First Season Disappointments

I'm not certain a 5-8 non-conference record for the 2022/23 UT Arlington men's basketball season was how the team and fans envisioned the return to the Western Athletic Conference. Probably more devastating is when you factor out the meaningless non-Division I games, UTA is a paltry 2-8.

That's important because only D-I games count in any ranking, NET, RPI, etc. This year, the WAC is seeding it conference tournament based more on the overall resume, rather than just the conference record. UTA has been near the bottom, landing in last place for most of the last month.

Probably the most frustrating thing about that is this team has shown promise, but just can't get it into a higher gear.

For the sake of this entry, I'm not going to go into too much detail of the season's games, or in some cases any for the non-DI games. They raise no excitement for me or fans in general. It might be nice to players to face different faces, but they aren't much better than scrimmages. 

As the first season, non-conference, is over, I'll look ahead to the second season of conference play.

UTA Football History Vol. 6 Gm. 12 - The End of a Tenure

Normally when I write these game articles, I leave the suspense for the article that follows. Using last week as an example, the Mavericks won a conference title, but I set the article up about how they got there and what was at stake. Today's significance is a bit different. The last game of the 1983 season would be the last game head coach Harold "Bud" Elliott lead the Mavericks. His contract wasn't renewed before today's game.

After the last entry of this season, where UTA beat New Mexico State, they upped their record to 4-3 on the year. They traveled on the road to Jonesboro the following week and beat Arkansas State, 28-19. Scotty Caldwell scored two touchdowns in a 128-yard rushing effort. The best backfield in the Southland Conference was on display as Randy Johnson ran for 95 more yards and another score. Quarterback Danny Jackson threw a 37-yard pass to tight end Jon Dyer for the other score. The defense came up big late in the game to seal the fourth straight win.

After the SMU loss earlier in the season, head coach Bud Elliott, the dean of Southland Conference coaches in 1983, said the team may not lose another game. That would equate to seven games. They just passed the halfway point with another road contest on the horizon against McNeese. After defeating Arkansas State, UTA was tied with Northeast Louisiana (Louisiana-Monroe today) and North Texas on top of the SLC. UTA had previously lost to NLU and had a date with NTSU to end the regular season.

Why Can't it be Done Again?

For decades, supporters of the UT Arlington Athletic Department adding a football team have heard many combinations of reasons why it can't be done. Poor attendance for current sports, poor athletic budget, poor facilities (not as much since CPC's opening), poor external support and market (in)significance were among the primary reasons. 

And to some degree, I share these concerns. But I don't believe these are detriments to the resurrection of a UTA football team. I never have. I want the basketball team to have better attendance. I don't believe that means a football team is out of the question. For much of the time in the Sun Belt, UTA was a top three men's basketball attended program, season in and out until the last couple of seasons. The other programs have successful and decently attended football programs. Neither correlate to the other, especially in the South,

That's not to say there aren't challenges, but if there's a will there's a way. It was seen in UTA's own conference with Lamar, Southeastern Louisiana and UT San Antonio. Now, an even greater example has been offered that basically says, "if they can do it, why can't we?"

UTA FB History Vol. 6 Gm. 11 - First Time Champs

After defeating East Texas State University, the 1966 Arlington State College Rebels continued their winning ways the following week by shutting out McNeese St, 20-0. The defense overshadowed quarterback Carl Williams' rushing, receiver Jimmy Thomas' receiving touchdowns and two Skipper Butler field goals. The defense led the way with five interceptions in the first shut victory since 1961.

Next up was a match-up against University Division Texas Western, or UT El Paso today. End Raymond Mathews scored first for ASC, but a 300+ yard passing performance with five touchdowns overwhelmed the secondary one game after their heroics en route to a 68-21 defeat. Quarterback Mike Baylor ran for two more TD's late.

Abruptly, Williams stepped down as QB, leading the way for Mike Baylor, whose stat lines would end as the best all-time passer in UTA history. Williams and Baylor were both sophomores, so this was definitely a history-defining moment.

With a 2-3 record, the Rebels opened Southland Conference play against the Trinity Tigers. After a scoreless first half, a long Mathews punt return set up running back Keith Luft for the game's first touchdown. Two Butler field goals and another Thomas TD gave ASC a 20-7 victory, and importantly, a 1-0 start to conference.

