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THE NEW ERA STARTS SATURDAY
 
The long wait is finally over. Football season is here! Our student-athletes, coaches and staff have spent months preparing for this moment. I know they are eagerly anticipating the jolt of adrenaline they will feel when they burst through the tunnel for the first time in front of a packed Arizona Stadium.
 
As you know, this offseason, the athletics department staff has been dedicated to improving the fan experience for football game day. We put together an aggressive to-do list in anticipation of the 2018 football season and it's worth reviewing again:

• Stadium renovations on the east side, including the new ZonaZoo student section, new concession stands, new restrooms, and new social gathering areas.
• New food vendors, such as eegee's, Sabor de Tucson, Epic Café, and BrushFire BBQ.
• New food items to existing concession stands, such as turkey legs and chicken tenders in a cone in the east concession stands and egg rolls and beef skewers in the north end zone.
• Credit card machines have been added to enable all concession stands to have at least one register that accepts credit cards.
• The expansion of beer and wine sales.
• More team stats, player stats, and Top 25/Pac-12 scores on the video board.
• More playing time for the best band in the Pac-12, the Pride of Arizona.
• New PA announcer.
• The introduction of fireworks after every Wildcats score.
• Lowering of season ticket and single-game ticket prices in multiple seating areas.

I encourage everyone to visit our website, which is filled with Arizona Stadium game day information, including an updated stadium map that identifies where all our new food and beer/wine vendors are located. You can find this information here.

We want to have the best fan experience and best home field advantage in the conference. I understand it's easy and convenient to watch the game on TV, but I'm telling you if you haven't been inside Arizona Stadium when Khalil Tate rips off an amazing play, you are missing out. There's nothing like it. Khalil is a special player. Kevin Sumlin coaching his first game as a Wildcat is a special moment. Be a part of it and get to Arizona Stadium this Saturday night for the opener vs. BYU. Kick-off is at 7:45 p.m. and the pregame show begins at approximately 7:30 p.m. I personally invite you all to be a part of the new era of Arizona Football this Saturday! Tickets start at just $13 for adults and $6 for kids.

Season tickets, Flex Packs, and single-game tickets are all still available. Find the ticket package that works best for you and make your plans to be in Arizona Stadium this Saturday. Click here to buy online or call 520-621-CATS (2287). Thank you to the thousands who have purchased their tickets. We're looking forward to seeing everyone at the game!
 
HALL OF FAME TIME

Friday night is sure to be a special night in Tucson as we formally induct 10 new members into the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. We'll celebrate these special individuals and one national championship winning team that made unlimited contributions to the Arizona family during their time as student-athletes. The 10 newest members of our Hall of Fame are:

Klaus Ambrosch, Track and Field (1997-1999)
Shelley Duncan, Baseball (1998-2001)
Kristie Fox, Softball (2003-2008)
Charmaine Gale, Track and Field (1982-1983)
Adam Kuehl, Track and Field (2003-2007)
Mallory Miller, Soccer (2002-2006)
Burdette Morago, Baseball (1956-1959)
Doug Towne, Swimming and Diving (1980-1983)
Karin Wurm, Gymnastics (2004-2009)
2018 Women's Golf National Championship Team

A complete list of all individuals and teams who are members of this distinguished group can be found here.


 
ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Our student-athletes had a phenomenally productive summer in the classroom. With help from our CATS Academics staff, our student-athletes had an overall semester grade point average of 3.106 this summer. We had 119 student-athletes achieve a 4.0, 166 achieve a 3.5 GPA or higher and 236 student-athletes at or above a 3.0.  Our culture of excellence here extends well beyond the playing surface and our student-athletes proved that this summer. Also, this is the eighth straight summer session that our student-athletes have produced an overall GPA of 3.0 or better.
 
SALUTE TO SENATOR MCCAIN

Our state and our entire nation lost a titan on Saturday when Senator John McCain passed away after a courageous battle with brain cancer. Senator McCain was a true American hero and an example for our student-athletes. The Senator was a hardcore Arizona Wildcats fan and we truly loved hosting him every time he came down to Tucson for one of our sporting events.
 
Senator McCain was in attendance for our football game in 2016 against Hawaii when we honored the USS Arizona. He handled the coin toss duties before the game, providing a special moment for everyone in attendance. Of course, Senator McCain also helped former basketball star Lauri Markkanen secure a student visa, which allowed him to play here in 2016-17. We will never be able to thank Senator McCain for everything he did for the state of Arizona and Arizona Athletics. We will dearly miss one of our biggest fans.


 
VOLLEYBALL'S FIRST WEEKEND AT HOME
 
After a 3-0 weekend in Sacramento, volleyball is back in McKale as they host the annual Cactus Classic on Friday, Aug. 31 and Saturday, Sept. 1. Arizona's first match will be against Lipscomb on Friday, Aug. 31 at 10 a.m., which will be free for all fans. They will then host San Diego State later that evening at 7 p.m. For additional games times and to purchase Cactus Classic tickets, click here or call the McKale Ticket Office at 520-621-CATS (2287). 
 
THE ARIZONA VS. BYU FOOTBALL SHIRT
 
This football season our friends at the UA Bookstores will produce and sell a unique t-shirt for every home football game. This week's shirt for the BYU game can be purchased at all UA Bookstores locations, including the A-Store at McKale Center, or online by clicking here.  
 
There is an art contest for the design of the Arizona vs. ASU t-shirt. It's open to all UA students and includes some great prizes. If you are a student, or know of a student who might be interested, please pass along the contest details, which can be found here. Good luck to all the artists out there.


 
A MILESTONE FOR COACH AMATO

Congratulations to our Soccer Coach, Tony Amato, who is now the winningest coach in program history after securing win No. 56 in a 6-0 victory against Houston Baptist this past Sunday. It's no surprise that Arizona has become a regular in the NCAA Tournament since Coach Amato took leadership of the program as he is the only head coach in school history to lead the Wildcats to three NCAA Tournaments. Not only have we qualified for the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons, we have won at least one game in each NCAA Tournament, which includes one Round of 16 appearance in 2015.

As it stands, Coach Amato has a record of 56-35-13 while at Arizona, which makes him the only coach in program history to have a record of .500 or better. Coach has also seen unprecedented success in the Pac-12 as Arizona has 25 conference wins during his five-year tenure while the Wildcats won only 25 conference games total in the 14 years prior to Amato's arrival. We are very lucky and happy to have Coach Amato in the fold here at Arizona!

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