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Clay Gould Ballpark

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The UT Arlington Mavericks baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Texas , United States. The team is a member of the Western Athletic Conference , which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I . The team plays its home games at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington, Texas . The Mavericks are coached by Mike Trapasso .

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39-526: Clay Gould Ballpark (formerly Allan Saxe Stadium and Arlington Athletic Center ), the home field of the UT Arlington Mavericks , is located on the campus of The University of Texas at Arlington (UT Arlington). The stadium has a seat capacity of 1,600. Clay Gould Ballpark is located at the intersection of West Park Row Drive and Fielder Road. Undergoing constant renovation, the stadium features are steadily changing and growing to increase

78-416: A 6,000-square-foot (560 m) indoor practice space. It contains batting cages, pitching mounds and the ability to allow for an open practice when needed. The Mavericks' bullpen is between the clubhouse and playing field and is located just past first base. The visitor's bullpen is located down from the visitor's bullpen at third base in left field, at the edge of the stadium. There are four light poles in

117-475: A child, he was diagnosed with polio and remained bedridden for several months. The illness caused a lifelong case of mobility issues, panic attacks , vertigo and nausea . In April 2018, Saxe married Ruthie Brock, his partner of 40 years. In August 2020, Saxe disclosed that he had Parkinson's disease and was living comfortably in Arlington. He died on June 18, 2024, at the age of 85. In 1965, Saxe

156-551: A clause that allowed them to control events at the now renamed Arlington Stadium 24 hours before and after their games. The teams shared Arlington Stadium for the 1973 season. Originally named the Arlington Athletic Center, the stadium was built in conjunction with the softball venue, now known as Allan Saxe Field, on the southwestern most corner of the University campus. The Center was a joint venture with

195-474: A new press box, replacing the previous open-air facility, a rebuilt grandstand, a shaded canopy over a portion of the seats, and a new lighting system. Capacity was expanded from 1,000 to 1,200. Professor Saxe also contributed to renovations for UT Arlington softball field. The baseball stadium was renamed to Allan Saxe Stadium in 1995, while the softball venue kept the Allan Saxe Field moniker. In

234-411: A record 81 times, more than any other team, followed by former Southland Conference foes McNeese State and Lamar with 62 and 57 respectively. Baylor fourth with 56, while Louisiana Tech rounds out the top five with 54 trips to The Gould. Texas State, the three-time conference opponent, is right behind at 53. Clay Gould Ballpark was home to the 1990 and 1992 Southland Conference regular season champions,

273-783: A season. Clay Gould Ballpark routinely hosts major opponents, including the Big XII's Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech, the Pac-12's Utah, the SEC 's Alabama, Arkansas and Texas A&M and the Big Ten's Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern. For the 2023 season, notable home games scheduled at Clay Gould Ballpark are TCU, Oklahoma and Dallas Baptist as well as five three-game series' against Sun Belt conference opponents, including in-state rival Texas State. The Mavericks have played TCU at Clay Gould

312-598: Is a scholarship for disabled students at the University of Texas at Arlington who excel academically. UNT lists the Ruth Brock and Allan Saxe Scholarship in Library Science as an available scholarship for students. Saxe donated $ 100,000 to have a 50-foot tall sculpture erected between AT&T Stadium and Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. In August 2020, Saxe announced his pledge to donate $ 10,000 to homeless shelters across Arlington, Texas. In 1972, Saxe won

351-532: Is alumnus Roy D. Wilson and his wife Patti, who have been Maverick baseball supporter for many years. Wilson's son was a frequent participant in UT Arlington baseball summer camps before he died in 2010 at age 13. The UT System board of regents approved $ 5.5 million to continue renovations at the stadium in August 2013. The funds financed work that included the construction of a clubhouse on stadium grounds near

390-502: Is by far the most for any Maverick coach and still second all-time in the Southland. His teams won two Conference Championships, were runners-up six times and participated in two NCAA tournaments. He occasionally landed in national rankings as well. His players earned four pitcher-of the-year awards, one player of-the-year, one hitter-of-the-year and three newcomer-of-the-year while he, himself, won four coach-of-the-year honors. In 1994,

429-476: The Washington Senators were on the verge of relocating from Washington, D.C. They began preparations for an on-campus venue to avoid the scheduling conflicts that would emerge from a college team sharing a major league team's stadium, particularly later in the season after the professional season began. The relocation caused the team to go to Randoll Mill Park for two seasons. The Texas Rangers had

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468-425: The '99 season. Gould died of Colon Cancer on June 23, 2001. The renaming was urged by Professor Saxe and coincided with a fundraiser to further enhance the stadium, with a new exterior and entryway, press box improvements, replacement of a chain link outfield fence with wooden fencing and a batters eye, expanded seating capacity and a new state-of-the-art lighting system, replacing the inadequate existing lights to allow

507-497: The 2001, 2006 and 2012 Southland Conference tournament champions, the 2013 Western Athletic Conference regular season co-champions and the 2017 Sun Belt West Division champions. A short film directed, written and produced by Clay's wife Julie Gould, and starring their child Logan Soul Gould, debuted at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas , was shot on the UT Arlington campus and Clay Gould Ballpark. This film, "8", took home

