Wildcat Wednesday 08/30/2017

Wildcat Wednesday - Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts

HURRICANE HARVEY RELIEF EFFORTS

With Hurricane Harvey wreaking havoc on southeast Texas, we want to rally all Wildcats, and specifically Wildcats in the Tucson and Southern Arizona community, to do our part to assist those who have and continue to be affected. Through donations, we intend to fill the Arizona football equipment truck with hygiene products, cleaning supplies and diapers, and drive them to Houston following our football game against the Cougars on Sept. 9.

The equipment truck will be positioned on the east side of Arizona Stadium on National Championship Dr. between 6th street and Enke Dr. We will be accepting donations from Sunday, Sept. 3 through Friday, Sept. 8. Volunteers will be available to receive donations at the following times:

Sunday, Sept. 3: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 4: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 5: 6-9 a.m. and 3-8 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 6: 6-9 a.m. and 3-8 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 7: 6-9 a.m. and 3-8 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 8: 6-9 a.m. and 3-8 p.m.

We are closing the donation window on Friday, so we can ensure the truck is prepared to follow Houston's equipment truck back to Texas and get the supplies to those that need them as quickly as possible.

Here is what we are looking to collect:

- New, unused, unopened personal hygiene products
- New, unused, unopened household cleaning products
            - Vinegar to clean mold
            - Mops
            - Brooms
            - Paper towels
            - Toilet paper
            - Cleanup towels
            - New, unused towels
- Diapers

Our equipment truck is a 48-foot, Suddath Relocation Systems semi, and we're counting on you to Bear Down and fill it, so we can do our part in assisting those in need.

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FINALLY, IT'S FOOTBALL GAME WEEK

Football season is finally here. I can't wait for Saturday to experience my first football game on our beautiful campus. In talking with Coach Rodriguez, it sounds like the team had an excellent camp, and we have some fresh faces, along with some returners, that have the coaching staff excited. We're ready to start the season against NAU on Saturday.

A couple of quick reminders. The tailgating lots open at 2 p.m. and I hope you'll join me in greeting the team for the Wildcat Walk at 5:45 p.m. Stadium gates open at 6:30 p.m. and kickoff is at 8 p.m. Season ticket holders should have received their Gronk bobblehead voucher via email. Please print and make sure you bring it to the game. For non-season ticket holders, remember to get there early to get a Gronk bobblehead voucher. Different colored vouchers will be distributed at all gates while supplies last. Only one color will be good for redemption. We'll announce the winning color on the video board during the game.

Thank you to the thousands in Wildcat Nation who have pledged their support for this year's team by purchasing football season tickets. There is still time to get off the fence and join us. Get your season tickets tonight and help support the 100+ young men who have been giving their all for this program. Football season tickets start at $99 for all home games. You can order online tonight by clicking HERE or call the McKale Ticket Office during regular hours (Mon. – Fri., 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. MST). See you at the game.

A STATUE FOR LUTE OLSON

Yesterday, we announced that we'll be constructing a statue of former men's basketball head coach Lute Olson to honor his contributions to the University, the athletics department, and the Tucson and Southern Arizona community. Coach Olson helped introduce people around the country to our University and this community, and few have had as much of an impact on both as Lute.

The statue will be located on the Eddie Lynch Athletics Pavilion Plaza outside of the Hall of Champions. We expect the entire project to cost around $300,000 and will mainly be supported through private donations. If you'd like to contribute to the Lute Olson Statue Fund, you can do so by clicking HERE.

Another exciting aspect of the project is a partnership between Steve Kerr and Original Retro Brand. They are joining forces to sell Arizona Kerr replica jerseys and tees. Steve is going to donate his royalties from the sales to the Statue Fund and ORB CEO Marc Herman has agreed to match Steve's donation.

The Kerr tees will be available exclusively at the McKale Center A-Store from Thursday, Aug. 31 through Sept. 9 and on football game days at various merchandise tent locations. In addition, the online sale of tees will begin on Aug. 31 at beardownshop.com/search/Steve_Kerr, Originalretrobrand.com, and UABookstores.Arizona.edu. The replica jerseys will be available on Wednesday, Sept. 20 in store and online. The collection will also be available at select Just Sports locations in Tucson and Phoenix after Oct. 15.

