|
NEW MCKALE LIGHTING PART OF RENOVATION
While I know our fan base is excited to see the new seats, concessions, restrooms and playing surface in McKale, there is another item you’ll definitely notice if you’re making your first visit over the next few weeks or watching games on TV. As part of the Phase I renovation, an all-new, state-of-the-art LED lighting system was installed, making McKale one of the first collegiate sports arenas in the country to feature 100 percent LED lighting. The new lighting system consists of 84 NBA quality LED spotlights that replaced 160 fluorescent floodlights. The system is very similar to the one you’ve likely seen in Los Angeles’ STAPLES Center.
The new lighting is important for a couple of reasons. First, it will drastically improve the building’s energy efficiency and is expected to save an estimated 240,000 kilowatt hours per year. In addition, this lighting system is much simpler to maintain and requires far fewer bulb changes from year-to-year, which will diminish time and material costs, while being a much ‘greener’ process. Second, whether in McKale or watching on TV, you’ll notice that the LED lights are focused on the court and areas surrounding the playing surface, providing a better viewing experience for fans in the arena and those watching on TV. This kind of directional lighting is easier on the eyes, while maintaining a safe balance of light throughout the arena. The new system should also give us more flexibility with how we use the lights during events.
One thing we’re still discussing is the lighting over the ZonaZoo area. We are exploring ways to potentially lighten up that area but we have yet to find a solution. We’ll keep you posted as we continue to look into options.
2014 ARIZONA SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS INDUCTED
Last Friday, six individuals and four National Championship teams were inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame and what a group it was. From administration to coaching to student-athletes, this group has it all. If you want to learn more about all the inductees, you can read our release by clicking HERE. For the first time, we live streamed the induction ceremony and we have that housed on our website as well. If you’d like to watch the induction ceremony, you can do so by clicking HERE.
MENEFEE AWARDED PAC-12 LEADERHSIP SCHOLARSHIP
Alumni letterwinner Erin Menefee, who competed on the cross country and track and field teams, was recently honored with the Pac-12 Leadership Award, which recognizes student-athletes who have served on their institutional Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) and demonstrated leadership. One male and one female student-athlete from across the Pac-12 are awarded a $3,000 scholarship for postgraduate study with the winners being selected by the conference SAAC, which is composed of representatives from each member institution.
Erin graduated from Arizona in May with a degree in nutritional sciences with a minor in chemistry and she just started work toward her doctorate in physical therapy at San Diego State. She finished her academic career at the U of A with a 3.98 GPA, was the athletics department’s valedictorian last year and was a recipient of the Pillar of Excellence, which goes to the top students on campus. She participated in a number of peer mentoring groups and was an ambassador for our Step Up! program. Erin dedicated almost 100 hours to community service and earned our C.A.T.S. Life Skills Career Achievement award for excellence across academics, athletics and community service. She was also a member of the cross country team that won the Pac-12 Championship last year and finished as the national runner-up.
In short, Erin’s career as a student-athlete was extraordinary and I don’t think this award could have gone to a better recipient. Congratulations Erin and good luck as you continue working toward your doctorate.
SOCCER HEADED TO NCAA TOURNAMENT
I’ve mentioned a couple times about how proud we are of the job head coach Tony Amato, the staff and the student-athletes have done with the soccer program over the last two years. On Monday, their efforts paid off when they were selected to play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. They’ll face Oklahoma St. on Friday at 1 p.m. MST and you can watch the live stream of the match by clicking HERE. This will be the second time we face the Cowgirls this season, having defeated them earlier this year, 3-1.
MEN’S BASKETBALL DIGITAL GUIDE NOW AVAILABLE
If you remember last year in the build up to the NCAA Tournament, we put together a men’s basketball digital guide. We got such great feedback that we decided to do one as a season preview for this year. The Arizona men’s basketball digital guide has everything you could want to learn more about this year’s team. There is info on the players and coaches, the schedule, videos and historical info on the program. If you want to check it out, you can do so by clicking on the cover image below.
