Wildcat Wednesday - 5/16/12 - ARIZONAWILDCATS.COM - The University of Arizona Wildcats Official Athletic Site

Wildcat Wednesday - 5/16/12

Athletics Director Greg Byrne's weekly email discussing Wildcat Athletics

May 16, 2012

WILDCAT MOVEMENT TARGETING BIGGER THINGS

This week we started a broader appeal to help us grow membership in the Wildcat Club by almost 25 percent - to 12,000 members by 2013. That's sizeable growth but a reasonable quest. Many of you may be Wildcat Club members and, if not, how about taking the plunge and helping us reach our goal? The cost is $100 annually, about the price of a sandwich once a month. New membership means more to us than simply the tax-deductible donations, it's about growing the Wildcat Movement to include many supporters from both near and far. It's about wearing the colors and having pride in our university and in Wildcat student-athletes. Please share the Wildcat Movement with your friends, neighbors, etc. Each of us can make a difference!

PHOENIX IS WILDCAT COUNTRY

We're sending this week's Wildcat Wednesday from Tempe! Today the Road Tour takes us around the Phoenix area, including stops at Wilson Primary School for a special Wildcat Assembly with football coach Rich Rodriguez, men's basketball coach Sean Miller, and volleyball coach Dave Rubio. We discussed the importance of doing well in school and establishing a strong work ethic early on in their academic careers. The coaches also had the chance to share information about their respective sports and allowed time for kids to ask questions. We're currently enjoying the social event and then will head over to Packard Stadium to support the Cats in the State Farm Territorial Cup baseball game. Next week the Road Tour will feature two stops, Sierra Vista on Monday, May 21 and Yuma on Wednesday, May 23. If you are in the area we'd love to see you in person. Visit the Road Tour webpage for details.

GOING TO SAN DIEGO

In addition to the Road Tour stops in Arizona, we are teaming up with the University of Arizona Alumni Association for a special event in San Diego this weekend. Officially called "Arizona Night at the Lodge at Torrey Pines,"Coach Rodriguez and I will be mingling with San Diego-area alumni and fans. Also scheduled to attend is football letterman and current San Diego Charger, Antoine Cason. The event is open to the public and starts at 4:00 p.m. PST. Click here to RSVP or read more information about the event.

THE ROAD TO OKLAHOMA CITY BEGINS FRIDAY

It's mid-May and in Tucson that means it's time for postseason softball! We're thrilled to be hosting regional play in the NCAA Softball Championships this Friday through Sunday. Tickets have been on sale since Monday and we're hoping for good crowds to give the Cats the typical home-field advantage they've enjoyed at Hillenbrand Stadium. In fact, the team is 560-62 in the venue since it opened in 1993. That's amazing! The action begins Friday at 2:30 p.m. with Hawaii vs. Notre Dame. The Wildcats will play North Dakota State at approximately 5:00 p.m. All-session tickets start at $21 and single-session tickets start at $8. Single-session tickets will go on sale Friday. Our print-at-home option is only available for single-session tickets purchased online. Check out ArizonaWildcats.com for a complete Tucson Regional schedule and link to purchase tickets. You can also purchase tickets at the McKale Ticket Office in person or by calling 520-621-CATS (2287).

MORE NCAAs IN THE OFFING

Our men's golf team under Coach Rick LaRose - in his final event - travels to Norman, Okla., this week for NCAA Regional action. Good luck, Cats. Hopefully softball will be chasing them down in Super Regional play at Oklahoma May 25-27... Congrats to our women's golf team and women's tennisteam for their participation in NCAA action last week. Golfer Margarita Ramos will play as an individual in the NCAA Championships May 22-25 in Franklin, Tenn.... Our track and fieldteams are coming off third-place finishes at the Pac-12 Championships and will be off to NCAA Prelims in Austin, Texas, next week. We had six event champions in the Pac-12 meet last week -Georganne Moline (400-meter hurdles), the women's 4x400 relay, Brigetta Barrett and Nick Ross in the high jump, Lawi Lalang (1,500 meters) and Stephen Sambu (10,000 meters). Keep it up! The track teams will host the Tucson Elite Classic throws meet this Thursday and Saturday at Drachman Stadium in a final home event... Baseball, a shoo-in for NCAA play, is on the road at USC Friday through Sunday in its quest for a Pac-12 title.

T-CUP UPDATE

The Pac-12 track and field events saw both Arizona and our northern neighbor win points in the State Farm Territorial Cup Series, so the standings, with just four baseball games left to determine the final point, are 11.5 to 5.5 in our favor, the highest single-year total in the three-year history of the Series. Way to go, Wildcats!

FOOTBALL SEASON TICKET SEAT CHANGES

Thanks again to everyone who has renewed their football season tickets. Now that the deadline has passed, the McKale Ticket Office staff is beginning to contact those who requested a seat location change. Expect a call sometime in the next few weeks if you requested to move your seats to a new location in Arizona Stadium. Season tickets for new customers continue to be on sale. Call 520-621-CATS (2287) or order online at ArizonaWildcats.com and get on board for 2012!

A-CLUB LETTERWINNER UPDATES

This time of year is always exciting for several of our A-Club members from men's basketball. Specifically, would like to congratulate Arizona A-Club Member Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers. Andre made two clutch free throws in the closing seconds of Game 5 against the Chicago Bulls last week helping his team advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Andre was a basketball letterman from 2003-04 and we wish him continued success in his NBA career and we hope to see him wearing the colors for the USA as part of the 2012 Olympic men's basketball team.

On another A-Club member note, Robin Roberts is returning to ESPN for a special interview series called "In the Game with Robin Roberts." The interviews will focus on prominent female athletes. The first interviewee...A-Club member and Arizona Athletics Hall of Famer Jennie Finch! Jennie's interview is schedule to air on tomorrow's SportsCenters between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.

MONKEYS AND LIONS AND CATS

Below, Aron Schmidt poses with a primate of a different kind, followed by Chris Hawkins monkeying around with a couple of cats of another breed in South Africa. At the bottom, Terry Francona stopped by last week and visited with the softball team.