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FOSTER FARMS BOWL, HERE WE COME
 
Congratulations to our football staff and student-athletes as we not only qualified for a bowl game, but were chosen by the Foster Farms Bowl committee over some other Pac-12 schools. This is our fifth bowl in the last six years and eighth over the last decade, which is not an easy thing to accomplish.
 
Now, it's time to show the Foster Farms Bowl they made the right choice by getting your tickets and travel plans together and getting to the Bay Area to support the Cats and the bowl game. I can't wait to get there myself and see all of our fans, especially the San Francisco BayCats. Let's show everyone the #BayAreaIsWildcatCountry.
 
ArizonaWildcats.com/bowlgame is your source for ticket information, travel packages, fan events, and any other information related to the bowl game. If you're making plans to go to the game, please remember to buy your tickets from Arizona Athletics. We have a financial obligation to sell a certain amount of tickets, so it's important for our fans to make their purchases through the McKale Ticket Office. We have great seats available in our allotment, so you won't be disappointed. In addition, our friends at Bon Voyage Travel are working on packages for the bowl game. If you'd like more information, click HERE.
 
If you can't make it to the game, we would encourage you to support our Foster Farms Bowl military ticket donation program. You can purchase tickets to be donated to military bases in the Bay Area. You'll help us meet our obligation while sending troops to the game. Click HERE to donate tickets online by using the promo code TROOPS2017.
 

 
EARLY SIGNING PERIOD STARTS DEC. 20
 
Some of you may be aware of this, but if not, we want to give you a little background on something new this year as it relates to football recruiting. In the past, the first Wednesday of February served as National Signing Day for football. Recent legislation has introduced an early signing period that will start on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Now, prospective student-athletes in football may sign their National Letters of Intent in this early window or they can wait until the regular signing period begins on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
 
You'll want to pay attention to our football program's social media accounts, especially @ArizonaFBall on Twitter, as they'll confirm signings as they come in and are verified.
 
This has been something that's been talked about for a long time and I think we're all interested to see how many young men take advantage of this new option. I know our coaching staff is excited about it and we're eager to welcome some new Wildcats to the program.
 
GUEST FACULTY PROGRAM BRINGS ATHLETICS, CAMPUS CLOSER TOGETHER
 
One thing that is extremely important to us in the athletics department is having a strong relationship with faculty and staff across campus. In an effort to help them learn more about athletics and our C.A.T.S. student services programs and staff, we've been operating a Guest Faculty Program for the last few years.
 
Basically, we invite faculty/staff members to join us for a game day. We do this at each of our home football games, a couple of men's basketball games in the fall and spring and a selection of gymnastics, women's basketball and softball events. The program helps build relationships with faculty/staff on campus by giving attendees the opportunity to see a different side of athletics and student-athletes. It is also beneficial to have faculty/staff meet C.A.T.S. Academics and athletics department staff so they can see how we operate.
 
To get a better idea of the interaction during a visit, here is a sample itinerary from the Washington St. football game:
 
Friday, Oct. 27
2:50 p.m.: Meet outside the Ticket office of McKale Memorial Center
3:00 p.m.: Meet with James Francis, Sr. Assoc. Director of Athletics, External Operations
3:20 p.m.: Meet with Kaitlin Bennett, Director of Compliance
3:45 p.m.: Meet with John Mosbach, Associate Director of Athletics, C.A.T.S. Academics
4:00 p.m.: Tour of Ginny L. Clements Academic Center
4:20 p.m.: Tour of Lowell Stevens Football Facility
 
Saturday, Oct. 28 
4:30 p.m.: Visit the athletics department tailgate
5:45 p.m.: Watch warm-ups on the field
6:20 p.m.: Take Seats
6:30 p.m.: Washington State football game
 
We want to thank our colleagues on campus for taking part in the program. We've found it to be rewarding for all parties.
 


STRIPE OUT MCKALE FOR MEN'S BASKETBALL VS. ALABAMA
 
Our fans prove time and time again they are the best in college basketball. Our annual Stripe Out game helps to accentuate the atmosphere in McKale and is coming up this Saturday, Dec. 9 vs. Alabama. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. If you're coming to the game, make sure you wear the right color by checking your seat location in the map below. (PDF of the Stripe Out map available by clicking HERE)



A limited number of tickets were returned and are on sale now, so if you haven't already, you can get your tickets to the Stripe Out game by clicking HERE.
 
I also want to pass along one final reminder on our Holiday Pack. We have a few left and those can be purchased by clicking HERE. The Holiday Pack includes three great games over the break, Dec. 18 vs. North Dakota State, Dec. 21 vs. UConn, and Dec. 30 vs. Arizona State.
 
COMPLIANCE CORNER
 
With the holidays coming up, we understand that you may want to do something nice for one of our student-athletes or teams. Please remember that student-athletes may not accept holiday gifts from fans or donors, as it would be considered an extra benefit. It is, however, permissible to provide an occasional meal under certain circumstances. For questions about providing an occasional meal or anything else, please contact the Compliance Office at (520) 621-4796 or ica-compliance@email.arizona.edu.


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. Accept the Bear Down Challenge
2. Buy Season Tickets
3. Wear the Colors (Especially on Friday)
4. Get Others to Do the Same

 
Bear Down with Pride,

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