Athletics Director Greg Byrne's weekly email discussing Wildcat Athletics
Dec. 5, 2012
BOWLING It’s a great accomplishment for our football team to return to the postseason, and a great start for what we expect will be many successive bowl trips. We’ll be playing in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque at 11 a.m. on Saturday, December 15th. The selection gives the program a number of extra practices, as well as momentum in recruiting and into the offseason and preparation for 2013. Ticket sales are now open to the general public... call 520-621-2287, visit the McKale Center Ticket office or purchase online. Our friends at Bon Voyage Travel have put together some great travel packages with air and ground transportation options. Visit our bowl central page for details. We know there is a schedule conflict with the bowl game and men’s basketball that same day but we do appreciate you supporting us at either/both events. If you’re not able to travel to Albuquerque you can still support the Wildcat’s bowl trip. Part of the agreement the bowls have with the schools chosen to participate in the games is a commitment by each school to purchase a certain amount of tickets. For this bowl game, each school is responsible to sell 5,000 tickets. We are obligated to purchase any remaining not purchased by the fan base. You can help lessen the financial obligation by purchasing tickets and donating them to Albuquerque military personnel. Call 520-621-2287 and let us know you’re interested in helping support Arizona Athletics and the troops. One last note on bowl tickets, starting today we are offering discounted tickets to students in the ZonaZoo. Members can purchase up to two tickets for only $15 a ticket (that’s 50% off). Students will need to verify their ZonaZoo membership by showing their Cat Card at will call in Albuquerque. The deadline for ZonaZoo members to by bowl game tickets is Tuesday, December. 11. AMERICAN-RECORD SWIMS Our swimming teams had an outstanding showing at the Winter National Championships this past weekend. Sophomore Kevin Cordes broke American records in the 100 and 200 breast, junior Margo Geer beat Missy Franklin in the 100 free, and our swimmers had an eight-for-eight finish by taking all the relays. Cordes became the first male to ever break the 1:51 mark in the 200 breast as his time of 1:50.47 set the U.S. and NCAA records, too.Freshman Bonnie Brandon broke the school record in the 200 back with a time of 1:51.49, which cleared the NCAA A cut of 1:53.17. It was a solid finish to the fall campaign. BASKETBALL TICKETS GOING FAST Single-game men’s basketball tickets for all remaining home games went on sale this past weekend. Tickets for marquee home games such as Florida, UCLA and our rivals up north went very fast. The weekend home games have also been very popular. A limited amount of tickets have been returned from Florida’s allotment and those tickets can be purchased as part of the four-game Holiday Pack. Call the McKale Ticket Office for availability at 520-621-CATS. We’re also now offering three-game Holiday Packs, which include the December 18 game vs. Oral Roberts, the January 3 game vs. Colorado and the January 5 game vs. Utah. I think we’re all starting to feel this could be a very special basketball season. Make sure to get your tickets now while they are available. You can purchase tickets online by clicking here. WILDCAT CLUB: YEAR-END GIVING There is a significant amount of uncertainty regarding income tax rates and capital gains taxes. Some donors think that they will benefit by making a tax-deductible gift this year before December 31. If you think that you may benefit by contributing a year-end gift, please contact us at 520-621-2582 or visit www.wildcatclub.org for more information. Thank you for your continued support of our nearly 500 student-athletes! NEW YEAR, NEW SEAT LOCATIONS We are just about finished with the early sales window for 2013 football season tickets in the new north end zone seating areas, both Club Seating at Lowell-Stevens Football Facility and the new lower bowl. The response has been fantastic. Club Boxes are sold out and Premium Club Seats are about 80% sold. The general public will have the opportunity to purchase tickets in the remaining available areas of the new north end zone. Please check out our downloadable brochure for more information by clicking here. We’ll update you on the exact on-sale date sometime soon in the Wildcat Wednesday. CATS IN THE COMMUNITY As the holidays are in full swing Arizona student-athletes do not forget to keep up their community service efforts. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) put on a food drive during the month of November. Staff, faculty and the student-athletes donated four full boxes of food to the Tucson Food Bank. Delivered on Monday by student-athlete, Megan Meyer, the food bank was extremely appreciative of Arizona's hard work and dedication to giving back to the community. Additionally, ten track and field student-athletes helped in a clean-up effort at a local church. From assisting in landscaping to cleaning the windows, these individuals helped to beautify and restore the church. Lastly but certainly not least, four members of the Arizona football team traveled to the Diamond Children's Medical Center on Saturday, November 24th to visit 17 year old, Andrew. Diamond Children's representative stated that "it was the best gift Andrew could have been given. His spirits were high for the first time in months." As the semester is coming to a close the student-athletes are already gearing up for an eventful Cats Give Back Week in January. Happy Holidays from the Arizona student-athletes! NOTES… Sophomore running back Ka’Deem Carey was named to the CBS Sports All-America team Monday … John Bonano earned the Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year award last week, too. The honor makes him the top football student-athlete in terms of scholastic enterprise and athletic accomplishment among all the Pac-12 Academic honorees from 12 schools… Ka’Deem and quarterback Matt Scott were named team MVPs at the football banquet last Sunday, while linebacker Jake Fischer won the Tedy Bruschi Award, and kicker John Bonano and center Kyle Quinn earned Senior Scholar-Athletes honors and linebacker C.J. Dozier earned the Freshman Scholar-Athlete nod. Quinn was named Lineman of the Year… We’ll be holding a reunion for letterwinners on Arizona men’s and women’s tennis teams in mid-January, including a campus tour, dinner, basketball watch party and other activities. We’re working to include more and more former student-athletes in Arizona Athletics… A-CLUB LETTERWINNER UPDATE Paul (Kit) Smith, cross country ’65, moved on from Arizona to the school up north with goals of furthering his education. He received an MA in ‘70 and a Ph. D following shortly after in ’73. Paul’s passion for education opened doors for his professional life; he spent time at five Universities serving as a Professor and Chair for each University’s Language Departments. Paul had a great story which recognizes the dedication it takes to be a student-athlete at the University of Arizona… “As chair of English and Foreign Languages in Arkansas, an athlete came into my office and complained that Freshman Composition was taking way too much of his time--and he sometimes had two practices a day. My inner thought: What can I say to this guy? Then a flash from my U of A cross country history: I calmly said to him, ‘You are talking to a four-year varsity letterman from a major university. Go home and do your homework.’ His jaw dropped, and he stood up and left without another word.” Thanks for your story, Paul, and we appreciate your dedication as a cross country letterwinner now turned successful educator. Bear Down!
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
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SOME FAST CATS Below, Scott and Cincie Bannerman at the Formula 1 Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and at bottom, Neal Babcock (’07) with his medal after the Ironman Arizona race event in Tempe. Lots of people represent the UA at all times, everywhere. Join the Movement!
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