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.