ragpicker

An addendum: Make no mistake,I have been a Hayden Fry admirer since he was at SMU and remained one through his time at Iowa. He did some great things here and could not have anticipated the creation of 1AA. It does not matter who was left in the MVC when we left, it was still a 1A conference and by leaving we no longer had the protection of a 1A conference and were, therefore, unceremoniously shuttled off to 1AA. It really was not Coach Fry's fault, he was doing what he thought best for North Texas. Just old UNT bad luck, thats all.

My point, Grand Green, is that the MVC was still a D1 program and we could not have been moved to 1AA no matter how small our stadium or low our attendance if we had remained. SMU started playing in little Ownby a few years later with pathetic attendance, but were safe from being sent to the new 1AA by remaining with the SWC.

I agree with both the preceding comments, but we do go a long way back with Tulsa and it is a nice road trip for both schools.

Now you are talking. The biggest mistake we ever made was leaving the old Missouri Valley. Hayden Fry apparently thought we could force our way into the SWC by going independent as Houston had done. He was wrong and it cost us our D1 status and almost cost us our football program. That is all behind us now, however, and we just need to win. Victories over Tulsa this year and SMU next year would do wonders for our self esteem. Hey, it is possible.

It was long ago, in Denton as a matter fact, on University.

I bought some jumper cables at Gibson's once. They melted.

With some effort and creativity it is possible to build rivalries, but not if geography makes it impossible. Every year we have been a D1 program, starting in the fifties, geography has been our nemesis. The one good thing about the Southland was the short distance between most of the schools. We were actually developing a few rivalries in that league as was demonstrated by some pretty fair attendance figures in those years. I am happy to be where we are right now. Just win.

Although the post from the Bulldog fan has our bowl record at 1 -5 since 1948, it should be pointed out that we won the Optimist Bowl in 1946 against Pacific (14-13) which was coached by the legendary Amos Alonzo Stagg. One more reason, it seems to me, that Odus Mitchell should probably be considered the best all around football coach in UNT history.<br />A few other Odus Mithell accomplishments include: A two decade head coaching career at UNT, the first coach in Texas (and perhaps in the south} to recruit Black players to a D! program. Winner of the Missouri Valley and a Sun Bowl bid in 1959 and the recruitment of Abner Haynes and Joe Greene, Indeed, the 1968 UNT football team was one of the best in the country(ask Arkansas), and they were mostly Odus Mitchell's recruits.

Good point JesseMartin. I Just visited San Antonio for the firs time in a while and it actually reminds me a bit of New Orleans. It is becoming a great walking city and has bike rental stations everywhere. Its public transportation is very convenient and dependable and it will be getting electric streetcars in the near future. This is going to become a great away game.

Generic, Perhaps, but it is still a nice article with a few facts even some of our alumni and certainly some of our current students don't know. Incidentally, that picture of Joe Greene is from the All American issue of PLAYBOY In 67 o(68, I think.} I may still have that old issue somewhere.

I agroo.

Is the burnt orange story true or not?

I think it is Bourbon Street greenjoe, but I agree, and although I posted this elsewhere,the NFC (Nuclear Fission Conference} is most appropriate for a conference that is always splitting up.

Young gets old.

Typo. Make that Conference.

How about a name with a nice familiar ring? The NFC - Nuclear Fission Congress. After all, the Big East is known primarily these days for splitting up.

Rivalry, indeed, Cougar Cub. You tried to develop one with Texas, but that rivalry was all in your own little poser and delusional minds. I can't recall any real rivalry you had with a single team all those years you were in the SWC. Incidentally we were tied with you in the all time won lost record until the last two years and we will get the edge again if you will play us again in the future, for that future is ours - not yours.

Come to think of it, we must give old JC credit for the move to Division 1 and the Missouri Valley. It wasn't the SWC and we had no real rivals, but it was one of the best basketball conference a very good football conference and it distanced us from the small Texas school category. Those games in the old pit were so much fun and we got to see great players. Incidentally, I believe the MVC is the oldest athletic conference in the United States.

Mac's Sophomore jinx is behind him. .I'm cautiously excited too

You know, we had some pretty good football teams back in the 20's, 30's and 40's and some pretty good coaches (Jack Sisco comes to mind). I don't even know who most of the presidents were back then, but maybe they should get some credit for getting this thing off of the ground despite some of the apathetic attitudes toward sports that came late (And that we are still paying for.) Incidentally, by all indications, J.C. Matthews put up with athletics because he was stuck with athletics, not because he had any real interest in it. If anyone has any evidence to the contrary, please advise.

Very good point Baby Arm. A festive, decorated shuttle driving by those places could not help but increase attendance, slowly at first perhaps, but eventually making a real difference. Have you noticed how many students are hanging around in front of their dorms on game days with no particular place to be? With a creative approach and a little encouragement I think we could even get a good number of Brucelings to get in the spirit of the thing. We really need to push this idea.

Even trolls love rock and roll. I think The HACC would be appropriate. (Hopelessly Addled and Confused Conference).