The 2022/23 Women's Basketball Preview-Proven Talent

Unlike their counterpart on the men's side, everyone knows what the UT Arlington women's basketball team is bringing to College Park Center this year. After finishing second in the Sun Belt Conference at the conclusion of the regular season, the Mavericks dominated the conference tournament and made the NCAA tournament. I still stand by the post after the game where they were robbed in Iowa. That said, they have the talent to return. The team earned coach and player of the year honors. 

And both are back. 

WHAT WE KNOW

Player of the Year Starr Jacobs is returns. One of the most dominating seasons by a player to don a Maverick uniform, Jacobs averaged 21 points, over six rebounds, over two steals and almost two assists, all at the forward position. She also shot over 50 percent from the field. She was the player other teams tried to stop, and still put up those numbers. Jacobs plays an aggressive, active game. I'd list all of her accolades from last year, but it would double the length of this post. The fact that she's on the Becky Hammon pre-season player of the year watch list tells you all you need to know there.

The 2022/23 Men's Basketball Preview - a Whole Lotta Unknowns

To say there are a bunch of question marks heading into the 2022/23 UT Arlington men's basketball season is an understatement at best. There hasn't been a season with this amount of murkiness since I've been associate with the University. That creates challenges for this entry. But as we head into the latest college basketball season, UT Arlington fits in there somewhere. The unknowns just make it hard to see.

WHAT WE KNOW

Let's start with the knowns. Returning is graduate student guard Pedro Castro. He's back after sitting out most of last season with a back injury. It works out this year for the U, but had he been healthy, UTA would have been a lot more competitive in 2021/22. He averaged seven points and near 4 rebounds when he went out in mid-December. His last full season saw him average almost 15 points and near eight rebounds a game for Houston Christian in 2020/21. He did start his collegiate career at UTA. He redshirted in 2017/18 and played a season as a Mav in 2018/19 before transferring out.

UTA FB History Vol. 6 Gm. 10 - Banned Mascots

 After losing to McNeese State in early October, the 1960 Arlington State Rebels started themselves a nice little win streak. In fact, it would set a record for the longest win streak in program history, tied on three other occasions.

The first win came against Southwest Louisiana, or just Louisiana today, at their place. Quarterback Doug Wilson threw a 35-yard pass to Freddie Arnold in the second quarter for the game's first touchdown. In the third, Wilson's 1-yard quarterback sneak brought ASC up 13-0. The Cajuns made it interesting late. With under five minutes remaining, an 80-yard drive culminated in their first TD. The Cajuns got the ball back pretty quickly and started another drive. After getting all the way down to the eight, Mr. UTA Charlie Key intercepted a pass for the third turnover converted to seal the win. ASC jumped to 4-2 on the year. 

Abilene Christian visited Arlington the following week. This was the first meeting of the two. The eventual Southland Conference schools would meet every year until the Wildcats left the SLC after the 1972 season. Memorial Stadium was near its capacity for this game. Wilson scored three touchdowns, with two coming in the air. Wayne Crowley caught both of them en route to a convincing 29-6 win.

UTA FB History Vol. 6 Gm. 9 - Uneven Affair

 Going into the North Texas State game, the 1977 UT Arlington Mavericks football sported a 3-2 record and had optimism for the rest season. A defense that made big plays when needed and a proven offense led by Derrick Jensen proved a worthy opponent. But the 15-6 loss to a nationally-ranked North Texas team evened their record to 3-3. More importantly, it seemed to take a little wind out of their sails. 

The Mavericks went back to Cravens Field and hosted a New Mexico State squad that on paper should have seen the Mavericks favored. NMSU was 3-3, but didn't really have any marquee wins, but did have a few lopsided losses. Yet five missed field goals and a Roy Dewalt fumble from a blindside hit that led to the only NMSU score cost the Mavericks dearly in a 7-6 loss. 

With that, the Mavericks had a two-game losing streak on their hands. Making it even worse, a road trip to Ruston, Louisiana to face perpetual thorn Louisiana Tech was next up for the '77 team. UTA beat the Bulldogs the prior year to snap a seven-game losing streak dating back to 1961. It was also the first win against LT since they joined the Southland Conference.

