ARLINGTON – The UTA men's and women's basketball programs have teamed up with Tykes U to create personalized caricatures of each team, Blaze, the coaching staffs as well as select university dignitaries to be used for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. UTA is the first and only Sun Belt Conference school to team up with Tykes and the Mavs are just one of two schools in the state of Texas to use Tykes (Houston).

The Tykes will be used as part of 'Tykes Thursdays' for UTA basketball games. Tykes could also be used for postseason tournaments (Sun Belt Conference Championship, NCAA Tournament, NIT, WNIT, etc.) as part of the 'Tournament Tykes' initiative for UTA hoops. Fans will see Tykes used on social media graphics, on UTAMavs.com for game previews, in game notes, on game programs/posters and also on video board and marketing collateral. Tykes will also be used in some capacity in marketing efforts during the rest of the season, with t-shirts, fatheads and in-game on the College Park Center video boards.

Based out of Charlotte, N.C., Tykes is a graphic design company that creates customized cartoon character or avatars of celebrities and athletes.

"Working with UT Arlington has been a fantastic experience for Tykes," said Tykes CEO Jason Woullard. "We embrace schools who are looking to expand their brand while taking marketing and recruiting to the next level. UTA has an outlook and a plan that aligns with the Tykes vision, which is why we believe this is a great beginning to a partnership that will enhance the marketability of a school on the rise."