Texas – Arlington Mavericks The Texas – Arlington Mavericks ( abbreviated UTA , and Mavs ) are the athletic teams that represent the University of Texas at Arlington . The Mavericks compete in the NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference in 14 varsity sports . 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 . 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 . A new arena called the College Park Center is now the host facility for basketball and volleyball home games as well as other university activities . It also houses much of the Athletic Department staff , which relocated from the Gilstrap Athletic Center at Maverick Stadium . The arena opened February 1 , 2012 and seats approximately 7 , 000 people . The Mavericks ' team name selection was made in 1971 , predating the National Basketball Association ' s expansion franchise Dallas Mavericks ' starting choice in 1980 . Jim Baker is the current Athletic Director . Prior to his stint at UTA , he was an associate athletic director for events , operations and sports programs for the Texas Longhorns at the University of Texas at Austin . Baker replaced Pete Carlon , who headed the Athletic Department from 1996 to 2012 , and is currently the Senior Athletics Director for Administration . Team list . The Mavericks compete in the Division I varsity sports listed below : Men ' s sports Women ' s sports 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 . " Although only 16 of 54 seasons have resulted in an overall winning record , 5 of the past 6 seasons have winning records , including a school record 24 wins in the 2011 - 2012 season . They won the Southland Conference regular season championship along with a tie for the 2004 regular season champion and a 2008 conference tournament championship that led to their first NCAA Tournament appearance . Women ' s basketball . The women ' s basketball team was established in 1972 and experienced early success with a combined 64 - 32 record in three seasons between 1975 and 1977 . The Mavericks participated in several AIAW state and regional tournaments before joining the Southland Conference beginning with the 1982 - 83 season . Between 2004 and 2010 , the team posted an overall record of 121 - 65 . During this time span , highlights have included a perfect 16 - 0 Southland Conference record for the 2006 - 07 season and two NCAA tournament appearances ( 2005 and 2007 ) . Baseball . The baseball team plays at Clay Gould Ballpark , located at the southwestern edge of the UT Arlington campus . The inaugural season was in 1969 . Highlights include Southland Conference regular season championships in 1990 and 1992 along with tournament championships in 2001 , 2006 and 2012 . The team also won a share of the 2013 Western Athletic Conference conference regular season title . Volleyball . The first season for volleyball at UT Arlington was in 1973 . The volleyball team appeared in the national rankings in the ' 70 ' s during their time in the AIAW and towards the end of the 1980s in the NCAA . They advanced to the NCAA Volleyball Final Four in 1989 . They have appeared in 16 AIAW National and NCAA Tournaments Football . UT Arlington began play as a junior college in 1919 and played at that level until 1958 . They won Junior Rose Bowls in 1956 and 1957 , as well as the Junior College National Championship , as Arlington State College . After becoming a four - year University , UTA fielded a College Division ( Division II today ) football program as an independent from 1959 - 1963 , joined the Southland Conference in the College Division from 1964 to 1970 , a University Level ( Division I ) program from 1971 to 1981 and a Division I - AA program from 1982 to 1985 . Home games were played in Maverick Stadium beginning in the 1980 season . UTA earned conference championships in 1966 , 1967 and 1981 . In 1967 , the team won the Pecan Bowl against the North Dakota Fighting Sioux , the only bowl game in its history . The team was disbanded after the 1985 season due to major financial losses ( nearly one million dollars per year ) and low home game average attendance ( 5 , 600 with 23 , 100 students ) . By the end , the program was funded by the university ' s auxiliary enterprise income while the other 14 sports were under - funded , as football accounted for half the total athletic budget . In April 2004 , UT Arlington students voted by a 2 - to - 1 margin to increase their student athletic fees by $ 2 per semester - credit hour should the university reinstate football and begin women ' s golf and soccer teams . President James D . Spaniolo , who just began his post leading the school , decided to pursue a new multi - purpose venue , which materialized when College Park Center opened in 2012 . He also made the announcement to relook at adding football in five years . Softball . UTA softball plays their home games at Allan Saxe Field , adjacent to Clay Gould Ballpark . The Mavericks began play in 1973 and have compiled a record of 1 , 216 – 1 , 040 - 9 , a winning percentage of . 