Texas–Arlington Mavericks

Texas–Arlington Mavericks
University University of Texas at Arlington
Conference Sun Belt
NCAA Division I
Athletic director Jim Baker
Location Arlington, Texas
Varsity teams 15
Basketball arena College Park Center
Baseball stadium Clay Gould Ballpark
Softball stadium Allan Saxe Field
Other arenas Maverick Stadium
UTA Tennis Center
Mascot Blaze
Nickname Mavericks
Fight song UTA Fight Song
Colors Royal Blue, White, and Orange[1]
              
Website www.utamavs.com
Texas–Arlington is a member of the Sun Belt Conference

The Texas–Arlington Mavericks (abbreviated UT Arlington, UTA, and Mavs) are the athletic teams that represent the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Texas. The Mavericks currently compete in the NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference in 15 varsity sports.[2] The number rose to 15 in the fall of 2017 as the University announced women's golf will begin their first season of competition.[3]

Jim Baker is the current Athletic Director. Prior to his stint at UTA, he was an associate athletic director for events, operations and sports programs for the Texas Longhorns at the University of Texas at Austin. Baker replaced Pete Carlon, who headed the Athletic Department from 1996 to 2012, and is currently the Senior Athletics Director for Administration.

General history

UTA was a founding member of the Southland Conference in 1963 and participated in the league until the end of the 2011–12 athletic year. They joined the Western Athletic Conference for one year before they moved to the Sun Belt.

UT Arlington won the Southland Conference's Commissioners Cup three times since the award was first instituted in 1998. The Commissioner's Cup is awarded to the athletics program with the highest all-around performance in all conference events, including all men's and women's events.[4]

When the school transitioned from junior college to University status in 1959, the schools athletic teams were known as the Rebels. Controversy would surround the name after a decades time. A series of events would occur that lead to a change in mascots to the current version. The Mavericks' name selection was made in 1971,[5] predating the National Basketball Association's expansion franchise Dallas Mavericks' starting choice in 1980.

The first women's programs began competition in the 1973-74 school year. Volleyball, basketball and softball were the first three program, competing in the AIAW until the teams moved under the umbrella of the NCAA in 1982-83.

Team list

A Spirit Horse at the College Park Center

The Mavericks compete in the Division I varsity sports listed below:[6]

Basketball

Men's basketball

Home games are played at College Park Center, located on University of Texas at Arlington's campus in Arlington. The team appeared in the 2008 NCAA tournament, losing against the No. 1 seed Memphis in the first round. Later, Memphis had to forfeit their win for "ineligible competition, impermissible benefits and failure to monitor its athletics programs."[7]

On November 29, 2016, the Mavericks defeated the Texas Longhorns in Austin for the first time in program history after 11 attempts.[8] The Longhorns decided to terminate their contract with them after their 2016 loss due to the Mavericks becoming too competitive. The terminated contract paid the Mavericks a large lump sum for each game played in Austin for six consecutive years (2011-2016).[9]

Although only 19 of 58 University seasons have resulted in an overall winning record, 8 of the past 10 seasons have winning records, including a school record 27 wins in the 2016–17 season (as of the conclusion of the 2016–17 season). They won the Southland Conference regular season championship in 2012, along with a tie for the 2004 regular season championship and a 2008 conference tournament championship that led to their first NCAA Tournament appearance.[10] The first Sun Belt regular season title was earned in the record-setting year of 16-17.

Overall, the team has played in six postseason tournaments and won four conference championships.

Women's basketball

The women's basketball team was established in 1973 and experienced early success with a combined 64–32 record in three seasons between 1975 and 1977.[11] The Mavericks participated in several AIAW state and regional tournaments before joining the Southland Conference beginning with the 1982–83 season.

Between 2004 and 2010, the team posted an overall record of 121–65. During this time span, highlights included a perfect 16–0 Southland Conference record for the 2006–07 season and two NCAA tournament appearances in (2005 and 2007).[12] In 2016-17, the team earned an at-large NIT bid.

UTA has played in two NCAA and three NIT tournaments.

