By Cassie Logan | @c4ssielogan

ARLINGTON, Texas - The UT Arlington basketball programs are raising their standards of excellence and turning heads around the nation now more than ever before.

UTA is entering its third year of Sun Belt Conference competition and has rapidly become an anticipated date on schedules across the country. Last week, the league released its 2016-17 preseason polls voted on by coaches, and the Maverick men are slated to bring home its first ever Sun Belt Championship. Both teams also swept preseason Player of the Year honors headlined by junior standouts Kevin Hervey and Rebekah VanDijk.

Amid the rise to mid-major success, program personnel are thankfully looking back at one major event that acted as a catalyst for the surmounting hype surrounding UTA - the building of College Park Center and its revitalization of the Arlington community.

"It's just the tip of the iceberg we can continue to grow and build," Scott Cross, UT Arlington men's basketball head coach, said. "This honor, with the city of Arlington, the facility and academic reputation combined, this is definitely a program that can be a top-50 program in the very near future. Hopefully one day we can be able to compete for a national championship."

Opened in February 2012, one year prior to UTA's transition into the Sun Belt, CPC represents the university's vision for a championship-caliber future. So much so, the court is now home to the WNBA Dallas Wings, luring in the city's most dedicated basketball fans and linking the Mavericks to a professional organization.

The benefits of a $78 million, 7,000-seat arena upgrade not only impacted the community, but more importantly, it instilled an aura of distinction and class, bolstering UTA's coaches with a powerful recruiting tool that speaks truth in numbers. Higher attendance figures, quality wins against national powerhouses and rankings among the country's best, UTA increased its player value and the level of talent it's attracting to the program.

"If we didn't have this facility, who knows whether guys like Kevin Hervey, Erick Neal and Jalen Jones would be here," Cross said. "It was a huge boost and it shows the commitment from the university. I've been to a lot of places and for its size, it's the nicest arena anywhere in the country."

The men's team registered a program-best 24 wins through an unprecedented 2015-16 slate. Arguably the biggest wins in school history, the Mavericks upended Ohio State and Memphis in back-to-back road games, both streamed on ESPN networks. They had analysts predicting eventual NCAA Tournament runs for Cross and Co., and top-tier programs eager to test a dark horse, one written off to finish eighth in that year's conference preseason poll.

Luckily, the Mavs return all five starters and 10 letter winners that together ranked as high as 27th in the NCAA's RPI. It's also the same squad that led the nation in rebounds a game. Hervey and Neal, both November 2013 commits, have been thrust into the spotlight for the weight they've carried in rebranding this team. To play UTA is to fight a physical battle, and its depth can wither any opponent on any given night.

Despite missing the final 19 games of the season due to a knee injury, Hervey is now a household name around the league following an average 18.1 points and 9.8 boards in his 16 starts last year. The 6-9 junior was the only forward selected to the preseason first team All-SBC to pair with his player of the year prediction.

"It's huge shoes to fill and it makes me want to work harder than I already do," Hervey said. "What's more important to me is winning a championship."

Neal, the Mavs' second first team honoree, adds a certain swagger to the lineup with his ability to play with an effortless flare. He turned in 12.7 points and 6.2 assists per game last season and has quickly become a crowd and league favorite. The junior wrote history with the program's first triple-double (27 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists) on Jan. 28.

The Lady Mavericks have also continued to build from a foundation laid by a talented pool of recruits in recent years. The process is well respected from other programs in the league, whose coaches named VanDijk the Sun Belt's most feared player. UTA was slated third with three first place votes. In 2015, it was chosen second with one first place nod.

"I was excited for her because that is a sign of respect from the coaches in the league from what she's put together her freshman and sophomore years," Krista Gerlich, UT Arlington women's basketball head coach, said. "I'm pleased for her because I think she has made a lot of progress."

VanDijk arrived in 2014 and commanded a squad that went from just four wins in 2013-14 to 17 her freshman year. The feat set the record for the largest single-season win increase in school history. That year, the Lady Mavs reached the league's postseason tournament and were ranked 10th nationally in scoring defense. The 6-5 center also became SBC Freshman of the Year after 16 double-double performances, and is now only one of five Mavericks in history to record over 100 career blocks.

Cierra Johnson stands beside her as another fall 2013 commit and the connecting half of the heart of the Lady Mav lineup. The junior's play was recognized among the nation's elite last season as she was ranked 13th in NCAA Division I for 2.92 steals per game. Known to be a bulldog on the defensive side of the ball, Johnson also leveled up her offensive prowess to average double-digit scoring.

Both led UTA to Waco last November to face Baylor after receiving an invitation to the 2015 Preseason WNIT Tournament and later punched a ticket to New Orleans once again for postseason play. Both are players that Gerlich said she has been and will be able to build a supreme squad around.

So as the 2016-17 campaigns set to rise, so does a UT Arlington program that is rewriting its history, traditions and what it means to be a Maverick. College Park Center has motivated a movement for this school, and if there was ever a perfect time to live in MavCity, well, brace for a thrilling season.

"College Park Center is second to none," Gerlich said. "The administration had the right vision for what they wanted to build and how they wanted to represent UT Arlington Athletics. We have and want high caliber players, and they want to be very proud of where they play. CPC allows that for them."