Athletics Director Greg Byrne's weekly email discussing Wildcat Athletics
Aug. 15, 2012
TELEVISION RE-VISITED
By now some of you may be watching (or did watch) the debut of the new Pac-12 Networks, which launched today at 6 p.m. Cox Cable and Comcast are carrying the Networks in the Tucson market. The Pac-12 Networks Channel Finder is available to search for a listing of carriers in any zip code. So far the Pac-12 has not reached an agreement with DirecTV or DISH, but is working hard to reach fair market-based distribution agreements with every distributor that is interested in providing their subscribers with Pac-12 sports. Negotiations continue.
We encourage you to visit Pac-12.com for the most current and up-to-date information. In an attempt to assist our local fans we have posted some basic information regarding the Networks on our website, including the channels on Cox and Comcast where the Pac-12 Arizona Network is available.
Questions about Cox Cable and Comcast service should be directed to their respective call centers – Cox at 884-0133 and Comcast at 744-1900. An online form has been set up by the Pac-12 to send arequest to DirecTV and other providers to carry the Pac-12 Networks. Visit the Channel Finder, enter your zip, select your provider, click continue, and you’ll be directed to the request form. Stay patient, but keep letting your provider know you want the network.
Our initial events scheduled to appear on the Networks are the Sept. 8 and Sept. 15 home football games against Oklahoma State and South Carolina State, a Sept. 18 ASU-Arizona volleyball game from McKale Center, and a Sept. 21 soccer match at California.Click hereto see the fall schedule release from the Pac-12.
EXCLUSIVE WILDCAT CLUB FOOTBALL SCRIMMAGE
This just in! Coach Rodriguez is extending an exclusive invitation to current Wildcat Club members to attend football practice this Saturday, August 18. As you may know practices are closed to the public, so this is an exciting opportunity for Wildcat Club members and one guest to get an early look at the team as they prepare for the September 1st opener against Toledo. Practice gets underway at Arizona Stadium beginning at 12 p.m. and will end at approximately 1:30 p.m.This invite in not transferable.
This exclusive opportunity is provided to you because of membership with the Wildcat Club, which provides continued support of Arizona student-athletes through either priority tickets or a philanthropic gift exceeding $100. We look forward to welcoming members and their guests on Saturday as we prepare for an exciting season. To join the Wildcat Club, visit www.WildcatMovement.com. If you are a Wildcat Club member and you have not received an email invitation, please contact the Wildcat Club at 520.621.CLUB (2582) or at WildcatClub@arizona.edu or visit the Arizonawildcats.com website and click on “My Account” to update your email information to ensure invitation to special opportunities like this one. All invitations were sent online with the email address that has been provided to the Athletics Department.
SOCCER, VOLLEYBALL AND FOOTBALL
A couple of events open the 2012-13 season. The Wildcat soccer team opens action under head coach Lisa Oyen with a road match at Long Beach State this Friday evening to get it all going. Our home events start with head coach Dave Rubio’s volleyball Red-Blue Scrimmage in McKale Center at 2 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday we’ll have a combination media day and public Meet the Team eventfor head coach Rich Rodriguez’s football team at McKale Center. Fans can watch the team in media interaction from the stands between 11 a.m. and noon, enjoy a program with the Voice of the Wildcats Brian Jeffries, then mingle with players for autographs on the floor starting at 12:30 p.m. Parking and admission are free. Come on out this weekend and help us kick off the year!
Also, you may be one of a few lucky fans to get your fall sports season tickets personally hand delivered by student-athletes. Fans were chosen by being some of the first to renew their season tickets for this season. Football student-athletes will head out Saturday evening and both Volleyball and Soccer student-athletes are knocking on doors Monday evening. You come and support them all season long, this is their opportunity to come to you and thank you personally for your support.
FOOTBALL GAME DAY CONSTRUCTION, TRAFFIC AND PARKING INFO
Due to the construction of the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility and modern street car rail system in and around campus, please allow yourself extra time to get to the stadium and arrive at your parking location on game days. Planning your route carefully and arriving at the stadium gates at least 30 minutes prior to kick-off is encouraged.
To assist with your planning we have set up an FAQ page on our website. The information is provided as an ongoing update related to parking, pedestrian traffic, and other important updates for the 2012 season. This information can and will change, so please check back regularly for the latest updates. We will also include any updates in the Wildcat Wednesday. If there are questions we have not answered please emailcatsinfo@arizona.edu and we will provide you with an answer.