Baseball

The baseball team plays at Clay Gould Ballpark, located at the southwestern edge of the UT Arlington campus. The inaugural season was in 1969.[13] Highlights include Southland Conference regular season championships in 1990 and 1992 along with tournament championships in 2001, 2006 and 2012. The team also won a share of the 2013 Western Athletic Conference regular season title and their first outright divisional Sun Belt Conference regular season title in 2017.

Volleyball

The first season for volleyball at UT Arlington was in 1973. The volleyball team appeared in the national rankings in the 1970s during their time in the AIAW and towards the end of the 1980s in the NCAA. They advanced to the NCAA Division I Volleyball Final Four in 1989.[14] UT Arlington is one of only two institutions in Texas to ever reach the NCAA Division I Volleyball Final Four.

The team has won 12 Southland Conference regular season championships, including the first 9 from 1982 to 1990 as well as 10 Southland Tournament crowns. They have appeared in 16 AIAW National and NCAA Tournaments.

Softball

UTA softball plays their home games at Allan Saxe Field, adjacent to Clay Gould Ballpark. The Mavericks began play in 1973 and have compiled a record of 1,325–1,149–9, a winning percentage of .535 (as of the conclusion of the 2017 season). Along the way, they have won five Southland Conference regular season titles and one tournament title. Their lone appearance in the NCAA tournament came in 2003, where they went 2–2. In 2017, they played in the National Invitational Softball Championships.

Prior to competing in the NCAA, the Mavericks were members of the AIAW, where they competed in two Women's College World Series tournaments.

Football

UT Arlington began play as a junior college in 1919 and played at that level until 1958. They won Junior Rose Bowls in 1956 and 1957, as well as the Junior College National Championship, as Arlington State College.

After becoming a four-year University, UTA fielded a College Division (Division II today) football program as an independent from 1959 to 1963, joined the Southland Conference in the College Division from 1964 to 1970, a University Level (Division I) program from 1971 to 1981 and a Division I-AA program from 1982 to 1985. Home games were played in Maverick Stadium beginning in the 1980 season. UTA earned conference championships in 1966, 1967 and 1981. In 1967, the team won the Pecan Bowl against the North Dakota Fighting Sioux,[15] the only bowl game in its history.

The team was disbanded after the 1985 season due to major financial losses (nearly one million dollars per year) and low home game average attendance (5,600 with 23,100 students). By the end, the program was funded by the university's auxiliary enterprise income while the other 14 sports were under-funded, as football accounted for half the total athletic budget.[16]

In April 2004, UT Arlington students voted by a 2-to-1 margin to increase their student athletic fees by $2 per semester-credit hour should the university reinstate football and begin women's golf and soccer teams. President James D. Spaniolo, who just began his post leading the school, decided to pursue a new multi-purpose venue, which materialized when College Park Center opened in 2012. He also made the announcement to relook at adding football in five years.

Other sports

The men's golf team has won four Southland Conference Championships, while finishing as the runner-up eight times. During that time, they had the individual champion three times. In their lone season in the WAC, the team finished in second place while they claimed their fourth individual conference champion. Despite being five seasons removed from participating in the Southland, UTA is still in third place for most team championships.

The women's golf team begins varsity play in 2017.

In track and field, the men's team has won eight outdoor and eight indoor Southland Conference championships and two indoor and three outdoor Sun Belt Conference Championships. There have been 20 Indoor All-Americans and 41 Outdoor All-American winners. The women's team has won six outdoor and seven indoor SLC championships.[17] The women have placed five Indoor All-Americans and 14 Outdoor All-Americans in their history, the most recent being freshman Helen Falda in 2017.[18] The teams call Maverick Stadium their home. The facility has hosted numerous conference championship meets, as well as various regular season meets.

The men's cross country team lays claim to seven conference titles: three SLC titles, one WAC in its first and only year there, and three SBC, the first coming in the Universities first year in the conference. Additionally, UTA has had seven individual champions. Overall, the team has earned four runner of the year's, two freshman of the year's and four coaches of the year's. Current coach John Sauerhage has won three, all in different conferences. On the women's side, the team has earned five team conference championships, three individual titles, three runner of the year's, one freshman of the year and two coach of the year's. They have finished as runner up at the conference meet eight times.

