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SOME NEW ADDITIONS TO FOOTBALL PREGAME
One of the best aspects of hearing from our fans and the newly-created Fan Alliance Network is continuously working to improve the fan experience at our games, even as we move through the season. It pushes us to constantly be thinking of new and different things we can either tweak or add to the gameday experience. Recently, we’ve been thinking of ways to spruce up our pregame or to add to the atmosphere during the game. After tossing around some ideas with our Arizona Creative Team, we’re excited to debut two new features that we want the entire stadium to be a part of.
The first one will occur with seven minutes on the pregame clock, just prior to the intro video. This is something we hope will signal that the intro video is about to begin and start the build-up for when the team runs onto the field. But, you’ll have to wait until Saturday to see what that is.
The second aspect is the ‘Zona Sway.’ We introduced it to the ZonaZoo before the UNLV game and it worked well. Now, we want to see if we can get the entire stadium to participate. We’re going to try and get Arizona Stadium ‘swaying’ while saying ‘ZO-NA, ZO-NA’ between the coin toss and the opening kickoff. If it works, I think it will look really cool and help increase the energy for the early part of the game.
STILL TIME TO BE THE ONE
50,103 fans were on hand for our football season opener vs. UNLV. Not quite a full stadium, but those who were there provided a great atmosphere. If you were at that game, thank you for your support. We hope you will be back this Saturday night versus Nevada. If you weren’t at the game, Saturday is a great opportunity to jump on board. There are three ways you can show you are ready to “#BeThe1.”
- Prorated Season Tickets – the best value available, get tickets for the six remaining home games for as low as $85.
- Blue Mini-Plan – Tickets to three exciting home games (Saturday’s game vs. Nevada, the Oct. 11 game vs. USC and the Nov. 15 game vs. Washington) for one discounted price.
- Single-game tickets – Single-game tickets start at just $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and under. If you follow me on Twitter you might have noticed some of the price comparisons I was making over the weekend. Starbucks, movie tickets, t-shirts, those are all things that cost more than a ticket to Saturday’s game.
Coach Rodriguez and I have high expectations on where we think the ceiling is for our football program, but we can’t get there without Arizona Stadium being full for each and every home game. Arizona football is 11 players on the field plus one unified Wildcat Nation. Do your part and be a part of the equation. Click HERE to get your football tickets online or call (520) 621-CATS (2287) tomorrow morning beginning at 9 a.m.
CAT TRAN SHUTTLE A HIT FOR SEASON OPENER
We offered a new park and ride service for the season opener against UNLV, the Cat Tran Shuttle from the Park Ave. garage to Arizona Stadium, and based on initial returns, it looks like a number of you used that option. We had about 900 fans utilize the shuttle and it sounds like everything went pretty smoothly. There is still some extra space to accommodate riders, so it might be something you want to consider.
As a reminder, parking will be $5 per vehicle in the Park Ave. garage or free to carpools of 4 or more. All vehicle occupants will be able to use the complimentary shuttle, provided they present the parking permit issued for entry into the garage. For more information on the Cat Tran Shuttle, visit our parking page at arizonawildcats.com/parking.
We also want to direct people to the $5 parking lots in the northeast section of campus, where there is plenty of parking available. There is a Sun Link Streetcar stop right next to lot 2029 (Warren Ave. at Helen St.) that you can take to the stop adjacent to Hillenbrand Stadium (2nd St. at Cherry Ave.) to assist in shortening your walk to Arizona Stadium. For fans that want to travel by foot, you can utilize the Warren Underpass to get on campus and then it is just a short walk to the UA Mall for Fan Fiesta and the Wildcat Walk prior to heading into the stadium for the game.
MAKE SURE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CAT CRUISER
We wanted to remind everyone about the Cat Cruiser being available from Phoenix on football game days. Based on feedback last year, we added a second route this year to try and limit the number of stops and get everyone to and from the games as quickly as possible.
We had decent ridership for the UNLV game, but we’re concerned that if the number of users doesn’t increase during the rest of the season, we’ll have to evaluate the feasibility of this travel option moving forward.
We know there are some diehard riders who have been using the Cat Cruiser for a number of years and they love it, so we hope you’ll consider it when making your plans to come down to Tucson for the games.
For more information on the Cat Cruiser, click HERE.
BASKETBALL SCHEDULES COMING SOON
We know a lot of you are excited about the release of this year’s basketball schedules, as are we. We’ve gotten word that they should be coming here in the near future. We don’t have an exact date but wanted to let you know it is coming, and as you might expect, as soon as we can go public with it, we will. Don’t forget that we do know the weeks that we will be home and on the road and that information is available by clicking HERE.
MCKALE CENTER ENTRY AND EXIT
With the renovation of the McKale Center in the final stages, it’s a new day for the historic arena, but with that, comes a formation of new habits for those attending events. Many of you have been attending games at McKale for years, and because of that, you’ve developed a sort of ritual about where you park, how you enter and exit, and how you navigate the arena. Some of your habits may need to change due to the renovation and we ask that you be flexible as everyone gets comfortable with the new surroundings.
For instance, access to the floor will be extremely limited compared to previous years. As a result of the renovation, we needed to add gates along the front rows on the north, east and south sides to comply with ADA codes. The step that was there previously constituted a violation of the current codes, so it was a must that we added those gates.
