TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR SPECIAL CALLED
TELEPHONE MEETING of THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM BOARD OF REGENTS
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Austin, Texas
A. CONVENE THE BOARD IN OPEN SESSION TO CONSIDER AGENDA ITEMS
1. U. T. Arlington: Authorization to accept invitation from the Sun Belt Conference and to negotiate and finalize terms for athletic conference membership
Action: President Spaniolo, Mr. Burgdorf
RECOMMENDATION
The Chancellor concurs in the recommendation of the Interim Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel, and President Spaniolo that authorization be granted to U. T. Arlington to accept an invitation from the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) to become a member, and to negotiate and finalize terms for athletic conference membership.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On July 14, 2011, after receiving approval from the Board of Regents on the same day, U. T. Arlington accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference. U. T. Arlington is not scheduled to officially join the WAC until July 1, 2012.
However, since U. T. Arlington accepted the invitation to join the WAC, five member institutions have declared their intent to leave the WAC. The institutions that have announced their intention to join new conferences are: San Jose State University, Utah State University, Louisiana Tech University, Texas State University, and U. T. San Antonio. As a result,
the WAC is in a precarious situation and its future is in question.
Officials at
the SBC contacted U. T. Arlington in April 2012 to initiate a discussion about the possibility of U. T. Arlington leaving the WAC to join the SBC. President Spaniolo and Mr. Jim Baker, Athletic Director at U. T. Arlington, have engaged in several discussions with Mr. Karl Benson, Commissioner of the SBC, regarding U. T. Arlington joining the SBC.
The formal invitation to join the SBC was extended on May 7, 2012.
U. T. Arlington's current plan is to participate in the WAC until July 1, 2013, the proposed effective date for joining the SBC.
The SBC represents a more stable, equally competitive conference composed of similar institutions with comparable academic quality to U. T. Arlington. U. T. Arlington would be the second non-football institution in the SBC along with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
The SBC is geographically more compact, and thus travel costs and time away from the campus for U. T. Arlington student athletes should be less than in the WAC. In addition, Texas State University, a long time athletic rival and current member of the Southland Conference, who is moving to the WAC in July 2012 for one year, will be joining the SBC in July 2013.
Had the opportunity to join the SBC been available a year ago, U. T. Arlington would have moved in that direction.
Joining the SBC will build equity in a U. T. Arlington degree through greater national visibility and association with universities of similar enrollment, academic standing, and community size. U. T. Arlington has determined that a move to this new conference is consistent with the University's strategic plan to increase its national prominence in support of its goal to become a national research university. Competing in the new conference would leverage U. T. Arlington's efforts to upgrade the competitiveness of its 15 sports teams, particularly in men's and women's basketball.
There are
no exit fees involved with U. T. Arlington's departure from the WAC. The
entry fee payable to the SBC is
$300,000, and will be covered through a combination of Athletic Department funds and conference revenues payable to U. T. Arlington pursuant to the New Member Agreement with the SBC.
U. T. Arlington reports that revenues generated by U. T. Arlington from television and the NCAA are likely to be comparable or greater with the SBC than with those earned by the WAC.
http://www.utsystem.edu/sites/utsfiles/o...2012AB.pdf
![[Image: stewartfacepalm.jpg]](http://www.randomizer9.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/stewartfacepalm.jpg)