The men's tennis team has won eight conference championships, including seven regular season championships in the Southland Conference, including a streak of 5 in 6 years from 1998 to 2003. The team claimed its first Sun Belt Championship in 2016. The women's team has seen similar success, also winning seven championships with a streak of 6 in 7 years from 1999 to 2005.[19] The UTA Tennis Center is the home for the programs.

Venues and facilities

School spirit

The school's colors are blue and white with orange becoming more prominent. The school mascot is a horse named Blaze.[24] UTA's former fight song, "Dixie", coincided with the school's Rebel mascot. After the mascot became more and more controversial, the fight song was changed and the current edition, the "UTA Fight Song", was established.[25]

Championship history

Conference titles

Baseball (7)
Sun Belt Conference
  • Regular Season: 2017
Southland Conference
  • Regular Season: 1990, 1992
  • Tournament: 2001, 2006, 2012
Western Athletic Conference
  • Regular Season: 2013*
Football (3)
Southland Conference
  • 1966*, 1967, 1981
Men's basketball (4)
Southland Conference
  • Regular Season: 2004*, 2012,
  • Tournament: 2008
Sun Belt Conference
  • Regular Season: 2017
Men's indoor track and field (10)
Southland Conference
  • 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000
Sun Belt Conference
  • 2014, 2017
Men's outdoor track and field (11)
Southland Conference
  • 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2007
Sun Belt Conference
  • 2014, 2015, 2017
Men's cross country (7)
Southland Conference
  • 1985, 1992, 1999
Western Athletic Conference
  • 2012
Sun Belt Conference
  • 2013, 2015, 2016
Men's golf (4)
Southland Conference
  • 1995, 1999*, 2005, 2011
Men's tennis (16)
Southland Conference
  • Regular Season: 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006*, 2009*, 2010
  • Tournament: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006
Sun Belt Conference
  • Tournament: 2016
Softball (6)
Southland Conference
  • Regular Season: 1983, 1986*, 1989, 2003, 2007
  • Tournament: 2003
Volleyball (21)
Southland Conference
  • Regular Season: 1982, 1983*, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1998, 2002
  • Tournament: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2001, 2002
Women's indoor track and field (7)
Southland Conference
  • 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999*, 2000, 2001
Women's outdoor track and field (6)
Southland Conference
  • 1991, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
Women's cross country (5)
Southland Conference
  • 1986, 1997, 2000, 2001
Sun Belt Conference
  • 2014
Women's tennis (14)
Southland Conference
  • Regular Season: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004*, 2005, 2008, 2011
  • Tournament: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2011
* denotes shared conference title

Bowl titles

Pecan Bowl
  • 1967

Rivalries

UTA has Sun Belt rivalries with every West Division school (Little Rock, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, and Texas State). UTA currently maintains a primary rivalry with the Texas State Bobcats, their Sun Belt rival and a team which has been a conference rival every year since 1987, despite the two schools belonging to three different conferences in that time frame. As of the conclusion of the 2016-2017 seasons, UTA leads the all-time series in volleyball (42–35), men's basketball (36–33), softball (61–59), and football (2–0), and the Bobcats lead in women's basketball (31–39), and baseball (43–66).

UTA also maintains a relatively heated rivalry with North Texas Mean Green, though they haven't been members of the same conference since 1996. Primarily because the teams are only thirty miles apart and are the only Division I public universities in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the various sporting events between the two are some of the most attended of the year for each team. The longest standing rivalry is in men's basketball which began in 1925.

One of UTA's most anticipated baseball rivalries are with the TCU Horned Frogs. The two Tarrant County teams play annually in games that generate high attendance from both schools. 4,015 saw the UTA/TCU match-up at Globe Life Park in Arlington in 2013. Four of the top eight most attended games at Clay Gould Ballpark feature TCU as the visiting team.

With UTA beginning Sun Belt membership in 2013, they resumed conference rivalries with the Arkansas State Red Wolves, Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns and Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks, who were all members of the Southland Conference at various points during UTA's tenure.

