WILDCATS POST RECORD-BREAKING FALL IN THE CLASSROOM
We received our final academic numbers for the fall semester and I'm excited to inform you that our student-athletes produced the best semester on record, fall or spring, in program history. Our young men and women finished the fall with a semester GPA (single-semester only) of 2.94 and a cumulative GPA (all semesters) of 2.95. This comes after an excellent 2015-16 academic year that saw our student-athletes set all-time highs in semester GPA and cumulative GPA in both the fall and spring.
In addition, 145 Wildcats posted GPAs of at least 3.5 during the fall term, which is the most on record for any semester. We also had 268 student-athletes, or 53% of our total student-athletes, finish the fall with at least a 3.0 GPA. That is the highest percentage of student-athletes with at least a 3.0 during a single semester on record.
You have heard us talk about how important academics is in the development of our student-athletes and these numbers show that we continue to head in the right direction. Our student-athletes have worked extremely hard in the classroom, and when you combine that with the exceptional support of our C.A.T.S. Academics team, this is the result. In addition, now that the Ginny L. Clements Academic Center has opened, we have another resource for our student-athletes to take advantage of in their quest to earn degrees.
I couldn't be happier for everyone involved and I look forward to seeing what we can do in the spring.
IT'S ABOUT TO GET BUSY AROUND ARIZONA ATHLETICS
With the start of the spring semester, a number of our programs are either in season or about to get started. Both men's and women's basketball are in the heart of conference play and our gymnastics and swimming and diving seasons are under way. We hope you'll take a look at our schedules on ArizonaWildcats.com by clicking HERE and make plans to come support our student-athletes at their various competitions. They're working hard to be successful and your attendance goes a long way in helping them achieve their goals.
JOIN US FOR THE WILDCAT TOAST AND TASTE EVENT
We want to let you know about a great event that is coming up at the beginning of February up in The Valley. The Wildcat Toast and Taste is described as a signature fundraising event dedicated to honoring those who have had a significant influence on the Wildcat experience. The East Valley Alumni Chapter and the Phoenix Young Alumni Club will host the event on Friday, Feb. 3 at The Newton in Phoenix. Proceeds will go to benefit chapter scholarship funds, which have awarded $42,000 to Maricopa County East Valley graduates who attended Arizona since 2014.
This year's event will honor former baseball coach and 2007 College Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Jerry Kindall, who led us to National Championships in 1976, '80 and '86. In addition, the Oakland A's Chip Hale and our current head baseball coach Jay Johnson are scheduled to attend, although that is subject to change. We hope you'll join us and help support future Wildcats in The Valley. To learn more about the event, click HERE.
WILDCAT TALKS IN PHOENIX
In addition to the Toast and Taste event, the Alumni Association hosts a series of luncheons called 'Wildcat Talks' for fans and alumni in the Phoenix area. The luncheons serve as a way to learn more about educational topics and stay up-to-date on what is taking place at the University of Arizona. This is also a great opportunity to meet and network with other UA alums in the Phoenix area. To view the upcoming schedule and learn more about Wildcat Talks, click HERE.
ARIZONA IN NATION'S TOP 10 FOR ZERO WASTE CHALLENGE GAME
If you remember, we took part in the Zero Waste Challenge to recycle and compost as much waste as possible during our Homecoming game against Stanford. Now that the numbers have been reported, we found out we finished in the Top 10 nationally after diverting almost 70% of the tailgate and game waste from going to the landfill.
We want to thank our fans, the Compost Cats, the Students for Sustainability and the UA Office of Sustainability for doing such a great job with this initiative. It's important that we continue to serve as leaders in sustainability and your participation goes a long way in helping us do so.
HELP US RED OUT MCKALE
There is nothing better than a sea of red in McKale. Our Wildcats take on our rivals tomorrow at 7 p.m. and we're going to Red Out McKale. We also have an exciting halftime planned for you. We're bringing in The Amazing Red Panda Acrobat from America's Got Talent to perform. Single-game tickets are still available for the game and you can get them by clicking HERE.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CONTINUES PAC-12 PLAY AT HOME
Women's basketball will continue Pac-12 play this weekend when we host Washington and Washington State. The Cats will begin the weekend on Friday, Jan. 13 when we face Washington at 7 p.m. Ladies, grab a friend and come out to enjoy a Girls Night Out at McKale. Coach Barnes and the team will wrap up the weekend against Washington State at Noon on Sunday, Jan. 15. All seniors (55 and older) who order their tickets in advance will receive a discounted ticket to the game. For tickets or more information, call (520) 621-CATS (M-F, 9-5 p.m.) or click HERE.
TWITTER GIVEAWAY
Congrats to Lance Linn (@lancelinn) for being selected as this month's winner of the #ByrneTwitterGiveaway. A member of the athletics department staff will DM you with more information on how to secure your prize so make sure you're following @AZAthletics.
Once a month, we'll provide a phrase accompanied by the twitter handle @Greg_Byrne and the hashtag #ByrneTwitterGiveaway for Wildcat Wednesday subscribers to tweet. We'll select the winner at random and announce in a Wildcat Wednesday the following month.
Here is this month's Twitter giveaway message:
Happy New Year and #BearDown to Wildcats everywhere.
@Greg_Byrne #ByrneTwitterGiveaway
UPCOMING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
To view the list of upcoming events, broadcast information, start times and stat links, click HERE. (Note: All times are listed as Mountain Standard Time, i.e. Tucson time.)
To access live stats from your desktop or mobile device, visit ArizonaLiveStats.com.
WEAR THE COLORS – SHARE THE PHOTOS
Thank you for wearing the colors and sharing your Arizona pride! If your photo submission did not make this week's edition of the Wildcat Wednesday, please check our "Wildcat Wednesday" album at facebook.com/ArizonaAthletics.
NOTE: Please submit photos for Wildcat Wednesday with an original email to uofaad@arizona.edu using the subject line 'Wildcat Wednesday photo.' Also, please ensure all submissions are clear and properly lit. We also ask that you identify everyone in the photo so we can highlight them accordingly.
|
