What's your connection and why do you follow UNT?

Born outside of Buffalo and grew up just north of Philly. Got beat up every day until I started hitting the gym and learned how to fight, but even then the closest I had to friends were a couple of groups that let me tag along so that I could be graced with their presence. My family didn't like me much either, so I just wanted to leave. I wasn't very motivated to do well in school because I just couldn't see things ever getting better, so I dropped from AP classes to prep classes and almost dropped out of school just so that I could leave. I couldn't get the approvals signed though, so I stuck around and finished just under the top quarter of my class with decent SATs even though I didn't bother to study. Nobody in my family had a degree but I knew I wanted something more, and affordable far-away schools with good art programs were pretty much UNM and UNT.

I guess my parents wanted reason to get along better or something, and my dad flew for free as an air traffic controller, so we visited Denton and I felt so free being away from everything and loved the campus so I applied to exactly one school and was accepted. I didn't get a scholarship, but I was up for one of the store manager positions at the grocery store where I worked so I figured I'd just save up for a year or two and then start college (35K plus bonuses in the 90s was pretty lucrative for somebody just out of high school with no family connections). A couple of months before that would have happened, and a week and a half before the start of the fall semester, I got a call - a scholarship recipient decided to go elsewhere and there was a spot open. So I packed up all my stuff and said goodbye to the few people that sort of cared and moved 1500 miles to a school in a state where nobody knew me.

A year and a half before that I'd had a dream about an amazing girl and when I woke up I drew a picture of her. The Saturday before classes started, I met her which was kind of weird. Sadly, we broke up and I had a hard time with relationships until a few years ago when we got back together and got married. In the years in between, I studied hard so that I could keep my scholarship and got better grades in tougher classes than ever before, was involved in just about everything on campus and exercised like a crazy person in between. Until having a family, the only times in my life where I wasn't severely depressed were when I felt like I was making a difference through campus involvement, volunteer work, tutoring, etc.

UNT taught me that with a lot of hard work and a bit of timing and luck, anyone can accomplish just about anything, as exemplified by so many amazing people I've been fortunate enough to meet through our North Texas network of students, alumni, professors, etc. I wasn't interested in sports from a spectator's standpoint until some of the girls from the UNT Volleyball and Basketball teams asked me to come to games and bring friends. I got hooked, just because the atmosphere is so great when you know that almost everyone involved has something invested in the outcome, more than just a passing need to find a team to cheer for. So in between overextending myself with too many commitments, I made it to games that I could and followed the results of those I couldn't. For me, UNT Athletics gave another opportunity to show support of the one place that gave me a chance and showed me more than anyone could ever learn in a classroom. I may be far away now, but helping to organize the alumni in Arizona just gives me another opportunity to give back as much as possible until I pay off my damn student loans. Hey, that scholarship only lasted 4 years and didn't cover housing, so...you know.

It took me two tries to get a degree. I began in '61 and took a break after a couple of years to wear a more olive drab shade of green for Uncle Sam. I returned in '68 and graduated in '70.

I love my North Texas with all my heart and soul and I am thankful every day that it is so much a part of me. I also love all these great comments and hope they keep coming in...wish I had a million Green Up Arrows.

Grew up in on the north side of Houston and saw there were only two school in the state that had degrees in photojournalism, UT and North Texas. I wanted to get away from home so I chose UNT. (The tuition and cost of living in Denton was also a major factor too). I lived at West Hall for 3 years and wound up having a room to myself every spring. I also lived at Victory, Mozart and College Inn.

golfingomez and I shared an intimate moment in the 6th floor hallway at West Hall when the Astros went to the World Series in 2005.

I worked at the NT Daily my sophomore year and was the photo editor of the Daily twice I practically lived in the GAB for a few years and skipped all my classes. I started working for UNT team photographer Rick Yeatts and freelancing for the DRC and DMN while in school then got a job at the Denton Record-Chronicle in 2009. After making up for missing so many classes while at the NT Daily and lots of growing up, I finally graduated in 2011.

