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NOTE: This will be the final Wildcat Wednesday of 2017-18. We'll return in August as we prepare for the start of the 2018-19 academic year.

ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING SEMESTER IN THE CLASSROOM

With the spring semester completed and all grades returned, we're thrilled to announce that we continue to set a number of academic semester and cumulative records. Our student-athletes finished the spring with a semester GPA (single-semester only) of 3.028, which is the best semester, fall or spring, on record. Furthermore, this is our second consecutive semester with a cumulative GPA above 3.0, posting a record high 3.035 this spring.

Individually, we tied or set our highest number of 4.0, 3.5 and 3.0 semester GPAs since we started keeping track of the data. Fifty-nine student-athletes earned a 4.0 GPA this spring, while 164 Wildcats posted at least a 3.5 GPA. We also had 287 student-athletes, or 61% of our total roster, notch at least a 3.0 GPA.

From a team perspective, we had 15 programs finish the spring with a semester GPA of at least a 3.0. Swimming & diving led the way on the women's side with a semester GPA of 3.655, while cross country topped our men's programs with a 3.403 GPA.
We are incredibly thankful of the hard work our C.A.T.S. Academics team has put in to get the best out of our student-athletes this semester, and the numbers above show the hard work is paying off. Since I arrived at Arizona, I have been impressed with the semester-by-semester academic improvement we have made, and we expect our student-athletes to make even bigger strides in the 2018-19 academic year. Excellence in the classroom will always remain a top priority for us as we evaluate our success as an athletic department.

MORE FOOTBALL TICKET OPTIONS

This past Saturday we went on sale with our football Flex Packs and Wildcat Mobile Passes. Flex Packs are as they sound, the opportunity to create your own ticket package that is flexible around your schedule. Pick one non-conference home game and two Pac-12 home games to create your three-game Flex Pack. The ASU game is excluded, but fans who purchase a Flex Pack can add it to their order. Flex Packs start at $32 depending on the games you select and your seat location. You can buy online by clicking here.

Our Wildcat Mobile Pass made its debut last season. This offer gets you tickets to every home game with your ticket and seat location sent to your mobile phone the day before the game. Your seats are different for every game, with a seat in the lower bowl for at least one game. There are two options based on how many home games you'd like guaranteed in the lower bowl. It's a great way to experience Arizona Stadium. You can buy those online here.

One last football note, our current season ticket holders currently have early access to purchase single-game tickets at base level prices. This is an exclusive season ticket holder benefit. The general public will be able to purchase tickets to any home game on June 2 with Bear Down Pricing. You can learn more about Bear Down Pricing here.



Thanks to everyone who has purchased football tickets already. We're looking for a big summer to move tickets and fill Arizona Stadium for every home game. It's critical to the success of our football program and all of the other sports here at ArizonaPlease encourage the Wildcat fans in your life to join the "New Era" and buy their tickets for 2018 football.

MORE FOOTBALL GAMEDAY CHANGES

If you attended the final home game of the 2017 football season, you might have noticed some adjustments we made with the volume level and band to DJ music ratio. This was a change based on the feedback we had received earlier in the season. Our postseason surveys echoed the same sentiment. Expect to hear more of the Pride of Arizona next season. The music played by the DJ serves a purpose and won't completely go away, but fans should notice the band receiving more air time. When the DJ plays, we will continue to do our best to adjust the volume to reach a level that satisfies the majority of the stadium. Along the same lines of fan experience, you will see an increase in stats and out-of-town scores shared on our video boards. There is nothing like being in the stadium to enjoy the full excitement and energy of a game. In addition, we want the fan experience to challenge what you get with TV and these changes will help us take steps to reaching that goal. 

