NEW ORLEANS – Despite sponsoring three fewer sports than the league maximum, the UT Arlington Department of Athletics posted a record 2nd-place finish in the 2018-19 Bubas Cup, the Sun Belt Conference's all-sports award which recognizes overall competitive success.
 
The Mavericks totaled 115 points for their 2nd-place finish, representing the department's best showing in six years as a Sun Belt member and bettering 3rd-place finishes in both 2016-17 and 2014-15 as the highest in UTA history.
 
Texas State won its first Bubas Cup with 132.5 points. The Mavs finished ahead of four-time defending champion South Alabama – which sponsors all but one SBC sport – with 113 points, and also in front of 4th-place Appalachian State – which sponsors all 18 SBC sports – with 110.5 points.
 
Points for the Bubas Cup are awarded based on regular-season finish for sports which have a conference schedule; for those which don't, points are awarded based on Sun Belt Championship finish. For sports which have both a regular-season schedule and a conference tournament, one additional point is awarded to the winner of the conference tournament.
 
Complete 2018-19 Bubas Cup Standings, Further Scoring Explanations & Previous Cup Winners
 
"I want to congratulate all our student-athletes and coaches on the best overall athletic year UTA has had since joining the Sun Belt – without them, none of this success would be possible," said UTA Director of Athletics Jim Baker. "It's also a great recognition for the whole department as it truly does take an entire team of staff members to achieve this milestone.
 
"I'd like to also thank all of the support we've received from University President Dr. Vistasp Karbhari and the rest of the university leadership," Baker continued. "Their continued investment certainly plays an integral role in our achievements. It's a true testament that we're doing things the right way, and we're extremely excited for the future. It's certainly a great time to be a Mav!"
 
UTA won tournament championships in men's cross country and men's indoor track & field, while women's basketball claimed a regular-season title to highlight the Mavs' overall success in 2018-19. However, UTA was steady across the board as 14 of 15 sports secured at least five points, and 12 of those earned at least seven points to aid in the Mavericks' best finish in any conference all-sports competition since 2004, when they were a member of the Southland Conference and won three SLC Commissioner's Cup trophies.
 
In keeping with the consistent theme, UTA has been exactly that since entering the SBC in 2013-14. In fact, in its six years as a league member, UTA has averaged the 3rd-best Bubas Cup finish (3.83), ranking behind only South Alabama (1.50) and Texas State (2.00). The Mavs' posted 6th- and 5th-place finishes in 2013-14 and 2017-18, but otherwise have finished in the top-4 in all of the other four years.
 
2018-19 Vic Bubas Cup Standings
1) Texas State: 132.5
2) UT Arlington: 115
3) South Alabama: 113
4) Appalachian State: 110.5
5) Arkansas State: 102.5
6) Coastal Carolina: 100.5
7) Troy: 100
8) Georgia State: 88
9) Georgia Southern: 79
10) Louisiana: 76
11) Little Rock: 65
12) ULM: 56
 
About The Bubas Cup
The Sun Belt Conference's annual all-sports championship trophy, the "Bubas Cup," is named after the conference's first commissioner.
 
A native of Gary, Ind., Vic Bubas graduated from Gary Lew Wallace High School in 1944. Bubas was a two-time all-conference selection at North Carolina State, helped the Wolfpack win four Southern Conference titles and played in the 1950 NCAA Final Four.
 
He graduated in 1951 and stayed on as an assistant coach at NC State until 1959, at which time he was named the head basketball coach at Duke. He took the Blue Devils to the Final Four in 1963, 1964 and 1966. Duke was ranked in the top-15 of the nation in eight of his 10 seasons as head coach. Bubas posted a career record of 213 wins and 67 losses, winning an astonishing 76.1 percent of his games. He served as a Duke administrator from 1969-1976, including the last three years as vice president of the university.
 
On Oct. 6, 1976, Bubas was named the first Commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference. He was named by the NCAA to the prestigious Division-I Basketball Committee in 1979 for a six-year term, and served as chair of the prestigious group for the 1984-85 season. Bubas served as Sun Belt Conference Commissioner for 14 years until his retirement in 1990. He led the conference during a period in which its membership increased from six to eight and the number of sports sponsored grew from four to 10.
 
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