UTA FB History - Vol. 6 Gm. 8 - A Nice Winning Streak

After getting their first win of the season in their first appearance of this volume, the 1983 UTA Mavericks "traveled" to 13th ranked SMU, at Texas Stadium. It wasn't a close affair, but a 34-0 score had some bright spots. Danny Jackson did not start, Kraig Hopkins did. But Jackson went 9-17 for 159 yards in relief, compared to Hopkins' 1-7 for eight yards and an interception. I said it in the first entry, I think had Coach Harold "Bud" Elliott stuck with Jackson all year, UTA may have had a better season. It's all conjecture, but it may have saved his job and maybe the program, but there's no way to know for sure. The stats were in favor of SMU, but not by a 34-0 score. UTA had a couple of golden opportunities to score, but SMU's defense did what good, ranked teams do and made plays when they needed.

After the game, Coach Elliott noted the difference between this game and the 1981 48-0 game. There, UTA didn't move the ball and couldn't stop the Mustang offense. He would later say that "I think you will be surprised to see what our football team will do from here on out. We may not lose another game." Considering they were 1-3, he didn't get a lot of credit for his prediction.

But they did win the next one. A 34-24 win against Wichita State at home in a thriller. UTA lead 14-10 at halftime, the Shockers squeaked out a lead to open the final quarter. Twice, UTA came from behind in the fourth. Trailing 17-14, Jackson threw a 63-yard pass to under-rated receiver Andre Gray to regain the lead. Wichita State immediately answered on a 13-play, 82-yard drive for their final touchdown. Once again, Jackson found his team trailing as he re-took the field. After Jarvis McKyer (brother of UTA teammate and former NFL great Tim McKyer) returned the kickoff 36 yards, Jackson found tight end Jon Dyer for 21 yards and Scotty Caldwell for 27, though Caldwell made moves to get that amount. Randy Johnson went the final five yards get UTA the lead for good. The defense finally held and Johnson tacked on another TD as time expired for the final score.

At the Halfway Mark

The UT Arlington Mavericks volleyball team, the only team sport in the fall for the University, is having a better-than-expected year as it sits 12-7 on the year and 4-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. In the preseason poll, UTA was selected eighth. They now sit in a tie for fourth with Grand Canyon. 

In first is UTRGV (picked 7th in preseason), with a 6-0 WAC record, 17-4 overall. Utah Valley (2), fresh off a 3-1 win over UTA and SFA in Utah, is second at 5-1, 11-7. The loss drops SFA (5) to third at 6-2, 18-3. UTA and GCU (3) are the last teams with a winning record in the standings, with GCU at 10-8 overall. 

UTA picked up a few surprising wins in the first half, with a 3-2 win over GCU on the road. They picked up two more road wins at Abilene Christian and Tarleton. ACU is 12th overall at 2-5 while Tarleton is 11th at 3-5. Those wins also carried a winning streak that started in non-conference play to a total of nine.

The loss that disappointed me most was at College Park Center to California Baptist 3-1. It was such a wacky match. UTA and CBU went toe-to-toe in set one, ending in a UTA loss 29-27. UTA dominated in set two, 25-13, evening it up. CBU then flipped the scrip, with a 25-18 set three win. It looked like another close one to start the fourth but ended in an identical 25-18 match loss, ending the longest winning streak since the early aughts.

Another Case for Football

 I generally save the kinds of posts about nothing specific about a current sport or newsworthy event for the summer. However, given the fact that it is the fall, where we have three sports going on, and it is related to football, which is timely for this time of year, I am going to make an exception.

I was out with the family watching yet another football game on a television screen this past weekend. Something that obviously happens all the time across this country during the fall season. The game itself was Utah State versus Colorado State. Again, nothing that would grab the headlines. But this game was different as I looked at the screen for a minute and made the passing internal comment of another of UTA's former peers on TV.

The wheels kept turning until I made another connection that without football, UTA is on an island in the middle of a freeway watching all of our former peers pass us by. I'm afraid without the sport, our athletic program will never elevate to the top of the NCAA.

Consider the following history lesson:

UTA FB History - Vol. 6 Gm. 7 - Mid-season Showcase

 It took a month and a half, but the 1977 season makes its second appearance in this year's collection. As I noted in the opening entry, UT Arlington lost their first game by four to Northwestern State in their stadium debut. The Mavericks followed that with a road win against Western Michigan, 17-10, to even their record to 1-1. UTA great Derrick Jensen had a 73-yard touchdown run erasing a 7-3 halftime deficit. 

In week three, UTA again hit the road, going to Lafayette, Louisiana for the Southland Conference opener. The script flipped from the second week as three second half fumbles cost the Mavericks their 20-10 halftime lead, and they fell 30-20.

