By
Ryan Finley
A - "A" Mountain. The mountain that overlooks South Tucson is painted with a white 'A' by freshmen during the beginning of each football season. One of Tucson's most recognizable landmarks, "A" Mountain is a perfect example of the city's dependence on the university.
B - "Bear Down." Arizona tradition is all tied to the "Bear Down" legacy.
Here's the story, in a nutshell: John "Button" Salmon, the UA's quarterback and student body president, was seriously injured in a 1926 car accident while heading to Phoenix. On his death bed, Salmon reportedly told UA coaching legend John "Pop" McKale (as in McKale Center) to "tell them ... tell the team to Bear Down." The advice stuck. "Bear Down" is also the title of one of Arizona's two fight songs.
C - Coaches. The 2001 season will mark the first season for football coach
John Mackovic and baseball coach Andy Lopez. Mackovic, who previously coached at Illinois, Texas, Wake Forest, and with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, is one of the nation's top offensive minds and should implement a pass-happy offense here. Lopez, who was hired two weeks ago to replace Jerry Stitt, is a two-time National Coach of the Year who won a NCAA National Championship while coaching at Pepperdine in 1992.
D - Double-eagle flex. It has been called the "Desert Swarm" and "Cactus
Curtain" defense, but the double-eagle flex scheme has been the UA football team's national trademark for more than a decade. A complicated, motion-heavy scheme that relies heavily on calls at the line of scrimmage, the defense allows the Wildcats' undersized, quick defenders to confound opponents. Arizona is the only Division I program that uses this rare defense.
E -Eugene Edgerson. Sure, the former Wildcat forward doesn't play for UA anymore, but with the initials EE, he's a lock. For those new at UA, Edgerson was the afroed, knee-socks wearing, eccentric basketball player whose hustle and personality made him a fan favorite. Edgerson even took a season off from basketball to be a student-teacher at a local grade school. How cool is that?
F - Fan traditions. At first glance, it doesn't seem as if UA has much in the way of tradition, but Wildcat fans have implemented their own rituals at games. All UA fans are encouraged to wear red, jingle their keys during kickoffs at football games and scream "Nice shot, buddy!" after missed free throws at basketball games. UA fans are pretty wild about their sports.
G - Golf teams. One of Arizona's most successful sports is golf. The UA women's team won the 2000 National Championship and has produced such LPGA-ers as Annika Sorenstam and Jenna Daniels. The men's team, which has produced PGA golfers Robert Gamez and Jim Furyk, currently features Ricky Barnes, one of the best Wildcat athletes in the past decade. And how is this for weird: in the same year that the Wildcat basketball team lost three underclassmen to the NBA Draft, the women's golf team lost freshman Natalie Gulbis to the LPGA. Take that, Richard Jefferson!
H - Hillenbrand. There are two Hillenbrands at the UA, Hillenbrand Aquatic
Center - home of Wildcat swimming and diving - and Hillenbrand Stadium, home of the 2001 National Champion Arizona softball team. They are right next to each other.
I - Intramurals. The UA has plenty of intramural programs for students who want a little competition after school. There are a ton of sports to play: basketball, baseball, flag football and - get this! - floor hockey, to name a few.
J - Jason Johnson. Who? Well, Johnson is the tentative starter at quarterback on this year's football team. After spending two seasons backing up Ortege Jenkins and Keith Smith behind center, Johnson will finally get a chance to showcase his talent despite pressure from incoming freshman Nic Costa and redshirt freshman John Rattay, a transfer from Tennessee.
K - Kills. The UA volleyball team (Arizona has just one team, women's volleyball) made the Elite Eight last season for the first time in program history. Led by All-America setter Dana Burkholder, the Wildcats - namely juniors Shannon Torregrosa and Lisa Rutledge - should log plenty of kills during the upcoming season.
L - Lute. .As in Lute Olson, the UA men's basketball coach. There's not much to say about Olson: he's arguably the best active coach in the game today and has turned Arizona from an also-ran into one of the nation's best basketball programs. If you don't know who Lute Olson is, transfer.
M - Murray. Dave Murray, UA's track and field/cross country coach, has been at Arizona for an astonishing 34 seasons, the most of all UA coaches. He's one of the most accomplished and nicest guys in the business.
N - Numbers. Despite Arizona's relative success in basketball, only two players have had their numbers retired. Steve Kerr (No. 25) and Sean Elliott (No. 32) were teammates at the college level and are currently together with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. Don't look for the Wildcats to retire another number for a while - Jason Terry, the player of the year in 1999, admitted to taking money from an agent last summer and was eliminated from consideration.
O - Overrated. USC in just about every sport.
P - Pastner. Those of you new to campus probably don't know about Josh Pastner, a former 12th man on the UA men's basketball team who has since become an undergraduate assistant coach for the team. Pastner, a fan favorite since his days as a little-used reserve guard, is renowned throughout the country for helping to develop guards such as current NBA-ers Jason Terry, Mike Bibby
Richard Jefferson, Mike Dickerson and Gilbert Arenas.
Q - Quitting. In the past year, two prominent UA coaches have "quit" under pressure to resign. Dick Tomey and Jerry Stitt, coaches with a combined ____ years of UA head coaching experience, were replaced by Mackovic and Lopez.
R - Rose Bowl. Upon being hired, Mackovic announced that his primary goal
would be to take the Wildcats to the Rose Bowl, the game that annually pits
the Pacific 10 Conference's winner and the Big Ten Conference champion in
Pasadena, Calif. The goal is lofty, to say the least - the Wildcats are the
only Pac-10 team never to appear in the New Year's Day classic.
S - Student Section. No, there isn't one at McKale for basketball games. Don't ask about the prospects of getting one: it's never going to happen.
T - Track Star, as in Brianna Glenn. One of the top sprinters in the country, Glenn was a high school friend of softball ace Jennie Finch in high school and should help lead a much-improved UA squad in the 2001 season.
U - "U of A!," "U of A!" The chant isn't hard, folks, but it's a must at sporting events. So learn it.
V - Violence. If you like hockey - and the controlled violence that comes with it - Icecats games are the place to be. With crude chants like, "He shoots! He scores! Hey goalie, you suck!," club hockey games at the Tucson Convention Center - "The Madhouse on Main Street" - are a great way to spend a winter evening.
W - Wilbur the Wildcat. The furry, cowboy-hat wearing Wilbur is Arizona's
mascot. Oh yeah, and he's married to the equally-intimidating Wilma Wildcat.
X - X factor. Both the basketball and football teams will be the subject of much uncertainty leading into the 2001-02 season. Will Mackovic's offense fit players who were recruited to run a Neanderthal running game? Who will score points on the basketball team? Will Jason Gardner produce?
Y- You'll have to find out. That's the beauty of sports, especially at the college level.
Z - Zaharius, as in Zaharius Johnson, UA senior strong safety and an early favorite for the A to Z writer's best friend award for providing a Z word.