My fiance is also a UNT grad and we met in school. She now works for the administration. We found out after we started dating that we had been in the same class for our first ever class in college.

My first ever game was the Baylor beatdown in 2003 and I've been to every home football game since 2004 except for the Dickey Black Uniform game in 2006.

A lot of you have pictures in your signatures that I took.

Edited November 16, 2013 by TheWestie

Grew up in DeSoto, played on the same football team with NT favs Detron (DT) Woodson & Randall Harris. I was the starting tackle on Detron's & Randall's team. I applied and was accepted to Syracuse, but wanted to play ball. In any case, after 2 years of Varsity football at DeSoto, I ended up at Trinity San Antonio even after my OL coach told me to just walk on at NT. He was right, I hated it at Trinity. Small time football BLOWS after being exposed to Texas' big time 5A ball. Pissed off my parents by quitting because I was giving up an almost free education. Transferred to SMU (someone should've slapped me) but never attended as cost was a big factor. Went to a Dallas County CC and got a degree in Electronics then applied to UNT to finish my studies. Got my BS in Economics at North Texas and the rest is history. Along the way, the NT football team was dominating the SBC and I went to the last NO Bowl. My NT love was locked in for life by then. I convinced my brother, who played football at Navy, to transfer there once he decided he wanted to leave Maryland. He gave up football to focus on his studies after transferring. It worked out as he met his wife at North Texas. I'm an alum, my brother & his wife are alums, and I have 2 cousins trying to send their kids to NT after this year.

The four SBC championships sucked me in to NT football. Winning now will help bring new fans (obviously) like it did me...

Edited November 16, 2013 by Got5onIt

We grew up in the Denton area, so being a dancer for 13 years, I was always on campus with arts shows and camps that I was forced to go to all the time. I actually ended up quitting dance on a UNT stage, now that I think about it...

I starting playing basketball when I was a freshman in HS (see, kids....little league really isn't necessary.) and was mentored by an alum - Deon Hoop Hunter. I was in UNTs gym frequently. One of the main reasons that I went to college on full scholarship was because of that HOFer Mean Green Alumni.

Little bro was the 3rd sibling to be offered from UNT (except he is the black sheep that went football), but first to accept. Our other brother tried playing bball at New Mexico, only to come full circle and graduate from UNT 2 years ago. lol. Growing up around here, I thought that I wanted something bigger and different, then really just spent the last several years trying to move back. We moved back to Denton for J's Senior year and I laid all of my infinite wisdom on him and encouraged him to accept UNTs offer(He doesnt listen to me, it was really his HS coach and Mac).. So, we all ended up in Green eventually.....

Edited November 16, 2013 by SSP

Working in the pro shop at a country club in south Texas in the fall of 1993, I was watching football highlights on the shop TV. Nebraska had just beat the crap out of a school called North Texas. The pro said, motioned at the TV "I know you are still deciding on schools, but you ought to take a look at North Texas. I know a lot of people that really liked going to school there....not much of a football team, but a good school"...I started looking into it and liked what I found. In South Texas, it wasn't a school you heard much about. A buddy of mine was in the same boat, undecided, and we took a trip up to Denton during the holiday break to check it out. We came through Fort Worth and stayed at a hotel on 35 and University. After checking out the campus, we went over to fry street for lunch at the Flying Tomato. We had some Pizza and noticed a rough looking guy playing a stand up video game. At another table there was a group of people getting up to leave. After they left the guy turned around watched them walk out the door and then ran over to their table and grabbed all their left over crusts and shoved them in his pocket. Then he ran back to his game....my buddy and I just sat there staring when a girl who was cleaning tables saw us and just leaned in and said...Art student", then walked off....

That was my first intro to the school and campus...

Had some great times in Denton. Graduated in '97, and around that time met Harry and people on the old board. Been part of the cult following ever since.

