Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 71

TUESDAY EVENING NOVEMBER 26 1985 FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM 7D Variety of reasons contributed to UTA football death UTATOOTBALL By OK CARTER Star-Telegram Writer UT-Arlington's floundering football fortunes may have finally sunk under the sheer weight of deficit financing but a shortage of dollars was only the final fatal symptom The university's 23000 students gives it an enrollment roughly equivalent to TCU SNIU and Baylor combined Although enrollment and academics have prospered football at the area's largest college was much like a chronically ill patient weakened by multiple maladies for years that succumbed in the end to pneumonia The causes aren't the same as the effect Although the university has grown to rank among the state's five largest in the last two with particularly prestigious schools of engineering and business athletics never managed to keep pace In a decision that university administrators label "irrevocable" the University of Texas at Arlington will become the largest university in the state not to field a football squad University president Wendell Nedder'man cited a $950000 annual deficit and a pointed" said Skip Butler a record-setting kicker for the successful 1966-69 teams "Not having such good teams since then hasn't helped either" Competition for sports attendance and ticket sales in the area is stiff UTArlington unlike colleges such as Brigham Young or Oklahoma has tough competition for the often fickle fans of the area fans that seem to want to go only with winners The university's sports promotion staff and effort by comparison with other colleges of similar size is underfunded and understaffed That inability for self-promotion combined with lack of on-field success in the final diagnois may have strangled UT-Arlington football "Putting games in the win column that's what brings them in" said Wayne Coble an Arlington insurance agent and former city councilman who quarterbacked Arlington teams in 1953 and 1954 "(Coach Chuck) Curtis is smart and he's good and he offensive starters coming back next year I thought they'd give it three years to turn it around "But now it seems that we just don't have another year" ture employment than attending games She's in the majority On typical game nights a few thousand Arlington residents may attend but only a few hundred students will show That students weren't interested in football didn't escape Nedderman's attention He was at every home game and empty student stands were obvious Although UT-Arlington is the largest university in the Southland Conference it's I5000-seat stadium is easily the smallest So is its 5600 average attendance in a conference in which all other teams average more than 10000 The conference itself laden with what university basketball coach Bob LeGrand once jokingly described as "directional schools" North Texas State Northwest Louisiana Northeast Louisiana doesn't lend itself to intense rivalries or to attracting crowds "There's no question in my mind that the conference itself is part of the problem" said Richard Cole dean of the university's Institute of Urban Studies "The association isn't good for the university" Many UTA athletic supporters also blame media coverage or lack of it for the university's lack of athletic recognition "It seems pretty obvious that the people in Fort Worth don't want anything in their paper about Arlington and the Dallas people don't want anything in their papers" said Rusty Russell an Arlington attorney and former "Johnny Reb" spirit booster at the university "Take a look at the pitiful coverage they gave our (29-3 Southland Conference champion) women's volleyball team The UT-Arlington stuff gets put in the back of the sports section with the wresting results If the TCU team had gone 29-3 they would have been splashed in color photos all over the paper" Too the university's decision under pressure more than 15 years ago to change its name from Rebels to Mavericks still rankles many old alumni Attendance at games after the change never recovered despite the construction of a new stadium For better or worse a tradition and a hard core of supporters disappeared "I think basically that when the Rebel theme was dropped a lot of us were disap failure to develop broad-based support as key factors in making the decision Both critics and supporters of football at UT-Arlington however feel that causes of the program's demise are much more numerous Chief culprit seems to be a conception that UT-Arlington is a "commuter college" with few dormitories and with most students living elsewhere It's a belief that's only partially true since close to 55 percent of the university's students live in Arlington The university is however for many an economical "college of convenience" The student body's average age close to 24 is older than typical colleges Many are also graduate students holding jobs in addition to their studies and many are married