UT DALLAS ATHLETICS HALL OF HONORS
MARY WALTERS
ATHLETICS DIRECTOR, 1998 - 2003
MARY WALTERS was instrumental in the initiative to expand the UTD athletic program from an NAIA program with a handful of sports and part-time coaches in the mid-1990s to its current size and full membership in the NCAA and the American Southwest Conference.
Walters began working at UTD in 1981 and directed the university’s recreational sports and intramural program for more than 16 years. When she began her UTD career, the University had a small intercollegiate athletics program, but it was disbanded for more than a decade. In 1993, she helped develop the school’s current soccer facilities and helped re-establish an intercollegiate soccer program with membership in the NAIA. A year later, Walters helped in the design of the $10.5 million Activity Center.
With the new facilities and the new addition of a growing population of undergraduate students at UTD, Walters proposed that the University consider expanding its athletic program. Under her guidance, the decision was made to seek membership in the NCAA and the American Southwest Conference in 1998. Fulltime coaches were hired and the program was expanded to include men’s and women’s basketball as well as golf and cross country. By 2002, tennis, baseball and softball had been added and UTD had completed its four-year “provisional” membership with the NCAA.
She currently is the Director of Student Activities for the UTD Department of Student Life.
