc Lunsford died in Tucson on Tuesday.
Lunsford was 70 years old.
The Bloomington, Indiana native signed with the Wildcats in 1974 and played under head coaches Jim Young and Tony Mason.
As the successor to former UA star quarterback Bruce Hill, who was the last Arizona quarterback to receive first-team all-conference honors before Noah Fifita in 2025, Lunsford passed for a combined 2,628 yards, 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in the 1976 and ‘77 seasons.
Lunsford started his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Wildcats in 1978.
After two seasons as a graduate assistant, Lunsford was hired by former Arizona head coach Larry Smith to be the Wildcats’ wide receivers coach. Lunsford was a wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach and recruiting under Smith. When Smith accepted the same position at USC following Arizona’s first-ever bowl win in the Aloha Bowl, Lunsford was retained by Dick Tomey, the winningest coach in program history.
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Arizona coaches Marc Lunsford, center, and Dick Tomey talk to Wildcats quarterback Dan White during their 1995 game against ASU in Tempe.
Under Tomey, Lunsford held several titles, including recruiting coordinator, wide receivers coach, running backs coach, tight ends coach and director of football operations. Lunsford was an offensive assistant during the “Desert Swarm” era in the 1990s and was the director of football operations during the Wildcats’ 12-1 season in 1998 that resulted in a win over defending national champion Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.
Lunsford, who played for two head coaches and coached under two head coaches at Arizona, ended his UA coaching career as one of the longest-tenured assistant coaches in program history.
Contact Justin Spears, the Star's Arizona football beat reporter, at jspears@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports
Justin Spears
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