The University of Arizona (UA or U of A) is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885, when Arizona was still a territory. UA includes Arizona's only allopathic medical school. In 2005, total enrollment was 37,036 students.

Among the strongest programs at UA are optical sciences, astronomy, astrophysics, and planetary science (UA is awarded more NASA grants for space exploration than any other university nationally, hydrology and hydrogeology, philosophy, and anthropology. UA also has a top tier law school, and its undergraduate business school is ranked in the top 20 among all universities in the U.S., public and private.

Arizona is classified as a Carnegie Foundation "Doctoral/Research Universities?Extensive" university.

The university receives more than $400 million USD annually in research funding, generating nearly 75% of the research dollars in the Arizona university system. This figure is triple the total research funds generated by Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University combined, and 26th highest in the U.S. (including public and private institutions). The university has an endowment of $348.3 million USD as of 2005.

The UA was recently awarded over $325 million USD to lead NASA's 2007 mission to Mars to explore the Martian arctic. The school's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory's work in the Cassini spacecraft orbit around Saturn is larger than that of any other university globally. The UA laboratory designed and operated the atmospheric radiation investigations and imaging on the probe. The UA operate the HiRISE camera, a part of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The current and 19th university president is Robert N. Shelton, whose term began in 2006. The former president, Peter Likins, vacated his post at the conclusion of the 2005-06 academic term.
The University of Arizona was approved by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1885. Ironically, the city of Tucson had hoped to receive the appropriation for the state's mental hospital, which carried a sum of money slightly larger than the $25,000 allotted to the state's only university (Arizona State University was founded at the same time, but it was created as the state's normal school). Tucson, having a smaller contingent of legislators than cities like Prescott and Phoenix, was granted last priority and was awarded the university, which disappointed many city residents. With no parties willing to step forth and provide land for the new institution, the citizens of Tucson prepared to return the money to the Territorial Legislature until two gamblers and a saloon keeper decided to donate the land necessary to build the school. Classes met for the first time in 1891 with 32 students in Old Main, the first building constructed on campus, and still in use to this day.

Like many large public universities in the U.S., sports are a major activity on campus, and receive a large operating budget. Arizona's athletic teams are nicknamed the Wildcats, a name derived from a 1914 football game with then California champions Occidental College, where the L.A. Times asserted that Arizona "showed the fight of wildcats." The University of Arizona participates in the NCAA's Division I-A in the Pacific Ten Conference.

Men's Basketball-
The men's basketball team has been one of the nation's most successful programs since Lute Olson was hired as head coach in 1983. As of 2006, the team has amassed 19 consecutive 20-win seasons, and reached the NCAA Tournament 22 consecutive years, which is the longest active and second-longest streak in NCAA history (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has the longest streak with 27). Lute Olson has taken the Wildcats to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament in 1988, 1994, 1997, and 2001. In 1997, Arizona defeated the University of Kentucky, the defending national champions, to win the NCAA National Championship (NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship) by a score of 84-79 in overtime. Current assistant coach, Miles Simon was chosen as Final Four MVP.

Football-
The football team began at the University of Arizona in 1899 under the nickname "Varsity" (a name kept until the 1914 season when the team was deemed the "Wildcats").[16] The football team was notably successful in the 1990s under head coach Dick Tomey and his "Desert Swarm" defense that was characterized by tough, hard-nosed tactics. In 1993, the team had its first 10-win season and drubbed the powerhouse University of Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl by a score of 29-0. It was the bowl game's only shutout in its 23-year history. In 1998, the team posted a school-record 12-1 season and made the Holiday Bowl in which it defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Arizona ended that season ranked 3rd nationally and 2nd in several publications. The 1998 Holiday Bowl was televised on ESPN and set the now-surpassed record of being the most watched of any bowl game in the network's history. The current record belongs to the 2005 Alamo Bowl between Michigan and Nebraska.

Baseball-
The baseball team had its first season in 1904. The baseball team has captured three national championship titles in 1976, 1980, and 1986, all coached by Jerry Kindall. Arizona baseball teams have appeared in the NCAA National Championship title series a total of six times, including 1956, 1959, 1963, 1976, 1980, and 1986 (College World Series). The team is currently coached by Andy Lopez; aided by Assistant Coach Mark Wasikowski, Assistant Coach Andy Diver and Volunteer Assistant Coach Josh Bendik. Arizona baseball also has a malicious student section named The Hot Corner.

Softball-
The Arizona softball team is among the top programs in the country and a perennial powerhouse. The softball team has won seven NCAA Women's College World Series titles, in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, and 2006 under head coach Mike Candrea (NCAA Softball Championship). Arizona defeated Northwestern University in the 2006 National Championship series in Oklahoma City. The team has appeared in the NCAA National Championship in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2006, a feat second only to UCLA. Coach Mike Candrea, along with former Arizona pitcher Jennie Finch, led the 2004 U.S. Olympic softball team to a gold medal in Athens, Greece.

Men's and Women's Golf-
The university's golf teams have also been notably successful. The men's team won a national championship in 1992 (NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships), while the women's team won national championships in 1996 and 2000 (NCAA Women's Golf Championship).

Other Sports-
Three national championships for synchronized swimming were won in 1980, 1981, and 1984, though these championships were in the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, and not the NCAA.

Although surprising to some, the University of Arizona has a noteworthy history in ice hockey. The school's club team, known as the Icecats, has won over 520 games since its inception in 1978. The Icecats defeated Penn State for the National Collegiate Club Hockey National Championship in 1985.

Individual National Championships:
A number of notable individuals have also won national championships in the NCAA. These include Amanda Beard in 2001 for swimming and Annika S?renstam in 1991 in golf. The men's cross country has also produced two individual national titles in 1986 (Aaron Ramirez) and 1994 (Martin Keino) (NCAA Men's Cross Country Champions). The women's cross country also produced two individual national titles in 1996 and 2001 (NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship). Another notable individual was football standout Vance Johnson who won the NCAA long jump in 1982.

Rivalries-
A strong academic and athletic rivalry exists between the University of Arizona and Arizona State University located in Tempe. The UA leads the all-time record against ASU in men's basketball (135-73), football (44-34-1), and baseball (224-189-1) as of January 2006. The football rivalry game between the schools is known as "The Duel in the Desert." The trophy awarded after each game, the Territorial Cup, is the nation's oldest rivalry trophy, distinguished by the NCAA. Rivalries have also been created with other Pac-10 teams, especially University of California, Los Angeles which has provided a worthy softball rival and was Arizona's main basketball rival in the early and mid-1990s.

Mascot-
The University mascot is an anthropomorphized wildcat named Wilbur. The identity of Wilbur is kept secret through the year as the mascot appears only in costume. In 1986, Wilbur married his longtime wildcat girlfriend, Wilma. Together, Wilbur and Wilma appear along with the cheerleading squad at most Wildcat sporting events.[17] Wilbur was originally created by Bob White as a cartoon character in the University's humor magazine, Kitty Kat. 1959 marked the creation of the first incarnated Wilbur, when University student John Paquette and his roommate, Dick Heller, came up with idea of creating a costume for a student to wear. Ed Stuckenhoff was chosen to wear the costume at the homecoming game in 1959 against Texas Tech and since then it has become a long-standing tradition. Wilbur will celebrate his 50th birthday in November 2009.