Grew up in Lewisville. In 88 went to UT on an academic scholarship, UNT in my view was like a community college and my parents forbid me to go to TX Tech because it was lower than community college. For various reasons, transferred UNT after 2 years. Didnt take long to fall in love with UNT (what, classes dont have to have 800 students in them??).

Reconnected with the girl who became my wife at UNT. My father in law played football at UNT, my brother was a kicker for UNT behind some guy named Gowins.

Have pretty much had season tickets since I graduated with my masters in 94, though some seasons it was just me and my father in law. Now we have a large group of friends who have become season ticket holders and tailgaters most saturdays.

Stop by our tailgate anytime. We have mean green flag and KA flag, big box trailer we pull to games.

mickey

my parents forbid me to go to TX Tech because it was lower than community college.

Mickey, I literally nearly choked on my drink when I read that... That's funny, right there.

To get back on topic before the next person posts, it sure has been fun reading all of you guys' stories in this thread. Thanks, everybody, for sharing.

I know right, glad my parents were so "mean".

After reading my post, I think what I left out was that short of proposing to my wife, deciding to come to UNT was probably the best decision of my life. So many opportunities that I never would have had. I try to give back in anyway I can - stadium fund, Presidents Council, serving on Advisory Board for Dept of Accounting, hiring graduates, etc.

North Texas is a special place and I have loved watching and trying to be a part of its growth and transformation thru the years.

My mother went to NTSU back in the 60's. My sister after a long and illustrious junior college academic endeavor grudgingly chose North Texas, but she was the epitome of a t-shirt fan, throwing her loyalty behind the gaggies. However, after spending my senior year weekends up in Denton, I dug the vibe and chose North Texas over UNLV and LSU back in 1998. Been a loyal, ravenous fan (and my mother recently returned to the fold after seeing Apogee for the first time)

Graduated with BA 2001, 2004 MPA

Student Assistant Tennis Coach 2000-01 after 2 yrs at SHSU

Wife got her Master's from UNT and was Hall Director (Asst) at Maple Hall for 5 yrs, first three years of marriage lived in Maple Hall and first child first year was in Maple Hall.

Loved the campus and Denton in general, but now enjoy slower pace of college town AR.

I was born in Odessa but only lived there six months until my family returned to my parent's hometown of El Paso. All of my Dad's family graduated from UTEP and as a kid all I heard about was the Miners. Not many years later we moved again, this time to McAllen, where I started first grade at a Catholic school. Our priest talked so highly of Notre Dame, it became the school I aspired to one day attend. Flash forward a few years, and I was at a youth basketball camp at the University of Texas-Pan American, which allowed me to live in the dorms and eat at the cafeteria. This was pretty impressive to me and at the end of the summer I famously quoted "I either want to go to Notre Dame or Pan Am," to this day my family won't let that one die.

In elementary I started watching 'Great Chefs of the World' on the Discovery Channel. The exotic ingredients and crazy accents of those chefs blew me away, and as a visual learner, I loved seeing the variety of techniques they used to make foods beyond anything I knew about. I started cooking and would meticulously cut all the ingredients and set them out in small bowls (mise en place) then garnish the dish as well as I could. People always seemed to enjoy my cooking, and by the time I was in High School I had a plan; I would first get a degree in hospitality management, to learn the business side of things, then attend culinary school to refine my skills. As a sophomore in high school I had toured UNT while my family was figuring out where my older sister would go for her biology degree. She ended up picking UTSA, but there seemed to be something different going on at UNT's campus, and it stood out in my mind even after we went to Texas A&M and a bunch of other schools. When it came time for me to pick a school, I considered Colorado State, U of H, UNT, and Johnson & Wales, but could only visit the two Texas schools. At U of H our tour guide showed up late, he was literally still drunk from the previous nite and couldn't answer any of the questions our group had. On top of this I was not really impressed by the facilities and couldn't see myself there. We went back to UNT for my visit and I still had the feeling this was where I needed to be. In the following months, that feeling I had from that first visit became stronger, and I decided to follow my gut. I only applied to UNT and was proud to get my acceptance letter not long after.

