Clarke Duncan began volunteering at the UA when he started driving the men's basketball team bus in1950 and has spent the last 32 years as the team's official scorekeeper.

Also a devout Wildcat football fan, he claims to own the only complete UA homecoming button collection in existence.

Duncan, class of '51, is one of 18 alumni volunteers leading campus tours as part of UA's new Visitor Information Program.

Olden Lee, alumni association national president, said alumni make great guides because they are a wealth of "talent, knowledge and history."

About 55 people celebrated the launching of the alumni-led tours yesterday at a shoelace-cutting ceremony on the Mall followed by the first tour headed by UA President Manuel Pacheco.

Francis Hawk, another alumni tour leader, said all the tours will follow the same basic route around campus, with featured sights including the old music and law schools, Centennial Hall, Main Gate and Old Main.

ASUA President Ben Driggs said it was a great honor having alumni lead campus tours because their history will enhance the tour experience.

The Arizona Alumni Association and Office of Community Affairs came up with the alumni-led tour idea this summer. The idea was to make the university seem a friendlier place to the surrounding community, said Nancy Yaeli, assistant director of alumni clubs.

The free, 1 1/2 hour public tours try to create this friendlier atmosphere by giving UA alumni, staff, community members and out- of-town visitors an in-depth look at the university and its history.

Arizona Ambassadors, a group of students who represent the UA and follow the guidelines of the Admissions Office, also lead campus tours, but "their focus is different," said Noel Kurtz, program coordinator for recruitment at admissions. Their tours are designed with the needs of prospective students in mind.

Kurtz said her biggest concern with the new tours is that prospective students will not get the information they need if they take the history-laden VIP tours. She said the VIP volunteers need to make sure that their tours are given to the right audience.

"Memories are wonderful," said tour volunteer and UA class of '54 graduate Virginia Storch. Storch, who has lived in Tucson for 45 years and was one of the university's first pompon girls, said she is "filled with pride and so excited for everyone to come see what's here under the sun at the University of Arizona."

Third generation UA graduate Barbara Lefferts said she is proud to be an Arizona alumnus and tour guide. Lefferts graduated in 1954 when enrollment was about 5,000. She said she is going to highlight Old Main when she leads the tours. "Old Main is a symbol of history at the university," she said.

Avondale Hawk, class of '47 graduate, said she attended the university at the onset of World War II when men on campus far outnumbered the women. At that time, Bear Down Gym served as a training center for the Navy.

"It was a great time to go to school," she said.

Spring semester tours are scheduled every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and start at the Visitor's Center. Yaeli said the VIP tours are scheduled through May and will resume again next September.

Reservations for the tour can be made by calling the Visitor's Center at 621-5130.