For them the "rah-rah" years are often over "I've got better things to do on my Saturday nights than go to football games" said Andrea Brightwell a senior married student at UTA She's more concerned about finding fu Grubbs Vocational College Year W-L-T Coach 1919 1-3-1 Lt William Caine 1920 1-4-0 Lt William Caine 1921 3-3-1 CA Duval 1922 4-4-1 CA Duval Sports 'alive' at UTA North Texas Agricultural College ar i 4 4 f' I ip 4 a i 4W 'c 4 i 1 Ii 4 Is 4(J 11 -2 pr 49'( 1 7 J4z JL I Continued from Page 1 Those coaches -contacted this morning had not had the chance to discuss their programs' status with athletic director Bill Reeves or Upiversity president Dr Wendell Nedderman But each said the major setback will be having to gain an at-large bid to future NCAA playoffs as an independent "Going independent is a completely different ball game" assistant baseball coach John Mocek said "That's a lot more difficult path to travel Independents are judged solely on record and strength of schedule 1923 7-2-0 1924 2-5-2 1925 4-5-0 1926 6-3-0 1927 9-1-0 1928 7-3-0 1929 4-4-0 1930 6-1-3 1931 2-6-1 1932 3-6-0 1933 3-2-4 1934 8-2-1 1935 8-2-0 1936 6-3-1 1937 4-5-0 193810-1-0 1939 6-4-0 1940 5-5-0 1941 6-2-0 1942 2-3-1 1943 3-4-1 1944 2-6-0 1945 2-4-0 1946 6-4-0 1947 6-3-0 1948 4-5-0 CM Edens CM Edens JC Moore JC Moore JC Moore JC Moore JC Moore JC Moore JC Moore JC Moore EM Lambert EM Lambert Klepto Holmes Klepto Holmes Klepto Holmes Klepto Holmes Klepto Holmes Holmes Klepto Holmes Klepto Holmes Klepto Holmes Xlepto Holmes Klepto Holmes Klepto Holmes Klepto Holmes Klepto Holmes Star-TelegramJOE GIRON UT-Arlington president Nedderman reads the statement on the decision to discontinue its football program Arlington State College UTA had a rich football tradition 1949 1-9-0 Klepto Holmes 1950 0-6-2 Klepto Holmes 1951 3-4-1 Al MlIch 1952 8-1-1 Willie Zapalac 1953 8-1-0 Chena GlIstrap 1954 8-2-0 Chena GlIstrap 1955 7-3-0 Chena Gilstrap 1956 9-1-1 Chena Gilstrap 1957 12-0-0 Chena Gilstrap 1958 7-2-1 Chena GlIstrap (Senior College Years) 1959 4-3-0 1960 9-2-0 1961 7-3-0 1962 4-6-0 1963 1-8-0 1964 3-8-1 1965 6-3-0 1966 6-4-0 Chena GI Chena GlIstrap Chena GI Chena Gilstrap Chena Gilstrap Chena Gilstrap Chena Gilstrap Burley Bearden University of Texas-Arlington Conference championships in 1953 (8-1) in 1956 (9-1-1) and in 1957 (12-0-0) scoring 425 points while allowing just 62 with only Victoria Junior College and Cerritos (in the Little Rose Bowl) scoring two touchdowns against the defense Gilstrap's 13- year record was 85-40-3 UTA whipped TCU 24-7 in 1976 and 21-14 in 1979 under Bud Ellliott The Mays lost to TCU 12-3 in 1974 Elliott's first year when his team went HO Gilstrap became athletic director in 1966 and Burley Bearden took over as head coach Gilstrap was instrumental in getting UTA into the senior college division then know as the University Division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association The school had previously been In the College Division In the first year as a senior college coach in 1959 Gilstrap's team went 4- 3 He also was successful in his fight to get a bid from the Southland Conference in 1964 In Bearden's second year his team posted a glittering 10-1 record losing only to West Texas Texas Three times during the season the standing-room-only sign was hung out for home games at the old Memorial Stadium on the Arlington campus The stadium seated 10500 became the University of Texas at Arlington Among the football headlines the school has written through the years are these: In 1956 Arlington State College became the first non-California team to win the Little Rose Bowl in Pasadena by upsetting Compton Junior College of California 20-13 In 1957 the Rebels returned to the Little Rose Bowl with an undefeated team and defeated Cerritos Junior College of California 21- 12 Arlington State coach Chena Gilstrap tagged this as the best team he had in his 13 seasons as head coach As members of the Central Texas Conference they wrapped up championships in 1934 1935 1936 and 1938 Most of those came under Klepto Holmes who was head coach from 1935 through 1959 and finished with a 71-66-5 record In 1952 under Willie Zapalac Arlington State went 8-1-1 and outscored its opponents 283 to 98 Only Navarro scored more than two touchdowns against the Rebels Zapalac coached just one year and eventually became an assistant under Darrell Royal at Texas I Gilstrap was the school's most successful coach winning Pioneer By DICK MOORE StarTelegram Writer The Marines landed at North Texas Agricultural College in 1943 and NTAC became one of the strongest football teams in the Southwest These Marines were TCU and SMU football players whojoined the Corps and were dispatched to NTAC for schooling That 1943 team defeated SMU 20- 6 played a scoreless tie with Texas deflated Texas Tech 34-14 and barely lost to Randolph Field of San Antonio 20-13 Later Randolph Field played in the Cotton Bowl against the University of Texas NTAC lost its good Marine