Texas–Arlington Mavericks football
The Texas–Arlington Mavericks football team represented the University of Texas at Arlington from the 1959 through 1985 season. Between 1919 through 1958, UTA competed as a junior college prior to moving to the NCAA College Division in 1959 and ultimately the University Division in 1971. UTA played its home games at multiple stadiums throughout their history with the most recent being Maverick Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.
| Texas–Arlington Mavericks | |
|---|---|
| First season | 1919 |
| Last season | 1985 |
| Stadium | Maverick Stadium (Capacity: 15,000) |
| Location | Arlington, Texas |
| NCAA division | Division I-AA |
| Conference | Southland Conference |
| All-time record | 129–150–2 (.463) |
| Bowl record | 1–0 (1.000) |
| Conference titles | 3 (1966, 1967, 1981) |
| Rivalries | Lamar Cardinals |
| Colors | Royal Blue, White, and Orange[1] |
| Website | UTAMavs.com |
History
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The UT Arlington football team traces its roots to 1919 when the program was established at Grubbs Vocational College.[2] By 1923 Grubbs was renamed as the North Texas Agricultural College with the football team then playing as the Junior Aggies competing in the Central Texas Conference. As the Aggies, the program captured four conference championships through the 1948 season.[2] By 1949, the school would again change its name and mascot in competing as the Arlington State College Blue Riders through the 1950 season only to again change the mascot to the Rebels for the 1951 season.[2] Arlington would reach their zenith as a junior college program in capturing both the 1956 and 1957 Junior Rose Bowls as national junior college champions.[3] Following the 1958 season, Arlington State became a four-year school and begin competition as a College Division school.[2]
After founding the Southland Conference as a charter member for the 1964 season, by 1966, the school officially became the University of Texas at Arlington.[2] UTA won conference championships in 1966, 1967 and 1981 seasons in addition to winning their lone bowl game, the 1967 Pecan Bowl.[2] The program would be officially disbanded after an announcement by then university president Wendell Nedderman on November 25, 1985, citing financial loss and low attendance as the primary impetus for its abandonment.[2][4][5]
The University of Arlington Football Club fielded a team for two seasons in 2007 and 2008, with an exhibition victory of the University of South Alabama. UTA defeated USA 6-0. USA went on to field an NCAA football team.
Seasons
This listing includes only the seasons UTA competed as a four-year college beginning with the 1959 season.
| Conference Champions * | Bowl game berth ^ |
| Season | Head coach | Conference | Season results | Bowl result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | |||||
| Texas-Arlington Mavericks | ||||||||
| 1959 | Chena Gilstrap | Division II Independent | — | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | |
| 1960 | Division II Independent | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | ||
| 1961 | Division II Independent | — | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | ||
| 1962 | Division II Independent | — | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | ||
| 1963 | Division II Independent | — | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | ||
| 1964 | Southland Conference | 5th | 3 | 6 | 1 | — | ||
| 1965 | Southland Conference | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | ||
| 1966 * | Burley Bearden | Southland Conference | 1st | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | |
| 1967 * | Southland Conference | 1st | 10 | 1 | 0 | Won 1967 Pecan Bowl against North Dakota State Bison, 13–0 ^ | ||
| 1968 | Southland Conference | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | ||
| 1969 | Southland Conference | 3rd | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | ||
| 1970 | Southland Conference | 5th | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | ||
| 1971 | John Symank | Southland Conference | 7th | 2 | 9 | 0 | — | |
| 1972 | Southland Conference | 2nd | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | ||
| 1973 | Southland Conference | 5th | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | ||
| 1974 | Harold Elliott | Southland Conference | 5th | 1 | 10 | 0 | — | |
| 1975 | Southland Conference | 5th | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | ||
| 1976 | Southland Conference | 3rd | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | ||
| 1977 | Southland Conference | 3rd | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | ||
| 1978 | Southland Conference | 3rd | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | ||
| 1979 | Southland Conference | 2nd | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | ||
| 1980 | Southland Conference | 3rd | 3 | 8 | 0 | — | ||
| 1981 * | Southland Conference | 1st | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | ||
| 1982 | Southland Conference | 6th | 3 | 8 | 0 | — | ||
| 1983 | Southland Conference | 5th | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | ||
| 1984 | Chuck Curtis | Southland Conference | 3rd | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | |
| 1985 | Southland Conference | 6th | 4 | 6 | 1 | — | ||
| Total | 128 | 150 | 2 | (only includes regular season games) | ||||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | (only includes bowl games) | |||||
| 129 | 150 | 2 | (all games) | |||||
| References:[6] | ||||||||
Stadiums
- Memorial Stadium – 1959–1969
- Turnpike Stadium – 1970–1976
- Cravens Field – 1977–1979
- Maverick Stadium – 1980–1985
References
- "Color: UT Arlington Identity System". Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- Rychlik, Michael (December 29, 1999). "UTA had some football success until the program died in 1985". Arlington Morning News. Archived from the original on May 25, 2000. Retrieved July 12, 2018. Published in print as "Rise & Fall: Plight of UTA football still hard for some to swallow". The Dallas Morning News. December 29, 1999. Retrieved September 12, 2020 – via Newsbank.
- UTA Magazine Online, Legendary Coach and Athletic Director Dies Archived 2006-12-30 at the Wayback Machine
- "Former congressman Tommy Vandergriff, who was willing to contribute..." UPI. December 10, 1985. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- McNabb, David (November 26, 1985). "UTA eliminates football because of program costs". The Dallas Morning News. p. 1A. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- League History & Records 2008 Southland Conference Football Media Guide, southland.org. Accessed December 18, 2008.