Mavs moving towards football

[PlummMeanGreen]

If UTA joins this collegiate football Lone Star State club we'd only be 6 more schools away from having 20 BCS/FBS schools in Texas.

Hey! I know where we'd be headed with that.........two 10 team divisions of a Texas only conference.

In fact, the UT system is getting close to where they could have their on "UT system conference all by themselves.

King Football Returns To Texas.............En Mass!

[Marty]

I believe Marty is correct. Chuck Curtis was a darned good football coach and had UTA playing pretty well when they decided to drop the program. When UTA opened their "new" football stadium North Texas was the opponent. We were coached by Jerry Moore in those days. It was televised by ESPN. That network was nowhere near the big deal that it is today. It was a good game......and North Texas won. I would love to see them add football and get North Texas on the schedule. It would be fun.

...and wasn't Coach Curtis hired from Cleburne High School as the new coach at UTA? Hmmmm, hiring a high school coach, where have I heard that before??

[UNT90]

The prospect of bringing back football is intriguing, but I'd say they've got a major facilities hurdle unless they want to pay Jerry a million bucks a game to play in a 75% empty monolith.

90% empty.

And, by the way, UTA's current stadium makes Fouts look like a state of the art facility.

Long way to go.

[mgfan]

UTA = TCC Arlington campus

[El Paso Eagle]

Don't know if it's true or not, but someone told me that the jump is primarily due to a huge number of new online students who never see campus.

This is the same thing I was told. They are offering alot of on line classes

[houstonmeangreen]

Some of you know, my Dad played football at what was then Texas Arlington now UTA. He later transferred to UNT and got his BBA and MBA and is a Mean Green Club member and season ticket holder. He received a letter yesterday from UTA Athletic director Pete Carlon, announcing that a new athletics only fundraiser had been hired. The letter went on to state that while UTA's WAC participation was not contingent on UTA adding football that the university was in a good position to rekindle the program, and that hitting the fundraising goals could make it happen even faster.

I think UTA (and the UT System) realizes that this market offers value to them with football and will press forward with restarting the program within the next 3-5 years. I don't have a problem with this other than as a UNT fan we need to do everything we can to better position ourselves until it happens.

I really doubt this will ever happen....a dream now and a dream in the future...Nedderman killed the program for good.

[meangreendork]

Possibly. But, I don't believe admission standards are any more strict than at UNT. Tuition is the same if not more at UTA as well.

They have different admission requirements.

UTA

Top 25% Class Rank: no minimum SAT/ACT.

2nd 25%: 1050/22 minimum.

3rd 25%: Individual review.

4th 25%: Individual review.

UNT

Top 10% Class Rank: no minimum SAT/ACT.

Next 15%: 950/20.

2nd 25%: 1050/23.

3rd 25%: 1180/26

4th 25%: Individual review.

From the looks of it, it's easier to get into UTA by a shred, more so if you're a student is in the last 50% of class rankings. I'll also mention that they've got those gas wells and are tossing scholarship and grant money at kids, too. Tuition is roughly the same.

Edited October 20, 2011 by meangreendork

[UNTX]

In 2005 they were ~7000 people behind us. Now that gap is much smaller. In addition, our enrollment shrank from last years fall numbers.

I am sure the University is looking into this, but it is still troubling.

Why is it necessarily troubling? Our admission standards are slightly higher than theirs and we have a higher graduation rate. Being LARGE doesn't mean GOOD. If you mean troubling in terms of their appeal versus ours in attracting students then I would focus more on the number of applicants annually at each school and the number we turn away compared to them. I'm pretty sure we have them beat there although it may be a slight edge. I'd much rather see us raise standards, attain a more qualified student body, and increase our national ranking than just be bigger than someone.

[NT80]

Some of you know, my Dad played football at what was then Texas Arlington now UTA. He later transferred to UNT and got his BBA and MBA and is a Mean Green Club member and season ticket holder. He received a letter yesterday from UTA Athletic director Pete Carlon, announcing that a new athletics only fundraiser had been hired. The letter went on to state that while UTA's WAC participation was not contingent on UTA adding football that the university was in a good position to rekindle the program, and that hitting the fundraising goals could make it happen even faster.

I think UTA (and the UT System) realizes that this market offers value to them with football and will press forward with restarting the program within the next 3-5 years. I don't have a problem with this other than as a UNT fan we need to do everything we can to better position ourselves until it happens.

I started college at UTA mid-70's (aerospace engineering) before transferring to NTSU/UNT (BBA). UTA was so much more a commuter school then than NT ever was. I stayed in a dorm on campus but campus life was so poor in the fall for the roughly 800 on-campus students; I came back home many weekends to attend high school games.

UTA had football back then but played at Cravens Field (HS stadium) and big games were held at old Ranger's Arlington Stadium where outfield bleachers were the stands. Crowds averaged 5,000 at most.

There were major athletic facility decisions made back then at both NTSU and UTA. North Texas decided to stay with Fouts and built the new SuperPit. UTA stayed with Texas Hall and built a new semi-on-campus facility for football, Maverick Stadium.

I don't see UTA ever having enough alum or student support to build a top level football program. I doubt they bring it back at any level, but hey, Lamar did so anything is possible.

Edited October 21, 2011 by NT80

[houstonmeangreen]

I started college at UTA mid-70's (aerospace engineering) before transferring to NTSU/UNT (BBA). UTA was so much more a commuter school then than NT ever was. I stayed in a dorm on campus but campus life was so poor in the fall for the roughly 800 on-campus students; I came back home many weekends to attend high school games.

UTA had football back then but played at Cravens Field (HS stadium) and big games were held at old Ranger's Arlington Stadium where outfield bleachers were the stands. Crowds averaged 5,000 at most.

There were major athletic facility decisions made back then at both NTSU and UTA. North Texas decided to stay with Fouts and built the new SuperPit. UTA stayed with Texas Hall and built a new semi-on-campus facility for football, Maverick Stadium.

I don't see UTA ever having enough alum or student support to build a top level football program. I doubt they bring it back at any level, but hey, Lamar did so anything is possible.

Even though they had poor support, they were not that bad...considering...hell, they beat TCU back then...70's

[NT80]

When UTA opened their "new" football stadium North Texas was the opponent. We were coached by Jerry Moore in those days. It was televised by ESPN. That network was nowhere near the big deal that it is today. It was a good game....

NT won 31-14 in 1980. That was probably the only college game ever played at Maverick Stadium with the pressbox stands nearly full.

Trivia: UTA played it's last football game at Fouts in 1985, losing 23-20. I have a video of it someplace. George Dunham was a new/intern announcer with Bill Mercer on the broadcast.

There is a track around Maverick Stadium's field but many 5A football program's facilities in DFW would make this place look bad now. There would not enough parking to support a bigger stadium at this location. Here are some Maverick Stadium photos:

Edited October 21, 2011 by NT80

[NT80]

Even though they had poor support, they were not that bad...considering...hell, they beat TCU back then...70's

Derrick Jensen was their big, bruising RB then. He played several years with the Oakland Raiders.

[jtm0097]

One of my coaches from high school played running back for UTA right before the program ended. But unfortunatly for him he went to prison for improper relationship with a student.

[Cerebus]

Why is it necessarily troubling?

It is troubling because no one at the University expected it. In fact, when the state budget cuts looked to be much more draconian than they ended up being, the University was planning to offset much of that with increased enrollment. If the cuts had been as bad as was first feared, and then the enrollment shrank, things would have gotten pretty sketchy for a lot of programs.