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 was one of five founding members of the Southland Conference on March 15, 1963. I'll list additions to the SLC, but not subtractions. For schools that would be listed twice, for whatever reason, I'll only post their first reference, as it contains where they currently are that I'll analyze later. UTA's peer group at the founding was:

• Abilene Christian (Western Athletic Conference, I-AA)
• Arkansas State (Sun Belt Conference, I-A)
• Lamar (SLC, I-AA)
• Trinity (Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, D-III)

In 1971, the SLC added:

• Louisiana (SBC, I-A)
• Louisiana Tech (Conference USA, I-A)

In 1972, the SLC added:

• McNeese St (SLC, I-AA)

In 1982, when the Southland was relegated to the Division I-AA ranks, the following schools joined:

• Louisiana-Monroe (SBC, I-A)
• North Texas (CUSA, American Athletic Conference in 2023, I-A)

The following additions to the SLC occurred in 1987:

• Northwestern St (SLC, I-AA)
• Sam Houston St (WAC, CUSA in 2023, I-AA, I-A in 2023)
• Stephen F. Austin St (WAC, I-AA)
• Texas St (SBC, I-A)

A few years later, in 1991:

• Nicholls St (SLC, I-AA)
• UT San Antonio (CUSA, AAC in 2023, I-A)

In 1997:

• Southeastern Louisiana (SLC, I-AA)

Finally, in 2006:

• Central Arkansas (Atlantic Sun Conference, I-AA)
• Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (SLC, I-AAA)

Finally, after watching the conference become watered down (more on that below), UTA bailed on the increasingly uncompetitive SLC and joined the WAC. In the one season the Mavericks were there, the following schools were their peers:

• Denver (Summit Conference, I-AAA)
• Idaho (Big Sky Conference, I-AA)
• New Mexico St (WAC, Independent in football, CUSA in 2023, I-A)
• San Jose St (Mountain West Conference, I-A)
• Seattle (WAC, I-AAA)
• Utah St (MWC, I-A)

Prior to joining the WAC, the conference was decimated. The replacements were not established programs. UTA feared going back to the level of the SLC with increased travel costs and joined the SBC before the first sporting event in the WAC. In 2013, UTA's joined some old faces and the new peer in the SBC were:

• Arkansas-Little Rock (Ohio Valley Conference, I-AAA)
• Georgia St (SBC, I-A)
• South Alabama (SBC, I-A)
• Troy (SBC, I-A)
• Western Kentucky (CUSA, I-A)

In 2014, two FCS call-ups joined the SBC:

• Appalachian St (SBC, I-A)
• Georgia Southern (SBC, I-A)

In 2016, the SBC picked up a 12th member:

Coastal Carolina (SBC, I-A)

UTA was expelled from the SBC for not having football at the conclusion of the 2021/22 academic year. The WAC had undergone many changes that made it appealing, and UTA rejoined. In addition to some familiar faces, the peer additions to UTA are:

• Cal Baptist (I-AAA)
• Grand Canyon (I-AAA)
• Southern Utah (I-AA)
• Tarleton St (I-AA)
• UT-Rio Grande Valley (I-AAA, I-AA in 2024)
• Utah Tech (I-AA)
• Utah Valley (I-AAA)

Factoring where every school is today, here are the schools that have been UTA's peer categorized by classification:

• I-A 19
• I-AA 11 (12 in 2024)
• I-AAA 8 (7 in 2024)
• DIII 1

Since the main point of this post is about watching the peers pass UTA by, the older group means more than the current WAC group. Factoring out the new peers from the current WAC group:

• I-A 19
• I-AA 8
• I-AAA 4
• DIII 1

Clearly, the list is skewed towards the highest level of football, getting just under half overall and 60% pre-second WAC stint.

Four of the five other SBC West Division schools were former conference mates with UTA at some other point. Now the Sun Belt is considered a strong potential to be the best FBS conference outside the "power conference" on a year-to-year basis. With that comes a high payout to the conference, and a higher payout from the conference to the schools. UTA could have been part of that, by simply having a team, no more.

I suspect UTA could join CUSA today by just making an announcement. Kennesaw St, Jacksonville St and Sam Houston St can do it with two having worst stadiums than Maverick Stadium as is.

Given the quality of education at the University, a Maverick program would attract quality players, as it did throughout its time when it did sponsor the sport. Seeing as how the University funds its sports and treats its Athletic Department compared to then, there'd likely be better results than previously as well, but I digress.

In the 1970's, from the point when Abilene Christian and Trinity left, the SLC was playing at the highest level of the NCAA. Three of those schools are FBS now. McNeese and Lamar are still FCS. In the early 1980's, that number of SLC schools grew to five. Then when the SLC reorganized after UTA dropped football, three more would go to the SLC and later become FBS.

More and more, FBS has grown, meaning the schools of UTA peers have joined that group and left UTA out. More and more, our peer schools have shrunk. UTA used to play New Mexico State every year in football. That is our peer. I love how the WAC was able to reinvent itself into an upper half basketball conference, even better than the Sun Belt. But I don't consider Seattle our peer. Cal Baptist, Grand Canyon, the Utah schools, UTRGV? Stephen F. and Sam Houston are closer, though our academics are consistently rated higher. 

Geography plays a big factor in determining peers too. That's why the old Southland and new Sun Belt were so appealing to me. UTA is one of three DI schools not sponsoring the sport in Texas. It will be two after 2024. 

Coupled with that, UTA left the Southland because it was increasingly a watered-down conference in all-sports. Had the SLC not dropped to I-AA in 1982, they'd likely be the Sun Belt today. Instead, they accepted anyone with a pulse and a football program as each new departure occurred. The replacement was less competitive in the sport and overall than whom they replaced.

It also was why SFA left, though their breaking point was a little less brittle than ours. They pride themselves in being competitive in all-sports. The Duke win in men's basketball a couple of years ago means as much as any other sport. I can't think of a football win higher. In the SLC, anything basketball was an after-thought. SFA wants to win a volleyball championship just as much as any other sport. Their all-sports trophies are cherished. UTA is no different.

I remember speaking to various members of different coaching staffs as a student broadcaster a couole of decades ago. There were a couple of conversations over the years of how Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV wanted in, but they were so uncompetitive as to be undesirable for conference membership. The last addition before UTA left was Corpus and Central Arkansas, a DII call-up. They clearly don't consider them peers. 

There is a distinct possibility that those schools, or at least Central Arkansas, will pass UTA up. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the SLC may be our eventual home, again. Without a football team, it could be very likely that UTA will find itself in the bottom 20th percentile in their sports home. Should that happen, best case scenario every year would a conference championship and a one-and-done NCAA performance.

If UTA is as committed to an Athletic Department that is competitive in all-sports, and not just within a conference, re-starting a football team may be more important now than ever.