"Bear Down" is the official motto of the University of Arizona (U of A), located in Tucson, Arizona. It is the inspiration for "Bear Down, Arizona!," the unofficial fight song of the school's Arizona Wildcats. The official fight song is "Fight! Wildcats! Fight!" written by Douglas Holsclaw.
John B. Salmon (Button Salmon) was the student body president, as well as the starting quarterback for the Wildcat football team and the catcher for the Wildcat baseball team, and member of Sigma Nu fraternity and #12 in Chain Gang Junior Honorary, now known as Links Junior Honorary.
The day after the first game of the 1926 football season, Salmon and two others were involved in an automobile accident, in which their vehicle flipped over in 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." [1] John Salmon died on October 18, 1926. Following Salmon's funeral, McKale reportedly told the team what he had said in a Las Cruces, N.M., locker room before a football game against the Aggies of New Mexico State, and U of A won a hard-fought victory, 7-0.
The following year, the University of Arizona student body adopted the slogan for use with all Wildcat athletic teams. That year, the Chain Gang, a junior honorary organization at the UA, held a dance in the newly constructed university gymnasium to raise funds to paint the slogan on the roof of the building at coordinates 32°13′52″N110°57′00″W / 32.231129°N 110.950115°W . Links Junior Honorary (formerly known as Chain Gang) still holds this dance annually. The words are still featured on the roof of the gymnasium, now known as Bear Down Gym. In 1939, the Arizona state legislature issued a decree that "Bear Down" would be the exclusive property of The University of Arizona[ citation needed ]. Research at the State Archives does not find any record of such a decree:
In 2013 Arizona's football stadium installed a new artificial surface with "Bear Down" etched in the center of the field and running from end to end between the 15-yard lines. Previously the phrase was painted on the field in two separate areas. Before the 2022 season, the artificial surface was renovated and "Bear Down" returned to the painted sideline alongside each 20-yard line.
The song "Bear Down, Arizona!" was written by Jack K. Lee, the university's future band director, in 1952. As related by Lee himself in later years, Lee was one of several applicants for the position of Director of Bands at the U of A. During his visit to the university for his job interview, he was given a tour of the campus and was told the story of the Bear Down slogan. As his flight home to Michigan left from the Tucson airport, it banked over the university campus, and Lee saw the slogan painted on the roof of the university gymnasium. He was struck by inspiration, took an airsickness bag from the seat pocket of the plane and wrote, in pencil, the lyrics to "Bear Down, Arizona." Lee was offered the band director job. The song was publicly performed in September 1952 for the first time by U of A band at a pep rally in downtown Tucson. [1] A replica of the original manuscript, created by Lee on a paper sack, is displayed in the Alumni Heritage Lounge on the main floor of the Student Union Memorial Center on the university campus.
Arizona, bear down!
Let's cheer for Arizona,
Let's raise our voices high!
Let's cheer for Arizona,
That bear down battle cry!
Let's cheer our team to victory!
Let's cheer our team to fame!
Let's cheer for Arizona,
For spirit wins the game!
Chorus:
Bear down, Arizona!
Bear down, red and blue!
Bear down, Arizona!
Hit 'em hard let 'em know who's who!
Bear down, Arizona!
Bear down, red and blue!
Go, go, Wildcats go!
Arizona, bear down!
Although the following coda is not actually a part of the song, the band (along with the crowd) sometimes chants it immediately after they have played "Bear Down". [3] Part of the chant originates in a 1988 rap song about the Arizona basketball team, written by Harvey Mason, Jr.
A-R-I-Z-O-N-A!
A-R-I-Z-O-N-A!
A-R-I-Z-O-N-A!
Go A-R-I-Z-O-N-A!
W-I-L-D Cats! (Say what?)
W-I-L-D Wildcats! (That's right!)
W-I-L-D Cats!
We're wild about those Cats!
The verse of the song is rarely sung. At most athletic events, the chorus is sung twice, followed by the chant. [3]
The University of Arizona is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. The University of Arizona is one of three universities governed by the Arizona Board of Regents. As of Fall 2023, the university enrolled 53,187 students in 19 separate colleges/schools, including the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson along with the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix and the James E. Rogers College of Law.
McKale Memorial Center is an athletic arena in the southwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. As the home of the university's Wildcats basketball team of the Pac-12 Conference, it is primarily used for basketball, but also has physical training and therapy facilities. Its construction is marked with a large copper cap that has oxidized brown.
Hi Corbett Field is a baseball park in the southwestern United States, located in Tucson, Arizona. With a seating capacity of approximately 9,500, it was the spring training home of the Colorado Rockies and Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball, and is currently home to the University of Arizona Wildcats of the Pac-12 Conference.
The University of Alabama is a school with many traditions. This article describes several of these traditions.
The Arizona Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Arizona's chief intercollegiate rival is the Arizona State Sun Devils, and the two universities' athletic departments compete against each other in multiple sports via the State Farm Territorial Cup Series.
The Tucson Convention Center is a large multi-purpose convention center located in downtown Tucson, Arizona. Built in 1971, the location includes an 8,962-seat indoor arena, two performing arts venues, and 205,000 square feet (19,000 m2) of meeting space. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
James Fred "Pop" McKale was an American football and baseball player, coach of football, basketball, baseball, and track, and college athletics administrator. He is best known for his four-decade association with the University of Arizona. He served as athletic director at U of A from 1914 to 1957. He served as Arizona's head football coach from 1914 to 1930, compiling a record of 80–32–6. McKale was also the head basketball coach at Arizona from 1914 to 1921, tallying a mark of 49–12, and the head baseball coach at the school from 1915 to 1919 and again from 1922 to 1949, amassing a record of 304–118–7. McKale was inducted into the Arizona Sportsmen Hall of Fame in 1959 and was a charter member of the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame, inducted in 1976. The McKale Center, the University of Arizona's home basketball venue, was opened in 1973 and named in McKale's honor.
The Pride of Arizona (PoA) is the marching band and pep band at the University of Arizona. The band was founded in 1902 as the UA ROTC Band and contained 12 members. The band is well-known for their performance at Super Bowl I and the Inaugural Parade of President James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr.
The Arizona Wildcats football program represents the University of Arizona (UA) in the sport of American college football. Arizona competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. They play their home games at Arizona Stadium, which opened in 1929 on the university's campus in Tucson, Arizona, and has a capacity of 50,782. The Wildcats head coach is Brent Brennan.
The Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. They compete in the Pac-12 Conference of NCAA Division I and is currently coached by Tommy Lloyd. On August 4, 2023, Arizona announced it would join the Big 12 Conference beginning in the 2024–25 academic year, after spending 45 years in the Pac-10/12 conference.
"Hail to Pitt" is the most traditional fight song of the University of Pittsburgh, which is commonly referred to as Pitt. The saying "Hail to Pitt!" is also the most traditional and commonly used slogan of the University of Pittsburgh and its athletics teams. The slogan is frequently used in promotional material, printed on merchandise and souvenirs. It was also the title of a 1982 history of Pitt athletics by author Jim O'Brien. The slogan is often used among alumni as a statement of affiliation, including as a closing signature in conversation or correspondence between alumni, and is sometime abbreviated as "HTP" or "H2P", the latter of which is a registered trademark of the university and is frequently used on official university signage and merchandise.
Bear Down Gym, originally known as Men's Gymnasium, is a 300-seat multi-purpose arena in Tucson, Arizona. It opened in 1926. It was home to the University of Arizona Wildcats basketball team. It was replaced when the McKale Center opened in 1973. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 2003 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were coached by John Mackovic in his third season with the Wildcats. Arizona completed the season with a record of 2–10 and finished in last place in the Pac-10 standings.
The 2001 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona during the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were coached by John Mackovic in his first season with the Wildcats, replacing longtime coach Dick Tomey. Arizona finished the year with a record of 5–6 and again missed the postseason due to a losing record.
The 2015–16 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by seventh-year head coach Sean Miller, and played their home games at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 25–9, 12–6 in Pac-12 play to tie with California for third place. They defeated Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Oregon. Arizona received an at-large bid to the fourth-straight NCAA tournament, the program's 31st appearance, as a 6-seed in the South Region. They lost in the first round to Wichita State.
The 1926 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona as an independent during the 1926 college football season. In their 12th season under head coach Pop McKale, the Wildcats compiled a 5–1–1 record, shut out four of seven opponents, and outscored all opponents, 143 to 18. The team captain was Robert E. Crouch.
The 1981 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Larry Smith, the Wildcats compiled a 6–5 record, finished in a tie for sixth place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents, 253 to 205. The team played its home games in Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.
The 1996 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their tenth season under head coach Dick Tomey, the Wildcats compiled a 5–6 record, finished in a tie for fifth place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents, 310 to 280.
The 2017–18 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by ninth-year head coach Sean Miller, and played their home games at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona as members in the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 27–8, 14–4 in Pac-12 play to win the regular season championship. They defeated Colorado, UCLA, and USC to win the Pac-12 tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where, as a No. 4 seed, they were upset in the first round by No. 13 seed Buffalo.
The 1975–76 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona in the 1975-76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Coached by fourth year head coach Fred Snowden and led by junior center Bob Elliott, the Wildcats made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 25 seasons, advancing to the Elite Eight. The Wildcats played their home games for the fourth season at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona competing as members of the Western Athletic Conference.