For the fourth time in four games, UTA was again on the road as they traveled to Canyon, Texas for an all-too-familiar non-conference foe in West Texas State. The defense made several big plays throughout the game and quarterback Roy Dewalt's one-yard touchdown plunge in the third quarter was the go-ahead score in a 17-13 win. Defensive lineman Dwight Carey recovered a fumble late in the fourth quarter when the Buffaloes were threatening for a game-winning TD to seal the win.

UTA FB History - Vol. 6 Gm. 6 - Bump in the Road

 It's been a while since this volume documented a 1960 game, the season-opening road win against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks to be exact. Arlington State College stayed on the road the next week when they traveled to Memphis State and were shut out by the Tigers 35-0. The offense struggled all night, but aside from a 21-0 second quarter, the defense performed decently.

The home opener in Arlington at Memorial Stadium came against future conference rival Northeastern Louisiana, now Louisiana-Monroe. The then-Indians were one of the better Southland teams in the 1980's, but the 1960 Arlington State team exercised some frustrations in a 16-0 shutout win. Two touchdowns in the second half backed up a stellar defensive performance.  The win avenged the prior year's 26-21 loss in Monroe, Louisiana.

In the fourth game of the season, UTA made its third road trip going to Cleveland, Mississippi for a game against Delta State. I wish I could see this game because it was an awkward win for the Rebels, 19-8. ASC scored first on a Ronnie Southerland interception. Ole' reliable Charlie Key picked up a blocked field goal and ran into the end zone for the second TD. UTA's only conventional TD was a six-yard pass from Doug Wilson to John Niederauer. All Rebel scoring was in the first half, but it was again the defense the repelled the Statesmen all game long, giving up a total of 106 yards.

UTA FB History - Vol. 6 Gm. 5 - Getting on Track

When we last left the 1966 Arlington State College Rebels, they had lost their season opener to the West Texas State Buffaloes. It was the sixth-straight season opening loss for ASC something ASC/UT Arlington never did very well).

They followed that up with their second road trip, this time to Las Cruces, New Mexico. New Mexico State sits second behind West Texas State in highest number of games for a non-conference foe. They played all but two seasons between 1964 and 1983. During this time, NMSU was a University Division school, while ASC was in the lower College Division. Despite UTA coming in undefeated in road trips requiring a flight, the Rebels squandered a 10-7 first quarter lead in a 23-10 loss.

In week three, ASC would stay home and host East Texas State in Arlington. It would be the first non-University Division school on the schedule.

ETSU is about an hour and a half from the Arlington campus. It was a natural rivalry in the 1960's and went by the wayside when UTA went to the University Division. ETSU stayed in the NAIA and the teams never played again. Despite being so popular and attracting a high number of fans, the teams never scheduled a game again after 1969.

UTA FB History: Vol. 6 Gm. 4 - The Beginning of the End

 It seems like roughly one out of three entries into this series feature a Harold "Bud" Elliot coached team. Half of this year's entries will. He coached ten of the 27 years UTA played as a four-year school, three more than second place Claude "Chena" Gilstrap (though Coach Gilstrap did coach an additional six years when UTA was a junior college). A lot of what UTA football is remembered for today happened due to his results. Unfortunately, that equated to mediocrity many times, some in his control, some not.

The 1983 season was the start of his tenth (hint to the significance of this season) season on the Maverick sideline. UTA finished 3-8 the year prior, the second time in three years the Mavericks attained that mark. Injuries were much to blame, but there certainly were bright spots, which I'll detail momentarily. Those bright spots had the coaches pick UTA third in the preseason poll, just a smidge behind Arkansas State (UTA got more first place votes than the then-Indians did) and second in the SID poll, again attaining the second most first-place votes. Louisiana-Monroe (known as Northeast Louisiana until much later) was number one in both (and would finish in a tie for first. Expectations were at their highest level since 1979. 

And for good reason. Despite eight losses the year prior, with only two losses within a touchdown, Scotty Caldwell ran all over the field in 1982. The junior running back gained 1,216 yards and twelve touchdowns on the ground, while catching 26 passes for 336 yards and another score. He led the Southland Conference in rushing, all-purpose yards and scoring. Had he played on a team that was better than 1-4 in conference, he would have been player of the year. He'd end up UTA's all-time second leading rusher, first in rushing and total TD's and second in overall scoring behind kicker Skip Bulter.

But he wasn't the only returner who contributed mightily in years prior.

Is the Record Deceiving?

