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University of Arizona Wildcats
Institution	University of Arizona
Colors	Cardinal Red & Navy Blue
Mascot	Wildcats
Fight Song	Fight, Wildcats, Fight
Athletic Director	Jim Livengood
Stadium	Arizona Stadium
Basketball Arena	McKale Center
Baseball Field	Jerry Kindall Field at Frank Sancet Stadium
Softball Field	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium
NCAA Men's Basketball National Championships	1997
NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four Appearances	1988, 1994, 1997, 2001
NCAA Baseball National Championships	1976, 1980, 1986
NCAA Baseball National Title Appearances	1956, 1959, 1963, 1976, 1980, 1986
NCAA Softball National Championships	1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007
NCAA Softball National Title Appearances	1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007
NCAA Men's Golf National Championships	1992
NCAA Women's Golf National Championships	1996, 2000
NCAA Women's Tennis (Doubles) National Championships	1993
NCAA Individual National Championships	115
NCCH/ACHA Men's Hockey National Championships	1985
AIAW Synchronized Swimming National Championships	1980, 1981, 1984
PAC-10 Men's Basketball Titles	1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005
PAC-10 Women's Basketball Titles	2004
PAC-10 Baseball Titles	1980, 1989, 1992
PAC-10 Softball Titles	1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007
PAC-10 Men's Cross Country Titles	1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1994, 1999
PAC-10 Men's Golf Titles	1987, 1991, 2004
PAC-10 Women's Golf Titles	1992, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002
PAC-10 Women's Swimming & Diving Titles	2000, 2006, 2007
PAC-10 Women's Volleyball Titles	2000
PAC-10 Women's Soccer Titles	2005

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

Contents 1 Athletic program 1.1 History 1.2 Mascot 1.3 Rivalries 2 Sports 2.1 Varsity teams 2.2 Men's Basketball 2.3 Football 2.4 Baseball 2.5 Softball 2.6 Men's and Women's Golf 2.7 Other 3 Notable athletic venues 4 Traditions 4.1 History of Bear Down, Arizona! 4.2 History behind the motto Bear Down 4.3 Fight! Wildcats! Fight! 5 Miscellaneous 6 Notes

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 fight song is "Bear Down, Arizona!"

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]

The University mascot is an anthropomorphized wildcat named Wilbur. The identity of Wilbur is kept secret through the year as the mascot appears only in costume. In 1986, Wilbur married his longtime wildcat girlfriend, Wilma. Together, Wilbur and Wilma appear along with the cheerleading squad at most Wildcat sporting events.

A strong athletic rivalry exists between the University of Arizona and Arizona State University located in Tempe. 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.

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

Main article: Arizona Wildcats 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 is known as a national powerhouse in Division I-A men's basketball. As of 2007, the team has amassed 20 consecutive 20-win seasons, and reached the NCAA Tournament 23 consecutive years, which is the longest currently active streak. Lute Olson has taken the Wildcats to 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. Prior to winning the championship in 1997, UA defeated three number one seeds to advance to the National Championship game. To this date, they are the only team to defeat three number one seeds in the same tournament. 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).

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 University of 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.

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 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.

The university's golf teams have also been notably successful. The men's team won a national championship in 1992 (NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships), while the women's team won national championships in 1996 and 2000 (NCAA Women's Golf Championship). Annika Sörenstam won an individual national title in 1991, and Lorena Ochoa was NCAA Women's Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002 before leaving UA early to turn pro.

Three championships for synchronized swimming were won in 1980, 1981, and 1984, though these championships were in the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, and not the NCAA.

The lacrosse team is affectionately known as the “Laxcats”. Its existence, since the mid-sixties, is saturated with a rich tradition of success. In the 1960’s, Arizona was a Division I Varsity program, coached by the legendary Carl Runk, an Arizona graduate and football player. In 1998 Carl retired after twenty-eight years at Towson University in Maryland. The most well known player to graduate from that era was a skinny, feisty goalie named Jerry Rivers. You may know him today as mega TV personality, Geraldo Rivera. During that Varsity era, the team rose as high as number 3 in the Nation.

In the early 70’s Craig Hassell, a transplanted Long Island lacrosse fanatic, stepped up and kept the tradition alive. The 70’s rosters were packed with the types of free spirited players that typified the era. Predominately from Long Island and Maryland, these free spirits had little cares other than their dedication to the game. In 1976 the timing was right for yet another transplanted Long Islander to assume the responsibility for the stability of the University of Arizona Program. Mickey-Miles Felton, at the age of 30, had begun his Arizona career as a defenseman, was named the Head Coach

The Laxcats have claimed only one Conference Title, occurring in 1990. In 1997, the Laxcats were ranked Number 1 heading into the National Tournament but were upset early by Brigham Young University in the second round of the Tournament. Following the 2001 season Mickey-Miles Felton stepped down with 278 career wins to assume the role of General Manager. Assistant Coach Adam Hopkins, of New York Institute of Technology, was elevated to the top spot and the Tradition continued. Following the 2003 season, Hopkins left and his assistant Ken Broschart was moved into the Head Coaching position. Broschart brought in Matt Hunter, and the following year Tim Spruyt as the NYIT pipeline continued. Hopkins, Broschart, and Hunter were all All Americans while at NYIT.

Although surprising to some, the University of Arizona has a strong history in ice hockey. The school's hockey team, known as the Icecats, has won over 520 games since its inception in 1978. The Icecats defeated Penn State for the National Collegiate Club Hockey National Championship in 1985. More than 100,000 fans attend Icecats home games each year, the third largest draw in all of college hockey. It should be noted, however, that the Icecats do not compete at the NCAA level.