In 2004, as a socially awkward freshman in Denton, I sensed that this was my best chance to reinvent myself and vowed to try and be more outgoing. I still remember my very first weekend of school, finding my way to a stereotypical college party in someone's apartment and seeing people do keg stands, walking past couples making out, and eventually having the party broken up by the cops. It was not, and would never be, my scene. I started attending salsa dancing lessons where I met a cute Graphic Design student from Houston. Together we attended footbal and basketball games and, as I mentioned in another post, we followed the football team to our New Orleans Bowl birth, but regretfully didn't make the game. Despite the losing seasons over the next three years, the two of us attended games religiously, and lamented the weak turnout from our fanbase. I graduated in 2008, and my girlfriend graduated in 2009, but we stayed in the DFW area and continued to try and make it to campus for games. We even brought out my family for the Fouts Field Finale in 2010.

I returned to UNT for graduate school, enrolling as part of the first cohort in the new Master of Science in International Sustainable Tourism (MIST) program. The unique thing about the MIST program is that it is a joint-degree offered between UNT and the Center for Tropical Agriculture Research and Extension (CATIE) in Turrialba, Costa Rica. After graduating I accepted a position to work at CATIE, and married my UNT sweetheart in December. She left her job at an advertising agency in Dallas and moved down here with me where we have created what we call the 'Texas Embassy' in our home. When we get lucky we are able to stream UNT games online, but more often than not, we end up listening via KNTU.

As many of you have mentioned, since leaving Denton, it seems like all we do is think of ways to get back. When we finally do return to the states I look forward to buying season tickets, finally catching a game at Apogee, and putting faces to some of the names I've come to know on this board. Until then, my wife and I will continue doing our best to represent Mean Green nation here in Costa Rica.

I like your brevity of complete thought--no ambiguity with what you have posted whatsover.

It would have taken me another paragraph or 10 to say it any better (if I could have at all).

GMG!

Until then, my wife and I will continue doing our best to represent Mean Green nation here in Costa Rica.

You know 97and03 is in Costa Rica too, right?

You know 97and03 is in Costa Rica too, right?

He is in ecuador...

Edited November 17, 2013 by THOR

Why was I thinking CR? Ah well...never mind...actually I was probably thinking of Kram's trip this summer and for some reason switched the countries in my head.

Edited November 17, 2013 by JesseMartin

I was a slacker in high school and while I was taking concurrent enrollment classes in junior college as a junior & senior in HS.... I didn't care about school. Took off to the Navy in 99' to go get it out of my system. 14 countries and many a sea stories later I was ready to buckle it down and get serious. Always knew the Navy wasn't a career for me so the next step was obviously getting back into school and locking down an education. Was accepted to Texas State, UNT and Tech though I could not commit to living in a town that has zero vegetation and tumbleweeds that literally thud when they hit anything. I had my heart set on Political Science and when looking around at public universities in the area...UNT just made too much sense.

Went to school from 03-07 and shamefully went to roughly 4 football games and zero basketball games during that time. I missed Dallas to the point that I moved home for my Sophomore through Senior years and while it wasn't that I found Denton boring.... I just wanted to get back closer to where most of my friends were. So I wound up commuting 2 days a week with an 18 yr per semester load (needless to say it sucked). I still didn't care about anything UNT sports related until after I graduated in 2007. I was tired of having so many friends graduate from schools that were making names for themselves in the collegiate sports environment and my own Alma Mater was just barely staying afloat. It was roughly 2008 when I decided to attend a basketball game and start showing to 2-3 FB home games a year. Meeting Tony and eventually Harry changed my life (literally).... in that they took me in and showed me that it was not only OK to be a North Texas fan but something you could be proud of.