Conference play looms for the 2022 UT-Arlington volleyball squad as the Mavericks concluded the first half of the season with the UTA Invitational in the books. But what did we just witness in the first month?

It was a shaky start to the season as UTA went 0-3 in the Ellesyn Invitational. They lost 3-1 (UC-Davis), 3-0 (Montana), and 3-2 (North Dakota).

They rebounded with a 2-1 showing at home in the UTA Classic. A great 3-2 win against Providence was the highlight. However, a loss to North Texas is never a good thing.

On the road at former Southland Conference rival UT San Antonio's UTSA Invitational, I really got excited for the first time as they swept the competition to win the tourney. Wins against USF (3-1), McNeese (3-1) and UTSA (3-2) captured the crown.

UTA FB History: Vol. 6 Gm. 3 - Oft-Renewed Rivalry

 It's not often I get three season openers in one volume of this series, but that's the case this year as we take our first look into the 1966 season for the Alington State College Rebels.

In the last entry, I alluded how successful the 1960 season was. That success was short lived, however as the ASC fortunes began to drop off. A 7-3 record in 1961 dropped to 4-6 in 1962 and 1-8 in 1963. The first year in the Southland Conference in 1964 was a disappointing 3-6-1, including a 0-3-1 SLC record.

But in 1965, ASC exceeded expectations and broke a streak of three straight losing seasons with a 6-3 record, including a 2-2 mark in the conference, earning legendary coach, Claude "Chena" Gilstrap Coach-of-the-Year honors. It also turned into his last season on the sidelines as he retired from the coaching ranks. He retained his Athletic Director title, though.

ASC had an interesting quarterback situation, especially with the benefit of hindsight. Carl Williams came in as the expected starter. I remember people saying Michael Vick, Daunte Culpepper and (ahem) Quincy Carter represented a new wave of the future for quarterbacks in the early 2000's. Discounting Fran Tarkenton and Roger Staubach from the 1970's, that was Carl Williams in 1965. He set a record for total yards that year as a freshman with 902 yards passing and 329 yards rushing, despite battling injuries for the final six games. The Dallas Morning News labeled him "one of the finest quarterbacks" in the State of Texas.

UTA FB History: Vol. 6 Gm. 2 - First Four Year Game

When the UT Arlington Mavericks, or Arlington State College Rebels as they were known then, started play in 1959, there were no seniors. The school was transitioning from a junior college to a university. Legendary coach Claude "Chena" Gilstrap even joked they won the three-year national championship after a 4-3 season. 1960 was the first year ASC would have seniors on the field.

Information about UTA's football program from its ascendance to four-year status to the latter-half of the 1960's is scarce. I've acquired every media guide from the 1980's, most from the '70's, but only two in the 1960's. I am able to gather the yearly leaders from later media guides, but that's basically the extent of it.

Newspaper articles are sparse, as you'll see at the conclusion of this entry. In some cases, the best I could find was a couple of paragraphs. DFW wasn't as big then, so maybe the media coverage hadn't grown to what we know it to be today.

For UTA, that's all sad, as this was the most successful decade in its history, with sellout crowds in an on-campus stadium. The lone bowl appearance and win was this decade as well. As far as records go, two of the three best seasons were in the 1960's, including this one, 1960. 

UTA FB History: Vol. 6 Gm. 1 - Bumblin', Stumblin', Fumblin'

Once I knocked the cobwebs off this blog as the firing of Scott Cross started to become a more distant memory, the Department's wading into a political spectrum faded, COVD restrictions appeared gone and my enthusiasm increased, I've began thinking about my annual series of This Day in UTA Football History. It's one of my more popular regular entries with more page views than other posts. It's also something I enjoy doing, as the information I have gathered and researched put in has been extensive. There wasn't information readily available like other sports at the school or other programs still running where you can grab the current media guide to get a lot of the information. What a have comes from hours stretching to days to weeks at the library getting old newspaper articles, cobbling what I could from websites and snatching old media guides of the internet.

I was concerned that after a four-year hiatus that I would be back into seasons that have been covered previously, as I have done five volumes before today. For those who may be newer, I select football games that occurred on the corresponding Saturday from prior years. I try to pick a meaningful game or milestone and try to represent as many games as possible within a singular season. It can be a daunting task at times, as a great season could coincide with a poor one a decade later that doesn't meet the meaningful or milestone category. 

I don't have that issue today. UTA rarely started the season this early, and in the 27 years of playing University football, they played on this date once. There are four really great seasons lined up this year, but just one played on the third of September.

