The Texas–Permian Basin Falcons (also UTPB Falcons) are the athletic teams that represent the

University of Texas Permian Basin The University of Texas Permian Basin (UTPB) is a public university in Odessa, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTPB was authorized by the Texas Legislature in 1969 and founded in 1973. UTPB is now home to over 7,000 student ...

, located in

Odessa, Texas Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small section of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 census, ma ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in T ...

for most of their varsity sports since the 2016–17 academic year. A UTPB Falcons football team was added for the 2016 NCAA Division II football season to bring the total number of varsity teams to 16. UTPB previously competed in the D-II Heartland Conference from 2006–07 to 2015–16; in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its st ...

(NAIA) from 1998–99 to 2005–06; and as an NAIA Independent from 1995–96 to 1997–98.

History

Although early attempts were made to develop athletics at the university, such as a tennis team from 1979–88 and a rugby team for a short time, the university's position as an upper-level institution for junior, senior, and graduate students made long-term sustainability of athletic teams difficult. In 1991, the Texas State Legislature authorized UTPB to offer freshman and sophomore level courses, and within a year, a committee of faculty, staff, and community members assembled by UTPB President Charles Sorber investigated the potential for intercollegiate athletics. The committee recommended the creation of a limited program of athletics to increase student life and increase freshmen enrollment. In 1993, the legislature and the Board of Regents approved a student fee to help support an athletics program and authorized the creation of the current UTPB athletics. By 1994, the university had begun club sports on campus, and in 1995, the university joined the

(NAIA). Volleyball became the first intercollegiate sport in the fall of 1995. Softball and men's soccer and joined the athletic program in the following academic year; and the university joined the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The early 2000s brought more expansion to the UTPB athletic program when the students voted to increase the amount of student fees allocated to support of athletics. The Legislature and Board of Regents approved the fee increase in summer of 2001 and the university added women's soccer in the fall of 2001, followed by men's and women's basketball in the fall of 2002. The university began offering a limited number of athletic scholarships in 2003 and a second fee increase in the fall of 2003 allowed for the addition of five additional sports for the 2004-05 academic year, when the school added men's and women's cross country, men’s and women’s swimming, and baseball. Major changes to the athletic program occurred in 2006 when the university was approved for provisional membership in the NCAA. The university also became a member of the Heartland Conference. After a successful transition period, UTPB became a full member of the NCAA at the Division II level in the fall of 2008. The Falcons have seen success since joining the Lone Star, shocking the league in their first season by winning the men's basketball conference championship. They followed that season with a run to the South Central Regional Finals and reached the top-10 in the country in national polls. On November 2, 2020, Todd Dooley took over as Director of Athletics replacing the retiring Scott Farmer who served as AD since 2017. After the COVID pandemic forced the 2020 football season to be moved to the spring, the Falcons went 5-0 and finished undefeated for the first time in program history.

Varsity teams

UTPB competes in 16 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming & diving and tennis; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis and volleyball.

History

Varsity teams

Conference Championships

Lone Star Conference

Heartland Conference

Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC)

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)

References

External links