Athletics Director Greg Byrne's weekly email discussing Wildcat Athletics
Nov. 21, 2012
HAPPY THANKSGIVING On behalf of everyone in the Department of Athletics at the University of Arizona, we would like to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving. We are thankful for the tremendous support we receive from our alumni, students and general fans of the Wildcats. Enjoy your turkey day on Thursday and get your rest. Friday is going to be a big day! IT’S RIVALRY WEEK – BEAR DOWN WITH PRIDE Friday is a big day for our University, our city and our state. Not only will the football game be played in front of a packed Arizona Stadium (thank you fans), but it will also be televised live across the nation on ESPN. It will be the only game played at that time, so all eyes will be on us. It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase our football program, University and city. We all know this is a highly competitive and intense rivalry. We want to see fans cheering and making noise like crazy on Friday night, but let’s make sure we do it the right way. We may wear different colors on Friday, but at the end of the day we are all Arizonans. As our Bear Down with Pride slogan goes, there are many great traditions at the University of Arizona, but bad sportsmanship isn’t one of them. This has been a fantastic season! Coach Rodriguez and I never put a number on how many wins would define a good season. What was most important was getting better every day. Stay hungry and the wins would take care of themselves, which is exactly what has happened. After Friday’s game we will wait to learn our bowl game destination. The games this weekend (including our game Friday) and the conference championship games next weekend will have a big impact on where we go. Don’t expect an official announcement until the BCS Selection Show on Sunday, December 2nd. In the meantime, Wildcat Club members and football season ticket holders can put in their request for bowl game tickets by clicking here. I know Friday’s football game at Arizona Stadium is one every Arizona fan looks forward too. It only happens once every two years, so enjoy it, the whole day. Tailgating lots open at 2 p.m. Please make plans to be there for the Wildcat Walk, which will be at 6 p.m. Let’s make this one the best Wildcat Walk ever! Bear down and wear red. Let’s keep the Territorial Cup in Tucson! LEADERS OF TOMORROW Four of our student-athletes have been involved in regional and national think-tank meetings to foster increased success by, and better experiences for, their many counterparts. Megan Meyer of the cross country team and Sam Rowan of the swimming and diving team took part in the Pac-12 Leadership Conference in San Francisco, while Brigetta Barrett of track and field and Mat Troupe of baseball participated in an NCAA Leadership Conference in Dallas. We’re proud of these University of Arizona ambassadors and they’re commitment to overall excellence! Also, you may have heard that Brigetta and Sam were recently elected Homecoming King and Queen for the November 9-11 weekend. ANOTHER LEADER – ALREADY The inauguration for University of Arizona President Ann Weaver Hart will be held at 3 p.m. Friday, November 30th, in Centennial Hall on Campus. Dr. Hart’s been on duty for some time but the ceremony officially marks the onset of her tenure as UA’s 21st president. The event is open to the public, with parking at the Tyndall Garage a block west. BLACK FRIDAY WITH ARIZONA BASKETBALL You can’t turn on a TV, open a newspaper or read the internet without hearing something about Black Friday. It’s the biggest shopping day of the year and we will be holding a Black Friday promotion of our own. Single-game tickets to men’s basketball Pac-12 home games don’t go on sale to the public until December 1, but on Black Friday we will open an online early purchase window starting at midnight and available until 11:59 p.m. that night. Women’s basketball mini-plans will also be available. This special Black Friday promotion is only available on ArizonaWildcats.com. Click here on Friday to purchase tickets. WILDCAT CLUB: LEGACY LANE With the holidays fast approaching and black Friday right around the corner you might be asking yourself what present to get the die-hard Wildcat fan for the holidays. We have the answer for you: a Legacy Lane tile! This is the perfect way for graduating seniors, current Wildcats, alumni and fans to leave their mark on the University of Arizona. Not only does purchasing a tile ensure that your “legacy” will become a part of Arizona Athletics’ history, your tax-deductible tile purchase makes you a member of the Wildcat Club and supports our general scholarship fund making the holidays a little brighter for our nearly 500 student-athletes. GET YOUR ARIZONA/FLORIDA TICKETS WITH HOLIDAY PACKS This past Monday the basketball team returned to the Top 10 in both the AP and Coaches’ polls. Also in the Top 10 are the Florida Gators. Everyone is eagerly anticipating the December 15th showdown in McKale between the Wildcats and Gators. Single-game tickets for that game don’t go on sale until December 1st, but tickets are available in the Holiday Pack mini-plan. You can get tickets to the Florida game and the other winter break games, December 18th vs. Oral Roberts, January 3rd vs. Colorado (a rematch of the Pac-12 Tournament title game) and January 5th vs. Utah. Holiday Packs start at $84 and can be purchased online at ArizonaWildcats.com or call the McKale Center Ticket Office on Monday morning. FINAL ROUND FOR WILMA – VOTE TODAY The Mascot Challenge’s regular-season wraps up this week. The top eight mascots advance to the playoffs. Right now Wilma is on the outside looking in. It comes down to this, Wilma needs to defeat the Red Raider from Texas Tech AND she needs Sparty from Michigan State to lose. Vote for Wilma every day and vote against Sparty. Let’s help her advance to the Mascot Challenge postseason. Speaking of Wilma, I would like to wish her and Wilbur a happy anniversary. It was 26 years ago today Mr. and Mrs. Wildcat were married at Arizona Stadium! A-CLUB LETTERWINNER UPDATE Caroline Kilian, swimming and diving ’02, is currently a resident physician at UCLA in the department of Radiology. Once she has completed her residency she will begin pursuing further training in Women’s Imaging, where she will interpret images, conduct minimally invasive procedures, and interact/counsel her patients. As a female athlete, she wanted to be involved with women’s medicine. “I was so fortunate to have two parents who were extremely supportive and encouraging. I believe that young female athletes need role models who are healthy, strong, and successful in all areas of life”. We would also like to congratulate Caroline on her recent wedding; we are so proud of her hard work, not only in the pool, but also in her professional career, as she continues her journey to becoming a physician. Bear Down Caroline! DIVING SEASON Freshman diver Rafael Quintero won the platform championship by more than 40 points on Sunday, scoring a 388.20 to lead the Wildcats at the Arizona Diving Invite. On Saturday, he finished third in the 3m championship, and got fifth in Friday's 1m championship. Sophomore Carter Craft finished third in the 1m and sixth in the platform. For the women, sophomore Izzy Diamond placed ninth in the platform dive. If you haven’t had a chance to take in swimming and/or diving event on campus please make plans to do so. They’re a lot of fun and there is no charge for admission. Go to ArizonaWildcats.com for a men’s schedule and a women’s schedule. WEEKLY SCHEDULE Check out our weekly schedule graphic at the bottom of this email. Right click, save and share! RED AND MORE RED In support of the #RedOut we’re planning at Friday’s Territorial Cup football game, the choices this week are all red. Below, Members of the College Knowledge for Counselors program pose at their November 20 event bringing 200 such mentors from around the state. In the middle, Andrew Bryant, Andrew Baarson (the groom), Aron Schmidt (’05) and Jason Miller (’03) on the weekend of AB’s wedding in Chicago this past summer. At the bottom, the party wears the date of the summer wedding – July 27, 2012. It was “A” good ceremony, we hear. Continue to do what you can to help Arizona Athletics and:
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