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PULLMAN, Wash. 鈥� Forgive Dave Heeke if he doesn鈥檛 know what state he鈥檚 in or what sport he鈥檚 watching.

Heeke arrived at Martin Stadium a couple of hours before Saturday鈥檚 kickoff. He woke up Saturday morning in Chicago, where he had flown the previous night from Knoxville, Tennessee 鈥� via Charlotte, North Carolina. On Sunday morning, he鈥檒l be headed from Tucson to Maui.

Such is the life of Arizona鈥檚 athletic director. An NCAA Tournament women鈥檚 soccer game one night, a football game the next, a basketball tournament after that.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a cool journey,鈥� a weary but enthused Heeke said.

He didn鈥檛 enjoy what unfolded Saturday night. Arizona got blown out by Washington State.

Before the game, Heeke spoke to the Star about a variety of topics. Here鈥檚 a portion of that conversation, which has been lightly edited for context and clarity:

This is Arizona鈥檚 ninth game this season starting at 7 p.m. or later, the most in the conference. Is that fair? Does that put the Wildcats at a competitive disadvantage?

A:聽鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I鈥檇 term anything as fair or unfair. Unfortunately, it鈥檚 the luck of the draw. We value the relationships (with the Pac-12鈥檚 TV partners). We鈥檝e come up on the wrong end of it, playing the later games. It makes for challenging recovery time, there鈥檚 no question about that. There are probably weeks where you look at it and wish we could have played an earlier game to get back and recover if we were on the road. Or even at home sometimes. Those are late nights. The recovery time the next day is kinda tough.

鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not an excuse. The positive side is, we鈥檝e been on ESPN a number of times. That鈥檚 tremendous national exposure. So there鈥檚 a lot of people that have been watching our games and hearing about the new Arizona program.鈥�

Arizona was eliminated from the Pac-12 South race earlier in the day. The Wildcats are still in the hunt for a bowl game. How do you assess Year 1 of the Kevin Sumlin regime?

A:聽鈥淪ince we鈥檙e still in the midst of the season 鈥� I haven鈥檛 really decided to step back and look at everything and analyze it. But I鈥檝e been very happy with the way the program鈥檚 transitioned. In transitions, you always have challenges with new coaches, new styles, players getting used to it, expectations. All of those things are challenges. I think our team has handled it very well.鈥�

Before the season, there was a lot of discussion about Khalil Tate being a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. Here we are at the end of the season, and it鈥檚 Washington State鈥檚 Gardner Minshew who鈥檚 the talk of the league. What do you make of Khalil鈥檚 season?

A:聽鈥淚t鈥檚 been a challenge with the (ankle) injury, with the high expectations. Our team wanted it to go real well for Khalil also. Those are big, difficult pieces that get in your way. It also shows that preseason hype, preseason prognostication is fun, but here we are tonight with someone who wasn鈥檛 even on the list and has played his way into it. That鈥檚 what I鈥檝e always said: These things take care of themselves. You play your way in. If you鈥檙e playing well and things are going well, you鈥檒l shine at the end.

鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate, because Khalil鈥檚 an unbelievable talent. It just didn鈥檛 click because of the injury, the rhythm, getting everything in the right direction. No one鈥檚 fault. Just bad luck.鈥�

You have one more game in the refurbished Arizona Stadium. The feedback has been positive on the upgrades. What鈥檚 the latest on the west side of the stadium?

A:聽鈥淭hat鈥檚 our next step. We鈥檙e in the midst of analyzing (it). We鈥檝e done a number of studies that have produced a number of different options. We need to sit down and really decide what it is that we want to do, what we can manage from a financial standpoint. But we will do something.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 where we are now: Getting down to a plan. Then we can embark on that project. That鈥檚 not going to happen this summer. We鈥檙e going to have to see how that rolls out. Then we鈥檒l continue to raise money.

鈥淲e鈥檒l look at some cosmetic enhancements for stadium this summer, but we don鈥檛 anticipate any substantial construction happening. That would be at least another year off before we break ground on something like that, at best.鈥�

Anyone who visits the stadium or drives by can see the progress of the Indoor Sports Center. When鈥檚 the grand opening?

A:聽鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the date selected. We鈥檙e into mid-to-late January. Somewhere in that zone, it鈥檒l be done. We look forward to that. It starts to move really quickly now that the steel structure鈥檚 up. I鈥檇 say by the end of January we鈥檒l be pretty functional.鈥�

You got an $8 million contribution from the Davis family. That left some people confused; they thought the building was already paid for. Can you explain how that donation helps with financing?

A:聽鈥淎lthough we had a financing plan for all the projects that we鈥檝e put together, we (also) had a plan to go out and raise money through private giving and opportunities for people to invest in our program. We have to continue that. That was a tremendous gift by the Davises 鈥� a very substantial naming opportunity on what will be one of our most dynamic buildings in our footprint. Those dollars are reinvested in the facilities that we鈥檙e currently constructing, and going forward we鈥檒l use those dollars to help our financing plan for all the facilities.鈥�

How are ticket sales going for the ASU game? Do you expect a sellout?

A:聽鈥淚t鈥檚 been very brisk the last couple weeks. Our hope is that we can fill the stadium up. That鈥檚 what our goal is. I think there will be a lot on the line regardless of the outcomes of today.鈥