Some big news came out of the UT Arlington Athletic Department today. When the 2017/18 athletic season begins, UTA will sponsor a new sport for the first time in over 30 years. Women's golf will bring the Mavericks to 15 varsity sports sponsored. On the surface, it may not seem like a big deal; a non-spectator sport with a very low national profile.
The timing was really important here. Once Jay Rees, the prior golf coach, retired it kinda forced their hand. I suspect they were looking at adding this, but maybe not quite yet. The delayed start time reinforces this point. By all accounts, women's golf shouldn't take this long to get up and running. It would if you have a new coach needing to get acclimated to the University.
However, I think there's more to it than just adding a sport.