Wildcat Wednesday - 11/2/11 - ARIZONAWILDCATS.COM - The University of Arizona Wildcats Official Athletic Site

Wildcat Wednesday - 11/2/11

IT’S HOMECOMING

It’s Homecoming on the University of Arizona campus. There are many events held in connection with the annual return of alumni, and you can find a comprehensive listing here for Homecoming 2011 – Red, Blue & Bold! Kick-off for the football game is set at 4:00 p.m. against the Utes of Utah. Tickets are available for the game. Please don’t forget to join us for the Wildcat Walk which will begin at 2:10 p.m.

Tailgating will begin at 10 a.m. Due to the homecoming activities, tailgaters will not be allowed to park vehicles overnight along the street next to or on the UA mall. Tailgate vehicles with the required tailgate pass will need to wait until 9:00 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 5 to begin lining up.

The Homecoming Parade will begin at 12:30 p.m. and is scheduled to last approximately 1.5 hours. Access toSouth-bound Cherry Ave. from Speedway Blvd. will be restricted starting at 12:30pm to approximately 2:45pm.

If you are an Arizona letterwinner please visit the A-Club/Letterwinners’ website for updates on events and times, including the golf tournament, Hall of Fame ceremony and breakfasts.

In addition to being inducted into the Hall of Fame Friday night, Volleyball letterwinner Kim Glass will have her jersey retired at intermission of the Arizona vs. OSU match Friday night at 8pm. Tickets are available, so please join us for the match and jersey retirement presentation.

McKALE CENTER VISION

I can report there is serious planning under way for the future of McKaleCenter. Some of the most pressing changes we could implement in the near future are becoming closer to fact rather than just vision. We've talked in the past about moving forward with our facilities, notably as we move forward as a Pac-12 member, and beyond the north end zone facility and work to be done on Arizona Stadium. McKale renovations are the next step. We're not quite ready to share specifics or architectural plans but know that Arizona Athletics is taking dramatic steps to ensure our facilities will be among the best. And remember that you, the fans who fillMcKaleCenter, remain a top priority. Thanks to you our legacy of spectacular spectator support is among the best in the country.

CHALK TWO UP FOR THE CATS

The men's and women's cross country teams both fared well enough at the Pac-12 Championships to bring home the first points in the State Farm Territorial Cup Series. Congratulations to all our runners. Our competitive goals exceed a one-on-one battle against one institution, but it's still nice to begin the year that way and we frankly plan to keep winning the Cup. And, congratulations to Lawi Lalang for winning the very first Pac-12 individual title awarded by taking the race in the men's competition. As for the State Farm Territorial Cup Series, the next chapter is Friday when our women's soccer team plays host to ASU at 7 p.m. in the final match of the 2011 season.

REFORM UNDER WAY

Not trying to put words in the mouth of NCAA leaders, but President Mark Emmert last week mentioned "dysfunction in governance" created by the NCAA having no jurisdiction over postseason football in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The Knight Commission members want to explore recommendations for more oversight "of a sport that has such economic ramifications on the entirety of intercollegiate athletics," the NCAA reported. Whether the NCAA might try to exert influence over the bowl system or establish a different kind of postseason is not clear, but it is clear that some national leaders are taking a close look. A few days later the NCAA Board of Directors approved a plan that mandates certain levels of academic performance in order to participate in postseason competition, approved giving conferences the power to authorize "full cost of attendance" supplements to scholarship student-athletes, and raised the Academic Progress Rate a few notches higher as the yardstick for the postseason competition level. All of these moves will impact theUniversity of Arizona, and we'll have more on this later.

OUR STUDENTS, OUR UNIVERSITY

Today the University of Arizona UA News department posted a nice article on senior wide receiver David Roberts. It’s a testament to the difficult balance our student-athletes maintain in their daily lives.

The Arizona Daily Star ran an op-ed piece this past Sunday after its editorial board recently spent time with UA President Eugene Sander. You should know he is a very straightforward and articulate man. He also talked about the top quality he expects in the next University president, expected to be named around March -- leadership. Dr. Sander's stewardship of our institution has been exemplary and surely points the successor in the right direction.

MEN’S BASKETBALL INDIVIDUAL GAME TICKET TRANSFER

A great new feature for men’s basketball season ticket holders - you can now transfer (forward) one or more of your individual game tickets to a friend online. This is a perfect tool for out-of-town fans or businesses who cannot use their tickets for a specific game. Simply log into your account using the My Account Managertool, click the Transfer Tickets button near the bottom corner, and select the game(s) and seat(s) that you would like to transfer. Then enter the email address of the person you would like to receive your tickets for that game. That person now has 48 hours to accept the tickets. Once the transfer has been accepted the original tickets are no longer valid and the new tickets are sent via email. This option is available up until tip-off. The ticket transfer feature will also be available in the future for some other sports with reserved seats, including football, women’s basketball, softball and baseball. More to come…

THAT’S A LOT OF ARIZONA FOOTBALL

Thanks to Rusty McInroy, who brought to our attention that his brother-in-law’s (Dr. Richard Hoshaw’s) mother, Ruth Hoshaw, has been sitting in Arizona Stadium in the same seat since 1950. She first started attending games with her late husband, Bob Hoshaw, who was a professor at the University of Arizona. We checked, and indeed Ruth has been a football season ticket holder for 61 years. We thought this was worthy of acknowledgment. In fact, we are going to recognize in future Wildcat Wednesday emails other season ticket holders of 50 or more years. If you want to make sure we have you (or someone you know who has been an Arizona Wildcat season ticket holder for 50 or more years in one sport) in our database, please email us atcatsinfo@arizona.edu. Thank you, Ruth… and Bear Down!

TAX CREDIT CLARIFICATION

Last week we mentioned the Arizona K-12 Schools Tax Credit and wanted to let our readers know that the tax credit can also be applied to academic enrichment programs as well as sports and physical education. Thanks to former Pima County School Superintendent Anita Lohr for this clarification.

HALLOWEEN CATS

Below at left is a backlit Halloween pumpkin carving by Rey Valenzuela, who said it took eight hours... At right is a garden figurine, Norman the Gnoman, snowed under at the Denver home of Chris Wuensch ('03)... Wonder if the white stuff will be around for our football game in Boulder on Nov. 12... Below that a fine looking Arizona “block A”… while Nora Davenport and canine pal Madison show off their Wildcat spirit before hitting the neighborhood for some trick-or-treating.

SCHEDULE NOTES

Our women's basketball team plays tonight in McKale (7 p.m.)... The men's and women's swimming and diving teams host Wisconsin at 2 p.m. Friday... The soccer team plays ASU at 7 p.m. Friday in Tucson... Women's tennis is on the road Friday through Sunday at the Memphis Invitational... Our volleyball team has critical matches against OregonState on Friday (8 p.m.) and Sunday vs. Oregon (noon) in McKaleCenter... Thewomen's basketball team plays an exhibition game in McKale at 4 p.m. Sunday against Grand Canyon, while the men open the 2K Classic in McKale at 7 p.m. Monday against Valparaiso... WILBUR vs. WOLFIE fromNevada is the featured mascot matchup this week. We are in the home stretch so don’t forget to cast your vote by texting Wilbur to 78527, or vote online by clicking here.

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