He went on to say, “I was impressed with the number of alumni that came to our game and alumni support is no small matter to me”. He was referring to the nearly 10,000 NT fans that made the trip to Austin to see NT lose by three points.
In early 1977 North Texas was making a push for the Southwest Conference led by Director of Athletics Hayden Fry. Coming off of 7-5 in 1975, and 7-6 in 1976, North Texas was poised to have its best season ever in the fall of 1977 that ultimately led to a 10-1 record. The basketball team led by Bill Blakely was also flying high coming off a first and only national ranking in 1976. Things were looking good. North Texas had gone Independent in 1975 leaving The Missouri Valley Conference starting its push to bigger and better things…..The SWC.
Hayden Fry had turned a program around. Wins at Tennesee, SMU (1977), and near misses against Texas and Florida state had the program proudly perched. The flying worm helmets and Kawasaki green uniforms are fondly remembered by alums that were around during those glory years.
So what happened?
Concerns among SWC members over too many conference games played a part (The NCAA was at that time considering adding the 12th game). Pat Truly From the Star Telegram wrote in his column that The SWC was a 7 member conference that was stable for years, but bowed to political pressure by bringing in the west Texas factor (Texas Tech). Houston was also admitted in 1971 but only after a courtship that lasted nearly two decades. Revenue sharing was also mentioned, but in most people’s minds in was the politics. Houston and Tech were admitted after having support of big names like LBJ and John Connolly. North Texas just didn’t have any good old boy sponsors in the capital, and If none of the other schools were looking to sponsor North Texas, NT was going nowhere.
Most know what happened next. After a 10-1 season in 1977 and a very respectable 9-2 record in 1978, Hayden Fry moved on to greener pastures. The school moved back to 1-AA and in 1982 joined the Southland conference. In a matter of 5 years things went down hill and it took almost 20 years to recover.
I’m sure plenty here will add their thoughts and memories.
Below is a letter sent to Eagle Club members sent in 1977
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.