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Big 12 debut brings new academic and travel hurdles for ASU, Arizona athletes – The Gila Herald

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Big 12 debut brings new academic and travel hurdles for ASU, Arizona athletes – The Gila Herald


File photo by William Wilson/Cronkite News: As Arizona State transitions to the Big 12, logistical challenges loom for the equipment staff, with longer drives to games, some even on the East Coast. 

By Joshua Heron/Cronkite News

LAS VEGAS – University of Arizona linebacker Jacob Manu plans to rely more heavily on his counselor this year. The prudent approach stems from the increased travel responsibility he will endure this upcoming college football season and the possible academic challenges that may arise.

Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of Utah and the University of Colorado will make their Big 12 Conference debut this upcoming football season. As a result, schools like Arizona and ASU now face more frequent travel outside the West Coast, including games against teams as far as the University of Central Florida.

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The shift to new time zones brings challenges such as altered assignment submission deadlines and possibly reduced cognitive function among players due to jet lag. These factors generate concern about the athletes’ ability to maintain full focus on their education.

“Yeah, there might be some challenges academically,” Manu said Wednesday. “Just being so busy with football and having to travel with different time changes might be difficult.”

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark acknowledged the potential difficulties that more traveling may cause on an athlete’s academic pursuits and plans to set parameters to ensure their education remains paramount.

“Student-athletes travel, and inconveniences and the challenges that come with it are certainly something that we are considering,” Yormark said. “When you look at our scheduling matrix, it’s a big part of it. How do we reduce travel in ways we can and maintain the right rivalries and competitive spirit of the conference? It’s a balancing act. We are not always going to be perfect but we are trying to make sure that that is a key component in any decision we are making.”

Photo by Joshua Heron/Cronkite News: University of Arizona linebacker Jacob Manu speaks to reporters in Las Vegas about the academic challenges of increased travel in the Big 12 Conference.

Arizona is scheduled next season for a road game against the University of Central Florida, which is more than 2,100 miles from Tucson by equipment truck and one of three matchups way from the West Coast. First-year Arizona coach Brent Brennan trusts his school’s staff to assist students when academic struggles may arise due to travel.

“We have incredible academic support,” Brennan said. “And as a coaching staff, we are very serious about supporting the academic mission of our university.”

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While ASU won’t travel to Florida, the Sun Devils travel outside the West Coast five times this upcoming season compared to zero last year. They will play on the road against Texas Tech, Texas State, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State.

ASU athletic director Graham Rossini says preparation before travel is critical to ensure players can focus on their schoolwork, adding that the adjustment for the university won’t be difficult, but instead, “different than what we’re used to.” He says the distance traveled doesn’t change but acknowledges the time zone shift and believes the onus to take care of the athletes rests not only on the coaching staff.

“We’re tapping into our sports medicine team, our sports performance team, our nutrition team,” Rossini said. “And there are things that we can do ahead of a trip to make sure that we’re focused on peak performance and recovery, knowing that their student-athletes have demands on their time and academic expectations.”

Rossini recognizes the importance of asking practical questions when traveling across time zones to guarantee the players meet their academic expectations.

“And so how we travel, the time that we leave. Do we need to add an extra day on the particular road trips, depending on where we’re traveling? All that enters the conversations as we know that traveling the Big 12 will be a little bit different,” Rossini said. “And so, looking at all that, what do we do for meals pre-trip, on the trip, when we land? How do we find a responsible way to get into decent times so everybody gets a good night’s rest and is prepared to go compete?

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Rossini added that the athletics department must be “mindful” of the students’ classroom expectations by ensuring they’ve got “space in the hotels” to complete exams and attend classes if needed.

“The student athlete’s well-being and experience are very much front and center of how we make decisions,” Rossini said.

Photo by Joshua Heron/Cronkite News: ASU athletic director Graham Rossini outlines strategies to support athletes’ academic performance during increased cross-country travel in the school’s move to the Big 12.

The National Football Foundation is a non-profit focused on spreading the importance of academics among amateur football players. NFF chief operating officer Matthew Sign places the onus on each university to provide necessary markers for students to thrive academically but maintains confidence in the schools’ collective plan.

“For the most part, especially as you move up the ladder, those schools do a really good job of trying to prepare the young men for what’s going to happen,” Sign said. “From what we see and what we hear … they’re all working on this, and I think they all have a good plan for it. Is it going to be difficult? Yes. But everyone’s just going to have to adapt.”

ASU defensive back Xavion Alford believes the time difference presents a new academic obstacle for athletes, but his advice to all players is simple: “Don’t procrastinate.”