I am jealous of every one of you that spent more than 1 yr living in Denton.........of any of you that meet your wives at North Texas.........and any of you that went to Bowl Games when I was actively a student. Like someone else stated earlier, it is always crossing my mind that I should just move to Denton and enjoy all the great things that the town has to offer (besides being close to UNT). My job allows my the flexibility of moving anywhere I desire and most of the time I think Denton would be at the top of that list. Crazy to think that if we have a couple of more seasons like we are having this year....that it could very well sway my decision to move

I'm a UNT grad.

So is my son.

So is his mom.

So is my nephew.

So is his wife.

So is my cousin.

So is his wife.

So is .....well you get the point.

I like your brevity of complete thought--no ambiguity with what you have posted whatsover.

It would have taken me another paragraph or 10 to say it any better (if I could have at all).

GMG!

Truth be told, I do feel like I get carried away with the words, but after reading the other stories, I figured I shouldn't hold back.

I joined the board recently and have found the camaraderie to be great, save for the whole UTSA-hate thing that sprang up. Being in the company of people that are as proud of UNT as my wife and I is a pleasure, and since we live so far from what is going on back home, I love the constant stream of information everybody contributes here.

I can't wait to see what the future holds for our Mean Green, and I look forward to keeping up with all of you as it unfolds here.

I was raised in El Paso and went to UTEP for two years and transferred to NTSU. Life in El Paso just went bad and I wanted a fresh start. I tell people i was born El Paso but grew up in Denton. I graduated and moved to New Mexico and lived for 25 years. I moved back to Denton this year and bought season tickets. Apogee is one of the nicest stadiums i have been to. It is great to be back home! First time I saw the Mean Green play was in the Sun Bowl vs UTEP_Fry was the coach and they destroyed UTEP. I bleed green and i wanted to name by daughter Scrappy but my wife said no.

I was born and raised in EP. I spent 2 years at UTEP before transferring to UNT. In 2003 I finished and moved back home for family reasons. I stayed and did my MM at UTEP before moving back to DFW.

Maybe sometime we'll meet up and chat over some tasty pregame beers. Welcome home.

I joined the board recently and have found the camaraderie to be great, save for the whole UTSA-hate thing that sprang up.

I know we haven't had one since we return to 1A, but this is called a possible "instate rivalry" and is a wonderful thing and the sign of a healthy athletic program.

My wife and I are alumni and I am now a professor here.

Very cool, what degrees did you get @UNT and what do you teach?

I was born and raised in EP. I spent 2 years at UTEP before transferring to UNT. In 2003 I finished and moved back home for family reasons. I stayed and did my MM at UTEP before moving back to DFW.

Maybe sometime we'll meet up and chat over some tasty pregame beers. Welcome home.

Yes we will have to do that. I went two years to Irvin and two years to Coronado.

Grew up in Farmers Branch as a SMU fan. Went to Richland Community College, while deciding what I wanted to go. Even though I grew up in the Farmers Branch Rec Center, never considered that for a career until then. Thus, off to UNT! My Senior year, The Colony wanted to start a Parks and Recreation Department. The City didn't have enough money at the time, so they contracted with UNT to provide recreation services in the Summer.

I applied and was chosen. We had a great time that Summer. It doesn't all take money! Our Seniors met in a bar in the afternoon before they opened, swimming lessons were in backyard pools of residents. Ended up staying in The Colony for a couple of years, and then decided it was time to go back to UNT to get my Masters.

I earned my Masters at UNT and had an incredible time. I became a huge UNT fan and become following the sports both home and away.

Went on to be the Director of Parks and Community Services in Euless and stayed 16 years, and have been the Director of Parks, Arts and Recreation in Grand Prairie for 11 years now. But, I have remained close to the Rec. and Leisure Services Department and UNT through-out all the grand years! What a grand ride, and I owe so much to UNT!

Some crazy Mean Green Moments.

