Hell may hath no Fury, but UTD will, as the university’s athletic department has announced an agreement with a new professional women’s basketball team to play its home games in the upcoming 2004 season at the UTD Activity Center.
The Dallas Fury, a newly relocated team competing in the National Women’s Basketball League, will play eight home games this season at the UTD Activity Center, Fury and UTD athletics officials announced in a Jan. 14 press conference.
The Fury, coached by women’s basketball Hall of Famer and ESPN basketball analyst Nancy Lieberman and former pro football standout and current football analyst Deion Sanders, will open its 21-game season Jan. 18 on the road against the Springfield (Conn.) Spirit.
The Fury’s first home game at UTD will tip-off at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 31 against the Colorado Chill.
While terms of the agreement were not disclosed, UTD Recreational Sports Director Damon Enriquez said the athletic department is excited about the opportunity to serve as the Fury’s home venue.
“The choice was between UTD, with our 2,500-person capacity, and SMU, which holds about 9,000 people. While UTD is a smaller venue, the community is very supportive of sports. So, the team wanted to come here and they didn’t have many demands,” Enriquez said. “This is beneficial for the school because the good publicity will help promote not only UTD sports and facilities, but the school as a whole.”
Fury Senior Vice President Bruce Carter said the team is delighted with its new digs in Dallas, having recently moved from Knoxville, Tenn., after the team’s inaugural 2003 season in the six-team NWBL.
“We are very excited to play our games at UT-Dallas, you could not ask for a more perfect venue, for this fan-friendly, action-packed, pro-game league, everyone is in for a real treat at UTD,” said Carter, who co-owns the team with Seattle Seahawks safety Damien Robinson.
Tickets for Fury games are $12 for adults and $10 for children, ages 5-12. For further information on the Fury, visit the team’s web site – www.nwbl.com/fury.