We have some more details in our official announcement, so if you'd like to learn more, you can read the full release by clicking HERE.

A QUICK NOTE ON FACILITIES

Earlier this week, there was some attention given to potential facility projects that are under consideration. As I've mentioned a few times, we're going to be aggressive as we look at what we need from a facilities perspective to remain competitive both in the Pac-12 and nationally. It's still very early in the process, so things are fluid, but we are excited about the direction we're headed.

Just in case you missed it, we want to share our response to a media request that asked about future facility projects:

"We are in the first step of securing approval for a number of facility projects, including an indoor multipurpose sports center. These projects are a part of the UA's Capital Improvement Plan that will be submitted to the Arizona Board of Regents for consideration in September. Details are still being finalized and more information will become available as we move through the approval process."

We look forward to moving through the process and being able to share more details with you when they're available.

VOLLEYBALL OPENS THEIR HOME SCHEDULE THIS WEEKEND

Volleyball opens their home season with the Cactus Classic on Friday, Sept. 1 and Saturday, Sept. 2. Arizona's first match will be against Eastern Kentucky on Friday at 12:30 p.m., which will be free for all fans. Our next match against Grand Canyon on Friday at 7 p.m. will be ticketed. We'll finish off the Classic with another free match against Radford at 1 p.m. on Saturday. For additional game times and tickets to the rest of the games in the Cactus Classic, click HERE or call the McKale Ticket Office at (520) 621-CATS (2287).

MEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON TICKET RENEWAL DEADLINE IS FRIDAY

Men's basketball is ranked No. 1 in many of the preseason rankings and we're looking forward to an exciting season in McKale. There are only two days left to renew your basketball season tickets. Non-renewed seats will be released after the Sept. 1 renewal deadline and will be made available to fans who are on the waiting list.

There are three easy ways to renew your seats:

1) Online by clicking HERE
2) In-person at the McKale Ticket Office
3) Over the phone at (520) 621-CATS (2287)

Make sure you don't lose your seats! You don't want to miss this upcoming season. Thank you to all of you who have renewed prior to the deadline.

ARIZONA NUGGETS

Football will be looking to win its 17th consecutive home opener at Arizona Stadium, when we take on NAU this Saturday … Soccer is 1-0-1 to start the season, including a 2-0 win over No. 16 Oklahoma, and has outshot its two opponents 28-8 … With the departure of head coach Tabitha Yim to the same position at her alma mater Stanford, longtime Gymnastics assistant John Court will serve as the interim head coach during the 2017-18 season … Nate Lashley ('05) from Men's Golf earned his PGA Tour card over the weekend after a successful season on the Web.com tour … Women's Golf added Gonzaga transfer Bianca Pagdanganan, who is ranked 136th on the World Amateur list and 81st in GolfWeek's collegiate ranking, to its roster for the 2017-18 season.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

To view the list of upcoming events, broadcast information, start times and stat links, click HERE. (Note: All times are listed as Mountain Standard Time, i.e. Tucson time.)

To access live stats from your desktop or mobile device, visit ArizonaLiveStats.com.

WEAR THE COLORS – SHARE THE PHOTOS

Thank you for wearing the colors and sharing your Arizona pride! If your photo submission did not make this week's edition of the Wildcat Wednesday, please check our "Wear the Colors" album at facebook.com/ArizonaAthletics on Fridays.

NOTE: Please submit photos for Wildcat Wednesday with an original email to uofaad@arizona.edu using the subject line 'Wildcat Wednesday photo.' Also, please ensure all submissions are clear and properly lit. We also ask that you identify everyone in the photo so we can highlight them accordingly.

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Continue to do what you can to help Arizona Athletics and:

Accept the Bear Down Challenge
Buy Season Tickets
Wear the Colors (Especially on Friday)
Get Others to Do the Same

Bear Down with Pride,

Dave Heeke
Director of Athletics
University of Arizona
uofaad@arizona.edu

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Wildcat Wednesday - Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts