Facing Northern Arizona University is a crowd favorite due to the in-state rivalry! NAU is a division I school, but is not a member of the PAC 12. This game is expected to be fun and a good way to get students pumped for the upcoming season. The Arizona Athletics Department is debuting a number of new initiatives to get the student section to be even more rowdy than is standard for the ZonaZoo. The marketing department has introduced a new group called the Bear Down Brigade; students that are deployed into the student section to get the atmosphere at its most active. One task the Bear Down Brigade is tasked with is maintaining the WildOnes section! Students who choose to go all out for the games will be handpicked from the student section to stand in the first few rows on the 50 yard line. These students will be the most active, the best dressed, and the most dedicated to Arizona Football. In addition to this group, Arizona Athletics in partnership with the ZonaZoo Crew are working to keep the ZonaZoo full the entire game. The student section is notorious for emptying out after the half and even earlier if the game seems to be a blow out! The backs of the ZonaZoo shirts this year simply say “ZonaZoo STAYS the entire game”. Due to the low attendance and students disappearing after the half, Arizona Athletics has dropped the capacity of the ZonaZoo section to 9,000 (previously 10,000) by moving the band closer into the student section. Although attendance of games has been low in the past, Arizona is hoping the renovations and field upgrades will be bringing in a large audience.
This Friday’s game against NAU will be held at 7pm at Arizona stadium and it is expected to be stormy and raining all day long. This might be the perfect time to break out the Hunters and slap on a hat. I’d like to welcome back the returning students and hope that they can help welcome the first year students to their new home.
From the heart of Wildcat Country, Bear Down.
