Athletics Director Greg Byrne's weekly email discussing Wildcat Athletics
Feb. 15, 2013
PLAY BALL
The boys and girls of summer are back with the start of another Arizona baseball and softball season. Softball opens the home schedule with five games as part of the Hillenbrand Invitational. Friday, the Wildcats face Nebraska at 4 p.m. and Drake at 6 p.m. On Saturday, we will play two again, vs. Southern Utah at 4 p.m. and Purdue at 6 p.m. Softball caps off the weekend with a Sunday matinee game vs. Utah State at 1 p.m. Single-game tickets can be purchased by clicking here or calling 520-621-2287. Please remember there is construction near Hillenbrand Stadium due to the modern street car project. Give yourself some extra time on the front end to get into the stadium to avoid missing any of the action. For your convenience we've included a map of the construction area.
Opening Day for baseball is this Friday vs. Coppin State at Hi Corbett Field. We have a jammed-packed evening planned to help us kick off the new season. The 2012 national championship will be honored with the unveiling of the new banner on the outfield wall. The first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive a national championship rally towel (while supplies last). The United States Post Office has designed a special postage mark commemorating the national championship. They will have a station on the concourse at the game and will place the postmark on any item that has a postage stamp. Kurt Heyer, Robert Refsnyder and Joey Rickard will be back to throw out the first pitch. After the game, there will be a special fireworks show. The game starts at 6 p.m., doors open at 4 p.m. Get your tickets online or call 520-621-2287.
RALLY TIME FOR COACH MILLER
Coach Sean Miller is in second place in the Coaches' Charity Challenge. Vote each day to help him win the west and advance to the Final Four. The winning coach will win $100,000 for their favorite charity. Click here to vote.
NCAA LEGISLATION
Many of you may have seen recent news about the deregulation of many NCAA rules. Here is an article and a column to read to get you up to speed.
NCAA President, Dr. Mark Emmert, is pushing to simplify the rulebook by eliminating rules that are difficult to enforce and require a lot of time and effort to monitor by our institutions.
The concept is sound, but the devil will be in the details. There could be significant financial costs to our universities as these are implemented and I assume they will be discussed at both the institutional and conference level in the coming weeks.
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
Thank you to all the fans that participated in our McKale40 color out. The arena looked amazing with fans wearing the color of their section. Blakeway Worldwide Panorama captured the moment with a special panorama photo and an interactive gigapixel. If you were at the game you should be able to find yourself (depending on the angle of your seats in relation to the camera position). Use the gigapixel to tag yourself and share with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.
WEAR PINK AT MCKALE THIS WEEKEND
Gymnastics and women's basketball are asking fans to wear pink at this weekend's home events to show support in the fight against breast cancer. Gymnastics' pink out meet is Saturday vs. Nebraska at 4 p.m. Women's basketball's #Play4Kay pink out game is Sunday vs. Utah at 5 p.m. Pink pom poms will be given to fans at both events. Purchase tickets online or call 520-621-2287.
A-CLUB LETTERWINNER UPDATE
Arizona Athletics is proud to support Channing Frye and his "One Heart" heart awareness initiative, bringing attention to congenital heart disease amongst children and young adults. Channing continues to be an amazing supporter and ambassador for the University of Arizona and we wish him a healthy and speedy recovery. Help show your support for Channing and his cause by visitinghttps://www.facebook.com/ChanningFrye.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
**Men's basketball is off to the Rocky Mountains to face Colorado tomorrow and Utah on Sunday. Thursday's game vs. Colorado starts at 8 p.m. and Sunday's game vs. Utah is at 1 p.m. Both games are televised on the Pac-12 Networks. **Indoor track and field will be in Flagstaff on Friday for the NAU Tune-Up. **In addition to Sunday's #Play4Kaygame, women's basketball has a home game vs. Colorado on Friday at 7 p.m. There is a rare Tuesday home game for women's hoops vs. our rivals from up north next week. This game has huge implications if we are going to win the Territorial Cup Series for a fourth straight year. Get to McKale Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. to support the team and wear red! **Women's tennis has a home match vs. Fresno State on Friday at 1:30 p.m. and then will face Santa Clara Saturday at 10 a.m. Admission is free. The matches will be held at the Robson Tennis Center. **Men's tennis will play New Mexico on Saturday at 12 p.m. and UC Riverside on Sunday at 12 p.m. Both matches will be at the Reffkin Tennis Center, located in Tucson at Alvernon and Broadway. Admission is free. **After Opening Day, baseball will play two more games vs. Coppin State this weekend. Saturday's game starts at 2 p.m. and the series finale on Sunday starts at 12 p.m. The team will then go on the road to play at Long Beach State on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and next Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
KINGS OF THE MOUNTAIN
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