Rivalry Continues

The UT Arlington Athletic Department recently announced a key date on the men's basketball schedule. On top of that, it looks like they are trying to elevate the match-up.

On December 10, 2022 UTA will renew the now-non-conference rivalry with the Texas State Bobcats. Additionally, it will be played off-campus at Dickie's Arena in the Fort Worth Cultural District.

I was certainly excited to see the game on the schedule. I was afraid it would turn into a casualty of conference realignment. UTA was fortunate to have both the Bobcats and Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners move to the Western Athletic Conference together, giving the Mavericks some familiar faces in a new conference. When UTA moved to the Sun Belt, Texas State did too, maintaining what was UTA's then-longest current conference rival. It was theirs a well.

But, when UTA was forced out of the Sun Belt, the longest-continuous rivalry meter was reset to zero. However, UTA does renew some conference rivalries of various degrees, but nothing continuous. 

Consider what the Texas State rivalry had climbed to in men's basketball:

Top 10 moments in Maverick History

As we near the end of the summer break and the start of the 2022/23 athletic year, excitement is naturally building. Add in the fact that UTA is moving to a new home and will see new faces adds to that excitement.

In preparation for that start, I'm going to list the top 11 moments in Maverick Athletic history. For this list, I'm going to balance what the moment meant for the Department or the University as a whole, the general accomplishment's worth, the attention the accomplishment gathered and what it means today,. While the attention metric starts to sway the meter towards certain sports, I'm going to grade on a curve. I believe that if you are going to sponsor a sport, sponsor it to win. As such, any accomplishment is worthwhile.

Certain accomplishments could diminish others, for example, a postseason win could overshadow a previous high of first conference championship. Others are harder to grade, such as individual sports like the track and field programs. As such, I'm focusing primarily on team sports.

All that said, let's start the countdown.

What to Add?

 In this second post of what is really a two-parter, I analyze a statement soon-to-be-former UT Arlington Athletic Director Jim Baker said to the Shorthorn on a story they ran about his retirement. 

UTA Athletics has been pursuing an athletics master plan that will address current and long-term needs, improvements and facility expansion for most Division I teams. It will also help revitalize the west side of campus. 
Baker said UTA is 95% done with the plan and wants to ensure that it gets passed down to the new administration as a road map. But any decisions regarding the plan will be up to the new Athletics director and UTA president. 
“I won’t have a say in it, nor should I,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure they have all the information.”

The first entry mentioned what is obvious, the facility renovations. However, reading between the lines, along with what I've heard in the background, I suspect the department is once again eyeing an expansion of sports, even if preliminarily.

What to Improve?

I've been hanging on to this the idea of this entry (and this one too) since February when the Shorthorn, UT Arlington's student newspaper, reported on Athletic Director Jim Baker's impending retirement. I added my own commentary a bit later. The link can be found here.

There's a couple of paragraphs at the end of the article that caught my eye that I believe will very much will have an impact on the future of the Athletic Department. And seeing how we've entered the summer months, now is the time to pontificate.

"UTA Athletics has been pursuing an athletics master plan that will address current and long-term needs, improvements and facility expansion for most Division I teams. It will also help revitalize the west side of campus."

There are possibly two things that are being addressed here, though the obvious is "facility expansion." So based on that quote, I want to go down the list of current facilities and give my opinion on what upgrades are best or needed for each facility. The list is in order starting with the least needed facility for upgrades and ending with the venue that needs the most attention.

Over Before it Started

 Earlier this week, Incarnate Word University (or rather the Southland Conference) announced the Cardinals would stay in the SLC, less than two weeks before they were supposed to join the Western Athletic Conference. 

While many folks are proclaiming this the doom and gloom of the WAC, I think this is great for the conference. The main thing this affects is the football numbers.

As it is, New Mexico State is a football independent at the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A), while the WAC resumed football sponsorship at the Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA). The Aggies are leaving at the end of the year to go to Conference USA with Sam Houston State. Tarleton State University and Utah Tech University are transitioning from Division II and not eligible for postseason play. As such, their numbers do not count towards the minimum needed for an automatic berth for the conference into the postseason. Lamar made the odd decision to go back to the Southland, which is a terrible conference for all things non-football. California Baptist, Grand Canyon, Seattle U, Utah Valley along with UTA do not sponsor the sport. That leaves Abilene Christian, Southern Utah and Stephen F. Austin as full, postseason eligible members. Once, the DII transition is complete and once UT-Rio Grande Valley starts their program, the WAC will be at the bare minimum. 

