UT Arlington Mavericks
The UT Arlington Mavericks (abbreviated UT Arlington, UTA, and Mavs) are the athletic teams that represent the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Texas. The Mavericks currently compete in the NCAA Division I Western Athletic Conference in 15 varsity sports. The number rose to 15 in the fall of 2017 women's golf began their first season of competition that athletic season. Jon Fagg is the current athletic director. Prior to his stint at UTA, he was a Deputy Athletics Director, overseeing daily administration and NCAA compliance for the Arkansas Razorbacks at the University of Arkansas. Fagg replaced Jim Baker, who led the Athletic Department from 2012 to 2022. General history UTA was a founding member of the Southland Conference in 1963 and participated in the league until the end of the 2011–12 athletic year. They joined the Western Athletic Conference for one year before they moved to the Sun Belt Conference. They left the Sun Belt and rejoined the WAC on July 1, 2022. UT Arlington won the Southland Conference's Commissioners Cup three times since the award was first instituted in 1998. The Commissioner's Cup is awarded to the athletics program with the highest all-around performance in all conference events, including all men's and women's events. The Athletic Department finished within two points of the Bubas Cup, the Sun Belt's all-sports championship trophy, twice in 2014-15 and 2016–17, as well as a second-place finish in 2018–19. When the school transitioned from junior college to University status in 1959, the schools athletic teams were known as the Rebels. Controversy would surround the name after a decades time. A series of events would occur that lead to a change in mascots to the current version. The Mavericks' name selection was made in 1971, predating the National Basketball Association's expansion franchise Dallas Mavericks' starting choice in 1980. The first women's programs began competition in the 1973–74 school year. Volleyball, basketball and softball were the first three programs, competing in the AIAW until the teams moved under the umbrella of the NCAA in 1982–83. Sports sponsored Basketball Men's basketball Home games are played at College Park Center, located on University of Texas at Arlington's campus in Arlington. The team appeared in the 2008 NCAA tournament, losing against the 1 seed Memphis in the first round. Later, Memphis had to forfeit their win for "ineligible competition, impermissible benefits and failure to monitor its athletics programs." On November 29, 2016, the Mavericks defeated the Texas Longhorns in Austin for the first time in program history after 11 attempts. The Longhorns decided to terminate their contract with them after their 2016 loss due to the Mavericks becoming too competitive. The terminated contract paid the Mavericks a large lump sum for each game played in Austin for six consecutive years (2011-2016). Although only 21 of 64 University seasons have resulted in an overall winning record, 11 of the past 16 seasons have finished with a .500 winning percentage or greater, including a school record 27 wins in