(02-08-2015 10:56 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  

(02-08-2015 10:50 PM)UTArlingtonMaverick Wrote:  Don't think there is a lot of interest at UT Arlington for starting f-ball. Some very good points have already been made. Especially in today's environment with the power five conferences pulling away from the rest, it makes even less sense to start from scratch. We have a president who is busy making high powered faculty hires and building the research enterprise. That is where the focus is, and I don't think there is any way he is getting distracted from that. And, that's where our location is a natural asset... Not starting freaking football program without overwhelming demand.

Btw, if you count the number of conference championships in all sports for the last 20 years that f-ball was around and count the number of championship for the next 20 years that football was gone, the comparison is not even close. The post football years won probably 20 times as many. I think I would rather have a narrower sports focus and enjoy more athletic success.

Question: Has UTA ever considered adding men's and women's soccer, swimming, etc.?

I don't know for sure, but, generally, I don't think there is a desire to add more sports. There would need to be some kind of statutory reason. Swimming would require a hell of a facility to be good. Once had swimming and it
was quite good back in simpler times when having a swimming dungeon facility was fine.

(02-08-2015 10:54 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  If UTA did start football would they face any challenges from Austin, ala UAB and Alabama? Or would the Horns' brass give UTA their blessing?

No, those in Austin will not stop UTA or any other UT school from having football. UTSA, you remember just started their program. UTA would though have to come up with a way to fund it. I'm not sure if they want to do that now.

(02-08-2015 10:54 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  If UTA did start football would they face any challenges from Austin, ala UAB and Alabama? Or would the Horns' brass give UTA their blessing?

Texas wouldn't care. UTSA recently started football. UTEP has played forever (since before it was a UT institution). Its weird that Tuscaloosa cares about UAB.

(02-08-2015 11:03 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(02-07-2015 09:54 PM)hawghiggs Wrote:  

(02-07-2015 09:41 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(02-07-2015 09:39 PM)hawghiggs Wrote:  No. UALR will never have a football program. Their are only two programs in Arkansas outside of the UofA and Astate Umbrellas that might possibly move up to FBS some day. UCA, Which is currently FCS and is the 4th largest college in the state. The other is Arkansas Tech, Which is Div II and 3rd largest college in the state. Neither of these get enough support to make the leap.

Neither have the money either.

Ah, the Good Ole Days where people tried to delude themselves into thinking that UCA would pass AState the minute they moved up to D1.

If UCA ever got it sh!t together it most likely would. But moving on and going forward. We most likely will see ATU move up to FCS.

Arkansas Tech to FCS......hmm.

They would make for an interesting addition to an FCS conference, probably the OVC if they can get into that.

I would think they'd likely join the Southland with UCA and the LA and TX teams in that league.

From a rules and practical standpoint.

Being in a conference that sponsors FBS football is a BIG advantage. It cleared the way for South Alabama. When the Sun Belt was in desperate need of members in 2004 Western Kentucky declined to move up but a few years later when they had things squared away, they had auto entry to the Sun Belt. If they had been in the OVC or Missouri Valley, they would have been unlikely to have a received an invite to the Sun Belt until a spot opened with the CUSA raids. They would be an FBS newcomer in the Sun Belt or still FCS rather than in CUSA.

Ask Liberty what it is like to desire FBS membership and not have a willing dance partner.

Now as to UTA and UALR.

UTA, I don't think has any serious push to return football and I think overall, they are a better athletic program today than they were when they sponsored football. Men's and women's basketball are better, baseball is better, softball is improved. Volleyball was pretty good but has been on a good run since. I think their men's golf is even better.

UALR has a lot of foundational work to do. Most years they are battling ULM for the most last and next to last place finishes in Sun Belt sports. They have the highest athletic fee of any Arkansas school and would need to dig up $6.3 million more per year to play football according to their new AD in addition to close to $10 million in one-time start-up costs. Even if they increased the annual operating budget by the 70% figure the new AD cites, they would be $5 million behind Arkansas State. As a start-up with in-state, in-conference competition that would be a significant gap operating on 75% of the budget of the established program you need to challenge. Currently UALR sponsors 14 sports (dropping women's tennis recently) and many sports do not offer the full NCAA limit of scholarships.

Central Arkansas going FBS isn't going to be on the near-term agenda. Their 8500 seat stadium is hemmed in and cannot add more than a few token seats on one side without demolishing a dorm. They have had a couple run ins with state auditors over improper spending on athletics because of revenue shortfalls. They are finally recovering from a big attendance dip that was partly because the state capped how much in tuition revenue can be diverted to fund scholarships and put tighter guidelines on scholarships (UCA was sending academic recruiters to high schools with the charge to find the most popular kid or two in a school and give them a full ride to try to swing more kids from the school to UCA, full rides were often given to the kids of business and political leaders with no criteria other than the kid be eligible for admission). Add to that having two presidents forced to step down because of criminal charges and they have some credibility to rebuild (to their credit board seems to have straightened things out).

As for other Arkansas schools that might contemplate Division I.

Harding University took a serious look at Division I but could not find a home because they wanted to make football non-scholarship and nothing came together that would accommodate being a full ride school in everything but football.

