June 16, 2010

YOU HAVE TO BE THERE...

...In Arizona Stadium on September 11th when we open the home football season against The Citadel. And, of course, you should be using your football season tickets to accomplish that. There are plenty of options for tickets. Click HERE to get started. A year ago, The Sporting News picked Arizona around 75th in the country at this time; last week, it said we check into the 2010 season at 35th. We believe we have Top 25 potential, so exciting times are on the horizon for Arizona football. The bottom line is, the best way to see it in person is with season tickets.

WELCOME UTAH!

After adding Colorado to the Pac-10 last week, it looks like Utah will be joining the conference as well. An invitation from the conference office has been extended and it is expected to be accepted tomorrow. The University of Utah is a great institution and should be a wonderful addition to our conference. Expanding our reach into the Salt Lake City market is also exciting. Welcome aboard Utes!

When it is apparent that everything has settled down regarding conference expansion/movement, we will go into more detail about what all has taken place the last few weeks.

COMPARISON SHOPPING

Sort of...A group of us including Coach Stoops, Scott Shake, and a small group of donors went on a tour of several schools' football facilities over the last few days to get a better idea of what's out there and relative costs for differing approaches. It's been a valuable experience checking out projects at Nebraska, Oregon and Oregon State. As we close in on "Vision Arizona" and our own plans, we want to make certain we've seen what can be done. Hopefully, some of you were able to keep up with us on our adventure when I shared pictures of the facilities we were visiting through my Facebook and Twitter pages. More on this later, to be sure.

OFF TO NATIONAL CONVENTION

I'll be attending the annual convention of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) next week in Anaheim. With all the talk of league expansion and the financial realities that institutions will face in the near future, it should be an interesting week. Marketing, academic success rates, fund development and all kinds of issues are discussed in both formal and informal settings by the wide-ranging membership and our allied organizations.

IT'S NOT BAGGAGE

Assistant golf coach Andy Barnes is in the Monterey Bay area this week carrying the bag for his younger brother, Ricky, in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Ricky, a former UA golfer of note, finished tied for second in last year's Open at the Bethpage Black course in greater New York, and is playing pretty well on tour of late. Best of luck to Ricky, and here's hoping Andy has a feel for the right clubs this week. Ricky's bag, of course, has a nice Arizona block "A" on it...

COLOR BLIND

Not me. I've been around a number of Western states in the past week and worn the Red and Blue -- and noticed others with UA connections doing the same. I find that kind of statement by people to be influential in my day; I see a Wildcat T-shirt or cap a thousand miles from campus and the respect and allegiance it shows is special. Don't forget to join our legion of ambassadors and do the same.

Grown out of your colors, worn out your shirts, live in an area that doesn't have Arizona logo clothing readily available?  Click HERE to visit our official store on our website to improve your wardrobe.

Bear Down,

Greg Byrne
Director of Athletics
University of Arizona
uofaad@arizona.edu