• McKale Center, opened in 1973, is currently used by men's and women's basketball, women's gymnastics, and women's volleyball. The official capacity has changed often. The largest crowd to see a game in McKale was 15,176 in 1976 for a game against the University of New Mexico, a main rival during that period. In 2000, the floor in McKale was dubbed Lute Olson Court, for the basketball program's winningest coach. During a memorial service in 2001 for Lute's wife, Bobbi, who died earlier that year after a battle with ovarian cancer, the floor was renamed Lute and Bobbi Olson Court. In addition to the playing surface, McKale Center is host to the offices of the UA athletic department. McKale Center is named after J.F. Pop McKale, who was athletic director and coach from 1914 through 1957.

• Arizona Stadium, built in 1928, seats over 56,000 patrons. It hosts American football games and has also been used for university graduations. The turf is bermuda grass, taken from the local Tucson National Golf Club. Arizona football's home record is 258-139-12. The largest crowd ever in Arizona Stadium was 59,920 in 1996 for a game against Arizona State University.

• Jerry Kindall Field at Frank Sancet Stadium hosts baseball games.

• Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium hosts softball games.

• At the beginning of each school year, freshmen repaint the "A" on "A" Mountain, a Tucson and Wildcat landmark just west of campus.

• One of the two bells rescued from the USS Arizona after the attack on Pearl Harbor has a permanent home in the clock tower of the Student Union Memorial Center on campus. The bell first arrived on campus in July 1946. The bell is rung seven times on the third Wednesday of every month at 12:07 p.m. to honor the achievements of the UA, as well as after football victories over all schools located outside of Arizona.

• The University of Arizona marching band, named The Pride of Arizona, played at the halftime of the first Super Bowl. The band plays at most of the university's athletic events.

In 1952 Jack K. Lee, an applicant for the UA's band directorship, departed Tucson by air following an interview with UA administration. From his airplane window, Lee observed the huge letters on the roof of the UA gymnasium reading "BEAR DOWN". Inspired, Lee scribbled down the music and lyrics to an up-tempo song. By the time his plane landed, he had virtually finished it. A few weeks later Lee was named the UA band director, and in September 1952, the UA band performed "Bear Down, Arizona!" in public for the first time. Soon thereafter, "Bear Down, Arizona!" became accepted as UA's fight song.

The battle cry was created by a popular student athlete, John "Button" Salmon, who was the student body president, as well as the starting quarterback for the Wildcat football team and the catcher for the Wildcat baseball team.

The day before the first game of the 1926 football season, Salmon and three friends were involved in an automobile accident and their vehicle flipped over a ravine. Although Salmon's friends were not injured, Salmon suffered a severe spinal cord injury.

In the aftermath of the accident, football coach Pop McKale visited him in the hospital every day. During McKale's last visit, Salmon's last message to his teammates was, "Tell them...tell the team to bear down." John Salmon died on October 18, 1926.

The following year, the University of Arizona student body approved that "Bear Down" would be the new slogan for all Wildcat athletic teams. In 1939, the Arizona state legislature issued a decree that "Bear Down" would be the exclusive property of the University of Arizona. (Bear Down)

Hail Arizona Wildcats
Fighting for old UA
A raging team of Wildcats
Growling for the fray
There's not a team that can stop them
When the ball goes into play
So Fight! Team!
Fight with all your might
And win today!

Fight, Wildcats, Fight for Arizona
We're with you ever staunch and true
This day we hail you and we cheer you
They can't defeat the Red and Blue
Circle the ends and crash through the center
Hit hard and gain on ev'ry play
Fight Wildcats
Fight! Fight! Fight!
We'll win today!

• The current school colors are cardinal red and navy blue. Before 1900, the colors were sage green and silver. The switch was made when an extremely lucrative discount on red and blue jerseys was made available.

• Arizona's first mascot was a real desert bobcat named "Rufus", introduced in 1915.

• 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. University of Arizona History & Traditions "History & Traditions"
2. Unofficial U of A sports blog maintained by alumni "The Beardown"

v • d • e The University of Arizona
Academics	Undergraduate Colleges and Schools Agriculture and Life Sciences • Architecture and Landscape Architecture • Education • Engineering • Fine Arts • Humanities • Medicine • Nursing • Optical Sciences • Pharmacy • Science • Social and Behavioral Sciences • Natural Resources • Physicial and Mathematical Sciences • School of Natural Resources • School of Public Administration and Policy Graduate/Professional Colleges and Schools Graduate College • Eller College of Management • James E. Rogers College of Law • Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health
Athletics & traditions	Wildcats • Bear Down • Fight! Wildcats! Fight! • The Pride of Arizona • U of A/ASU Big Game • Arizona Stadium • McKale Center • Lute Olson • Wilbur the Wildcat • "A" Mountain • Zona Zoo
Campus	Main Campus • University of Arizona South • University Medical Center • Libraries • Student Union Memorial Center • Krutch Cactus Garden • Arizona State Museum • Steward Observatory • Kitt Peak National Observatory • Center for Creative Photography
Student Life	Arizona Daily Wildcat • Student Recreation Center • University Avenue (Tucson) • Centennial Hall • Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park • KAMP

v • d • e Arizona Wildcats Head Basketball Coaches
Cates • McKale • Pierce • Stanley • Davis • Enke • Larson • Snowden • Lindsey • Olson

v • d • e Pacific-10 Conference
Arizona • Arizona State • California • Oregon • Oregon State • Stanford • UCLA • USC • Washington • Washington State

v • d • e Public Universities in Arizona
Arizona State University • Northern Arizona University • University of Arizona