Zona zoo

Zona Zoo is the name for the official student section and student ticketing program for intercollegiate athletic events at the University of Arizona (U of A).

The Official Student-Run, Student Section and Student Ticketing Program for University of Arizona Athletics

Zona Zoo History

In the fall of 2002, ASUA (Associated Students of the University of Arizona) Student Body President Douglas J. Hartz, Senator Peter Wand, and Assistant Athletic Director Scott Mackenzie collaborated to create the first official student spirit shirt for the University of Arizona men's basketball team. To help design and create the shirt a campus-wide contest was held with the help of the Arizona Daily Wildcat to help give the shirt its name. After reviewing hundreds of entries, Senator Wand teamed up with fellow ASUA Senator Andy Hottovy and met with the 2003 U of A's men's basketball team to decide the winner. Through much deliberation, U of A guard, Jason Gardner ended all debate and convinced the group that the entry by Junior Jennie Won of, “The Zona Zoo,” was the winner.

With a name for the campus-wide spirit shirt, U of A was on the road to creating a spirit group that would rival the Cameron Crazies of Duke and the Izzone of Michigan State. With the help of Arizona Athletics, ASUA designed and produced 5,000 T-shirts emblazoned with the Zona Zoo logo. The shirts were given away, free of charge, to every U of A student who had won basketball tickets in that year’s lottery. After the huge success of the Zona Zoo T-shirt giveaway, Arizona Athletics and ASUA chose to grow the group and serve all of the University’s athletes and teams. In the Fall of 2003, the Zona Zoo became the official student ticketing program for University of Arizona Athletics. Students who purchased season tickets for U of A football games were given a Zona Zoo card which gave the student access to every U of A sporting event, except for men’s basketball. The students were also provided with a Zona Zoo T-Shirt, a weekly Zona Zoo newsletter, and special events, including pre-game tailgates and meet-the-team events.

Since its true birth as a student ticketing program in 2003, Zona Zoo has continued to grow and unite students across the University of Arizona campus. Since Senator Wand, Zona Zoo Directors Amber Harryman and Michael Huston lead the way for further success and growth of the Zona Zoo program. In 2006-2007 Zona Zoo continued its growth again and reached a membership of 12,000 students, nearly one out of every three students at the U of A is a Zona Zoo member. Going into the programs fifth official year, Zona Zoo Executive Director David Roost along with his exceptional crew, will continue the growth and success of Zona Zoo in ways never before imagined.

Zona Zoo Membership

Zona Zoo Membership for the 2007-2008 year is available exclusively to U of A students. The Policies and details of the 2007-2008 Zona Zoo membership are still under review and will be released as soon as possible. This year the value of Zona Zoo membership will be the best yet, and will be the best deal in the Pac 10!

The Hot Corner

The Hot Corner is a group of students who attend baseball games at U of A since 2003. They sit in a group of 50 or more along the 3rd base line (Hot Corner base), most notably sections 12, 13 and 14. It is a part of the Zona Zoo and they have their own t-shirts with the Hot Corner name and a quote for that year. During the 2006 season, the quote was "Swimming in your Dome", referring to students getting in opposing teams heads and knocking them off of their game.

Some other quotes used during the game are: "Pick a Major", referring to a baseball player without an academic major, or undeclared/undecided major."Rattle, Rattle, Rattle, I smell cattle", aka call to the bullpen."If you can't stand the heat, get out of the hot corner" this was also the quote on the t-shirts during the 2005 season.

The group has been expanding and getting local attention in the university and local newspapers.

BUTTERS aka the leader of the Hot Corner.

Zona Zoo Crew

When Zona Zoo was introduced in the Fall of 2003 the Associated Students of the University of Arizona created 'ASUA Spirit', a department in the Presidential Cabinet in ASUA that runs the Zona Zoo Program. Originally run by one director the growth of the program created too much work for one director so an assistant position was created. As the Zona Zoo program has continued to grow, so has its leadership.

The 2006-2007 Applications for the ASUA Zona Zoo Director were bombarded with overly qualified and spirited applicants. For the '06-'07 school year ASUA created the Zona Zoo Crew, a team of spirited leaders who work together to make new policies, new programs, events, activities, and boost spirit.

Going into the fall of 2007 the Zona Zoo boasts a total of 25 members running the program, and we expect to take on even more as the year progresses. An increase in the number of ZZC (Zona Zoo Crew) members translates to more student benefits, which is a big part of what makes the pass so valuable to students. As Zona Zoo has grown so has its programming, between pre-game tailgate events, road trips, etc. students have an abundance of opportunities to get involved and have fun with Zona Zoo. Through the efforts of the ZZC, Zona Zoo has become much more than a pass, our motto is “It’s a way of life.” and it truly has become such.

Shown below is a graphical representation of the growth of the Zona Zoo Crew since the creation of Zona Zoo in 2003.

Here is the newly designed structure of the 2007-2008 Zona Zoo Crew

To see the 2007-2008 Zona Zoo Crew, visit [http://www.zonazoo.arizona.edu/loadtab.frm?forumId=tab1]

Zona Zoo Growth

The fall of 2007 will mark the fifth year of Zona Zoo, this 2007-2008 year will be the most exciting year Zona Zoo has ever seen. Several factors come into play that make this year so different and so exciting compared to years previous. First, Zona Zoo has established itself as a monstrous force on campus and has forever changed school spirit at the University of Arizona. Compared to similar universities with established spirit programs, Zona Zoo has not only surpassed them in spirit, but in attendance too. Zona Zoo in its short five year life has grown to be the largest student section in the entire Pac-10 Conference, beating out USC's Trojan Pride (est. 1912) and UC Berkeley's Rally Committee(est. 1901).

