Falcon Football - UTPB

University of Texas of the Permian Basin may not be one of the big boys when it comes to endowments and fundraising, but it’s working its way up. In the past couple of years, the university has received support for its engineering and nursing programs, and the pending start of Falcons football in 2016. Executive Director of Development Lee Anna Good said the total raised for fiscal year 2014 was $14.34 million, including funds raised for football. Getting contributions involves a lot of networking, listening and finding out what people think the needs are in West Texas, Good said. “Relationship building is really everything, and hopefully we do a pretty good job of listening, so we’re not just trying to sell them on everything but we’re really hearing what they want to happen at UTPB,” Good said. “I feel pretty good about the feedback I get. … Enrollment is growing. We wouldn’t be getting more students if they weren’t hearing that UTPB is a good place to be.” The school has about 5...

UTPB announced Tuesday that coaching veteran Scott Preston has been hired as offensive coordinator for the school’s upstart football team. Preston began his college coaching career in 1991 at San Francisco State University and has made subsequent stops at Valdosta State, Georgia Military College, Ventura College, Murray State, Illinois State, Arkansas Tech, Tiffin and Belhaven. He served as offensive coordinator at Murray State, Illinois and Arkansas Tech and spent last season as a Belhaven assistant to Hal Mumme, one of the orchestrators of the Air Raid offense. In 1995 and again in 2011, Preston coached professional football teams in Finland. Posted by The Odessa American -  www.oaoa.com