“You (athletes) know you have practice from Thursdays on. It kind of gets real in the week,” Alford said. “Take care of your work on the weekends before, like Sundays, use days like that. Use the beginning of the week to knock out your work so you can focus on just the game throughout the end of the week.”

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For Alford, business is business no matter the zone, and no matter if it’s on the field or in the classroom.

“There’s time differences everywhere, you still got to get the job done,” he said. “We just got to prepare as much as we can for the time zone, but at the end of the day, we still have a job to do.”

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Arizona Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 results for March 6, 2026

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Arizona Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 results for March 6, 2026


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The Arizona Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Friday, March 6, 2026 results for each game:

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Winning Mega Millions numbers

08-19-26-38-42, Mega Ball: 24

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers

8-0-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers

13-18-23-24-34

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Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Triple Twist numbers

05-06-15-19-21-42

Check Triple Twist payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news and results

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What time is the Powerball drawing?

Powerball drawings are at 7:59 p.m. Arizona time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

How much is a Powerball lottery ticket today?

In Arizona, Powerball tickets cost $2 per game, according to the Arizona Lottery.

How to play the Powerball

To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball.

You can choose your lucky numbers on a play slip or let the lottery terminal randomly pick your numbers.

To win, match one of the 9 Ways to Win:

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  • 5 white balls + 1 red Powerball = Grand prize.
  • 5 white balls = $1 million.
  • 4 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $50,000.
  • 4 white balls = $100.
  • 3 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $100.
  • 3 white balls = $7.
  • 2 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $7.
  • 1 white ball + 1 red Powerball = $4.
  • 1 red Powerball = $4.

There’s a chance to have your winnings increased two, three, four, five and 10 times through the Power Play for an additional $1 per play. Players can multiply non-jackpot wins up to 10 times when the jackpot is $150 million or less.

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Arizona Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $100 and may redeem winnings up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Arizona Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket and a copy of a government-issued ID to P.O. Box 2913, Phoenix, AZ 85062.

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a winner claim form and deliver the form, along with the ticket and government-issued ID to any of these locations:

Phoenix Arizona Lottery Office: 4740 E. University Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4400. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Tucson Arizona Lottery Office: 2955 E. Grant Road, Tucson, AZ 85716, 520-628-5107. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

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Phoenix Sky Harbor Lottery Office: Terminal 4 Baggage Claim, 3400 E. Sky Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4424. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

Kingman Arizona Lottery Office: Inside Walmart, 3396 Stockton Hill Road, Kingman, AZ 86409, 928-753-8808. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://www.arizonalottery.com/.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Arizona Republic editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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At least 5 from Maine are in an Arizona ICE facility where a man died this week

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At least 5 from Maine are in an Arizona ICE facility where a man died this week


A federal immigration agent walks from a passenger van to a waiting bus in the back parking lot of Cabela’s in Scarborough on Jan. 20, 2026. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer)

At least five people detained in Maine by immigration agents during a January surge are being held at an Arizona facility where a Haitian man died this week of sepsis caused by an untreated tooth infection, according to his family.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not confirmed the death of Emmanuel Damas, who lived in Dorchester, Massachusetts, when he was detained last year. Damas’ brother told the Boston Globe he didn’t get proper medical attention in ICE custody, and Massachusetts’ U.S. senators have called for an investigation into what they believe was likely a “highly preventable” death.

ICE has reported nine other deaths of people in custody this year.

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Concerns about the conditions at the Central Arizona Florence Correctional Center and other ICE facilities underscore that immigrants without criminal records, including some of those who were targeted in Maine, are spending more than a month in custody, often in prisons that were built for people convicted of crimes.

Marcos Gaspar-Da Silva, who has no criminal history and is in the process of applying for a green card, is one of the Maine detainees at the central Arizona facility. He’s been there for a month.

His wife, Alessia, is a U.S. citizen and said while Marcos is in a special part of the prison with more freedom than the general population, he’s sick from drinking the water and eating food that’s cooked in it. He’s having gastrointestinal problems and vomiting that seem to get better only when he avoids the water, she said.

“We’re trying to switch him to eating just enough to stay alive while we work on his case,” she said. “How is this where we’ve gotten in America?”

She’s also deeply concerned that Gaspar-Da Silva is developing a toothache.

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Marcos Gaspar-Da Silva. (Courtesy photo)

STUCK FOR WEEKS

Isaac Nzau is surprised he’s still waiting for his friend to come home. Nzau leads a congregation at a Portland church and on Jan. 20, his assistant pastor was detained during a trip to the grocery store. He does not have a criminal record and works legally in the U.S. His attorneys asked that his name not be published because they fear that he will face retaliation for speaking out.

