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Attendees cheer for performers at The Football Team: A Creative Collective\u2019s Halloween Show on Oct. 25 at Coffee Pop-Up Boutique. A variety of food and coffee from the boutique was available for attendees.<\/p>\n
Photo by Maricela Gonzales<\/a><\/p>\n At most Texas universities, Friday nights mean football games and tailgates. To some at UTA, they mean goth raves, gallery shows and indie concerts, all thanks to a group of students who decided to start their own team.<\/p>\n Founded in 2017 by Garret Martin, Downtown Arlington Management Corp. vice president and UTA alumnus, The Football Team: A Creative Collective began as a tongue-in-cheek nod to UTA\u2019s missing football program and has since become a hub for the campus\u2019s creative scene.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel proud that it started and incredibly excited every time that it\u2019s still going,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n As a nonprofit organization on campus, the club hosts several events each year, from its early days of house concerts to sold-out events and goth raves organized by the current administration.<\/p>\n Martin was the first president or \u201cquarterback\u201d of the club and said he started it to create a space for creatives to come together.<\/p>\n Being surrounded by creative students at UTA, the \u201clifeblood\u201d as he called it, he felt that they were what made UTA cool. With the help of professor Matt Clark, faculty director at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology Development, Martin pitched his club idea to Clark\u2019s class, some of whom were the early members.<\/p>\n \u201cUTA is a place where creatives are empowered, and that drives the organization,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n When he graduated, he passed on his position through an election.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt anxious,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I felt excited to see somebody else kind of cast a vision. I think that was one of my philosophies, was that empowerment, and so to empower someone to take over the whole thing, that was a whole next level of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The club\u2019s rise and continuation has not been without its challenges. Martin said there has been a struggle in the past between the club being a business or a friend group.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been times where I was like, \u2018Oh alright, it\u2019s gonna fail, and that was a good run. I really loved it,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cBut now it\u2019s stronger than it\u2019s ever been.\u201d<\/p>\n Arlington resident Madison Khya, 22, left, and Waxahachie, Texas, resident Brayzon Henderson, 22, members of the band 4!, perform at The Football Team: A Creative Collective\u2019s Halloween Show on Oct. 25 at Coffee Pop-Up Boutique. The event featured performances from the Bom Bom Boms, 4! and Matador.<\/p>\n Photo by Maricela Gonzales<\/a><\/p>\n Each of the nine presidents has had a different take on the ideals of the club, building on what the previous presidents left behind to create a business model or to come together as more of a friend group, Martin said.<\/p>\n The current president, Maggie Clark, has been a member of the club for three years. She said she was drawn to the club because it allowed her to hang out with her friends while enjoying and organizing events.<\/p>\n Under her leadership, there has been a focus on furthering community connections and expanding who the club works with, focusing on small businesses, Clark said, along with providing the club\u2019s artists and musicians more opportunities and exposure.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of our members are musicians and artists, so we put a big emphasis on not only promoting our members, but also promoting local bands and that kind of thing; so any sort of live music or art-related event, we make it happen,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n More is expected from members, such as attending events, which has been successful as a whole, Clark said. Because of the ground laid by previous members and officers, the club can plan further ahead and book venues months in advance, she said.<\/p>\n She has made it a priority to get members experience planning and executing events as leadership members and project managers. When she first joined the club, Clark had a lot of ideas but didn\u2019t know how to make them happen, she said. With her presidency, she wants to make sure that members get the necessary tools to lead a project and are prepared for years to come.<\/p>\n Jazz studies senior Stellan Marroquin plays the guitar at The Football Team: A Creative Collective\u2019s Halloween Show on Oct. 25 at Coffee Pop-Up Boutique. Marroquin is a member of the band Matador.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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