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BEAR DOWN AND BACK THE A
I've had the privilege of speaking in front of our Southern Arizona community this week, including the Arizona Builders Alliance and the Tucson Metro Chamber, about what it means to #BackTheA while welcoming back our student-athletes for the first week of school. It has been awesome to see what Arizona Athletics means to our community who support us, as well as to the student-athletes who are at the core of everything we do.
While we didn't get the result we wanted on Saturday in Hawai'i, I was proud of how our players competed. We saw student-athletes from Tucson, such as Stanley Berryhill III, Drew Dixon, Jamarye Joiner, Jordan Morgan and others, take the field and represent the Block A. Khalil Tate became the first Wildcat since Matt Scott in 2012 to throw for over 350 yards and rush for over 100 in the same game. As we look forward to our home opener on Saturday, Sept. 7 versus Northern Arizona, we are excited to continue our work of enhancing the fan experience at Arizona Stadium.
We have announced numerous improvements over the past nine months, and the NAU game will be your first chance to experience all of them and more. The 2019 season will see the following additions to Arizona Football game days:
- Tailgating inside the Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center with the Coca-Cola Fan Fiesta, Wildcat Club tailgate and more
- New premium seating area, the SkyBox Club, to go along with renovated westside suites
- Widening of seats in westside sections for more comfort
- Enhanced restroom facilities on the lower westside
- Increased number of points of sale for concessions
- Addition of the Coors Light Patio on the westside
- More TV's around concession areas so you don't miss the action
- New DJ Booth within the ZonaZoo to support the band with in-game music and entertainment
- Addition of a new KidCats Den play area for young Wildcat fans on the first level of the concourse in the northwest corner
Enhancing the fan experience at our venues is a priority for Arizona Athletics, and we look forward to seeing Arizona Stadium alive and supporting these awesome Student-Athletes! We are eager to welcome you to Arizona Stadium this season to enjoy the atmosphere of our beautiful campus on Saturdays. It's time to #BackTheA, Bear Down and get your football tickets today!
POSTGRAD SCHOLARSHIPS
We are proud to announce that two former Wildcat student-athletes have earned the Pac-12's Postgraduate Scholarships. Sophia Thomas of Arizona Women's Tennis and Gustavs Kehris from Men's Track and Field were both awarded $9,000 scholarships for their graduate studies. Thomas is currently studying Sustainable Cities at King's College in London while Kehris is attending Cambridge and studying Particle Physics.
Congratulations to Sophia and Gustavs on this prestigious recognition and for continuing to showcase the academic excellence of Arizona student-athletes as alumni.
VOLLEYBALL GETS UNDERWAY
After Saturday's Red-Blue exhibition, Coach Rubio and the Wildcats will officially begin the 2019 season by hosting the Cactus Classic this weekend. Arizona's first match will be at 10 a.m. (MST) on Friday, Aug. 30 versus Appalachian State before closing the day out with Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. (MST).
This will be a terrific first weekend of the school year as Arizona Volleyball begins another chapter of its storied history. Get your tickets at ArizonaWildcats.com/VB and we will see you in McKale Center!
ARIZONA ATHLETICS HELPS MOVE IN
Our athletics department pitched in at Move-In weekend as we worked with Housing and Residential Life to get new Wildcats transitioned to college by moving into dorms on campus. Arizona Athletics and the Move-In Crew combined to help move over 7,000 residents! Athletics staff spent time unloading cars, taking residents to their new home, directing traffic and answering questions about life as a Wildcat. This was just one of the many ways #CatsGiveBack as we helped make the transition to college life a little smoother for the new Wildcats and their families. Students are at the epicenter of everything at the University of Arizona, and we are excited to welcome students back on behalf of Arizona Athletics.
BEST OF LUCK ARIZONA CROSS COUNTRY
We want to wish Arizona Cross Country the best of luck as they begin the 2019 season with the Cactus Open on Saturday morning. Arizona welcomes Arizona State and Grand Canyon to Saturday's race at Silver Lake Park, which is scheduled to begin at 6:45 a.m. (MST) with free admission. Good luck to all of our runners and Bear Down!
COMPLIANCE CORNER
With student-athletes getting ready to start another exciting academic year, we want to remind fans that providing student-athletes with any gifts, benefits or services that are not available to the public or general student body will render the student-athlete ineligible. We appreciate your incredible support of our student-athletes and please contact the Compliance Office at (520) 621-4796 with any questions prior to providing a student-athlete with any potentially impermissible extra benefit.
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:
- Bear Down with us today! Join the Wildcat Club to make an impact on our student-athletes' experience.
- Buy Season Tickets
- Wear the Colors (Especially on Friday)
- Encourage Others to Do the Same
Bear Down with Pride,
Dave Heeke
Director of Athletics
University of Arizona
uofaad@arizona.edu