We were in 1-AA play-offs playing Marshall in Huntington, WV. A good UNT friend and I couldn't afford to fly, so we drove straight through to Hunington. When we walked into the team hotel, corky Nelson looked at us and said "don't tell me you guys drove"? Worst crowd I have ever been around. In fact, they stopped the UNT team bus and tried to turn it over. Never will forgot, we lost, and we headed home.

Flying to Seattle, then driving the wrong direction for two hours on our way to Moscow, Idaho and our first big game in the Kibby Dome. Once again, we arrived, dead, and ran into Coach Dickey. I congratulated him on his contract extension, and worried the entire evening and next day that I had jinxed us. Anyway, we want on to blow away Idaho and win our first SB Title.

All 4 trips to Nawlins! Especially when we beat Cincinnati. That is exactly why I get upset when people say we have too many bowl games. That experience was like a National Championship game to me. Let people enjoy their time and moments! We had a room on Bourbon with a balcony. I think we through over 10,000 beads over the week.

The Conference basketball title in Hot Springs, wlll always be a grand memory. All the confetti, the team cutting down the net, and we totally ran the bar out of crown Royal after the game. What fun it was....

Two Moments from Hell: The game in Monroe in which we lost in 2001. We are on the bus from hell. The driver had to make stops every hour to stay awake. We got back to Denton at sunrise. Many didn't think we would make it back. It was a hellish game and hellish ride, but, would be the last SBC game we would lose for 4 years. Who would ever have guessed....

Our game in Austin that we IN NO DOUBT defeated the University of Texas. Only to have the game stolen from us with not one, but two awful calls. It will gone as the biggest steal in Mean Green history!

Finally, our game at Arizona. The Mean Grenn played great. Once again, they failed to call a touchdown for us.... which clearly was a touchdown. I remember talking to the players after the game and they had nothing else to give.

Funny, we would have won both of those games if instant replay was in effect. And, awful memories would have been awesome memories.

I just don't want to take for granted how grand this season has been. It's hard being a Mean Green fan! The nice thing is....it feels so awesome when we have these moments. I will not miss any further game this season! We may bitch and cuss at each other, but we all have a grand passion for the Mean Green. And, these moments, make it all worth while!

Edited November 17, 2013 by ParksAndRecRick

I wasn't the most motivated high school student. My dad smartly decided JC was the best move for my immature butt after high school. I went, but was still an unmotivated student despite getting good grades. I had other thoughts and another career in mind, which I started at 19.

When I was 22, I finally decided it was time to get serious about school. I moved to Denton, actually stayed in McConnell Hall for a year (thank god it was an upperclassmen dorm at the time) and started attending EVERY basketball and most football games.

Traveled to UT for the infamous robbery in 1988 and traveled to Manhattan, KN for the infamous K. St. streak breaking loss.

Traveled to Monroe for the come from 11 down with 1:30 to play for the win basketball game in 1988.

Graduated in 1990 and pretty much got on with life. Work didn't allow for going to games very often, but I paid attention from afar. Went to a couple of games in the bowl years, but they were always away games (OU, Arkansas, etc...).

A confluence of events brought me back into the fold. First was the hire of Todd Dodge. He may be the worst coach to ever walk the sidelines of this program, but at the time he grabbed my attention. Because he grabbed my attention, I went to the internet to try and find info about the program. That's how I found Harry's gym of a website. It was the first time I was ever able to get in depth info on the Mean Green.

I then changed jobs in 2008, which gave me a much more normal schedule. I bought football season tickets for the first time and met a couple of other first time season ticket holders as we arrived at the game at the same time and parked beside each other completely by happenstance in the old Fouts festival parking... 3 games in a row. I kid you not. We figured someone must be trying to tell us something and began coordinating our arrival time so we could tailgate together. Then we started tailgating with KingDL, who already had a large group going and the rest is history.

We all now tailgate together in the blue lot and have added lots of new tailgating friends. I have seen a lot of bad football over the years, and attended one gloriously fun time in Hot Springs in 2012. Really enjoying this football season and hope that it is an indication that we have turned the corner from a very dark football period in UNT history.