Athletics Director Greg Byrne's weekly email discussing Wildcat Athletics
Nov. 7, 2012
FOOTBALL LAST WEEKEND Please allow me to reflect a bit on last weekend’s game…That stunk. Time to move on. HOMECOMING AT ARIZONA We’re expecting a great crowd for Saturday’s Homecoming football game vs. Colorado, but we’re not sold out. If you haven’t purchased your tickets you can still get them by clicking here. We hope you’ll join us. Ticket sales are looking good and we’re on pace to having the biggest home crowd of the season. Thank you to all the alumni that are coming back to campus and supporting your football team. You can find a complete listing of Homecoming weekend details at UAHomecoming.com. BASKETBALL’S OPENING DAY IS HERE This Sunday at McKale Center Sean Miller will open his fourth year as head coach of the Arizona Wildcats at 4 p.m. against Charleston Southern in the first regular season game of the year. Arizona basketball opening day is always an exciting day, even more so this year as the expectations are high. The team has looked solid in two exhibition game victories, which generated even more anticipation for the regular season. We want to thank the fans that came out for both exhibition games which were unintentionally scheduled up against Halloween and Election Night. To have over 12,000 (a number that many teams in the Pac-12 won’t reach for their highest attended game of the year) for two exhibition games on those nights shows everyone how passionate our fans are for Arizona basketball. We’re looking forward to seeing a full house Sunday afternoon for opening day. A limited amount of tickets are available and there is a special ticket promotion for fans that bought tickets to the Homecoming football game vs. Colorado (you should have received an e-mail last night with the details). It’s going to be quite the basketball season. Click here to get more information on season tickets! We’ll see you at McKale Sunday afternoon. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON Whether you are a season ticketholder who attended our pre-season fan event or received a visit from our student-athletes in October for ticket delivery night, there is no doubt that our most loyal Women’s basketball fans are “all in” (as Coach Butts would say) and are excited for this upcoming season. From early morning workouts in August and September, this is a team who is ready to make a run in the Pac-12 conference this season. With veteran leadership from senior leader, Davellyn Whyte, this is a team committed to do big things. Women’s basketball tickets are a great value for fans of all ages and are available here. CRUISE UP FROM PHOENIX Space is still available on the Cat Cruiser bus, which provides roundtrip transportation from the Phoenix area to Tucson, for Saturday’s football game. The cost is $30 per person and there are three pickup/drop off locations throughout the Valley. Thank you to Bon Voyage Travel for working with us to provide this transportation option to our fans. Click here for more information or to RSVP for your spot. VETERANS DAY Sunday is Veterans Day, a day to reflect and give thanks to all those who have served our country. We are looking forward to recognizing veterans at Saturday’s football game and Sunday’s men’s basketball game. We’re very appreciative of our armed forces and honor them throughout the entire football season. Thanks to a partnership with our friends at the Crest Insurance Group, we have a “Welcome Back Hero” moment in the 1st/2nd quarter break of every home football game where we recognize a young man or woman who has recently returned home from overseas. It’s a very touching moment and something we enjoy very much. During the Washington game we started recognizing local veterans on the field right before the National Anthem, and this season along with the DM50 we hosted our eighth annual Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Day. These are some small things we do to try to show our gratitude. To all those who have served our country in the past, and to all those who are serving now, thank you for helping to provide and protect the freedom we all enjoy. Bear Down! TERRITORIAL CUP SERIES As you know we have won the Territorial Cup Series three straight years! So it behooves us to mention the current status in our rivalry series for 2012-13. The other team won a point last week in soccer and has a 2.0 to 1.5 lead a week before a big Friday (Nov. 23) when both volleyball and football have showdowns for more points. Coach Rubio’s squad won the first in the two-match decider, so a half-point is up for grabs there. The Territorial Cup game itself will give the winner another point. Remember, the Territorial Cup is the 1899 trophy awarded to the winner of the annual football game; the Territorial Cup Series is the across-the-board matchups in 18 sports, with the winning school needing at least 9.5 points at the end of spring to win the Series. We have a lot of work ahead of us but lets make it four straight!! EXCEPTIONAL WORK HONORED We were notified this week that our men’s golfteam and our gymnastics team have received Public Recognition Awards from the NCAA for the 2010-11 year. The two programs placed in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports in the recent NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate reports. Kudos to Coaches Jim Anderson (and recently retired golf coach Rick LaRose) and Bill Ryden for helping instill the academic drive and performance for which we strive. And, of course, congratulations to the student-athletes who did the work in the classrooms. Our men’s cross country team won the honor in 2007-08. We’re pleased and proud – and committed to earn such honors in all our sports. Bear Down! A-CLUB LETTER WINNER UPDATE, HALL OF FAME EDITION This Friday we will induct seven A-Club letterwinners and two teams into the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. We look forward to welcoming back these great Wildcats who helped build the tradition here at Arizona: Robert “Jake” Arnold, track and field; Clarence L. “Stub” Ashcraft, UA Athletic Events and Facilities Coordinator; Jenna Karadbil, gymnastics; Rick LaRose, golf and water polo head coach; Caitlin Lowe, softball; Whitney Myers, women’s swimming and diving; Adam Ritter, men’s swimming and diving;2006 NCAA Champion Men’s Swimming 800 Freestyle Relay Team (Simon Burnett, Lyndon Ferns, Tyler DeBerry, Adam Ritter); and the 2012 NCAA Champion Baseball Team. For more information about attending the event please click here. The A-Club and Arizona Athletics looks forward to having our letterwinners return to their home for a weekend of tradition and wildcat festivities! HOMECOMING ROYALTY Each homecoming the Bobcats Senior Honorary and the UA Chapter of the Mortar Board National College Senior Honorary Society select the Homecoming royalty from a pool of applicants submitted by clubs affiliated with the Associate Students of the UA and other UA student groups. From this group, five men and five women who best represent the University through scholarship, leadership, University involvement, community service and commitment to the UA are selected to become member of the Homecoming Court. We are proud to say the Athletics department has three representatives in this final group. Congratulations to Queen Finalists,Brigetta Barrett (track and field) and Jill Moore (cheerleading) and King Finalist, Sam Rowan (swimming and diving). The King and Queen will be named at the bonfire this Friday at Old Main but regardless of the results we are proud of these student-athletes and all that they do to represent us and the University. WILDCAT CLUB: TICKET PRIORITY—NOT JUST ABOUT THE SEATS Did you know that many areas of Arizona Stadium, McKale Center, Hillenbrand Stadium, and Hi Corbett Field carry a per-seat tax-deductible contribution over and above the actual ticket cost? This contribution, also known as “priority,” goes to off-set operating costs and makes a big difference in the experience of our nearly 500 student-athletes. If the priority amount on your season ticket(s) totals $100 or more, you are considered aWildcat Club member. We want to make sure our loyal fans know that when they purchase tickets in a “priority” area, they aren’t just getting a great seat, they are also making a positive impact in the lives of our student-athletes. Thank you! WEEKLY SCHEDULE Check out our weekly schedule graphic at the bottom of this email. Right click, save and share!
CITIES OLD AND NEW Below, some Wildcats with some high-rising scenery in the background. At top, Betty Sanchez and her children Jessica and Jose across the river from Manhattan; in the middle is Christopher Romero at Teotihuacan; Mexico; and also in the Yucatan below are the Uman, Guevara, Morris, Jones and Welden couples (with one of them shooting the photo) at Chichen Itza.
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