22 Days Till Arizona Football: Remembering Former UA RB

The countdown continues as we are now officially 22 days away from the season opener for Arizona against Hawaii. Over the next few weeks, we will be taking a look back at some of the top players in Arizona football history by jersey number as we inch closer towards the start of the season for the Wildcats.

We continue with former Arizona RB Art Luppino who played with the Wildcats from 1953-56.

Luppino led the NCAA twice in rushing yards with 1,359 yards on the ground in 1954 and 1,313 yards on the ground in 1955. He broke the NCAA modern-era single-season scoring record with 166 points in 1954.

In 1954, Luppino led the country in all three of scoring (166 points), rushing (1,359 yards) and kickoff returns (632 yards). He became the first player to win consecutive NCAA rushing titles in 1954 and 1955. When he first ran for 1,000 yards, only five college football players had ever rushed for 1,000 yards in a season.

Luppino was a co-captain of the team in 1956 and a second-team All-American selection in 1955. He was also part of the first-ever Arizona Sports Hall of Fame induction class in 1976. He was also named to the second-team All-Pac-12 two times and had his No. 22 jersey retired by the Wildcats in 1999 in a display put on in the end zone at Arizona Stadium.

Among where he ranks in program history, Luppino is No. 4 in total rushing yards (3,381), No. 2 in total rushing touchdowns (44), and No. 2 in single-season rushing touchdowns (21 - 1954). He also ranks No. 7 (1,359) and No. 8 (1,313) among the most rushing yards in a single season in program history and No. 8 among most rushing yards in a single game (228).