There is a walkway along the west side behind scholarship row that will provide access to restrooms and Skip’s snack bar via the northwest tunnel, but that access will only be available in-game. Otherwise, there will not be access to the floor level pre or postgame.
Due to the restricted floor access, we’re asking that all fans enter from either the middle or upper concourse. Fans with seats in the lower bowl should enter through the middle concourse and proceed to their seat by going down the stairs towards the court. Conversely, when exiting the arena after the final horn, fans in the lower bowl will need to proceed up the stairs, away from the court, to the middle concourse and exit via the street level gates. Fans seated in the upper areas can enter and exit through the middle or upper concourses and proceed to and from their seats accordingly.
We know this will be different for a lot of you, but with facility upgrades, come changes. It will take some getting used to but it is in the best interest of McKale’s functionality and long-term feasibility.
CHEER FEST REGISTRATION OPEN FOR KIDS
The UA Cheerleaders host their annual Cheer Fest program for the Sept. 20 football game vs. Cal. This is a fun opportunity for kids ages 5-18 to participate in a special cheer and dance clinic with the cheerleaders and then perform at halftime of the football game. Registration for individuals is $50 per kid and includes clinic instruction, a t-shirt, one ticket (for the participant) for the Sept. 20 football game and a downloadable video file of the halftime performance. There is an opportunity to purchase discounted group tickets for family and friends. For more information call (520) 621-2331 or click HERE to register online. The deadline to sign up is Sunday, Sept. 14.
ARIZONA SOCCER ALSO PLAYING NEVADA
Soccer competed in the Sun Devil Classic last weekend in Tempe going 1-0-1, tying the sixth-ranked Texas A&M Aggies by a score of 2-2 and beating a Big 12 opponent, Oklahoma State, 3-1. That pushes their season record to 3-1-1 heading into a Friday night match with Nevada at 7 p.m. Come by Mulcahy Stadium (15th & Plumer) to support the Cats. Be sure to arrive early for a rally towel giveaway and stay late for postgame autographs. For tickets or more information, call (520) 621-CATS (2287) or click HERE.
LETTERWINNER WATCH PARTY FOR OREGON
Phoenix is Wildcat Country! The A-Club would like to invite all letterwinners that reside in Maricopa County to a watch party hosted by football letterwinner Beau Ralphs and his wife Sandra on Thursday, Oct. 2. Our Wildcats will be on the road to take on the Oregon Ducks that night. This will be a tremendous opportunity to engage with fellow letterwinners and support the Cats. Space will be limited to the first 120 letterwinners and families that respond. You can RSVP by clicking HERE.
TWITTER TRIVIA
Congrats to Brett Courtright (@brettaec) for being the 10th person to answer last week’s question correctly. Here was last week’s edition:
Q: In what year did Arizona Volleyball reach the Final Four?
A: 2001
As we prepare for another home football weekend, here is this week’s question:
Q: How many Wildcats were selected in the 2014 NFL Draft?
In order to be eligible for the weekly prize, you must respond with your answer by tweeting to me @Greg_Byrne using the hashtag #ByrneTwitterTrivia. The 10th person to respond with the correct answer will be the winner. In addition, once you’ve won, you’ll have to wait at least six months to win again, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play along. I’m looking forward to awarding some prizes so good luck.
COMPLIANCE CORNER
A student-athlete’s decision to transfer to another school is an important and often difficult one to make. The general rule is that all student-athletes have to sit out a year from competition after transferring, but at the University of Arizona, student-athletes in every sport except basketball, baseball, and football could be eligible to use a rule called the “One-Time Transfer Exception.” This rule allows student-athletes, who have met legislated criteria, to be eligible to compete right away after transferring. However, if a student-athlete in the sport of basketball, baseball, or football initially enrolled at the University of Arizona and subsequently graduates with eligibility remaining, then they could also be eligible to transfer to another NCAA school and compete immediately. Every year, we lose and gain student-athletes who have transferred. So, while we wish our former student-athletes the best with their future endeavors, we welcome all of our new additions to the Wildcat Family.
ARIZONA NUGGETS
Football has posted 19 consecutive games with a 100-yard rusher, which is the second-longest streak since 1996. Nebraska had a 20-game streak from 1999-2000 ... Led by Madi Kingdon, the current Pac-12 leader in kills with 117,volleyball is off to a 6-0 start for the first time since 2009 … Soccer’s Gabi Stoian, the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, contributed on all five goals during a pair of games last weekend, scoring three goals and assisting on two.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the upcoming events for Arizona Athletics (Home events in BOLD). All times are listed as Mountain Standard Time. To purchase tickets for home events, click here. To access live stats from your desktop or mobile device, visit ArizonaLiveStats.com.
Thursday
No Events Scheduled
Friday
5:00 p.m.: Volleyball at Texas
7:00 p.m.: Soccer vs. Nevada (Live Stream)
Saturday
8:00 a.m.: Volleyball vs. Florida A&M (in Austin, Texas)
3:30 p.m.: Volleyball vs. UCF (in Austin, Texas)
8:00 p.m.: Football vs. Nevada (TV: Pac-12 Networks) (Radio: TuneIn)
Sunday
No Events Scheduled
Monday
No Events Scheduled
Tuesday
No Events Scheduled
Wednesday
No Events Scheduled
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 “Wildcat Wednesday” album at facebook.com/ArizonaAthletics.
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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