The UT 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, United States. 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 ove ...

, located in

Odessa, Texas Odessa () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, Ector County with portions extending into Midland County, Texas, Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, 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 College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(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 South Central states, with schools in Texas ...

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 The Heartland Conference was a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division II level, which was founded in 1999. The majority of members were in Texas, with additional members in ...

from 2006–07 to 2015–16; in the

Red River Athletic Conference The Red River Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference's 14 member institutions are located in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. History ...

(RRAC) of the

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

(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

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

Conference Championships

Lone Star Conference

Heartland Conference

Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC)

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)

Gallery

File:Texas–Permian Basin vs. Texas A&M–Commerce men's basketball 2018 11.jpg, Men's basketball game File:Texas–Permian Basin vs. Texas A&M–Commerce women's basketball 2018 14.jpg, Women's basketball game File:Texas–Permian Basin vs. Texas A&M–Commerce football 2017 04 (Texas–Permian Basin on offense).jpg, Football game File:Texas–Permian Basin vs. Texas A&M–Commerce soccer 2016 04.jpg, Women's soccer match File:Texas–Permian Basin vs. Texas A&M–Commerce volleyball 2017 02.jpg, Women's volleyball game

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Texas-Permian Basin Falcons