FOOTBALL’S ENGINE
Hopefully you all either have season tickets or live out of range to attend our home games. It’s pretty simple. We can grow more prosperous as a department more easily through football attendance than any single factor. You’ve heard me say that many times but I can’t say it enough. What increased attendance does for the game-day experience is obvious, too. We want Rich Rodriguez to start his Arizona program under the best possible circumstances -- and that’s with every seat taken. Sign up now to join us. Or, call the McKale Ticket Office at 520-621-CATS. We also have a 1-800-452-2287 for a free long-distance call.
OLYMPIANS ACROSS THE LAND
The NCAA reports there were at least 132 current or enrolled student-athletes from around the country or world who participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London – including our own high jumper Brigetta Barrett(click hereto watch a mini-documentary on Brigetta), hurdler Georgeanne Moline, shot putter Julie LaBonte’ and soccer player Ana-Maria Montoya. The Association reports that NCAA student-athletes combined to win 47 medals including Brigetta’s silver. Those four and the rest of our contingent of other former Wildcats are due some serious acclamation for bearing down at the top of the competitive ladder! Needless to say, it’s a tremendous achievement for every single competitor.
CRUISE DOWN TO ARIZONA STADIUM FROM PHOENIX
We’re excited to partner once again with Bon Voyage Travel and bring back the Cat Cruiser to our Phoenix-area fans. The Cat Cruiser bus will pick up fans from three different locations in the Valley, arriving two hours prior to every home game. The bus will then head back to Phoenix 30 minutes after the conclusion of each game. Space is limited so reserve your spot today by visiting the Cat Cruiser webpage. #PhoenixIsWildcatCountry
A-CLUB LETTERWINNERS UPDATE
We are proud of Arizona A-Club letterman David Roberts (2008-11), who recently began working for Boeing Commercial Airplanes as an Aerospace Propulsion Engineer. Hehas always had a passion for flying and aerodynamics and while growing up it was his dream to be involved in building planes. David believes Arizona football along with the help of his coaches, teachers, and the UA athletics staff have strengthened his time management skills and his ability to handle pressure. We want to congratulate David on the start of a great career and an even brighter future…Bear Down!
ABIDING BY THE RULES
‘If it’s not available to the general student body, it’s not available to you’ is the mantra our compliance officers hammer home to our student-athletes – asking for their understanding of extra benefits. Receiving extra benefits is not permissible for student-athletes, whether car rides, dinners, pocket money, reduced-cost services, gifts, etc. Many of you interact with our students and we need you to remember they’re here under a huge set of guidelines and rules to help them earn an education. We need to start out the new year in our normal consistent fashion. Please, if you have any questions about this, visit our Compliance Office website or call their office at 520-621-4796.
COLLEGE COLORS DAY – AUGUST 31
We need your help in this year’s College Colors Day competition. Even though we wear the colors every Friday, the official designated College Colors Day is Friday, August 31. All registrants that sign up and pledge their support for Arizona will be entered to win weekly prizes. In addition, the institution with the most pledges will be awarded the College Colors Day Spirit Cup and receive $10,000 for its general scholarship fund. Bear Down and pledge your support for The University of Arizona today by clicking here!
NOTES…
A reader suggested a Colors game one can play – they did it in an amusement park recently – where you get 1 point for sighting someone in the colors, you get 1 point for every unsolicited “Bear Down” or “Go Cats,” etc., from someone who notices you wearing the colors, you get 1 point for a high-five in that situation, and 1 point from a scowl drawn from someone who ostensibly supports another school. The good part is that wearing the colors starts it all!...
…We had a question about the workforce involved in the construction of the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, and were given the following facts: Two-thirds of the contractors and vendors are local, with 84 percent of the actual workforce on site local. Project managers feel they can end up with 75 percent contracting/vending. In all, that translates to tens of millions of dollars infused into the local economy by this important Arizona Athletics capital project…
PRESIDENTIAL COLORS
Below, Herb and Randi Martin-Rude show some allegiance in front of one of our nation’s enduring monuments, Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. At bottom, and four years behind the curve, Christopher Canfield gives thumbs-up at Olympic Park in Beijing, China.
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