PlummMeanGreen

Hey, Bill, we've already climbed that ol' CUSA hill looking at this years SBC record versus CUSA, so I agree with you, lets go ahead and set our sights for a higher Mountain (West Conference), that is. Seriously, lets build ourselves that new stadium in Denton similar to many in the MWC, significantly grow our turnstile numbers and just see what happens. As all of us here in the Southwest have witnessed with the implosion of the Southwest Conference, who really knows what can happen with future conference scenarios. What seems an unrealistic idea today may be be a most sensible and attainable idea tomorrow. Half the fun of Mean Green football reaching a higher profile destination can be the excitement of our trip on the way to that destination. Nevertheless, it's great to be back on the high road again.

Heard this from several of you and I do wholeheartedly agree, but did there really seem much in the area of individual player development when our student/athletes arrived on our campus in recent years? FWIW, Super Jamario Thomas was a better football player just 1 season removed from his HS football coaching than after his 1'st year at UNT. Is it really true that a UNT coach had him bulk up the way he did after his extremely successful frosh' year when he was the #1 running back in NCAA D1-A with the most yards? In all seriousness, it may take a a year or 2 or 3 for Coach Dodge to get the kind of recruits he will ultimately need to mesh with some fine UNT players we now have before we jump to the next level we all desire for Mean Green football; and that jump to the next level would be winning SBC championships, winnning the NO's Bowl (or whichever bowl) and being a Top 25 team while doing all of this. There is no reason UNT cannot be a Boise State/'BCS Championship Series-type football program or even better. UNT has made the first huge step toward all of this with the hiring of Coach Dodge.

Agree, 'GreenN'walinsVet', with the right unis' combinatin the white helmet could be execptional. Not wanting to over-dramatize all this, but with UNT wearing a white helmet this is just a few things that took place in the past: (1) While wearing white helmets, UNT had a team with so many NFL draft choices (several of which were NFL #1's) some of us who can't count very high lost count of just how many draft choices the Mean Green did have during the Mean Joe Greene era. (2) While wearing white helmets, UNT had a team that all but beat the same Frank Broyles-coached Razorbacks who would play DKR's Texas Longhorns in the "Game of the Century" and the NCAA National Championship the following season; I said the, uh................... "National Championship", folks. (3) Although our Mean Green team were wearing white helmets, UNT had a player on that same team mentioned in all of the above who would inspire the name, uh, "Mean Green." Is now the time and especially with the Dodge Ball era on the way that we give the solid green helmets a much needed rest? Has wearing solid green helmets made us all that successful the last 25 years that we are so eternally married to solid green helmts (with whatever logo/letters they put on it and during whoever's regime)?

OK, 'Nation, look at the "N T" on the white helmet and keep looking, studying and observing it and let it grow on you. NOTE: Might tweak it a bit and you might put a little more distance between the N and T but thats just my .02 on that . Phil aka Deep Green, I think the white helmet with the Va Tech version of "N T" is simply superkalafragilisticexpialadocious and would look fantastic with kelly green jerseys mixed in with a lot of black/green/white trimming on the pants and with the stripe on the helmet being kelly green trimmed in black. Who can design such a uniform for public consumption on GMG.com?

Isn't it simply amazing what a high profile hire can do for one's football program? This Dodge Ball deal is bringing back some memories. Of course, without the internet (and forums like GMG.com) and much more TV sports than was available back in the 70's, UNT still received similar ink as this before. The very charismatic H. Fry had been at SMU and was fired after a 7 & 4 season--he had played a big part in integrating the SWC 10 years after UNT had with Abner Haynes and Leon King--SMU was part of the SWC state-wide newspaper coverage network (as all SWC schools were back then and NT was not part of that network and hence a very big reason none of us Greater Houston area types would hardly ever read about anything concerning UNT and even during the Mean Joe Greene era when UNT could have more than contended for the SWC championship). Yet, trust me (and other older nestors) on that, I used to read on a daily basis all 3 area major newspapers and followed that hiring in 1972 with great interest and thru many of those years even contributed a few "Letters to the Sports Editors" to the Dallas Morning New, the Fort Worth Star Telegram and the now defunct Dallas Times-Herald which I still really miss very much), but that was a long time ago (and before Al Gore invented the internet)! All This Unbelievable Todd Dodge Coverage Should Synergize Us All--It For Damn Sure Has This NT Ex: And to all you good and wonderful folks of all walks and eras of Mean Green life, we've been way over-due all this for a very long time in Mean Green Country. We cannot afford to blow any of this, either. We've got to strike while the iron's hot and use every opportunity the hiring of Todd Dodge has afforded the University of North Texas (and I just have a gut feeling that this time around we will not hesitate). Hasn't Todd Dodge already paid for the salary we will probably one day have to match some other Texas non-BCS school who will not be able to stand our eventual success and all this publicity we are getting now and will continue to get in the future? FWIW, a UNT coaches salary reservoir fund might not be a bad idea for UNT to start thinking about now. As we should all know, success does not come cheap; but mediocrity can be bought at most any price. Our Day Has Come In Mean Green Country &.............Our New Football Stadium Will Seal The Deal!

