The Mavericks first season was 80-81. During the DePaul game, there was a lot of talk about how Mark Aguirre was likely coming to the Mavericks with the first pick.
The biggest difference was MUCH less sports on TV. ESPN has started, but didn't have any college football or basketball yet. The first lacrosse game I ever saw was on ESPN around that time. There weren't many cable TV options yet either - you had local DFW TV of 4, 5, 8, 11 (an independent at the time), 13, and 39. Channels 21, 27 and 33 had just signed on in 1979 but were Pay Per View scrambled signals after 7pm.
No Fox network yet. CNN started June 1, 1980. MTV started Aug 1, 1981. There weren't even any dedicated All-sports radio stations.
I was living in the dorms Fall 76 thru Spring 78. Going to the game was just what you did - it was the default evening activity if you lived in a dorm.