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Arizona Wildcats Wiki Information

The athletic teams at the University of Arizona are known as the Arizona Wildcats .

ARIZONA WILDCATS TICKETS

EVENT	DATE	AVAILABILITY
Arizona Wildcats vs. TCU Horned Frogs Tickets 12/30	Dec 30, 2024 Mon, 6:00 PM
Arizona Wildcats Women's Basketball vs. Utah Utes Tickets 12/31	Dec 31, 2024 Tue, 12:00 PM
UCF Knights Women's Basketball vs. Arizona Wildcats Tickets 1/4	Jan 04, 2025 Sat, 1:00 PM
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Arizona Wildcats Tickets 1/4	Jan 04, 2025 Sat, 2:30 PM
West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Arizona Wildcats Tickets 1/7	Jan 07, 2025 Tue, 7:00 PM

Athletic program

The University of Arizona participates in the NCAA's Division I-A in the Pacific Ten Conference. Arizona joined the PAC-10 in 1978 along with Arizona State University, bringing the conference to its current 10 teams. The school colors are cardinal red and navy blue, and the official fight song is "Fight! Wildcats! Fight!" , though "Bear Down, Arizona!" is more commonly used and "Bear Down" is the university's motto.

History

The Wildcats name derived from a 1914 football game with then California champions Occidental College, where the L.A. Times asserted that Arizona "showed the fight of wildcats."

The first sport to bring national recognition to UA was Polo. The 1924 UA Polo Team captured the Western Collegiate Championship, and traveled to the east coast to present U.S. President Calvin Coolidge with a cowboy hat. The UA Polo team faced Princeton University for the intercollegiate title and lost 6-2 and 8-0. With the onset of World War II, the UA was unable to continue sponsoring a Polo team. ^[1]

Mascot

The University mascots are anthropomorphized wildcats named Wilbur and Wilma. The identities of Wilbur and Wilma are kept secret through the year as the mascots appear only in costume. In 1986, Wilbur and Wilma, a longtime couple, were married. Together, Wilbur and Wilma appear along with the cheerleading squad at most Wildcat sporting events.

Arizona's first mascot was a real desert bobcat named "Rufus Arizona", introduced in 1915 and named after the university's president at the time, Rufus B. von KleinSmid.

Rivalries

A strong athletic rivalry exists between the University of Arizona and Arizona State University located in Tempe and has been recognized as one of the most bitter rivalries in college sports. ^[2] Rivalries have also been created with other Pac-10 teams, especially University of California, Los Angeles which has provided a worthy softball rival and was Arizona's main basketball rival in the early and mid-1990s. With UCLA's 2006 Final Four appearance, the rivalry has been revitalized. Along with USC, Washington State, and Oregon's recent success in men's basketball, expect those rivalries to heat up. Arizona and New Mexico, for many years, had a rivalry based on both teams' former membership in the Western Athletic Conference. The teams played for the Kit Carson Rifle trophy, but it stopped being awarded after the 1997 Insight.com Bowl.

Sports

Varsity teams

The University of Arizona fields 18 intercollegiate varsity teams that compete in the NCAA. These teams include:

Baseball, Men's & Women's Basketball, Men's & Women's Cross Country, Football, Men's & Women's Golf, Gymnastics, Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's & Women's Swimming/Diving, Men's & Women's Tennis, Men's & Women's Track & Field, and Women's Volleyball

Men's Basketball

The men's basketball team has been one of the nation's most successful programs since Lute Olson was hired as head coach in 1983 and was known as a national powerhouse in Division I-A men's basketball. As of 2008, the team had amassed 21 consecutive 20-win seasons, and reached the NCAA Tournament 25 consecutive years, which is the longest currently active streak. The Wildcats have reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament in 1988, 1994, 1997, and 2001. In 1997, Arizona defeated the University of Kentucky, the defending national champions, to win the NCAA National Championship. Their championship team was led by future NBA players Mike Bibby and Michael Dickerson, as well as Final Four MVP Miles Simon. Bennett Davison and A.J. Bramlet rounded out the starting five. To this date, they are the only team to defeat three number one seeds in the same tournament: Kansas (Sweet 16); North Carolina (Final 4); and Kentucky in the Championship Game. They won a thriller game in the Elite Eight in double overtime to take them to the Final Four (NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship).

Arizona also has a history of first round upset losses in the NCAA tournament, including being one of only four teams in history to lose a game as a 2 seed (to Santa Clara, in 1993), one of only fourteen 3 seeds to lose a game (to East Tennessee State, in 1992), and one of twenty 4 seeds to lose a game (to Oklahoma, in 1999).

After 25 years of coaching Arizona, Lute Olson retired shortly before the 2008-2009 season, largely due to on-going health issues. After several years of coaching by interim head coaches, Arizona named Sean Miller, formerly the head coach of Xavier, as the next Wildcats head coach.

Football

The football team began at the University of Arizona in 1899 under the nickname "Varsity" (a name kept until the 1914 season when the team earned the name "Wildcats"). The football team was notably successful in the 1990s under head coach Dick Tomey and his "Desert Swarm" defense that was characterized by tough, hard-nosed tactics. In 1993, the team had its first 10-win season and drubbed the powerhouse Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl by a score of 29-0. In 1998, the team posted a school-record 12-1 season and made the Holiday Bowl in which it defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Arizona ended that season ranked 3rd nationally and 2nd in several publications. Despite a stellar season, Arizona's single loss caused them to finish second in the Pac 10. From 1999-2007 Arizona has had a mix of unsuccessful seasons without any bowl apperences. Then in 2008 Arizona returned to providence with a successful season and a bowl win against BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Baseball

The baseball team has captured three national championship titles in 1976, 1980, and 1986. Arizona baseball teams have appeared in the NCAA College World Series a total of 15 times, including 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1986, 2004 (College World Series). The team is currently coached by Head coach Andy Lopez, Assistant Coach Jeff Casper, Assistant Coach Mark Wasikowski, and Volunteer Assistant Coach Keith Francis. The players include RHP Preston Guilmet, LHP David Coulon, RHP Ryan Perry, RHP Mike Colla, RHP Jason Stoffel (closer), LHP Daniel Schlereth, 1B C.J. Ziegler, 2Bs Colt Sedbrook and Mike Weldon, SS Bryce Ortega and Robert Abel, 3B Dillon Baird, OFs T.J. Steele, Jon Gaston, Diallo Fon, and Bobby Coyle. Their top recruit is P Kyle Lobstein, a polished lefty from Coconino HS in Arizona with a smooth delivery and a three pitch mix.

Softball

The Arizona softball team is among the top programs in the country and a perennial powerhouse. The softball team has won eight NCAA Women's College World Series titles, in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006 and 2007 under head coach Mike Candrea (NCAA Softball Championship). The team has appeared in the NCAA National Championship in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2007, a feat second only to UCLA. Mike Candrea also led the 2004 U.S. Olympic softball team to a gold medal in Athens, Greece.

ARIZONA WILDCATS SOFTBALL

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 1991	NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 1993	NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 1994	NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 1996	NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 1997	NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 2001	NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 2006	NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 2007