The Mavericks currently compete in the NCAA Division I Western Athletic Conference in 15 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.

UT Arlington won the Southland Conference's Commissioners Cup three times since the award was first instituted in 1998.

Volleyball, basketball and softball were the first three programs, competing in the AIAW until the teams moved under the umbrella of the NCAA in 1982–83.

Later, Memphis had to forfeit their win for "ineligible competition, impermissible benefits and failure to monitor its athletics programs.

"[8] On November 29, 2016, the Mavericks defeated the Texas Longhorns in Austin for the first time in program history after 11 attempts.

[citation needed] The terminated contract paid the Mavericks a large lump sum for each game played in Austin for six consecutive years (2011-2016).

The women's basketball team was established in 1973 and experienced early success with a combined 64–32 record in three seasons between 1975 and 1977.

[12] The Mavericks participated in several AIAW state and regional tournaments before joining the Southland Conference beginning with the 1982–83 season.

During this time span, highlights included a perfect 16–0 Southland Conference record for the 2006–07 season and two NCAA tournament appearances in (2005 and 2007).

UTA advanced to the Sun Belt Tournament final where the Mavericks earned a 76–62 win over number one seed Troy.

The baseball team plays at Clay Gould Ballpark, located at the southwestern edge of the UT Arlington campus.

In 2012, UTA earned their highest seed in the current format at three and played in the Waco Regional, going 0–2.

[15] UT Arlington is one of only three institutions in Texas to ever reach the NCAA Division I Volleyball Final Four.

UTA softball plays their home games at Allan Saxe Field, adjacent to Clay Gould Ballpark.

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.

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.

While several Freedom of Information requests uncovered two different feasibility studies, nothing public occurred in the ensuing years.

The men's golf team has won four Southland Conference Championships, while finishing as the runner-up eight times.

In their lone season in the WAC, the team finished in second place while they claimed their fourth individual conference champion.

Gilbert Smith and McClinton Neal have won national titles as a member of the Mavericks squad.

UT Arlington has long been a powerhouse in wheelchair basketball, the Movin' Mavs men's team has won ten National Wheelchair Basketball Association intercollegiate titles while the Lady Movin' Mavs women's team has two titles.

UTA maintains a relatively heated rivalry with North Texas Mean Green, though they haven't been members of the same conference since 1996.

However, as time progresses from UTA's departure from the Sun Belt, only men's basketball has maintained the rivalry.

The two Tarrant County teams play annually in games that generate high attendance from both schools.

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.