SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Arizona football beat writer Nicole Dimtsios caught up with Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne before the 2010 Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, to discuss the Wildcat fan turnout, the Arizona-Texas connection an the mindset of the team going into the game.

Daily Wildcat: How has it been in San Antonio so far?

Greg Byrne: Everything’s been great. San Antonio is a great city to visit for our fans, for our kids. The Alamo Bowl folks have been very hospitable and shown the kids a great time and our fans have looked like they’re had a lot of fun too. We knew this was a different scene than San Diego and obviously we have more bowl opportunities in that neck of the woods in Nevada, California and such.

DW: We saw the “”this is Wildcat country”” billboard when we drove into the city. How instrumental were you in getting that produced?

GB: I can’t take a lot of credit on that thing. We had an alum of ours who called us, worked for Clear Channel, played football for us and so he called and offered it. We jumped on it immediately and we have our “”This is Wildcat Country”” theme in Tucson so we try to carry that along.

DW: How important is it to you to keep the Texas-Arizona connection open?

GB: That’s really important. We’ve got a lot of Texas ties on our roster, lot of our coaches have ties to Texas. The proximity to Tucson is pretty reasonable so it’s an important area for us.

DW: Talking to Arizona head coach Mike Stoops, what do you think the mood of the team is?

GB: I mean they’re always on their best behavior when I’m around. They’ve had a good time. They’ve seemed to have had a good week of practice. Coach Stoops has been real positive about how practice went and I feel good about where we are. Go out and see how we do on the field.

DW: Can you give me a score prediction?

GB: Never do that. Just want a Wildcat victory.