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WELCOME BACK WILDCATS
With classes beginning at the University of Arizona this week, there's an exciting buzz around Arizona Athletics as student-athletes return to campus and begin their return to competition. We will begin the 2021-22 academic year following an extremely successful year in all facets of our Wildcat Way student-athlete experience
as I outlined in my letter to the Wildcat Family last week.
Arizona Soccer has already officially begun their season and our volleyball and football programs will open competition in the next week and a half. Watching our fall programs compete, seeing our student-athletes back on campus and greeting all our loyal supporters at matches and games creates a great sense of optimism and pride.
Arizona Athletics has achieved greatness over the past 18 months while overcoming obstacles, and 2021-22 will be another chapter of excellence in the rich history of our athletics department. I look forward to connecting with the Wildcat Family as our student-athletes, staff and coaches strive for excellence, compete for championships and proudly represent the Block A.
PAC-12 ALLIANCE
As you may have seen yesterday, the Pac-12 Conference announced a historic alliance with the ACC and the Big Ten. I am in full support of this important move to have the Pac-12's membership align with like-minded institutions and conferences with shared values, prioritization of educational missions of institutions and support of broad-based athletics programs. Arizona Athletics' mission is to provide opportunities for student-athletes to become academic, athletic and life champions, and that strategic vision is a shared commitment throughout this alliance.
This collaborative group of over 40 of the top universities in the nation will focus on the future of college athletics through purposeful scheduling, growing athletic and academic opportunities and enhancing the student-athlete experience.
I commend Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff for his guidance and leadership that focused the power of the Conference of Champions into a positive, forward-thinking vision in conjunction with Commissioner Jim Phillips of the ACC and Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren. I look forward to working with this vital group to help position Arizona Athletics towards continued success and emphasizing the importance of the Wildcat student-athlete experience.
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF
Coach Fisch and Arizona Football are less than two weeks away from kickoff in Las Vegas versus BYU in Allegiant Stadium. The program just wrapped up a productive Fall camp, which included open practices and fan festivals that many of you were able to enjoy. The excitement that has been building around our program, and its engagement with our community has created a truly dynamic energy as we head into the season opener.
If you haven't made your plans yet for the first Saturday in September, then join us in Las Vegas. Purchase your tickets for the 7:30 p.m. (MST) kickoff from a beautiful NFL stadium on Saturday, Sept. 4 by
clicking here. The
University of Arizona Alumni Association is planning a tremendous weekend around the game, and I can't wait to see our terrific fans cheering on our team.
We've got six home games following the BYU opener, which
include special celebrations and pregame festivities throughout the season. We've recently
transitioned to mobile ticketing for fans and
enhanced our concessions operations as part of our continuous effort to improve the fan experience. For our Phoenix Wildcats,
the Cat Cruiser is back again for transportation to Arizona Stadium.
It's a great time to purchase your 2021 Arizona Football tickets and make your plans to Bear Down in Arizona Stadium this fall!
HAPPY 30TH SEASON COACH RUBIO
Arizona Volleyball officially opens the 2021 season this week as it hosts the Cactus Classic Tournament. This also marks
Dave Rubio's 30
th season as head coach, which is a remarkable milestone to celebrate. Coach Rubio is one of only two volleyball coaches in the history of our conference to win at least 500 matches in a career while guiding the Wildcats to 20 NCAA postseason appearances.
The roster includes a core group of experienced returners, including the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in outside hitter Sofia Maldonado Diaz. Sofia joins fellow sophomores Jaelyn Hodge and Emery Herman alongside returning upperclassmen Kamaile Hiapo, Merle Weidt, Malina Kalei Ua, Zyonna Fellows and Dilara Gedikoglu.
The Wildcats begin their season with a doubleheader on Friday, beginning with Marist at 10 a.m. (MST) before facing New Mexico State at 6:30 p.m. (MST). Lock in your seats to Bear Down with Coach Rubio and the Wildcats by
clicking here. Please remember
that in compliance with the University of Arizona guidelines, Arizona Athletics will require masks to be worn in all indoor spaces where it is not possible to adequately socially distance.
BEAR DOWN ARIZONA SOCCER
Our volleyball program is not our only team competing at home this weekend. After starting the 2021 season on the road, first-year head coach
Becca Moros is set for her first home match this Friday when Arizona Soccer hosts NAU at 7 p.m. (MST) at Mulcahy Stadium.
Let's show our student-athletes, coaches and staff what a great home environment we have and what an outstanding soccer community we have in Tucson. Gates open at 6 p.m. (MST) and tickets begin at just $5. Season-ticket holders will receive chair backs and have the ability to park either in-venue (reserved for Wildcat Club Members) or in a lot across from the facility.