That was what Incarnate Word brought to the table. A warm body.

New AD Named

The wait is finally over. On June 13, 2022, UT Arlington named Jon Fagg as the seventh Athletic Director in the 65-year history of the Athletic Department as a four-year University. Jim Baker announced his retirement in February, effective September 1. Fagg will start his tenure on August 1.

Fagg comes to UTA from University of Arkansas, where he's been since 2008. He was most recently a deputy athletic director. Prior to that, he served stints at North Carolina State, Fresno State and the Big South Conference. 

Looking over the list of prior job duties, I see much of the same stuff that you'd expect: "direct oversight of the NCAA compliance program," "academic support," and "student-athlete experience." He also was directly involved in their two major revenue sports in football and men's basketball. 

However, one thing does stick out to me.

Another Coach Leaves

 On this week, in As the UTA Coaches Carrousel Turns, another sport is looking to replace a head coach. At the beginning of the month, the UT Arlington Athletic Department announced that PeeJay Brun was resigning after five seasons of running the program. 

Unlike Coach Darrin Thomas' resignation, this one doesn't move the needle as much for me. Coach Thomas was at UTA when I was a student broadcaster and I built a casual relationship with him. He was in the department for over 20 years. He had a decent run a little less than midway through his career. Conversely, he also was facing a growing call of Maverick fans wanting a change at the helm. There's not much of the latter that I was aware of with Coach Brun.

Some similarities do exist however. Both are spring sports where UTA has traditionally done well. Both led programs that have all-time winning records. Both replaced a head coach who finished sub-.500, but whose predecessor prior won less than they lost. Both ended their time in Arlington with two, full losing seasons in a row after the NCAA shut down 2020 play in the spring. And finally, both play in the toughest mid-major conference, if not the toughest, in the NCAA. The Sun Belt top-to-bottom can compete with any team in the NCAA.

But Thomas also made an NCAA tournament (though one in 15 years isn't a resume builder), won a conference title (again, just one), and a Sun Belt Division championship. While SBC softball hasn't split into divisional play while UTA was a member, the rest of the softball accolades are pretty bare, with one exception.

Baseball Skipper Resigns

 Big news out of Arlington on Monday for the baseball team as Head Coach Darin Thomas announced he was resigning after a 15-39 season, which saw the worst winning percentage and the highest number of losses since 2007. Overall, 2022 ranks as the second worst in losses, tied with 1977 (2007 saw 40) and is the fourth worst winning percentage.

I detailed earlier how young the team was, but UTA has had young teams before. I'm not sure what happened, but this was the second losing season in a row. I'm not sure how much of a factor that played in Coach Thomas' decision.

What I'm also not sure of is what was in play in the background. I know a lot of fans were ready for a change. Given how Athletic Director Jim Baker canned Men's Basketball Coach Scott Cross for not making the NCAA's, it seemed odd how baseball was allowed to stay in a field of mediocrity.

Consider the following two trends.

Young Struggles

 I haven't felt much impetus to post lately as the normally strong spring push from the UT Arlington Athletic Department hasn't really materialized. However, I did want to mention a few things, starting with the baseball team.

First, they are putting up one of the worst performances as far as a win/loss in a generation. As of April 29, their winning percentage sits at .293. That would be a decent batting average, but sits as the second worse in the conference, ahead of Arkansas State, who conveniently comes to Clay Gould Ballpark this weekend. The last time UTA finished a season with a sub .300 winning percentage was 1977. The Mavericks sit at .222 in conference play, the worst of the 12 Sun Belt Conference teams. That could change depending on the Red Wolf series.

There's not much light at the end of the tunnel. UTA goes to College Station next week where Texas A&M is 26-14, then they go to Lafayette, where Louisiana is 23-16, 12-6, then a home series against Appalachian State (14-24, 5-13) and a road trip to Georgia Southern (28-13, 14-4).

There's two main issues with the team as I see it.

Women's historic finish

I mentioned I'd get to this post in my last entry and after earning every bit of it, I know want to give the UT Arlington women's basketball team their proper accolades. The 2021/22 UTA women's basketball team may very well be the best in the history of the Athletic program.

UTA was picked third in the Sun Belt Conference pre-season poll, behind Troy and Louisiana. It was a hard year to predict the field as the SBC was coming off divisional play where the west didn't play the east. UTA's leading scorer was an unknown to the conference, which further complicated the prognostication.  