546-539: The 2011 Texas Shorts Jury Prize Award. Besides UT Arlington baseball, the diamond has played host to the Texas State Junior College Tournament, the state American Amateur Baseball Congress Connie Mack and American Legion Tournaments and numerous high school playoff games. It also served as the venue for Major League tryout camps. Nolan Ryan , Alex Rodriguez , Roger Clemens , Ozzie Smith and Ian Kinsler have made appearances at

585-747: The Allan Saxe Dental Clinic, the Allan Saxe Field , and the Allan Saxe Parkway (the latter a tongue-in-cheek honor; the "Parkway" leads to the Arlington city landfill and was named after his critiques of city council actions). Grants, loans and charities bear his name. The Allan Saxe NT Green Loan is a loan offered to students of the University of North Texas for unexpected expenses outside of tuition, fees and books. The Allan Saxe Disabled Student Scholarship

624-543: The City of Arlington with an initial seating capacity of 10,000, Was their home for the 1969, '70 and '73 seasons while a local civic park, Randoll Mill Park, was home for the 1971 and '72 seasons (two rescheduled games in 1973 were played at Randoll Mill Park). During that time, the Mavericks amassed a home record of 23-28 at Turnpike Stadium while sporting a 35-26 mark at Randoll Mill Park. UT Arlington athletic officials knew

663-456: The City of Arlington. The stadium stayed as completed until the field was replaced in 1986. Change has been a constant at the home of the Mavericks as UTA fans and visitors to the facility would be hard-pressed to go to Clay Gould Ballpark consistently in any five-year period without noticing a major upgrade or renovation. After the conclusion of the 1986 season, the playing surfaced was completely upgraded, which entailed an entire regrading of

702-474: The Mavericks finished four games under .500, breaking a streak of 14-straight winning seasons. It marked the first of six-consecutive sub-.500 years, until he retired after the 1999 season. Clay Gould was hired as the fourth coach in Maverick history. He played for the Mavericks in the early 1990s during their two NCAA tournament runs and was named the 1993 Southland Conference Player-of-the-Year. His first year

741-597: The ballpark for individual workouts, commercials, camps and clinics. 32°43′19″N 97°07′52″W  /  32.722021°N 97.131157°W  / 32.722021; -97.131157 Texas%E2%80%93Arlington Mavericks baseball The UTA Mavericks began intercollegiate baseball in 1969 as the Athletic Department moved from the College Division to the University level, which required schools to sponsor more sports than UTA did at that time. As

780-586: The center grandstand. The following year, a "brag board" was added immediately next to the scoreboard in left center field that lists the UT Arlington players who have made the Major League Baseball level as well as the retired numbers of the UT Arlington Mavericks baseball program. There are currently 11 Major League Mavericks and three retired numbers, two of which are former coaches. Construction of an indoor practice facility

819-407: The fan and player amenities. Fans enter the stadium through a brick entrance way behind home plate. Just to the west of the entrance is a three-booth ticket window. Clay Gould is composed of three grandstands: the main section behind home plate, which is composed entirely of chair-back seats with partial cover from a metal awning, and two aluminum bleachers, one on the first-base line and the other on

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858-508: The field, re-sodding of the grass-playing surface, new irrigation system, infield dirt mixture and the addition of a warning track. In the summer of 1992, following two conference titles in three years, box seats were added directly behind home plate, a new backstop, minor renovations to the press box and minor field upgrades. Prior to the 1994 season, the Arlington Athletic Center was renamed to Allan Saxe Field after popular Professor Allan Saxe 's gifts made renovations possible, which included

897-1299: The fifth time in program history. In 2013, as the team played their first and last season in the Western Athletic Conference , the team was co-champions with California State University-Bakersfield. In 2017, the team won a program record 20 conference games en route to a West Division championship in the Sun Belt. Since 2013, the baseball team annually plays one game against a Division I opponent in Globe Life Park .        National champion          Postseason invitational champion          Conference regular season champion          Conference regular season and conference tournament champion        Division regular season champion        Division regular season and conference tournament champion        Conference tournament champion Allan Saxe Allan Saxe (February 1939 – June 18, 2024)

936-401: The first base side, next to the indoor practice facility. In addition to a clubhouse for Allan Saxe Field, the renovation provided upgrades and improvements with a new home dugout, new outfield fencing, a picnic area for fans between the visitors dugout and bullpen, a new public address system and stadium branding. Work began following the completion of the 2014 season and was completed just after

975-567: The only founding member of the Southland Conference to not offer the sport, UTA immediately had a conference home. Tom Beasley became UTA's first head coach. After two losing seasons, Fred Mathews Took the helm and guided the Mavericks to their first winning season and a second-place finish in the SLC. He coached for two more seasons before a legend would guide the Mavericks for the next 26 seasons. Butch McBroom amassed 756 wins, which