LAST CALL FOR THE ROAD TOUR

We're making our final 2018 Road Tour stop on June 8 in Flagstaff. Our event will take place at the High Country Conference Center. Scheduled to appear are Dr. Robert Robbins, Kevin Sumlin, Sean Miller, Tony Amato, Adia Barnes, and me. There is no charge to attend and free appetizers will be available while supplies last. Please RSVP here.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MERCHANDISE ON SALE

One week later, we are still celebrating the fantastic performance our women's golf team gave us last week when they captured the program's third national championship. There was a wonderful turnout to welcome home the team last Thursday evening in a ceremony at the Jim Click Hall of Champions. Thank you to all who attended as the trophy made its way back to where it belongs. If you are interested in purchasing women's golf national championship merchandise, you can do so at the A-Store at McKale or online at BearDownShop.com.

We are also pleased to share with you that the Women's Golf Coaches Association named Haley Moore, Bianca Pagdanganan and Yu-Sang Hou honorable mention All-Americans. This is a much-deserved honor for these talented young ladies.



TRACK & FIELD PREPS FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Our 2017-18 athletics season concludes at the NCAA Track & Field Championships held June 6-9 in Eugene, Ore. Senior Alyssa Thompson will compete in the heptathlon and the women's 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams also qualified. On the men's side, freshman Jordan Geist qualified in both the shot put and discus. Seniors Bailey Roth (3K steeplechase) and Collins Kibet (800-meter run) will make their third NCAA Championship appearances, respectively. They will be joined by Turner Washington (discus), Maksims Sincukovs (400-meter hurdles) and Bryant O'Georgia (high jump). We wish the best to each of these young men and women as they close out strong seasons.

A-CLUB AND WILDCAT CLUB TEAM ADDITION

We are excited to announce the hiring of James "Jimmy" Gehrels as Assistant Director of Alumni Letterwinners and Annual Giving. A Tucson native and Wildcat through and through, Jimmy played four years of NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball at Pepperdine University and joins us after spending the last ten months at the University of Florida pursuing his Masters in Sports Management. He will assist Dr. Phoebe Chalk Wadsworth in working with our former student-athletes. If you are a former student-athlete we want to hear from you and have you connected to the program you helped build. The heritage of our department is important to me, and it's why we have a full-time staff member dedicated to working with our former student-athletes. I encourage you to reach out to Jimmy. For more information on the A-Club and how you can join, please click here.

SOCCER SEASON TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE
 
Come "Experience It Yourself" with Coach Amato and the soccer team as season tickets for the 2018 soccer season are available for only $45 for adult, $39 for seniors (55 ) and $25 for youth (3-12). Season ticket benefits include a discounted ticket price to the 11 home games, a soccer scarf and other exclusive opportunities. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit ArizonaWildcats.com/SOC or click here.
 
WILDCAT NUGGETS

Softball's Alyssa Palomino was named a First Team All-American by the NFCA … Alejandro Reguant from the men's tennis team was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team … Women's tennis headed to Japan for a foreign tour today. The team will have an opportunity to practice and compete, but also work with campus partners in UA Study Abroad to integrate a study abroad element to the trip. The trip began today with stops in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Hiroshima before returning to Arizona on June 9. Be sure to follow our tennis program on Twitter (@ArizonaWTennis), Instagram (@ArizonaWTennis), and Snapchat (@ArizonaWTennis). Each day, one student-athlete will take over the social accounts and produce a recap/blog of that day's events on ArizonaWildcats.com. Four players from this year's team earned honorable mention Pac-12 All-Academic honors, including Devin Chypyha, Sophia Thomas, Marie Van Aelst and Camila Wesbrooks.

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 "Wear the Colors" album at facebook.com/ArizonaAthletics on Fridays.
 
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.
 
 
 
 
 
Continue to do what you can to help Arizona Athletics and: 

1. Buy Season Tickets
2. Wear the Colors (Especially on Friday)
3. Encourage Others to Do the Same

 
Bear Down with Pride,

Dave Heeke
Director of Athletics
University of Arizona
uofaad@arizona.edu