Not long after his friend was detained, Nzau and the church’s congregation said they deeply missed the assistant pastor, but they were hopeful that he would be back with them soon.

“Normally he’s all over the place during services — singing, praying, giving people rides to and from church,” said congregant Maria Cesar, her face lighting up. “He pours his heart out for people that need help.”

“Pray for God to have grace on him,” Nzau said during a Sunday service on Feb. 8. Congregants waved their hands.

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A month later, their prayers have not been answered. The assistant pastor is still detained in Arizona as his attorneys face off with government lawyers about whether or not he should be released — proceedings that can take months to unfold.

Even before Damas’ death this week, immigrant advocates said conditions at the central Arizona prison are poor, although the company that runs the prison disputes those claims.

The facility had a measles outbreak in February. Viruses and a lack of access to medical care have been problems there for several years, said Liz Casey, a social worker at the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, which provides free legal and social services to people who are detained in Arizona. 

“With the increased enforcement and people being flown all over the country, going from facility to facility, that just increases the risk of infection,” Casey said.

CoreCivic operates the Arizona facility and many others where ICE is holding people.

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“We take seriously our obligation to adhere to all applicable federal detention standards and will continue to ensure that all detainees receive appropriate and timely medical attention,” company spokesman Ryan Gustin said in an email. He declined to confirm Damas’ death.

He noted that CoreCivic has health care staff in the facility and coordinates with off-site providers and hospitals.

Casey’s group, the Florence Project, has filed complaints with the Department of Homeland Security alleging CoreCivic and ICE have violated detention standards. She’s visited detainees at the Arizona center and said the conditions there are “inhumane,” particularly for people who have chronic illnesses, disabilities and need specialty care.

This week’s death is the second at the Central Arizona Florence Correctional Center in the past year. In August, a detainee who had diabetes died after he contracted COVID-19.

Alessia Gaspar-Da Silva said that despite feeling sick, her husband Marcos’ time at the Central Arizona Florence Correctional Center has been better than at the temporary facilities where he was held in both that state and Louisiana. He told her those facilities were overcrowded and at times he had to use the bathroom in buckets and sleep on concrete floors without blankets.

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During those frequent transfers in harsh conditions, Alessia said, immigration authorities tried to get her husband to agree to leave the country voluntarily.

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, recently toured a facility in Massachusetts that held many of the “Operation Catch of the Day” detainees for their initial few days in custody. Attorneys allege it is “abysmal” and “unsanitary,” but Pingree said she did not witness those conditions on her visit.

ICE did not respond to a request for comment for this story. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The New York Times in February that for detainees in custody across the country, “This is the best health care that many aliens have received in their entire lives.”

IN SEARCH OF SAFETY

The other people at the Arizona facility who were taken into custody in Maine in January include the roommate of the assistant pastor in Portland, as well as Kimuena Jonathan Nguinamau, who was detained in Auburn, and Inacio Joao, who was detained in Lewiston, according to ICE’s online locator.

The assistant pastor has been applying for asylum, said his attorney Lauren Kousaie in Portland. He’s from the Democratic Republic of the Congo where a lengthy war has killed 6 million people. He left in 2022, “because he was a member of an opposition political party and was being persecuted by the Congolese government,” Kousaie said.

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He made the difficult journey to the U.S. because he wanted to live in a place “that respects human rights,” she said.

The community he has established in Maine includes his work at the church, his assistance for people in the congregation, and a job at a restaurant in Falmouth.

Andrea Dibanza, who attends their church, said she tried to call him the morning he was detained. “He drove me everywhere, including to school,” she said. He didn’t pick up the phone.

Weeks later, the assistant pastor called Kousaie’s office from detention. In French, he told a paralegal that it felt like “torture just like we were in our home countries.”

By now, as dozens of other people detained in January have been released and returned to Maine, Alessia Gaspar Da-Silva said she feels like the public has forgotten about people like her husband, or that they believe he must have done something wrong to still be in custody. 

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But the legal system takes time, she said, and as the days grind on, “We’re still living it.”



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Arizona softball starts Big 12 play with run-rule win over BYU

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Arizona softball starts Big 12 play with run-rule win over BYU


Arizona softball catcher Sydney Stewart celebrates as she runs the bases following a home run against BYU on Mar. 5, 2026 at Hillenbrand Stadium
Photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics

Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe did not want the 2026 Big 12 softball season to start the way the 2025 one did. Last year, the Wildcats were upset by UCF in the opening series of conference play. There was no such letdown this year as No. 13 Arizona defeated the BYU Cougars 13-1 in five innings at Hillenbrand Stadium.