GOOD OR GREAT SEASON?
With three games left on the schedule, we’re down to the fourth quarter of the 2014 football season. Two of those three will be played here in Tucson. Whether this year is remembered as a good season or a great one will be determined in the next three weeks. We need Arizona Stadium to be full and loud for these last two home games. It looks like the Nov. 28 game vs. our rivals is sold out, but there are plenty of seats for Saturday’s game versus a good Washington team.
Coach Rodriguez has the program ranked 14th in the college football playoff poll and we’ve been in the national conversation all season. The team plays hard and competes for 60 minutes in every game. Saturday’s game will be the first day game of the season with a 1:30 p.m. kickoff. The forecast is calling for a picture-perfect day in Tucson with clear skies and 75 degrees. Our ticket prices are very competitive with our Pac-12 peers. Tickets for Saturday’s game start at $20 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under. Here is a look at entry prices for the other Pac-12 games this weekend:
- Cal at USC $50 for adults, no youth ticket price.
- Utah at Stanford $40 for adults, no youth ticket price.
- ASU at Oregon State $55 for adults, no youth ticket price.
- Washington at Arizona $20 for adults, $10 for kids 12 and under.
I know the majority of you reading this support our program by going to the games and as Wildcat Club members, but to those who live in the area and are still on the fence, we need you in the stadium. We need you to be a part of the 11+1 equation. We need you to “Be The One.”
I want to challenge all of our fans to fill Arizona Stadium on Saturday. If you’re a season ticket holder or already bought your tickets, thank you. We appreciate your support. Please share this message with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. and encourage them to come to the game. If you don’t have tickets yet, please visit the McKale Ticket Office, call (520) 621-CATS or click HERE to buy online. With the Nov. 28 game being sold out, this Saturday is your last chance to see a home game at Arizona Stadium this fall. Don’t miss it!
BOWL BOUND
With football’s win over Colorado, we are at seven wins, which guarantees another winning season for our seniors and a bowl game invitation. Obviously, we’re a few weeks away from knowing the bowl game destination, but Wildcat Club members and football season ticket holders can place requests for bowl game tickets now on ArizonaWildcats.com. Click HERE to make a request or contact the McKale Ticket Office during normal business hours.
Bowl games are another reason why having a full Arizona Stadium is important. Bowl committees spend the season evaluating not only the teams on the field, but the fan support in the stands. The better fan support we have, the more attractive we will be to those committees. I know I sound like a broken record, but it’s important. Show your support and come out to the game this Saturday!
BUSY TIME IN MCKALE FOR WOMEN’S SPORTS
November is packed with home events in the McKale Center, especially for the volleyball and women’s basketball programs. Volleyball is ranked 14th in the nation and back home this week for two exciting Pac-12 showdowns. The Wildcats will take on No. 11 Oregon Thursday night at 6 p.m. and Oregon State on Sunday at noon. We’re in the hunt to host an NCAA Regional. Big crowds would go a long ways towards a strong finish to the season, which helps our chances.
Niya Butts and the women’s basketball team open the 2014-15 regular season with a Monday night home game against Cal State Bakersfield. The roster is bolstered with the addition of a recruiting class that was ranked in the Top 25. The team is looking for a “Breakthrough” season. Get to McKale and support these young women starting with the opener on Monday night.
Tickets for volleyball and women’s basketball games are available now and start at $8 for adults and $5 for kids when purchased in advance or online. Click HERE to purchase volleyball tickets and HERE to purchase women’s basketball tickets. You can also call the McKale Ticket Office at (520) 621-CATS (2287) during normal business hours.
CATS IN THE COMMUNITY
The Wildcats continued their work in the community last week. Here is a sample:
Nov. 4 - Karina Gabino and Brie DeFelice from the soccer team volunteered at a political refugee event. They interacted with the attendees and colored with the kids.
Nov. 7 - The football team visited Wildcat fans at Diamond Children’s Medical Center.
