Friday, Sep 05, 2025 • Brian Lopez : Contact

With music blasting, free snacks, prize giveaways, and Maverick orange and blue splashed across Brazos Park, the stage was set Friday for The University of Texas at Arlington’s 130th Birthday Bash.

“Everything you see here today—all of it—got its start 130 years ago not more than a football field away from where we stand right now,” said UTA President Jennifer Cowley, who took the stage wearing a UTA T-shirt, custom-made UTA cowboy boots and her now-trademark UTA-blue eyeglasses. “So much was different then, y’all. Picture it: Our name was Arlington College; everything in sight was either pastureland or woods. Pigs and cattle grazed nearby. We were a private college then, not a public university.”

The event marked UTA’s yearlong celebration of its 130th birthday, commemorating its growth from a small private school with 75 students to a Carnegie R1 national research university with more than 41,000 students—and a new campus, UTA West, on the horizon.

Related: The History of UTA

From mid-morning to noon, students, faculty and staff gathered for cupcakes, ice cream and the chance to win all kinds of Maverick swag. The party’s location at Brazos Park is significant because it’s where Brazos House, the historic residence hall built in 1936 and demolished in 2018 to make way for the park, once stood and is now where the beloved tradition of Waffleopolis is held.

“There is a story behind everything you see. Much of the land immediately surrounding us was the parade grounds where our students would perform bayonet drills and mandatory military training,” Dr. Cowley said. “Where we stand now used to be home to a residence hall that was first called Davis Hall and later Brazos House. Returning RAs [residence assistants] would welcome new students to Brazos House by making them waffles, which is why we have a Waffleopolis party every year.”

The celebration offered a peek into UTA’s storied history that has built it into the No. 1-ranked university in Dallas-Fort Worth in areas such as accessibility, lowest student debt, social mobility, graduation rates, graduate income and serving military veterans and their families.

Related: Meet the student behind UTA’s starlit Spirit Horse

“When you put all this together, it paints a clear picture: This is a university of progress. We’re honoring 130 years of history by always building forward—faster, smarter and with heart,” Cowley said. “Our progress is not the result of chance; it’s the product of thousands of individual contributions from the people across our campus and here in Brazos Park.”

Sraavya Maulika Yenugapalli, who serves as Ms. UTA and is an electrical engineering sophomore, called the event a “historical moment” and a milestone celebrating 130 years of Maverick pride, tradition and excellence.

“Today is about honoring our past, celebrating our present and looking forward to the future,” she said.

Siashna Bhagwandeen, a biology freshman from South Africa, said she had never been to an event like the 130th celebration, where the community comes together and celebrates its school.

“It’s nice to see people come together and create a friendly atmosphere,” Bhagwandeen said. “It really shows the cohesiveness of UTA and how it strives to create an atmosphere of togetherness.”

About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)

Celebrating its 130^th anniversary in 2025, The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of the thriving Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. With a student body of over 41,000, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.