“They really took it upon themselves to make a statement and just wanting to set a tone for conference,” Lowe said.

It was Arizona’s sixth straight run-rule victory. The players felt that it should be the expectation.

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“I think that’s what we’re capable of every single game, and we should keep working towards that goal,” said junior centerfielder Regan Shockey. “And our next focus is just the next game. Do the same exact thing.”

There was an early suggestion that there might be a repeat of last year. A defensive lapse in right field allowed BYU leadoff Lily Owens to reach third base. A one-out double by Hailey Shuler drove her in to give the Cougars an early lead.

After the team’s postgame huddle, right fielder Grace Jenkins spent a considerable amount of time talking to Lowe one-on-one. The head coach could be seen pointing towards right field as if she was explaining fielding and placement.

“We were talking softball, man,” Lowe said. “So, debrief on the day and where she’s at. And she’s a catcher playing the outfield, and she’s doing awesome at it. She is a true athlete and has the high expectations for herself, so I think sometimes she needs to give herself a little grace that she’s kicking butt at it, and she’s great out there. She just wants to be the best.”

Arizona starter Jalen Adams kept the first-inning damage to a minimum. She only needed four more pitches to get the final two outs of the inning.

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“Proud of the response after [BYU] scoring a run in the first inning,” Lowe said.

Any confidence the run might have inspired in the Cougars was quickly squashed by the Wildcats’ response with the bats. Arizona sent 15 to the plate and scored 11 runs in the bottom of the first. Eight of those runs came with two outs. Catcher Sydney Stewart drove five in with a 3-run double and a 2-run homer.

After the home run, the lights at Hillenbrand began to flash in what the program’s social media called “party lights.”

“I thought it was pretty cool,” Stewart said. “One time, I think it was like after practice, late practice, they were practicing [the lights]. Like, why don’t we do this? But seeing it today when I was rounding second, like, there’s no way that just happened right now. Just super cool.”

Up Next for Arizona Softball

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Who: BYU Cougars (5-15) @ No. 13 Arizona Wildcats (18-5)

When: Friday, Mar. 6 @ 3 p.m. MST; Saturday, Mar. 7 @ 12 p.m. MST

Where: Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.

Streaming: ESPN+ (Friday, Saturday)

Stats: Arizona Live Stats (Friday, Saturday)

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Lowe was pleased with the way her entire offense passed the bat in the opening frame. While there were two doubles and a home run in the inning, small ball was a big part of the scoring, too. The Wildcats had five singles and four walks in the bottom of the first. They also took advantage of two wild pitches and a stolen base.

“I thought they were perfectly themselves in that first inning,” Lowe said. “As far as not trying to do too much, they stayed true to who they were as hitters, and then just went to work…I think you can see how fast it can happen when it gets contagious that way.”

BYU starter Gianna Mares was responsible for all 11 runs. Shuler moved from designated player to pitcher after Stewart’s home run. She walked Jenkins and allowed her to move up on a wild pitch, but Shuler finally got the final out with a groundout by Emma Kavanagh.

Stewart is known for her big bat and driving in runs. Arizona’s scoring in the second inning came from players with radically different offensive games.

A single, a walk, and a fielder’s choice put runners on the corners with one out for the Wildcats. That brought up Shockey. The centerfielder already had two RBI from the first inning. She picked up her third of the game in the second frame. It almost doubled her season total to 7.

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“I didn’t want to change my plan,” Shockey said. “I bounced the ball, and my goal is just to move them over or get on for the next person. I wasn’t thinking of scoring the two runs [in the first inning] because I know who’s behind me, and that’s Sereniti [Trice], and that’s Stew, and that’s Tayler [Biehl]. So my goal was just to bounce the ball and get on. It just happened to score two, but I try to keep it as simple as possible.”

Shockey went 2 for 4 on the day. She scored 2 runs in addition to driving in 3 more. It improved her season average to .443.

Trice was a perfect 3 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. Her average is now up to a team-high .542. She also leads the team with 39 hits. Shockey is second with 31. Trice is fourth on the squad with 18 RBI.

Adams pitched 4.0 innings and improved her record to 10-3. Her ERA dropped to 2.91. She gave up just 1 hit. The only BYU run was unearned. Three errors were committed behind her.

Sophomore Jenae Berry pitched the final inning. She did not give up a hit, but she allowed two baserunners on a walk and a hit batter. She also threw a wild pitch.

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The Wildcats and the Cougars will take the field again on Friday afternoon before finishing the series on Saturday, Mar. 7.



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