The Mavericks started the season with a 6-3 non-conference mark. The most notable win was a 61-56 mark over South Florida, who was ranked 13th in the nation at the time. It was UTA's first ever win over a ranked opponent. Other wins included Sam Houston St., Houston, North Texas, UNLV and Rice. The three losses were to Baylor, Kansas City and Oklahoma St.

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

 I'll provide a much bigger, in-depth post later, but I wanted to send The Maverick Rambler's congrats to Coach Sherika Wright and the UT-Arlington women's basketball team on their second-place regular season finish and victory in today's Sun Belt tournament championship game. 

We've hit a drought with the team sports in getting a conference tournament finals win, with the last being in 2012 with baseball. This is exactly what Maverick Nation needed.

Shout our praises to the sky,

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

Go big Maverick.

First Time Champs

 While not an official entry into This Day in UTA Basketball History, I want to touch base with one of the most historic teams in UT Arlington Men's Basketball history. The 2003/04 men's team made waves on campus as they played their way into the record books.

First, I have been collecting old media guides for UTA's sports teams. I saw an entry for the 2003/04 team. Seeing as how that was my final year at UTA, I knew I had that guide at one point. However, when I went through my old books, I didn't have it anymore. So, I grabbed it, since it had a more personal touch than a standard guide I have been acquiring did.

I forgot how loaded that team was at the top. I knew every player and could recall them by memory, but as time passed, I forgot they played together as team leaders. Donnie Beacham, Roy Johnson, Keith Howell, and Derrick Obasohan were seniors on that team. We'll look back at their accomplishments in a bit.

UTA had been a member of the Southland Conference for nearly 40 years when this season started. Despite the amount of time spent in the conference, the men's basketball team was the only team to not have won a conference championship of some kind on the men's side. Ironically enough, the women's basketball team was the only women's sport to not claim a conference championship either.

Change at the Top

In addition to the new(ish) conference change coming up, UT Arlington will experience some new leadership in two key areas. While I can't specifically say what the moves mean individually, I see any change given the current situation is a positive. 

Jennifer Evans-Cowley was named the sole finalist for the UTA presidency on January 7th. Due to state rules, the UT system Board of Regents completed the formality on February 1st, where she officially became the 10th president. Her official start date is April 28th, though I've heard some rumors she may unofficially begin before that.

She replaces Dr. Teik Lim, who was the interim president for the last two years. He took a position as president of New Jersey Institute of Technology. 

Evans-Cowley comes to UTA from the University of North Texas. She was the Vice President of Academic Affairs and was a Provost. She had applied for many positions across the country and her resume has been circulated.

Return of the WAC

Like Mark Morrison sang (using a small play on words), the Sun Belt is breaking up with the UT Arlington Athletic Department, prompting UTA to rejoin a familiar conference, which contains some familiar faces. 

How'd we get here? Plain and simple. UTA lacks a football program. This move was not initiated by UTA, but rather by discontent within the Sun Belt Conference. As the Sun Belt changed leadership and direction, they elected to focus their strategy on growing revenue through football. 

Of course, that's the one thing, the one, that UTA in its current form could not help with in accomplishing.

He Deserved Better

My plan is to go over this painful topic and be done with it. It's certainly old news by now. However, for most Mav faithful, it still burns. A lot of the historical what-ifs surround the football program, with a smattering for other programs (such as a new basketball venue in the 1970's). Yet there is a big one for recent memory.

The firing of Scott Cross.

The Return of the Rambler

 After a few years hiatus, I'm getting the itch again. In addition to a natural burnout of expectations I placed on myself to churn out reading material as page views soared, I battled my frustrations with the way the UT Arlington Athletic Department handled the departure of Scott Cross, a less than stellar hire to replace him, lost time due to pandemic issues, along with the way the Department responded to the political turmoil of the summer of 2020. There's also the traditional battles UTA faces, both institutionally and as a mid-major that contributed to the burnout. 

Yet, I'm always a Maverick. And nothing will change that.

I've been pondering resuming my commentary as there have been a plethora of news coming out of UTA Athletics, conference affiliation, statements surrounding the move to a new conference and new leadership, in addition to the normal seasoning news makers.

I've gotten many ideas over the last month. Some of those will certainly be timely, others....not so much. I'll also say that my weekly post goal prior to my break won't be honored. I'll post when I feel like I have something of value to say. Until then.