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The Maverick Activities Center offers various recreation and fitness resources to students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
File photo \/ Joel Solis<\/a><\/p>\n On any given day, students at the Maverick Activities Center on the west side of campus can be seen playing basketball, sitting in class, studying for exams, working out or taking a fitness course.<\/p>\n The MAC opened in 2007, when UTA\u2019s campus enrollment was nearly 25,000 students, according to previous enrollment data.<\/p>\n When it was built, it was meant to serve as \u201cthe center of student life,\u201d providing health, physical, wellness and social opportunities, all in one spot, according to a 2006 UTA Magazine article.<\/p>\n As the years have passed, the center has continued to do just that.<\/p>\n The approximately 190,000-square-foot building houses various courts, multipurpose rooms, locker rooms and conference and academic spaces, among other services, to support students\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n However, Campus Recreation director Dax Kuykendall said it has become more challenging to meet those needs as the campus population grows and available space becomes limited due to projects like the renovation of the University Center and the upcoming removal of the Physical Education Building.<\/p>\n \u201cThe MAC is undersized compared to what we would say national standards are for recreational space available,\u201d Kuykendall said.<\/p>\n Christopher Fulton, senior associate vice president for campus operations and facilities management, said in an email that the biggest concern is making sure that services are keeping pace while certain buildings and spaces are being used more heavily during campus construction.<\/p>\n On the east side of campus, the demolition of the University Center, which started in the summer, created a space crunch for other locations on campus.<\/p>\n The UC has served as the primary campus hub for student activity, events and gatherings. With much of the UC demolished for a $160 million renovation, some of the staff, events and services offered there had to relocate.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not a replacement for the UC on campus right now,\u201d Kuykendall said. \u201cWhat\u2019s happened is people are looking to host events on campus, see another large building here in the MAC, so we\u2019ve started hosting more special events than we have in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n The upcoming removal of the PE Building \u2014 which housed indoor and outdoor pools, some Department of Kinesiology academic programs, adapted sports and Campus Recreation \u2014 has exacerbated this tension.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is that all student groups want to use the space at the same times, roughly, and we can\u2019t do that with less space,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The PE Building served as additional space that students could use when the MAC was too full to host sports clubs, spirit group practices and open recreational basketball during major events like career fairs, Kuykendall said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been able in the past to say, \u2018Well, yes, the four basketball courts are closed, but you can go play pickup basketball in the PE Building,\u201d he said. \u201cWe no longer have that option.\u201d<\/p>\n Both of these construction projects are part of the updated UTA Campus Master Plan, which was approved by the UT System Board of Regents in May 2025. The master plan details a variety of projects meant to \u201cguide the physical evolution of its campus over the next 10 to 20 years,\u201d according to the Office of the President website.<\/p>\n According to the master plan, the UC\u2019s continuous renovation and expansion from when it was first built in 1953 created an \u201cinefficient building with poor existing infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n The master plan calls for the PE Building to be relocated to south of the College Park Center, where it would serve as a satellite recreation center and space for the Kinesiology department.<\/p>\n Construction management senior Aritro Sen lifts a barbell Oct. 25 at the Maverick Activities Center. Sen said he likes to lift to feel good physically and mentally.<\/p>\n Photo by Treyson Abe<\/a><\/p>\n At the same time, the removal of the building is part of a concept to expand the MAC south, toward the location of the current PE Building and its indoor and outdoor pool area, according to the master plan.<\/p>\n While these projects have and will continue to put strain on the MAC, spacing challenges are not new for the building.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since the MAC opened, campus enrollment has increased by nearly 18,000 students.<\/p>\n There are intentions for the university to grow an additional 10,000 students in the next several years, Kuykendall said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Around the same time as the university was designing its master plan, the MAC hired an architecture firm to conduct a feasibility study on the building to show its space needs in relation to student population, he said.<\/p>\n According to the feasibility study\u2019s concepts, the MAC would have to expand around an additional 150,000 square feet to meet student needs, which would cover the additional expected 10,000 students, Kuykendall said.<\/p>\n To mediate the space crunch, staff have gone through all the building spaces and assigned them priority usage to help make decisions regarding which areas are being used for what activities, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019ve done our best to do is protect the space for recreational usage as much as possible,\u201d Kuykendall said. \u201cWe\u2019ve determined times where our spaces are unavailable for use, period. Then we\u2019ve also determined our spaces will be available for use unless we are using them for specific things.\u201d<\/p>\n The MAC is also charging campus groups for use of space for the first time, not including student organizations, to try to encourage people to use free spaces on campus if available or to allow the building to generate revenue to offset use of the space, he said.<\/p>\n Students work out Oct. 25 at the Maverick Activities Center. All fee-paying students can automatically access the building\u2019s facilities.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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