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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE CONTINUES

The academic success of Arizona student-athletes continues to resonate in national data and reporting. In the NCAA's recently released Graduate Success Rate (GSR) data, Arizona matched its all-time high with a score of 86 percent, which is a 13 percent increase over the last seven years and a 21 percent increase since 2010.
 
Arizona's all-time high GSR scores couples with three consecutive semesters of record-breaking performances by Wildcats in the classroom. Our student-athletes posted a 3.055 semester GPA in the spring, which marked the best spring semester in department history. It also raised the student-athlete cumulative GPA to a 3.102. This came on the heels of the all-time semester record of 3.057 for Fall of 2018. Arizona has now had three consecutive semesters with overall GPA's of 3.0 or greater for the first time ever.
 
Student-athlete excellence and achievement are at the core of the Wildcat Way and our mission to educate and develop the next generation of leaders. Supporting student-athlete success in the classroom is a pillar of our strategic plan and its roadmap of our future. Congratulations to our student-athletes and our C.A.T.S. staff on building our legacy of academic achievement.
 
OUR COMMITMENT TO MENTAL HEALTH

We showed that #WildcatsCare during Mental Health Awareness Week culminating in Saturday's football game versus Washington. This is a crucial national and local conversation about emotional, psychological and social wellbeing, and Arizona Athletics continues its commitment to be a leader in this field.
 
Mental health has been a foundation of our Commitment to an Athlete's Total Success (C.A.T.S.) for years. Our athletics department will continue to be at the forefront of this important area with our mental health services available to student-athletes and staff members. We all live our own Wildcat journeys, and we believe in the importance of each of those journeys. Dr. Alex Auerbach and his team are growing this part of the Wildcat Way because we are all Wildcats and Wildcats care!
 
WILDCAT CLUB BENEFITS UPDATE

We are excited to announce that our Wildcat Club benefits and season ticket structure will be adjusted for this fiscal year (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020) and moving forward. The new system will be easier to understand, streamline payments and count all donations and the total cost of season ticket purchases for any sport. This will benefit Wildcat Club members by simplifying season ticket pricing, and for the first time, allowing season ticket costs to raise your benefit level.


 
It has been 18 years since we introduced the current annual benefit levels and structure. Since that time, the levels and current season ticket structure have remained unchanged. We are making these enhancements in an effort to reward donors and season ticket holders with a more comprehensive approach and to adjust to the 2017 tax code change connected to season ticket purchases.  
 
We encourage you to click here to learn more or to get a better understanding of how these changes may affect you.
 
BEAR DOWN AT WOMEN LEADERS IN COLLEGE SPORTS

It was an honor to attend the Women Leaders in College Sports convention in Phoenix this week. Arizona Athletics was well represented at this important event with members from eight different departments within our Wildcat Family.


 
Women Leaders in College Sports is a national organization that focuses on development and advancement of women working in college sports through programming, advocacy and networking. At Arizona Athletics, people are our greatest resource. It was awesome to see the many leaders of our department honored and recognized in Phoenix as the best of the best in college athletics.
 
CATS OPEN HOUSE

We welcomed our campus community to our second annual C.A.T.S. Academics Open House at the beautiful Ginny L. Clements Academic Center. This is a great opportunity to showcase our outstanding C.A.T.S. Academic programs that are at the forefront of our student-athlete experience as well as the state-of-the-art facility its housed in.


 
President Robbins and Vice Provost Cynthia Demetriou were key speakers at this event about the vital roles C.A.T.S. programs and staff play in our development of student-athletes in the classroom and in our community. We want to thank Ginny Clements for attending as well as being an exceptional supporter of C.A.T.S. and Arizona Athletics. 
 
GOOD LUCK TENNIS PROGRAMS

Best of luck to our men's and women's tennis programs who are both competing in ITA Regional action in Southern California this week. Coach Stotland and Coach Shields have done tremendous jobs building programs that compete at the highest levels and accomplish great things in the classroom and in the community.
 
Abby Amos, a transfer from James Madison, opened the year with a win over a nationally ranked opponent in singles action in the Battle in the Bay Classic. Freshman Kayla Wilkins picked up her first career win in last month's Milwaukee Tennis Classic as well.
 
Coach Shields, who was last year's Pac-12 Coach of the Year, has a strong team this year that includes the reigning ITA Southwest Rookie of the Year in sophomore Jonas Ziverts who has already been ranked in the top 40 nationally this year. Junior Filip Malbasic has also represented Arizona in the national rankings this fall with appearances in the top 50.
 
HATS OFF TO WOMEN'S GOLF



Our women's golf program capped off a strong showing at the Stanford Intercollegiate over the weekend. The team finished in a tie for third at 4-under par. Freshman Vivian Hou finished seven strokes under par, earning a second place for the second time in three events this year. Her sister Yu-Sang Hou finished in a tie for fifth while sophomore Ya Chun Chang gave the Wildcats a third top-25 finish.
 
With three strong performances in the books, Arizona's next competition will be in the highly competitive East Lake Cup in Atlanta on national television later this month.
 
WILDCAT NUGGETS

• Arizona Volleyball's Julia Patterson eclipsed 3,000 assists for her career in Arizona's match at Cal. The senior becomes just the seventh setter in program history to achieve the feat. Patterson and the rest of the Wildcats are at Washington schools this weekend, starting with Washington State at 7 p.m. (MST) on Friday on the Pac-12 Networks.
• We announced during Saturday's football game versus Washington that we will have Desert Swarm throwbacks for sale ahead of our homecoming game versus Oregon State on Saturday, Nov. 2. These replicas, which benefit Tedy's Team, are now on sale at UA Bookstores, the A Store at McKale Center and for online sales.
• Coach Amato and Arizona Soccer are back on the road this week with a Friday match at Utah at 6 p.m. (MST) on the Pac-12 Networks. The Wildcats picked up the win at No. 15 Washington State last weekend and have two wins over top-15 teams in the same season for the first time ever.
• Arizona Men's Golf had another strong showing this season, finishing third at the Oregon State Invitational. The Wildcats got a pair of top-10 finishes from David Laskin and Trevor Werbylo who both finished at even and tied for ninth. The team will return to the course for the St. Mary's Invitational during the first week of November.
• Congratulations to a pair of former Wildcats on their way to the World Series. Chip Hale and Kevin Long are Arizona Baseball letterwinners who are both part of the Washington Nationals coaching staff. Best of luck Chip and Kevin in the World Series and Bear Down!
   

 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. Bear Down with us today! Join the Wildcat Club to make an impact on our student-athletes' experience.
2. Buy Season Tickets
3. Wear the Colors (Especially on Friday)
4. Encourage Others to Do the Same

 
Bear Down with Pride,

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