Don't miss your chance to become an Arizona Soccer season ticket holder and support the Cats all year long!
LIVING THE WILDCAT WAY
Arizona Athletics continues its mission of providing student-athletes the opportunities to become academic, athletic and life champions by living the Wildcat Way. ArizonaWildcats.com continues to tell the stories of our outstanding
student-athletes as part of our department's strategic initiatives through the "Who We Are" series.
This year we've already published a pair of tremendous profiles on
Jill Aguilera of Arizona Soccer and
Kamaile Hiapo of Arizona Volleyball for you to enjoy. Please continue to visit ArizonaWildcats.com to see this superb content highlighting the great student-athletes in all our programs.
THANK YOU CODY & PATSY RITCHIE
During our summer break from Wildcat Wednesday emails, we made an announcement regarding a
powerful gift made to our athletics department by Cody & Patsy Ritchie. The Ritchie Family want to make a difference in the lives of countless student-athletes and see how our Wildcat Way mission guides Wildcats to go on to be the next group of leaders in their communities after graduation. Cody saw the impact of our student-athlete experience firsthand as a former intern with our Wildcat Club, and now the Wildcat Way has come full circle with this tremendous gift commitment.
Thank you Cody and Patsy for this special gift and for helping our athletics department continue to provide opportunities for our student-athletes to become academic, athletic and life champions.
RED-BLUE GAME TICKETS
Our annual season opening basketball celebration, the First Watch Red-Blue Game, will return to McKale Center at 3 p.m. (MST) on Saturday, Oct. 2.
Tickets are now on sale with seats for $7, $10 or $15 for the event.
Tickets move quickly every year with the First Watch Red-Blue Game, so don't wait to purchase yours. This tip-off celebration will also be the unofficial beginning of the
Tommy Lloyd era of Arizona Basketball as we welcome fans back for basketball games in our one-of-a-kind home venue for the first time in over a year.
WILDCAT OLYMPIANS
I want to congratulate our 23 former and current Wildcat student-athletes and coaches who competed on the biggest of stages at the Tokyo Olympic games this summer. These Wildcats proudly represented the University of Arizona as they fulfilled their dreams, and it was awesome to see Arizona and the Wildcat Family cheer them on.
Dejah Mulipola in softball, Delaney Schell in diving and Rory Sabbatini in men's golf all earned silver medals while Josh Green was a part of Australia's bronze-winning men's basketball team. Steve Kerr was an assistant on Team USA basketball that took home gold.
Our Bear Down spirit of determination was on display in Tokyo as these Olympians added to the storied heritage of our athletics department.
ARIZONA ATHLETICS EN ESPAÑOL
We launched
Arizona en Español earlier this month as our newest initiative in our continued focus on enhancing fan engagement, and we have received wonderful feedback already on our new Spanish-language content. Since becoming one of the first athletic departments to implement Spanish game broadcasts in 1999, Arizona Athletics has been a leader in Spanish-speaking content.
As we grow this important initiative,
you can follow Arizona en Español on social media. We have a variety of exclusive content on those channels,
including Francisco Romero's interview with Sofia Maldonado Diaz of Arizona Volleyball.
We will continue to include new Arizona en Espanol content in future Wildcat Wednesday emails, and we hope you will enjoy this outstanding Wildcat content.
ARIZONA EDGE
As part of our ongoing commitment to providing a first-class student-athlete experience, we launched our Arizona EDGE program to educate and assist students in utilizing their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) under the NCAA's new legislation.
What makes Arizona EDGE different from other programs? We created it in-house in collaboration with prestigious campus partners including the Eller College of Management and Rogers College of Law among others.
Our newest addition to Arizona EDGE is the Marketplace, which connects the business community with student-athletes through awareness and education about NIL. You can learn more by visiting
www.arizonaedgemarketplace.com.
The Arizona EDGE program is made by Arizona, for Arizona. It builds incredible relationships through the power of the University of Arizona and our Southern Arizona community. If you have additional questions, please reach out via email at
AZEdge@arizona.edu.
WEAR THE COLORS – SHARE THE PHOTOS
Send us your photos of you wearing the colors while staying safe!
Thank you for wearing the colors and sharing your Arizona pride! Make sure to take a picture the next time you are wearing the colors and send it to us, we just might include it in next week's Wildcat Wednesday! And even if your photo submission doesn't make next week's edition, 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.
Stay Safe, Bear Down and Mask Up!
Dave Heeke
Director of Athletics
University of Arizona
uofaad@arizona.edu
