Friday
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.: Collegiate and Campus Showcase - Presentations and tours at locations across campus.
5 - 7 p.m. Bear Down Friday - at Main Gate Square, on University Boulevard between Park and Euclid avenues.
7 - 9 p.m. Homecoming Kickoff Celebration, which includes a bonfire, a pep rally with the UA football team and coaches, and crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen on the west side of Old Main.
Saturday
11 a.m.: UA alumni authors book signing: Meet J.A. Jance, '66, and Jay Dobyns, '85, at 11 a.m. at the main UA Bookstore (west of the Student Union). There'll be books to buy, or preorder at uabookstores.arizona.edu/alumni
2 p.m.: Tents on the Mall. A tradition since 1985, these colorful tents hold student and alumni organizations, colleges and academic programs.
People are also reading…
The Homecoming Food Court is just west of the Integrated Learning Center on the UA Mall.
The Alumni Association tent is at University Boulevard and Cherry Avenue. The reunion class tents are just next door.
3 p.m.: Homecoming Parade - Hall of Fame Coach Lute Olson is this year's grand marshal. Organizers expect about 50 entries, including floats built by colleges and Greek and campus groups, plus the UA marching band and the alumni band, along with homecoming royalty and others on the UA Mall.
The parade, one of the nation's biggest, has been part of the UA's homecoming tradition since 1949.
5:30 p.m.: Wildcat Walk.
7:15 p.m.: Arizona vs. Washington football game.
• Go to uahomecoming.com for the latest updates
Take a tour
• What: Explore the UA in this one-hour walking tour, sponsored by the UA Visitor Center.
• When: 3 p.m. today; 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. Saturday.
• Where: Starts at the Main Gate, North Park Avenue and East University Boulevard.
• Reservations: Call the UA Visitor Center at 621-5130.
If you go
Greater Tucson Leadership Inaugural Homecoming Celebration
• What: Cocktail reception for anyone interested in civic leadership. Music by Uber Jam.
• When: 5 p.m. today.
• Where: Maynards Market, 400 N. Toole Ave.
• Cost: $20, includes hors d'oeuvres.
• Reservations: www.tucsonleadership.org
Bear Down Friday
• What: The pep rally series started five years ago to create community spirit and to cheer for the UA football team.
• When: 5-7 p.m. Friday. The pep rally starts at 6.
• Where: Main Gate Square, on University Boulevard between Park and Euclid avenues.
• Cost: Free.
• Parking: Free after 4 p.m. in the Tyndall Garage, at Fourth Street and Euclid Avenue, with merchant validation.
• Guest host: UA men's head basketball coach Sean Miller.
• Pep rally regulars: The Pride of Arizona Marching Band, Wilbur and Wilma, UA cheerleaders, the pom squad, twirlers and flags.
• This week only: Presentation of the Homecoming Court and performances by Black & Blue Hip Hop Crew and Triple S.
• Free stuff: Spirit Cards courtesy of the Arizona State Credit Union. Thunder sticks, can coolers, beads and more while supplies last from radio stations Mix-FM and Mega Oldies.
• In the Geronimo Plaza: One Heart Beat at 5 p.m. An hour of aerial trapeze performance, fire dancing and magic with Elemental Artistry starts at 8.
• Jr. Cat Zone: Face painting, pony carousel and an inflatable west of the Cereal Boxx.
Homecoming kickoff
Homecoming, a UA tradition since 1914, heats up Friday night with a massive pep rally and bonfire.
The fiery tradition started in 1929.
Generations of football teams and coaches have since used the pep rally to rouse excitement for the big game.
The awarding of homecoming royalty is a newer tradition. The UA's first queen, sophomore Ruth Tackett, was named in 1947. An accompanying king wasn't announced until 1983, when Don Hayes won the crown. The crowning of the king and queen wasn't a pep rally tradition until 1988.
Members of the Bobcats Senior Honorary members and the rugby team rise early on Friday to start stacking pallets and wood that will later be set aflame west of Old Main.
By the numbers
40
Number of acres that Regent Jacob Mansfeld persuaded two gamblers and a saloon keeper to donate for a university campus in 1886.
1,700
Number of dollars that the UA's first athletic director, J.F. "Pop" McKale, earned in 1914.
360
Number of degrees the Law Library sculpture rotates every three years, symbolizing the three years it takes to complete a law degree.
7,000
Estimated number of trees on campus.
1,511
Number of replicas of dog tags that hang on the sculpture in the Student Union roundabout. Each one bears the name of someone assigned to the Navy battleship USS Arizona on Dec. 7, 1941, the day it was bombed in Pearl Harbor.
50,000
Number of 125th anniversary temporary tattoos the UA is giving away. Find them in the UA bookstores.
SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
