Mike Hatfield Visit

At 9:00a.m. early on Saturday morning, October 13th we gathered at Gavi’s Piazza to watch the Illinois vs. Iowa Football game with special guest Mike Hatfield from the Athletic Department. Mike updated us on all the activities back in CU and we enjoyed a delicious breakfast. Unfortunately we lost to Iowa.  Other than that we enjoyed a wonderful morning together cheering on the Illini football team.

U of A vs UCLA Football Game

On November 3 a group of about 20 alumni attended the U of A vs. UCLA football game.  And what a game it was.  The U of A dominated the Bruins and began their streak of what is now 3 wins in a row.  It a was a warm and sunny November day.  We hope to repeat this event next year with a pregame tailgate party.  After the game we drove the Rusty’s to watch our Illini defeat the Gophers.  What an incredible day of football.

Fall Dinner 2007

Roy “Bud” Strom was our speaker at the Metropolitan Grille for the Fall Dinner on October 30.  We enjoyed some cocktails followed by a delightful dinner.  Then Bud entertained us with his Cowboy Poetry and interesting stories about owning a ranch on the Mexican border.

Game Watch

November 10 & 13 we gathered at Rusty’s to watch the Illini beat OSU, the number one team in the country at that time and then the season finale against Northwestern.  As always, we enjoyed cold beverages, delicious food and the opportunity to meet new and old alumni as we cheered our Illini onto victory.

Gaslight Theatre

On Friday, May 18th, we enjoyed an evening of corny jokes, overacting, and wonderful song parodies as the Tucson Illini Club attended the Gaslight Theatre’s production of  “Buccaneers of the Caribbean or Corn for a Buccaneer.”  As usual, the food was hot, the drinks cold and the laughs plentiful.  A great time was had by all. The Gaslight Theatre has been staging performances in Tucson for thirty years and continues to entertain all who attend.  The Tucson Illini have attended performances in recent years and we look forward to a return visit in 2008. -- Marty Kissil – Vice-President

Fall Dinner at Skyline Country Club

Our evening with the coach was a terrific night. Illini Soccer Coach Janet Rayfield updated us her soccer team and the development of the program. There record has been nothing short of amazing the past few years challenging for the Big Ten title every year and always in the NCAA tournament. The Illini boast the best soccer field and lighting in the Big Ten. Coach Rayfield has her team ready to challenge for a national championship every year. Everyone appreciated the update she provided on many other Illini sports and showed us a very entertaining video involving all sports and gave us a little insight into Coach Zook's football recruiting and the amazing job he and his coaches have been doing.

Everyone enjoyed the evening and we were all quite impressed with Coach Rayfield and the soccer program. I know she has many new fans here in Tucson.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

On Monday, October 16, we invited current and new club members to watch the Arizona Cardinals vs. the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football at Old Chicago. We had a great crowd that enjoyed some delicious deep dish Chicago style pizza, appetizers and cold beverages as we watched an amazing comeback by the Chicago Bears to defeat the Cardinals. We were fortunate enough to be joined by Vicki Trimble from the U of I Foundation.

ILLINI VS. WILDCATS IN PHOENIX

Everyone had a great time at the basketball game on December 2nd in Phoenix. From the pre-game party at Jackson’s on Third, to the game itself (except for the final score) it was a huge success. The club sold over 200 tickets to the events and took 55 up with us on the bus. Jackson’s was full of orange clad Illini. We met alumni from Prescott, Las Vegas, Bloomington-Normal, Atlanta, San Diego, Chicago, Phoenix, and from the campus in Champaign-Urbana. Mike Hatfield and Shawn Wax from the athletic association joined us there. A number of Illinois representatives were unable to make the trip because of the bad weather back in Illinois. Another reminder of why we live here and not there. Even though we had large groups of people scattered throughout the arena, the Illini were well represented and we made lots of noise to support our team. ILL – INI!!!

Gaslight Theatre

On Tuesday, May 23rd we had 36 Alumni join us at the Gaslight Theatre on Broadway for a the parody, “The Three Musketeers”. As usual it was a filled evening as the cast of the show had us laughing from beginning to end. Our thanks to David Pashkow for arranging the evening and we hope to see many more next year as a trip to the Gaslight Theatre has become a most expected event.

2006 Cubs - White Sox

Saturday, March 18th we had 98 Alumni and friends at Tucson Electric Park for the Spring Training Game between the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs. The Sox won, but nobody cared because we all got to see our favorite teams and players from Chicago. And just to make us feel back at home it was a very windy day. Regardless, we all had a good meal and a great time at the old ball park.