football players when they left for boot camp the next season and things returned to normal as SMU whitewashed NTAC 49-0 and Texas ripped them 614J Football and the school in Arlington have been dancing partners through four name changes since 1911 when as Grubbs Vocational College it played four games and won only one beating Polytechnic High School of Fort Worth 19-0 In 1923 the school's name was changed to North Texas Agricultural College and then to Arlington State College in 194920 years later it Elliott led UTA to its first Southland Conference championship in 1981 Although the team posted only a 6-5 record overall they were 4-1 in the conference Elliott was fired the week before his final game with North Texas State in 1983 and his team finished 5- 6 Chuck Curtis took his first college head coaching job the week before Christmas in 1981 His first team went 74 His last one was 4-6-1 losing the Southland Conference title by a total of six points Among the individual standouts through the years have been: Mike Baylor who passed for a school record 1714 yards in 1968 and finished with a career total of 4441 David Bates the transfer from Brigham Young became the first UTA passer to exceed 2000 yards with 2049 this season Roy Dewalt who was second only to Mike Baylor in career offense recently led British Columbia to the Grey Cup Championship in Canada Dexter Bussey who led UTA in rushing in 1978 and 1979 was a longtime fixture for the Detroit Lions Derrick Jensen the all-time leading rusher with 1266 yards in 1976 is still with the Los Angeles Raiders "We'll have some difficulty scheduling We won't have those seven conference weekends But we can work around that it's not a major problem" Track coach Monte Stratton said his program will basically lose just three meets Southland Conference meets in cross country indoor and outdoor track "That in itself is not a castrophe" Stratton said "We'll have to qualify for the national meet individually We'll continue to operate and hopefully operate very successfully" Basketball coach Bob 'Snake' Le-Grand said he heard the news on the radio on a bus trip to San Marcos "I'm not sure if it's good or bad for our program" LeGrand said "It's bad for the university I'll have to get back and talk to Dr Reeves "I hate to see football go So many things revolve around it There's going to be a lot of other people affected by it It's just such an integral part of the university So many things revolve around it" The women's programs may not have to go independent The programs still meet Southland Conference membership requirements Women's basketball coach Connie Kelch said her program if it went independent would suffer most by losing the opportunity at an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that goes to the conference champion "We'd have to play a real tough schedule to be thought of for an at-large bid" Kelch said "That meansa lot of road games" Volleyball coach Lisa Love's Lady Mays are practically playing as an independent anyway UTA won the SLC title Saturday but because the conference doesn't have an automatic bid in volleyball the Lady Mays are awaiting word on an at larger berth The programs may stand to gain financially with the football team abolished In 1985-86 more than $800000 in student service fees were allotted among the teams The athletic department will continue to have use of those funds (2875 percent of the overall student fees in 1985-86) But until the coaches have had the opportunity to sit down with Reeves no one is sure how they stand to gain financially Burley Bearden Burley Bearden Burley Bearden Burley Bearden John Symank John Symank John Symank Bud Elliott Bud Elliott Bud Elliott Bud Elliott Bud Elliott Bud Elliott Bud Elliott Bud Elliott Bud Elliott Bud Elliott Chuck Curtis Chuck Curtis 1967 10-1-0 1968 6-4-0 1969 5-5-0 1970 0-10-0 1971 2-9-0 1972 5-6-0 1973 4-6-0 1974 1-10-0 1975 4-7-0 1976 5-6-0 1977 5-6-0 1978 5-6-0 1979 9-2-0 1980 3-8-0 1981 6-5-0 1982 3-8-0 1983 '5-6-0 1984 7-4-0 1985 4-6-1 I Curtis surprised by decision Years Record Pct 1919-20 2-7-1 250 1921-22 7-7-2 500 1923-24 9-7-2 556 1924-32 41-29-4 581 1933-34 11-4-5 675 1935-50 71-66-5 518 1951 3-3-1 500 1952 8-1-1 850 1953-65 85-40-3 676 1966-70 27-24-0 529 1971-73 11-21-0 344 1974-83 46-64-0 418 1984-85 11-10-1 523 Coach Lt William Caine CA Duval CM Edens J0 Moore EM Lambert Holmes Al Mi ich Willie Zapalac Chena Gi Burley Bearden Johnny Symank Bud Elliott Chuck Curtis 1919-85 332-284-25 539 Totals Mays suffered with image problem OW MP do want to stay in coaching and my first preference is to stay in college coaching because I like it so much "I'm going to contact every major college about jobs that are open including Lamar and Texas Tech The tough part is telling the kids and letting them know what their options are "We'd like to get them placed Hopefully together we can fulfill our dreams at another location Hopefully I can get another job and recruit them to go with me" Nedderman said Curtis