Nov. 7 - The golf teams played with Alumni at the Homecoming Golf Tournament.
Nov. 8 - The soccer team hosted a clinic for soccer players with special needs.
Nov. 8 - The women’s golf team participated in Super Girls Golf Day demonstrating drills and answering questions.
Our student-athletes are looking to continue volunteering in the Tucson Community. If you know of a non-profit that would benefit from the helping hands of our student-athletes, please let us know by submitting an online request by clicking HERE. We won’t be able to fulfill every request, but we try to get to as many as we can.
TWITTER TRIVIA
Congrats to Sarah White (@SarahLWildcat) for being the 10th person to answer last week’s question correctly. Here was last week’s edition:
Q: Volleyball started this season 15-2, which tied for the best start in program history. When was the last time volleyball started the season 15-2?
A: 2005
Here is this week’s question:
Q: Last week, six individuals and four National Championship teams were inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame, with former football head coach Dick Tomey being one of the individuals. How many victories did Tomey, UA’s all-time winningest coach, tally during his 14-year tenure at Arizona?
In order to be eligible for the weekly prize, you must respond with your answer by tweeting to me @Greg_Byrne using the hashtag #ByrneTwitterTrivia. The 10th person to respond with the correct answer will be the winner. In addition, once you’ve won, you’ll have to wait at least six months to win again, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play along. I’m looking forward to awarding some prizes so good luck.
COMPLIANCE CORNER
Today is an exciting day for most of our programs because it is the first day a recruit can sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to enroll at the University of Arizona. The NLI is a binding agreement between a prospective student-athlete and an institution. With the exception of two programs (football and soccer), today is when verbal commitments become official for the many prospects that our coaches have been busy recruiting across the country. Before signing, our coaches were prohibited from making public comments about prospective student-athletes, however, those restrictions are lifted once the prospect signs the NLI.
Prospects in these programs will have another opportunity to sign beginning on April 15, 2015, while football and soccer will have just one general signing period beginning Feb. 4, 2015 (plus a small mid-year period in December for junior college football prospects).
Congrats to all future Wildcats who sign an NLI during this early November signing period!
ARIZONA NUGGETS
Volleyball’s road sweep of Cal on Sunday was its third of the Pac-12 season after having just one total in 2012 and ‘13 combined … Football’s Scooby Wright leads all FBS players with 2.3 tackles for loss per game. He’s recorded 20.5 on the season.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the upcoming events for Arizona Athletics (Home events in BOLD). All times are listed as Mountain Standard Time. To purchase tickets for home events, click here. To access live stats from your desktop or mobile device, visit ArizonaLiveStats.com.
Thursday
6:00 p.m.: Volleyball vs. Oregon (TV: Pac-12 Networks)
Friday
12:00 p.m.: Cross Country at NCAA Regionals (in Palo Alto, Calif.)
1:00 p.m.: Soccer at Oklahoma State (NCAA Tournament) (Live Stream)
2:30 p.m.: Women’s Swimming & Diving at UCLA
6:00 p.m.: Men’s Basketball vs. Mount St. Mary’s (TV: Pac-12 Networks) (Radio: TuneIn)
Saturday
1:30 p.m.: Football vs. Washington (TV: FOX) (Radio: TuneIn)
2:00 p.m.: Swimming & Diving at USC
Sunday
12:00 p.m.: Volleyball vs. Oregon St. (TV: Pac-12 Networks)
6:00 p.m.: Men’s Basketball vs. Cal St. Northridge (TV: Pac-12 Networks) (Radio: TuneIn)
Monday
7:00 p.m.: Women’s Basketball vs. CSU Bakersfield (Live Stream) (Radio: KTUC AM 1400)
Tuesday
No Events Scheduled
Wednesday
7:00 p.m.: Men’s Basketball vs. UC Irvine (TV: Pac-12 Networks) (Radio: TuneIn)
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 “Wildcat Wednesday” album at facebook.com/ArizonaAthletics.
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.
|