Thanks, Phil... If you can and don't mind, could you put that "V T" version of an "N T" on a green helmet and then a white helmet (although I don't think you are a fan of the white helmet)? What about a green strip down the middle of the white helmet variation, too? Anyhoooo, will look forward to seeing your creative-works when I get back to the computer later this evening. PMG

How many times thru the years have we seen a high profile coach at various outposts have a good first year, a bad second year and then in Year 3 his football program starts to take off?

Spring Ball, when does it start? Uh, sometimes this Winter? Just going with recent trends, megagreen; but we are in a whole new era, now aren't we? I know many of you who have expressed for years how our annual Green/White Spring Football Game should be played on a Saturday (preferably in the Spring) so many more alums/fans could get up to Denton to watch it. Seems like when I was an NT student that one of Fry's Green/White games drew upwards to 5-6,000 fans if memory serves me well. Might such a Saturday Spring Green/White game with Coach Dodge in charge bring out (in record numbers) more Texas HS football coaches (as well as many coaches from Oklahoma and other states, too)?

Which one of you posted an "N T" that had that Virginia Tech "V T" look? If you are reading this post, please post that version of "N T" if you please. I like the new UNT eagle on the helmet in the above posts, but are we not still trying to push "Mean Green?"

Harry (or anyone), do you have a bio on Santiago and some of the other redshirts, but mostly Santiago.

I feel until we finally get it right with our unis' and helmet at UNT that there will always be half on board with it/half not on board with our present unis'. Of course, one man's junk is another man's treasure? When I see photos of the Fry-era apple green unis' and GGII' flying worm (as many of you have called it) it brings back many pleasant memories of a MG football era long gone by. Of course, I was a an NT student during most of the apple green unis' era so some of that could also just be a nostalgic rush, too. But I also remember the players who wore those apple green unis' with the flying worm logo on their helmets almost beating Earl Campbell and the DKR-coached Texas Longhorns, too, so that is just one of the many good memories those unis' conjure up for many of us on this forum. I am not sure what I will think 20 years from now when I see our present unis' in a photo in some UNT publication, but to be honest, I don't think it will be anything that brings back "high profile" type memories of MG football because we didn't have any high profile (Top 25?) successes while wearing this present uniform and helmet. In fact, the last 2 years of what these uni' and helmet represented were all time MG football history downers for many on this board. Beggin' many pardons, but for most of my adult life UNT leadership has with most of their hiring decisions made MG athletics a most unsure of itself situation and because of all that, we've lost many, many alums who've refused to follow multi-years of "unsure" directions of this athletic program. Media guides of the last 25 plus years may prove that particular group of NT Exes to be (unfortunatley) close to being accurate with their assessments. IMHO, I believe all this has changed for good now and FWIW, I have to believe that. UNT Prez Dr. "B" I feel realizes that alums (across the board) give when they feel good about their university (and don't give when they don't feel good about their university). I also feel she believes a high profile and successful NCAA D1-A football program (a la Boise State & others similar) will cause NT Exes to feel very good about their alma mater and could work wonders with across the board UNT fund-raising. Matter of fact, I feek Dr "B" has enough prior experience at her past intercollegiate stops and has probably done all the neccessary research to know all thi$. I think having the new kelly green directive from above (Chancellor Jackson) will insure that there will be some kind of changes with our unis' this Fall; hopefully, there will be a tweaking of our helmet's font as well and then lets leave what a broad cross-section of what actual UNT graduates approve of alone for about the next quarter of a century (or more).

Actually, Zeke, it was another "N T" that I haven't seen posted on GMG.com for awhile. As you know, we've had a few threads on this subject the last few years.

Ever since a good yankee friend of mine insulted me (or all of us) when I showed him the 2 letter "N T" with the letters on top of each other when he asked me: "What does the "T N" stand for? (And he was serious). keith, was it you that had the futuristic "N T" logo at one time? Or was that you, Deep Green?

