 In 1972, Snowden became the first African-American head coach at a major university and the second black head coach at a Division I school, following Illinois State's Will Robinson, when he accepted a position at the University of Arizona.The year before Snowden's arrival, the school had a 6-20 record and drew about 1,000 fans to each game.In his first year as coach, he achieved a 16-12 records and increased attendance to 5,000 and following the opening of McKale Center attracted crowds of 14,000 to the Wildcat's home games.