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.

UTA Basketball in the Postseason

In the vein of This Day in UTA Football History, I want to point to a very significant day in UTA basketball history. While I won't make the UTA Basketball version a regular occurrence like I did for the football version, there are many games, the sport is still played, the history is easier to find, etc., I think I like the idea of spotlighting milestone or significant events.

The 1981 season was one of the best years for UTA basketball, especially up to that point. Since joining the four-year ranks in 1959, UTA basketball had just three winning seasons in its history. They were 14-12 in 1966-67 and 1971-72 and 14-13 in 1979-80. When a 13-13 mark in 1972-73 is also considered successful, you know a sport program is moribund.

In my opinion, the 1980-81 team, from a pure talent perspective, is still the best team that UTA has produced. I say that over the 2008 NCAA tournament team as well as the 2012 SLC champ and NIT team.

The Southland at that time was one of the better non-power conferences in the country. As a whole, the conference was 8-9 in the NCAA tournament with two sweet sixteen appearances from the 1979 tournament to the 1987 from four different teams. That time frame is specific since the conference changed drastically. UTA dropped football, forcing the men's teams out of the conference for a year as the membership rules required teams to sponsor the sport. That led a domino effect of Lamar, Louisiana Tech and Arkansas State exiting the conference and lower tier teams replacing them, especially in basketball. The first two teams combined for all eight of the NCAA tourney wins. The SLC wouldn't win an NCAA tourney game again until Northwestern State won a play-in game in 2001.