Feb. 1, 2012

MARY ROBY

We were saddened to learn of the passing of Mary Roby on Monday night. Every female student-athlete that has put on an Arizona jersey in the last 50 years owes her a debt of gratitude for her tireless work for our university and for the advancement of women's athletics. Mary will always have a special place in our history and our hearts.

DON'T BET ON IT

We sent out one of our periodic reminders to our staff, coaches and student-athletes this week reminding them about the NCAA's policy on gambling, notably because this is Super Bowl week. Any "competition" relating to intercollegiate or professional sports, where there is a required entry fee and an opportunity to win a prize, is sports wagering. It's prohibited. It's one thing to say, "Boy, I bet the So-and-Sos will win;" it's entirely another to wager the proposition.

WITH FULL INTENT

Earlier today football coach Rich Rodriguez signed his first group of student-athletes to national letters of intent to play football at UA. Credit is due Coach Rodriguez and staff for some fine work in an abbreviated time span. Coach Mike Stoops and his staff also deserve thanks for identifying some of our signees and getting commitments some time ago. All in all, it makes me look forward to Coach Rod's Class of '13 - the next group of student-athletes he and his people will pull in after working at it for a full year. And, remember, you can join Coach Rodriguez at a recruiting class celebration tomorrow in the Phoenix area. The free event is at 6 p.m. at the Upper Deck Sports Grill in Scottsdale (4224 North Craftsman Court). In the meantime, a number of our other coaches also had solid success on NLI day - Fred Harvey of track and field and Lisa Oyen of soccer. For now, welcome to Arizona, Class of 2012, and Bear Down!

THE EARLY RENEWAL GETS THE PRIZE

Football season ticket and Wildcat Club gift renewals are off to a good start. Thanks to everyone that has re-upped for the upcoming season, and doing it online. We're going to be giving away some prizes this month to season ticket holders that have renewed their football tickets. Prizes will include tickets, gears, and some unique experiences. Make sure to follow our Arizona Athletics Facebook and Twitter pages for updates. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you in the renewal process. Our McKale Ticket Office is available to help Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

TRACK CATS MAKE THEIR MARK

Men's and women's track and field had a stellar competition at Arkansas this weekend, earning four NCAA qualifying marks (three new and one improved), setting three school records (men's mile, women's high jump, women's shot put) and tying one world record (heptathlon high jump). Additionally, Lawi Lalang (mile, 3:55.09), Julie Labonté (shot put, 59-1.25) and Brigetta Barrett (high jump, 6-5.5) all set school records in their respective events.

Both squads are ranked in the top 10 in the current USTFCCCA weekly poll with the men at No. 5 and the women at No. 10. The men are the top-ranked Pac-12 team while the women are the second-ranked Pac-12 team.

SWIMMING AND DIVING TO THE TOP

The No. 1 Arizona men's swimming team remained undefeated in its rout of No. 2 Texas on Saturday, 155-88, at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. The men's team has faced four teams in the top 10 and currently has five individuals and two relay teams with the fastest times in the country. In the men's diving competition, senior Ben Grado earned his 14th first-place finish on the 3m. Grado has not finished outside the top three this season. The women's swimming team fell in a close decision to the No. 4 Texas Longhorns, but sophomore Samantha Pickens broke a school record on the 3m with her score of 364.50 in the diving portion of the meet.

MEN'S GOLF WINS AT HOME

Congratulations to the men's golf team who hosted and won the Arizona Intercollegiate, Monday and Tuesday, at Arizona National Golf Club. With four players finishing in the top-10 places, the squad earned the 72^nd win in program history with a 17-under 835 tally. Juan Pablo Hernandez (2nd), Tucker Wadkins (T3rd), Chris Capo (T10th) and Erik Oja (T10th) all finished under par for the tournament.

HERE COME THE FIREWORKS

Opening Day for Arizona baseball at Hi Corbett Field is going to be a blast, literally. Fans attending that first game on February 17 will be treated to a postgame firework show! While Coach Lopez and the team are busy getting ready for the season our ticket office has been busy selling tickets. We're starting to get low on season tickets in the reserved seating sections. Act quickly if you want to get reserved season tickets. General admission season tickets, mini plans and single-game tickets are also on sale. We're less than three weeks away from hearing those magical words, "play ball!"

GAMEDAY EXCLUSIVE

Thanks to all who made the ESPN College GameDay basketball show a successful event last Saturday, including our staff, coaches and players, and the many fans who showed up. Arizona is the only program in the Pac-12 Conference to have been host for ESPN's premier show in both football and men's basketball, and one of only 18 schools around the country to hold the show on its campus since the basketball spinoff first aired in January 2005. ESPN announcer Rece Davis came and sat with Regina and me during part of the game and he commented to me about how pleased they were with the turnout for GameDay and that the atmosphere for the Whiteout was second to none (as was Coach Rod's Whiteout outfit, see below). Once again another reminder how each of us can make a difference in moving our program forward and solidifying again that Arizona is Wildcat Country!

SCHEDULE NOTES...

Our women's basketball team will play host to California at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday) and Stanford at 2:00 p.m. Saturday in McKale Center. The game Saturday is the annual Pink Zone game, so wear pink in support of breast cancer research. Tickets are on sale at ArizonaWildcats.com.... Women's golf will hold the Wildcat Invitational at the Golf Club of Vistoso Sunday through Tuesday... Women's tennis will compete at 10:00 a.m. Saturday on campus against San Diego, with the men's team following at 1:00 p.m. with a match against Cal Poly... The men's basketball team will travel to the Bay Area for a game Thursday at Cal and Saturday at Stanford.... Our track and field teams will travel to Flagstaff for the NAU Team Challenge on Saturday... TheWildcat gymnasts will be in Denton, Texas, for the Texas Women's meet on Friday night...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MCKALE MEMORIAL CENTER

Today marks the 39^th anniversary of the first game played at the McKale Center. The Wildcats christened the arena with a big 87-69 win over Wyoming. Below is a picture of the ticket stub from that event sent from Dean Wingert ('75). He and his friends camped out overnight to be first in line. This could be the very first student-ticket for a University of Arizona men's basketball game.

And speaking of birthdays, Melissa and Chris Boyd are getting their newborn daughter Emma off to a great start with Wearing the Colors. This is the first outfit she wore after her first bath.

Continue to do what you can to help Arizona Athletics and: 

1. Join the Wildcat Movement
2. Buy Season Tickets
3. Wear the Colors (Especially on Friday)
4. Get Others to Do the Same

Bear Down with Pride,

Greg Byrne
Director of Athletics
University of Arizona
uofaad@arizona.edu