Next up is the first annual Arizona Volleyball Golf Tournament
If you want to be a coach of a women’s sport at the Power 4 level, you have to wear a lot of hats. One of the biggest for Arizona volleyball coach Rita Stubbs is the fundraiser cap. She was successful once again as a donor came through with a large donation to help the program obtain Taraflex floors for the upcoming season.
It’s a never-ending battle, even before things like NIL come into the conversation. Can you take a chartered flight on a brutal road trip, or will your players get back in the wee hours of a Monday morning then have to go to class? Can they come back over the summer so they can engage in bonding activities, including getting into the gym before the coaches can join them? Then, there’s the floor.
High-level teams all play on Taraflex these days. Beginning with the 2024 NCAA Volleyball Tournament, if a program hopes to host regionals or beyond, access to the playing surface is required. If a team doesn’t have it in their facility, it must be rented.
The Wildcats just hope to get back to the tournament at this point, but if Stubbs can rebuild it to the level it was in its heyday, the playing surface won’t be a question.
Stubbs had been pushing the need for the upgrade at public gatherings. Last season, she started a series of regular meetings with the fans at the Sands Club. The fans get to meet and talk to the players and coaches. They also get to hear the latest sales pitch from Stubbs.
One of the topics of conversation during some of those “Bump, Set, Spike” events was the fact that Arizona did not yet have the upgraded floors. Stubbs even made the point that ASU already had it.
“That makes me feel some kind of way,” she said late last season.
The cost was steep. After taxes and all the other “bells and whistles,” Stubbs said it was a $150,000 investment. Making that need known helped make it happen.
“We had a donor come through and take care of that, which was huge,” Stubbs said. “That was one of those things, it’s huge. I’m very appreciative. I’m very, kind of speak out loud, which you kind of need.”
Because Arizona doesn’t have a volleyball-only facility, the floor must be laid down for volleyball and removed for basketball when both are in season, but the extra labor is worth it. The spongy feel is definitely more forgiving than the hardwood of a basketball court. The shock absorption properties of the floor help reduce injuries from repeated impact.
That doesn’t mean all of the fundraising for next year is done. The team will hold the first of what is expected to be an annual golf tournament on Aug. 8 at Omni Tucson National to help raise money for things that are currently beyond the budget.
“We wanted to have it when the players are back,” Stubbs said, adding that redshirt senior Haven Wray would be playing in the event.
The tournament will be a four-person scramble. The entry fee for each four-person group is $600 with any payments over $130 per player being tax-deductible.
The event will also include a silent auction with sports memorabilia and sponsorship possibilities to help raise additional funds.
Lead photo by Catherine Regan / Arizona Athletics