539 . Along the way , they have won five Southland Conference regular season titles and one tournament title . Their lone appearance in the NCAA tournament came in 2003 , where they went 2 - 2 . Prior to competing in the NCAA , the Mavericks were members of the AIAW , where they competed in two Women ' s College World Series tournaments . The team has won 12 Southland Conference regular season championships , including the first 9 from 1982 to 1990 as well as 10 Southland Tournament crowns . Other sports . The men ' s golf team has won four Southland Conference Championships , while finishing as the runner - up eight times . During that time , they had the individual champion three times . In their lone season in the WAC , the team finished in second place while they claimed their fourth individual conference champion . Despite being two seasons removed from participating in the Southland , UTA is still in second place for most team championships . In track & field , the men ' s team has won seven outdoor and eight indoor Southland Conference championships . The women ' s team has won six outdoor and seven indoor championships . The teams call Maverick Stadium their home . The facility has hosted numerous conference championship meets , as well as various regular season meets . The men ' s cross country team lays claim to five conference titles : three SLC titles , one WAC in its first and only year there , and one SBC in its first year while finishing as the runner ups seven times . The men are currently back - to - back conference champions . Additionally , UTA has had seven individual champions . Overall , the team has earned four runner of the year ' s , two freshman of the year ' s and four coaches of the year ' s . Current coach John Sauerhage has won three , all in different conferences . On the women ' s side , the team has earned four team conference championships , three individual titles , three runner of the year ' s , one freshman of the year and two coach of the year ' s . They have finished as runner up at the conference meet eight times . The men ' s tennis team has won seven regular season championships in the Southland Conference , including a streak of 5 in 6 years from 1998 to 2003 . The women ' s team has seen similar success , also winning seven championships with a streak of 6 in 7 years from 1999 to 2005 . The UTA Tennis Center is the home for the programs . School spirit . The school ' s colors are blue and white with orange becoming more prominent . The school mascot is a horse named Blaze . UTA ' s former fight song , Dixie , coincided with the school ' s Rebel mascot . After the mascot became more and more controversial , the fight song was changed and the current edition , the UTA Fight Song , was born . Alma Mater . < poem > Dear School we love , You are our Alma Mater , And through the years , Our faith we shall proclaim . We are each one , A loyal son or daughter , Our song of praise , Shall glorify your name . Dear School we love , Forever Arlington . Forever Arlington ! < / poem > Fight Song . < poem > Blue , white , we ’ ve got the might , Mavericks , we ’ re gonna fight Shout our praises to the sky v - i - c - t - o - r - y Go big Mavericks All the way Mavericks , Fight Fight ! Go big Mavericks UTA Mavericks Fight , Fight Go Mavs ! ! < / poem > Rivalries . UTA currently maintains a primary rivalry with the Texas State Bobcats , a team which has been a conference rival every year since 1987 , despite the two schools belonging to three different conferences in that time frame . UTA leads the all - time series in football ( 2 - 0 ) , volleyball ( 41 - 30 ) and softball ( 58 - 48 ) while the Bobcats lead in men ' s ( 29 - 30 ) and women ' s basketball ( 27 - 33 ) as well as baseball ( 38 - 56 ) . UTA also maintains a relatively heated rivalry with North Texas Mean Green , though they haven ' t been members of the same conference since 1996 . Primarily because the teams are only thirty miles apart and are in only Division I public universities in the Dallas – Fort Worth metroplex , the various sporting events between the two are some of the most attended of the year for each team . With UTA beginning Sun Belt membership in 2013 , they resumed conference rivalries with the Arkansas State Red Wolves , Louisiana – Lafayette Ragin ' Cajuns and Louisiana – Monroe Warhawks , who were all members of the Southland Conference at various points during UTA ' s tenure . Sports rivalries began at UT Arlington while it was a junior college known as the North Texas Agricultural College . A fierce rivalry developed in the 1930s with John Tarleton Agricultural College since both schools held junior college status in the Texas A & M system . Similar to the Aggie Bonfire tradition at the College Station campus , the host of the yearly football game between these teams built a bonfire . In 1939 , two NTAC students flew a Taylorcraft Aircraft to the JTAC campus and dropped a phosphorus bomb on the bonfire to light it prematurely . While the plane was flying low after the bomb was dropped , a JTAC student was able to throw a piece of wood into the propeller and cause the plane to crash . The students were dragged from the wreckage and a ' J ' was shaved into their heads . Bonfires were canceled after this event . Notable athletes . The baseball and football programs have produced several notable athletes .