The asset of a large, loud, and spirited student section like Zona Zoo is truly invaluable, and has reverberating effects on the school and athletics. In the past decade or so, Arizona football has gone through a tough patch, but with the introduction of a new coach and a new student section, football games have turned into the new place for U of A students to flex their spirited muscles, and the effects don’t stop there. Since its creation in 2003, the Zona Zoo Student Section at Arizona Football games has grown into the largest student section in the entire Pac-10 Conference, over 10,000 loud and crazy fans strong. Not only has the growth of Zona Zoo’s membership increased at an unprecedented rate, but the ripple effects of this new found spirit have translated into further positive effects at football games. Below, the total attendance of Arizona Football games is represented since the creation of Zona Zoo.

The creation of Zona Zoo has sparked a new interest in spirit and pride at the University of Arizona that has resulted in numerous games with record breaking ticket sales. This new energy has boosted school spirit and pride on campus and in the community, even our football team has been feeling the change. Not only has their winning percentage increased, but in each of the last two years, the teams we have faced and beaten for our homecoming football games have been ranked in the national top 10. Shown below is a representation of the winning percentage of the Arizona Football team.

Zona Zoo Directors

2003 Zona Zoo Director
*Peter Wand

2004 Zona Zoo Director
*Amber Harryman

2005 Zona Zoo Director
*Amber Harryman

2006 Zona Zoo Director
*Michael Huston

2007 Zona Zoo Executive Director
*David H. Roost

2008 Zona Zoo Executive Director
*David H. Roost

University of Arizona Fight Song(s)

Fight Wildcats, Fight! [http://www.fightmusic.com/mp3/pac10/Arizona__Fight_Wildcats_Fight.mp3] ]

“Fight! Wildcats! Fight!” written in 1929 by Dugald Stanley Holsclaw, is the first fight song of the University of Arizona. The song was first played at the 1930 Homecoming game and was recognized on the NBC radio network that same year as one of the best compositions in the collegiate realm.

Hail Arizona WildcatsFighting for old UAA raging team of WildcatsGrowling for the frayThere’s not a team can stop themWhen the ball goes into playSo Fight! Team!Fight with all your mightAnd win today.

Fight Wildcats, Fight for ArizonaWe’re with you ever staunch and trueThis day we hail you and we cheer youThey can’t defeat the Red and BlueCircle the ends and crash through the centerHit hard and gain on ev’ry playFight Wildcats!Fight! Fight! Fight!We’ll win today!

Bear Down, Arizona! [http://www.fightmusic.com/mp3/pac10/Arizona__Bear_Down_Arizona.mp3]

In 1952, Jack K. Lee, an applicant for the UA’s band directorship, was leaving Tucson by air following an interview with university administration. From his airplane window, Lee observed the huge letters on the roof of Bear Down gymnasium and became truly inspired by the legacy of those words. He began to scribble down the music and lyrics to an up-tempo song and by the time his plane landed, what was once a small brown lunch sack now had the finished version of our beloved fight song. A few weeks later, Lee was named the university’s band director and in September of that year, the UA band performed “Bear Down, Arizona!” in public for the first time.

Bear Down ArizonaBear Down red and blueBear Down ArizonaHit ‘em hardLet ‘em know who’s whoBear Down ArizonaBear Down red and blueGo! Go!Wildcats go!Arizona, Bear Down!

During rivalry games against the in-state rival Arizona State, fans replace the hit 'em hard, let 'em know who's who, with Kick the shit out of AS who.

Pride of Arizona

*Pride of Arizona Homepage [http://web.cfa.arizona.edu/uabands/athletic/marchingband.php]
*Pride of Arizona(Wikipedia) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_of_arizona]

The "Pride of Arizona" is The University of Arizona's marching and pep bands. Through the hard work and dedication of both staff and students alike, it has built a reputation as one of the finest athletic band organizations of its kind in the country. Our approach is always on the cutting edge, creating socially relevant artistic statements while performing challenging musical arrangements and contemporary, drum-corps style drill design.

With over 250 members, the "Pride" includes a battery-unit drumline and award-winning auxiliary units of baton twirlers, pom pon dancers and color guard. Filled with a sense of tradition and enthusiasm, the "Pride of Arizona" provides UA students with a place to make music, new friends, support the Wildcat spirit, and grow individually.

Pride of Arizona Media

Dr. Who
*Video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOzYBiRo_aM] UA v. UW Halftime Performance (Radiohead)
*Video [http://youtube.com/watch?v=jIBEZYQAPEE&mode=related&search=] Red Hot Chili Peppers Melody
*Audio [http://web.cfa.arizona.edu/uabands/web_music_files/refmovies/Chili_Peppersref.mov] Carmina Burana
*Video [http://youtube.com/watch?v=jWfrzzO2K9U&mode=related&search=] Amnesia
*Video [http://youtube.com/watch?v=x9IF4rTmf-0&mode=related&search=] Band Yell
*Video [http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rt2MWtVF9kQ&mode=related&search=]

Related Links

*Zona Zoo Homepage [http://www.zonazoo.arizona.edu/gotomain.frm]

*ASUA Homepage [http://web.asua.arizona.edu/~asua/index.htm]

*ASUA Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Students_of_the_University_of_Arizona]

*Arizona Athletics [http://www.arizonaathletics.com/HomePage.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1600&KEY=]

*GoAZCats.com [http://arizona.rivals.com/]