should not have been surprised by the university's action "It was made very clear that a number of things would have to change" Nedderman said "One of those was strong student participation and we have not been able to garner that support In my opinion this should not come as a surprise (to Curtis)" But it was Curtis said "I knew coming in there had been talk in the past about dropping the program but I thought I would at least get the three years (the extent of his contract worth $130(00 annually)" Curtis said "I think we could have done it in one more year" "I really felt I had covered all avenues" he said "I never turned down a speaking opportunity and my staff was the same way I think things were about to transpire when the limb was cut off "I think the student body and the low attendance (a 1985 average of 5600) really hurt us It goes back to economic figures but I think it's worth it for a university to reach into its pocket to support a program like this" Curtis who led the Movin' Mays tob records of 74 record in 1984 and 4-64 in 1985 came to UTA after taking Cleburne (134 to the state quarterfinals in 1983 His only previous college coaching experience was a two-year stint (1965-66) as offensive coordinator at SMU Nederman and Reeves spoke complimentarily of Curtis in announcing the decision Reading from a prepared statement Nedderman said: "We regret the necessity of dropping our football program It is especially difficult because of our high regard for coach Curtis and his staff as well as for the many fine young men on the football squad "Coach Curtis has earned our admiration as a person as a coach and as one who deals with young men in an exemplary fashion" "All of us were very confident in the work coach Curtis was doing" Reeves said "I don't think winning or losing the conference championship this year had anything to do with this It was just a financial thing and we felt like we just couldn't continue" By MARJORIE LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer UT-Arlington football coach Chuck Curtis said he thought that perhaps Dr Bill Reeves was going to tell him there had been a death in the family when the visibly shaken UTA athletic director asked Curtis to join him for lunch Monday Curtis said he was shocked when he found out it was the UTA football program that had died "I had no hint whatsoever that this was going to happen (this year)" Curtis said "I've known it was possible ever since I took the Job but I never expected it to happen" Dr Wendell Nedderman university president announced during a 2 pm press conference that because of a $950000 deficit in the athletic program and poor attendance UTA was dropping its football program The announcement brought many changes in Curtis' life the first of which was a change in his agenda for Monday's 4 pm team meeting He had planned to discuss an offseason physical-conditioning program for his players Instead he told them goodbye "All of our players and all of our coaches are hurt by this" Curtis said And Curtis who left Cleburne High School to take the UTA Job is wondering what his nextjob will be "I don't know what I'm going to do now" he said "My future's on hold I '4'4'44 's 'S Ii z(1' 7: NI if 1: Gil Le Breton Gil LeBrel After all Reeves knew "I'm not the one that had to raise the $950000" These are the times though that try an athletic program's pocketbooks Thanks to fee increases imposed by the Texas state legislature it costs UTA more than 10 times what it did to fund an out-of-state athlete a year ago ($4000 up from $400) In-state athletes' costs have likewise doubled ($900) When the National Collegiate Athletic Association's TV package was democratic and orderly UTA could depend on its share of the Southland's $400000 every two years But since the Oklahoma and Georgia suits UTA's TV share and exposure had dwindled to near-nothing These are tough times to be an NCAA Maverick Continued from Page 1 Sadly ironically football coach Chuck Curtis seemed on the front stoop of that success His second and final UTA team went 441 but was seven points from a seven-victory season and a Southland title Nineteen of 22 starters would have been back for 1980 But even with a new quarterback David Bates a transfer from Brigham Young breaking school passing records Curtis' team couldn't lure more than 5600 a game After all this is Dallas Cowboys territory And UT-Austin territory And Texas territory And TCU and SMU and alas it seems anything-but-UTA territory Personally I feel somewhat guilty even writing this In 312 years of doing this column this is the first one to even mention UTA football But read into this what you will in 32 years not once have I received a reader letter about INA sports As president Nedderman realized losing funds for a noble cause is one thing Losing money in a fog of apathy is something else "If I weren't so personally involved in the situation and naturally prejudiced" said Reeves "I'm not so sure I wouldn't have made the same decision" i 0 4 ').