1014-457: The outfield and two on each foul line, for a total of eight light poles. Out front of the stadium is an L-shaped, 318-space parking lot, shared with nearby Allan Saxe Field and the UTA intramural fields. When UT Arlington first fielded a baseball program in 1969, they played their home games at two different venues. Turnpike Stadium , a minor league stadium first owned by Tarrant County and then

1053-454: The press box is just to the left as one enters the stadium, via either a stairway or elevator. On the first base side is the Mavericks' clubhouse, which includes a combination locker room-lounge for the players, coach offices and locker rooms, sports training facility, equipment and laundry rooms, mud room and a welcome lobby. The clubhouse is adjacent to the Justin D. Wilson batting facility,

1092-596: The season, Coach Gould was battling colon cancer, and he died shortly after the season ended. Jeff Curtis succeeded Coach Gould in 2002 and in 2006, UTA won their second Southland Conference tournament. Former Head coach Darin Thomas , who was an assistant coach under Clay Gould and associate head coach with Jeff Curtis, officially took the reins in 2008. In 2012, his team won the Southland Conference Tournament to advance to an NCAA regional for

1131-463: The stadium to play night games for the first time. Clay Gould's memorial plaque was unveiled at the main entryway during the dedication of the newly renamed stadium on April 26, 2003, prior to a conference game with Louisiana-Monroe. A Daktronics Prostar LED Display video board replaced the older, outdated scoreboard in left center field in 2009. Additionally, the fan experience was upgraded as well by adding new seats to replace worn, older seating in

1170-460: The start 2015 season. Previously, Maverick baseball players had to dress out of Maverick Stadium , across and down West Mitchell Street, and drive the half-mile to Clay Gould Ballpark, then return to shower after games or practices. Amidst the 2019 season, the Mocek Patio, debuted and allowed rental of an outdoor picnic area. The new feature was named after John Mocek and his wife Pattye. John

1209-420: The third-base side. There is a small section of ground-level, chair-back seating in front of the main grandstands, directly behind home plate. Underneath the center section is a concession stand while the men's restroom is behind the first-base stands and the women's is behind the third-base seating. Above the center seats is a press box that contains space for print media and two broadcast booths. The entrance to

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1248-465: The winter of 1998, a new three-foot high was added that spanned from dugout to dugout, adding one of the first aesthetically-appealing additions to the Stadium, as well as replacing the net backstop. Allan Saxe Stadium was once again renamed a few years later after Clay Gould, a UT Arlington player from 1989 to 1993, an assistant coach from 1997 to 1999 and named the program's fourth head coach following

1287-531: Was a former player and assistant coach with the program before moving to the overall Athletic Department, serving in various capacities. He also currently serves as the color commentator for the ESPN broadcasts of UTA baseball games. John Mocek's fifty years within the Athletic Department was honored in the 2023 season. The Mocek Patio is set to receive future additions, including an outdoor kitchen and upgraded furniture. A renovated turf warning track and drainage system

1326-607: Was a rebuilding year, but in 2001, UTA won their first Southland Conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Against the Houston Cougars, Craig Martin, who retired as UTA's all-time hits leader and is still currently UTA's all-time doubles leader, hit a late-inning home run to win UTA's first NCAA tournament game. UTA's two losses were to host Rice University, which advanced to the Super Regional. During

1365-580: Was also a radio political commentator, mainly contributing for programs on WBAP (AM) . He also made some commentary contributions for CBS . Saxe's mother left him $ 500,000 upon her death which he gave away to charitable organizations. He has funded the Christmas lights in downtown Arlington, Texas , as well as paid for efforts to keep traffic flowing in the area for light viewing. Landmarks throughout Arlington, Texas , are named after Saxe in honor of his generous giving. These include Allan Saxe Park,

1404-521: Was an American political scientist , author, lecturer, radio commentator, philanthropist and academic. He was the professor emeritus of political science at the University of Texas at Arlington , where he started as a faculty member in 1965. Saxe was born in February 1939 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma . He earned his Ph.D in political science at the University of Oklahoma in the year 1969. As

1443-600: Was hired by Arlington State College to teach government courses during the summer semester. After the semester ended, he became a full-time faculty member of the university. He would continue to teach at the university until February 2019 when he retired due to health issues relating to post-polio syndrome . Saxe published one book titled Politics of Arlington, Texas: An Era of Continuity and Growth and co-authored one other titled American Government: A Core Approach . He also published in several political journals and magazine articles. Aside from writing and teaching, Saxe

1482-454: Was installed prior to the 2020 seasons first pitch. Despite a new scoreboard in 2009, an additional renovation of the scoreboard and installation of a new video board was completed in 2021. Further renovations are in the planning phase. The Mavericks have maintained a winning record of 920–566 on their home field, for a winning percentage of .619 (as of the end of the 2024 season). During that time, UT Arlington has averaged over 20 home wins

1521-400: Was started and completed during the offseason prior to the 2013 season. The $ 1.95 million venue was built in conjunction with an indoor practice space at the softball field, allowing practices to occur during inclement weather. The Justin D. Wilson batting facility was funded with a large portion of previously approved bond proceeds, but also included philanthropic support. Among those supporters

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