The basis for what North Texas hopes will be a lasting tradition began on a day when a group graduates considered a simple question.
Why isn’t there an eagle in Fouts Field, anyway?
James Stinson was there that day in the summer of 2008 at Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse in Dallas with five other members of the Geezles, a social fraternity full of former UNT athletes that disbanded in 1970.
“I said it was a shame,” Stinson said. “When we were in school, our fraternity house had a big eagle. We decided that we should see about getting an eagle for the new stadium.”
That discussion hatched a project that will come to fruition this fall. When UNT opens its new football stadium, it will feature an eagle statue that will help recognize the rich history of the Geezles, who hope the sculpture will also help set the tone for the future of the program.
The fraternity, which includes former NFL players Ray Renfro, legendary coaches such as G.A. Moore and community figures such as John Guyer and Billy Ryan, raised the money to have the statue built.
The bronze eagle bust that will stand about 5 feet tall and weigh around 225 pounds will sit in the players’ entrance to the new Mean Green stadium that will open Sept. 10 when UNT hosts Houston. UNT adopted “Mean Green” as its nickname in the time since the Geezles were a prominent campus group, but the school has retained the eagle as its mascot.
Links to Brett's articles about the statue and its origin:
http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/archives/2011/06/a-story-on-a-great-project-for.html
http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/sports/stories/DRC_Geezles_statue_0619.3d442620f.html
On a side note, according to the the second article, the call of an eagle is "KEE", not "CAW". Someone alert the Green Brigade.
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