? The University of Arizona opened its doors on October 1, 1891. Thirty-two students enrolled for the first semester but only six were admitted to the freshman class.

? The original Wildcat mascot arrived on campus October 17, 1915. Rufus Arizona – a live bobcat named after UA President Rufus B. von Kleinsmid – was the gift of the freshman football team, which had raised $9.91 to purchase him.

? The total enrollment at the UA is more than 37,000.

? Wilbur the Wildcat made his first appearance at the UA-Texas Tech football game on November 7, 1959.

? The UA is 22nd in the nation in bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanics and is 25th in Hispanic enrollment, according to The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education’s Top 100 Colleges for Hispanics, 2008 edition.

? On Thanksgiving Day, 1899, UA played its first intercollegiate game with the Tempe Normal School (later to become ASU), which had a more seasoned football team since it had made an earlier start. Tempe won, 11-2.

? James Fred “”Pop”” McKale was appointed as UA athletic director on June 2, 1914, at a salary of $1,700 per year.

? “”Fight! Wildcats! Fight!”” was Arizona’s first fight song, written in 1929. “”Bear Down, Arizona!”” took over as the school’s official fight song in 1952.

? UA’s original school colors were sage green and silver.

? After the UA football team beat Pomona College 7-6 on Thanksgiving Day, 1914, students built the “”A”” on Sentinel Peak west of campus. The “”A,”” which is 70 feet wide and 160 feet long, cost $397 to make.

? The UA marching band performed at the first NFL Super Bowl in 1967.

? In October 1926, “”Button”” Salmon, one of the most popular players on the football team and president of the student body, was critically injured in an automobile accident. His last words were, “”Tell them … tell the team to bear down.””

? The UA produces more than $530 million in annual research and is the state’s only member of the prestigious Association of American Universities.

– compiled by Lance Madden