Sports rivalries began at UT Arlington while it was a junior college known as the North Texas Agricultural College. A fierce rivalry developed in the 1930s with John Tarleton Agricultural College since both schools held junior college status in the Texas A&M system. Similar to the Aggie Bonfire tradition at the College Station campus, the host of the yearly football game between these teams built a bonfire. In 1939, two NTAC students flew a Taylorcraft Aircraft to the JTAC campus and dropped a phosphorus bomb on the bonfire to light it prematurely. While the plane was flying low after the bomb was dropped, a JTAC student was able to throw a piece of wood into the propeller and cause the plane to crash. The students were dragged from the wreckage and a 'J' was shaved into their heads.[26] Bonfires were canceled after this event.[27]

Notable athletes

The University has produced several notable athletes.

Baseball

Football

Swimming

References

  1. ↑ "Color: UT Arlington identity system". Uta.edu. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  2. ↑ University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks to join Sun Belt Conference in 2013 – ESPN Dallas
  3. ↑ http://www.utamavs.com/genrel/041315aaa.html
  4. ↑ Southland Conference All Sports Trophy Record Book
  5. ↑ How a Grubbworm became a Maverick
  6. ↑ – Texas-Arlington
  7. ↑ Memphis Forfeits Final Four Season for Violations
  8. ↑ http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2016/11/29/ut-arlington-beats-ut-in-basketball-first-time-ever/
  9. ↑ http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/college/baseball/article157919059.html
  10. ↑ Media guide record book
  11. ↑ 2009 UT Arlington women's basketball media guide section 3
  12. ↑ 2009 UT Arlington women's basketball media guide section 2
  13. ↑ 2010 UT Arlington Baseball Information Guide Section 5
  14. ↑ UTA Volleyball records
  15. ↑ Pecan Bowl results
  16. ↑ Executive Summary of the Neinas Report, UT Arlington Sports Expansion Study, 2004, Accessed May 13, 2008.
  17. ↑ UTA Track and Field Media Guide
  18. ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/txar/sports/c-track/auto_pdf/2014-15/misc_non_event/History-Honors.pdf
  19. ↑ Southland Conference Tennis Records
  20. ↑ UT-Arlington College Park Center
  21. ↑ UT Arlington Athletics Facilities
  22. ↑ "SB: UTA opens new Allan Saxe Field Thursday night The 622-seat facility is set to host 12 games overall in the Maverick Invitational". UT Arlington Athletics. February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015. The 622-seat facility has been a momentum builder for the Mavericks program and has been a long time coming to begin building a home field advantage for UTA.
  23. ↑ http://www.utamavs.com/facilities/txar-facilities.html
  24. ↑ http://www.theshorthorn.com/sports/intramural_and_club_sports/ut-arlington-s-school-mascot-blaze-incites-pride-and-excites/article_a705322a-582c-5e8a-a988-55e39e380f3c.html?mode=story
  25. ↑ http://www.theshorthorn.com/news/know-uta-s-fight-song-and-its-history/article_c70d725a-d6b1-5154-a9ac-c5008343af2a.html
  26. ↑ Saxon, G.D., “Transitions: A Centennial History of the University of Texas at Arlington,” The UTA Press, Arlington, Texas, 1995.
  27. ↑ Frank Yates interview by Duncan Robinson, February 28, 1973, University Archives, Special Collections Division, The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries.
  28. ↑ Excellent Choice: A's draft college slugger
  29. ↑ Steve Foster Statistics and History
  30. ↑ Dillon Gee UTA Profile
  31. 1 2 3 Pence named to National League All-Star roster
  32. ↑ Adam Moore UTA Profile
  33. ↑ Daniel Ortmeier stats and bio
  34. ↑ Dave Owen Statistics and History
  35. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Frank (August 21, 2011). "Hunter Pence's road to the majors". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2011-08-21. ... he hit .429 as a sophomore in 2003 and .395 the following season.
  36. ↑ Ryan Roberts UTA profile
  37. ↑ Dexter Bussey statistics Archived 2010-02-12 at the Wayback Machine.
  38. ↑ Bruce Collie statistics Archived 2011-06-10 at the Wayback Machine.
  39. ↑ Tim McKyer statistics Archived 2010-02-12 at the Wayback Machine.
  40. ↑ Cliff Odom statistics Archived 2010-02-15 at the Wayback Machine.
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