Arkansas Tech (ACT 15 GPA 2.00) has benefitted greatly by the enrollment dip at UCA and the increase in admission standards at Arkansas (ACT 20 GPA 3.00), Arkansas State (ACT 21 GPA 2.75), UCA (ACT 19 GPA 2.5), and UALR (ACT 19 GPA 2.5)

They need some facility work but the biggest hurdle is a home. They are probably just far enough out of the OVC footprint to not get a look (though with 12 OVC isn't likely to expand) and the bitterness of ATU vs. UCA is probably enough to have UCA campaign against a Southland admission. No one else can give them a home that provides football and basketball and the MVFC probably wouldn't take them for football.

A few years ago Harding probably could have squeezed their way into the Summit with UMKC and Oral Roberts in the conference, and then put football in the Pioneer League, but the Dakota-centric nature of the conference probably makes that unattractive now.

The WAC could be an option still, but the travel would be a huge change from Division I. Harding does play men's soccer, so they are still of use to the WAC.

while I generally agree with the idea that football (especially in Texas) offers a connection to alumni and if one looks at the numbers for UTA and carves out the students that are first time, full time college students 18-22yo UTA has the numbers to probably match with many Sunbelt members or exceed them

the fact is UTA has several other things they need to address first that would be more of a benefit to the overall university VS adding football......football should only be considered after those issues are addressed

1. a more residential campus and surrounding area with an student-centric off camps area

2. endowment

3. getting students (especially the first time, full time 18-22yos) engaged with their current sports that are successful

4. using all of the above (especially endowment dollars) to bring in higher profile faculty and gain recognition for many of their programs that are under recognized

5. using the first 4 to attract even higher caliber students looking for a "full time" university experience while not necessarily moving away from serving their non-traditional students

take care of the first 5 and football will take care of itself

(02-08-2015 10:54 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  If UTA did start football would they face any challenges from Austin, ala UAB and Alabama? Or would the Horns' brass give UTA their blessing?

My daughter graduated from UTA, she said the story is the the reason the UTA FB died was the powers that be at UT Austin did not want UTA to have a FB team during the time, competing for recruits, things have change since that time, you have UTSA, 70 miles away from the Austin flagship campus.

Now UTA football would be free content for the Longhorn Network . . .

(02-08-2015 11:15 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(02-08-2015 10:54 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  If UTA did start football would they face any challenges from Austin, ala UAB and Alabama? Or would the Horns' brass give UTA their blessing?

Texas wouldn't care. UTSA recently started football. UTEP has played forever (since before it was a UT institution). Its weird that Tuscaloosa cares about UAB.

Maybe they freaked when they saw how great UT's been doing lately...

(02-11-2015 08:26 PM)BIgCatonProwl Wrote:  

(02-08-2015 10:54 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  If UTA did start football would they face any challenges from Austin, ala UAB and Alabama? Or would the Horns' brass give UTA their blessing?

My daughter graduated from UTA, she said the story is the the reason the UTA FB died was the powers that be at UT Austin did not want UTA to have a FB team during the time, competing for recruits, things have change since that time, you have UTSA, 70 miles away from the Austin flagship campus.

that is not true at all

the 80s were a terrible time financially in Texas and UTA dropped football in 1985

Lamar dropped football in 1989 when they were their own system with their own BOR (VS being in the Texas State System now)

and north Texas state almost dropped football before dropping down to D1-AA in 1982 and they have their own BOR and did at that time as well

so schools well outside of the influence of the UT System were dropping football or dropping down in Texas in the 80s and UT had been doing pretty well in the early 80s as well so there was no need to see UTA as a threat tot heir success and if anything UTEP would have been a better "target" and I do not think that has ever even come up much less been seriously discussed

and even UTPD is looking at starting football now so if UTA wants to there should be nothing blocking them

(02-11-2015 10:09 PM)TodgeRodge Wrote:  

(02-11-2015 08:26 PM)BIgCatonProwl Wrote:  

(02-08-2015 10:54 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  If UTA did start football would they face any challenges from Austin, ala UAB and Alabama? Or would the Horns' brass give UTA their blessing?

My daughter graduated from UTA, she said the story is the the reason the UTA FB died was the powers that be at UT Austin did not want UTA to have a FB team during the time, competing for recruits, things have change since that time, you have UTSA, 70 miles away from the Austin flagship campus.

that is not true at all

the 80s were a terrible time financially in Texas and UTA dropped football in 1985

Lamar dropped football in 1989 when they were their own system with their own BOR (VS being in the Texas State System now)

and north Texas state almost dropped football before dropping down to D1-AA in 1982 and they have their own BOR and did at that time as well

so schools well outside of the influence of the UT System were dropping football or dropping down in Texas in the 80s and UT had been doing pretty well in the early 80s as well so there was no need to see UTA as a threat tot heir success and if anything UTEP would have been a better "target" and I do not think that has ever even come up much less been seriously discussed

and even UTPD is looking at starting football now so if UTA wants to there should be nothing blocking them

Oil prices started dropping in 1980 and declined all the way to 1986 when prices fell 46 percent. One third of all Savings and Loans failed between 1986 and 1995.

It was a tough period.

(02-11-2015 08:26 PM)BIgCatonProwl Wrote:  

(02-08-2015 10:54 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  If UTA did start football would they face any challenges from Austin, ala UAB and Alabama? Or would the Horns' brass give UTA their blessing?

My daughter graduated from UTA, she said the story is the the reason the UTA FB died was the powers that be at UT Austin did not want UTA to have a FB team during the time, competing for recruits, things have change since that time, you have UTSA, 70 miles away from the Austin flagship campus.

Complete nonsense. UT Austin had no influence or care and probably was barely aware that there ever was football at UT Arlington. All of this is getting to be a long time ago.