Come One, Come All

Fans have a lot to enjoy at College Park Center when they catch a game: exciting sports, a ton of Maverick spirit, and now, a reimagined in-game experience.

The Buck ’Em Saloon is an area with high-top tables and space for congregating in an area just behind the south baseline for Maverick basketball and volleyball games. Daniel Castagna, a broadcast major from Houston, says the Buck ’Em Saloon makes for a great bonding experience at games.

“You can mingle together,” Castagna said. “It’s the joy of coming down, having school spirit.”

That same area is transformed for Saturday games into Blaze’s Corral, with attractions like a bounce house and balloon artists.

Associate Athletics Director Richard Haifley instituted the changes, borrowing from both the WNBA Dallas Wings, who play at UTA, and from his experiences working in pro sports.

“Families caught on to what we’re doing,” Haifley says. “Then we had the students starting to pick up interest.”

Athletics Director Jon Fagg says it’s part of the plan to bring the community to UTA.

“Athletics is the front door and the front porch of most large universities,” he says. “We’re trying to be that front door, that marketing arm that reaches people in a more organic fashion than a marketing campaign.”