UT Arlington Mavericks men's wheelchair basketball

The UTA Freewheelers in action, undated

The Freewheelers were founded in 1976 at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) by Jim Hayes.[1][2] That year, Hayes also founded and began serving as the inaugural director of UTA's Office for Students with Disabilities.[2] He formed the wheelchair basketball team to "get disabled students out of their rut".[1] The first Freewheelers team had six players, including both UTA students and staff, with Hayes as a player-coach. In 1977, the Freewheelers won one of their first games against the Houston Cougars men's wheelchair basketball team.[3] While the Freewheelers did not have enough players to achieve intercollegiate status, they played as a club team against other colleges and universities in Texas during the 1970s and 1980s. They also played intrasquad games, and by 1987 had enough players to form four separate teams.[2]

In 1988, the UTA Freewheelers joined the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) and changed their name to the Movin' Mavs.[4][5] The name "Movin' Mavs" was suggested by former UTA men's basketball coach Snake LeGrand.[2] In 1991, the team won its first intercollegiate division national championship, defeating the Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks, 58–48. Led by All-Americans Steve Welch, Jesus Alamillio, Willie Hernandez, Jason Van Beek, and Javier Gonzalez, the Movin' Mavs repeated as champions in 1992, 1993, and 1994, defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini in each of those three years.[6] Following the 1993 championship, the Movin' Mavs became the first collegiate wheelchair basketball team to be official guests at the White House when President Bill Clinton invited them.[7] The United States Congress also passed a resolution congratulating the team on winning their third straight national championship.[8]

Movin' Mavs with UTA president James D. Spaniolo in 2006

Following their four straight championships, the Movin' Mavs lost in the championship game in 1995 and 1996, falling to Illinois, 55–53, and Wisconsin-Whitewater, 64–59, respectively. In 1997, UTA defeated Wisconsin–Whitewater, 59–46, en route to their fifth national title. The team fell to Illinois again in the 1998 championship, and then missed the title game for the first time since 1990 during the 1999 tournament. In 2000 and 2001, the Movin' Mavs returned to the national championship game, but lost both games to Illinois, both by eight points.[6] From 2002 to 2006, the Movin' Mavs faced Wisconsin–Whitewater in the national championship game each year. They won in 2002 and 2006, 67–58 and 55–53, respectively, but lost in each of the three seasons between those two championships.[6]

Under Hayes, 20 Movin' Mav players and alumni competed in the Paralympics.[5] Seven UTA players were named most valuable player (MVP) of the NWBA's intercollegiate division: Steve Welch (1991, 1992), Rusty Belknap (1994, 1995), Jason Van Beek (1994), Donnie Keller (1996), Paul Schulte (1999, 2002), Mikey Paye (2006), and Aaron Gouge (2007). A total of 25 Movin' Mavs were named National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament (NIWBT) first-team All-Americans.[6]

Hayes coached the Movin' Mavs until his death in May 2008 at the age of 58.[9] He was posthumously inducted into the NWBA Hall of Fame in March 2012.[10]

The Movin' Mavs in action at Texas Hall in 2011

The Movin' Mavs in action against the Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks in 2020

In October 2008, assistant coach Doug Garner was named the second-ever head coach of the Movin' Mavs. He had arrived at UTA in 2007 as an assistant coach on the staff of Jim Hayes.[11] In his first season as head coach, 2008–09, Garner and the Movin' Mavs finished with a 18–6 record and finished in third place at the 2009 NIWBT tournament in Whitewater, Wisconsin.[12] In the 2009–10 season, the Movin' Mavs finished with a 27–7 record and another third-place finish at the 2010 NIWBT tournament in Marshall, Minnesota, beating the Alabama Crimson Tide in the third-place game.[13] In March 2011, UTA hosted the 2011 NIWBT tournament at Texas Hall.[14] The Movin' Mavs finished their 2010–11 season with another third-place finish in the NIWBT tournament, losing to Illinois in the semifinals before again defeating Alabama in the third-place game.[15] In October 2011, during the Jim Hayes Memorial Tournament, the Movin' Mavs played their last game at Texas Hall.[16] In the 2011–12 season, the Movin' Mavs clinched the number one seed for the NIWBT tournament during the regular season,[17] but were defeated by fourth-seeded Illinois the semifinals of the tournament in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, ultimately besting Alabama once again in the third-place game.[18] Seven UTA alumni competed in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London,[19] including wheelchair basketball players David Eng (who won a gold medal with Canada), Brad Ness (silver medal with Australia), and Jason Nelms and Paul Schulte (bronze medals with the United States).[20]

In January 2013, the Movin' Mavs made their debut at College Park Center,[21] splitting two games of a doubleheader, losing to Alabama 64–56 and then defeating Illinois 59–54.[22] The 2012–13 team entered the NIWBT tournament in Birmingham, Alabama, ranked first in the country,[23] ultimately finishing as runner-up after losing to Alabama 71–52 in the national championship game.[24] The 2013–14 team hosted the national tournament at College Park Center but lost to Wisconsin–Whitewater in the championship game, 55–54.[25] In April 2014, the team played an exhibition game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington as part of the 2014 NCAA Men's Final Four.[26] From October 31 to November 2, 2014, the Movin' Mavs hosted the Jim Hayes Memorial Tournament in memory of long-time coach Jim Hayes.[27] The 2014–15 team finished third in the national tournament in Columbia, Missouri, losing to Illinois in the semifinals, 58–57, but defeating the host Missouri Tigers in the third-place game, 84–53.[28]

The 2015–16 Movin' Mavs finished in third place in the NIWBT tournament after defeating Illinois 63–59 in the consolation game.[29] A total of ten UTA student-athletes and alumni competed in the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, including three Movin' Mavs alumni: Aaron Gouge and Michael Paye, both representing the United States, and David Eng, representing Canada.[30] The 2016–17 team won UTA's first national championship in 11 years, defeating defending champion Wisconsin–Whitewater 76–52 in the title game.[31] The 2017–18 team finished third place in the NIWBT tournament in Marshall, Minnesota, defeating Missouri 49–35 in the third-place game.[32] The 2018–19 Movin' Mavs similarly finished the NIWBT tournament in third place, again besting Missouri, 65–46, in the tournament in Champaign, Illinois.[33] In March 2020, the 2020 NWBA national collegiate tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[34] The 2020–21 Movin' Mavs won the ninth national championship in program history at the national tournament, defeating host Alabama 66–51 in the championship game.[35]