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.