Why does Arizona say 'Bear Down'? Explaining Wildcats athletics motto's roots, history

When the 2024 NCAA Tournament tips off this week, Arizona will be one of a handful of favorites to win the 68-team event.

The Wildcats pieced together another excellent season under third-year head coach Tommy Lloyd, with a 25-8 record and a Pac-12 regular season championship in the conference’s final year of existence. Questions will remain about how far they can advance once March Madness officially begins, particularly after being upset by Princeton last season in a 2-vs.-15 matchup, but they’re well-positioned to make a run to their first Final Four since 2001.

As Arizona embarks on that quest, two words will be inextricably tied to the team, appearing on signs, worn on shirts and chanted in the school’s fight song — Bear Down.

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For the kind of casual viewer that the NCAA Tournament attracts, and for many outside the state of Arizona, it’s probably a bit confusing. What does a bear have to do with a team nicknamed the Wildcats?

Here’s what you need to know about the origin of “Bear Down,” and why it holds such a special, prominent place in the hearts and minds of Arizona:

Why does Arizona say ‘Bear Down’?

The origin of “Bear Down” goes back nearly a century, born from a tale rooted in tragedy before ultimately evolving into a rallying cry.

John Byrd “Button” Salmon was an omnipresent figure on the Arizona campus in the mid-1920s. He was the quarterback for the school’s football team and the catcher for its baseball team. He was a member of several of the university’s honor societies and, in 1926, was installed as the student body president.

Salmon wasn’t just a member of those teams; he excelled. During the summer, he played semipro baseball for the Bisbee Bees, a team that included, among others, former New York Yankee first baseman Hal Chase, as well as Buck Weaver and Chick Gandil, two infielders from the infamous 1919 Chicago “Black Sox” World Series runner-up. Once his time at Arizona was over, it was thought that Salmon would have a future in professional baseball.

On the football field, he stood out, too, with the Arizona Daily Star praising his performance in a 1925 game against USC as such:

“His punting was a revelation to the fans. The ‘Leaping Tuna’ was everywhere at once and he was just about the main cog of the machine.”

In early October that year, Arizona’s varsity football team defeated its freshman team in an annual matchup between the two sides. After the game, Salmon and several of his friends visited Phoenix. On their way home, however, their car crashed and rolled over near Florence, about 65 miles north of Tucson.

Salmon suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of the wreck. He was paralyzed below his second rib and his spine was shattered. He had regained some motor function in his arms, but doctors determined that any additional surgeries wouldn’t be effective.

On Oct. 18, 1926, two weeks after the accident, Salmon died. He was 22 years old.

James F. “Pop” McKale, Arizona’s football coach, had visited Salmon every night while he was in the hospital. During what would be the final meeting between the coach and his star player, Salmon told McKale to “Tell them … tell the team to bear down.”

Three days later, Arizona played New Mexico A&M (now New Mexico State) in a game the university opted not to cancel in the wake of Salmon’s death. Before the game, McKale gathered his players around him and told them of Salmon’s final message to him. While it’s possible to frame that moment as Arizona’s version of Notre Dame’s famed “Win one for the Gipper” speech, McKale’s address to his team actually predated its more mythologized counterpart by two years.

Arizona went on to win 7-0, scoring in the fourth quarter to break a deadlock and pull out the victory. It won each of its next two games, as well, improving its record on the season to 5-0.

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As word spread of Salmon’s words, the phrase found an enthusiastic audience in Arizona’s student body. Among other actions, students painted the message on the roof of the university’s gymnasium. To this day, it’s still known as “Bear Down Gym.” The following year, the student body adopted the phrase for use with all of the university’s athletic teams.

Seeing the slogan inspired Jack K. Lee to write the song “Bear Down, Arizona” in 1952 during his application to become the university’s band director, a job he ultimately earned. The song he penned is played to this day at Wildcats sporting events, as well as from the campus bell tower daily.

In 1986, a bronze bust of Salmon was dedicated outside of the McKale Center, the Wildcats’ basketball arena, but in 2013, it was moved to a more prominent spot near Arizona’s Lowell-Stevens football facility. The bust faces southeast, toward not only the university’s baseball stadium, but Salmon’s hometown of Bisbee.

In 2008, a highway memorial in honor of the Bear Down tradition was installed on State Route 79, near the site of the fatal accident.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why does Arizona say 'Bear Down'? Explaining roots of Wildcats' motto