ADLER, maybe I've missed it somewhere along the way, but is Caris aware of GoMeanGreen.com and the role it played in all this? Just curious.

If the powers that be refuse to put an eagle of any shape or form on the helmet, what kind of fonts would work? 2 letter "N T" or a 3 letter "UNT" or maybe even a "Northern Tex" in script on a black helmet? (Just seeing if you are still reading)!

UNTFan23, to many (and I know on this forum not everyone) but that "wheel" you speak of reminds many of the last 2 years (and particularly the last 3 weeks of this last season) coupled with 9 years of 42W's and 62L's (or something close to those numbers). I would hope we would not strap the new Todd Dodge Era at the University of North Texas with the old look of all those years. I just cannot see that happening even at UNT. I believe Todd Dodge will have some input with all this as many D1-A HFC's want their team to dress out well (so to speak). For certain there is something to say about continuity, but only when it represents something positive and the last 2 years were not positive to many; but what the heck, "new look" Mean Green gear with our official colors of kelly green will mean more Collegiate Licensing commissions for UNT and I'm sure we could use the extra bucks. Who has been designing our most recent unis' anyway? I know we wouldn't dare use anyone from UNT's highly reputable and nationally respected school of fashion and design to make color/design suggestions now would we?

And surley it won't cut down on, uh, funky polls, right Cerebus? Tell me "no" even if you have to lie about it, OK? WIN STATE SLC DRAGONS! THE MEAN GREEN NATION IS BEHIND YOU!

We probably got out of the starting blocks a bit too late for Snead's services, although I would have liked our chances had he visited our burgeoning campus and found a very large diverse student body and UNT being the largest residential campus this side of UT-Austin. My guess is that Snead picks UH, with Ole Miss and TCU being left at the altar.

I like the kelly green and black which is helluva' lot better looking than a purple and black combo; you know, like the FW Paschall HS football team wears? As said before, the kelly green will show up better in the stands when the TV cameras pan our huge crowds. I hope Todd Dodge will talk Rick V into unis' similar to the above photo in GreenTiger's post (with variations, of course). And the white helmet just really look better, too, and will show off whatever font we (hopefully) change over to on a "new look" helmet in our new era of Mean Green football. Many of us will never forget watching Fry's first team come out for the first time in that apple green (which amazingly enough was a very popular color fashion-wise back then) but using it for football unis' was a bit of a stretch for most even back then.

GMG1999, is Frank Broyle's still the AD up there (and has his voice gone up another octave)?!?!?

A completely new era of Mean Green football should = new unis... I think we need new unis' especially now. I don't think we've won any football uni's fashion contest with the ones we have now (and the helmet's rather dullish' "North Texas' font). When you can get this board unified on unis and helmet design just like the hiring of Todd Dodge has been nothing short of a phenomena and message board unifer, then we will know we are on to something with our future (hopeful) new football unis' and helmets. Interesting that former UNT Coach Hayden Fry had a big influence with his unis' and GGII was right in there helping him. Fry also had a part in recommendations for the very impressive Iowa Hawkeye logo and their football unis's as well. Wonder if Todd Dodge could bring a few ideas up to Mean Green Country for a "different look" football uniform and helmet. AND................do we want UNT football unis' and helmets that remind many of us of of the last 2 years? PS: I guess if we go to the kelly green we will have somewhat a new look uni' based on that alone? I do like some of the designs some of you came up with in the "short-lived" poll last night. The green and black combos would be very popular with our football players IMHO; and they wouldn't look too bad for NT Exes and MG fans to wear, either. GO SLC DRAGONS! WIN STATE! GMG!

I feel great relief that (finally) our alma mater can now pick up with what we had started (in a higher profile sort of way) of which we dropped the ball for the last 25 plus very, very long years post-1978 season after which that season we lost a pretty decent coach to a Big 10 school. Have been checking our MG football history very close, but my personal research indicates we've not had a UNT HFC get a better job since. I've checked my NT football media guide several times over and I have yet to discover where we've had such wins that really gained us more than just just Lone Star State recognition than we had as in the Fry era. Those TTech wins were nice but that was nice mostly state-wide and not much further outside our state's boundaries. I feel great relief that although most of my young to middle age adult years have sped by like a speeding bullet, that we are finally back on track in Mean Green Country. I feel damn good about that matter of fact! I feel good that GrayEagleOne will this next Fall be celebrating his 60'th year of following Mean Green football and that I will be in the stands helping him (and all of you) celebrate all that, too. I feel good that our fans and alums seem to be thinking "Big Time" once again! That makes many of us feel good! I feel good that Coach Dodge (with a much larger UNT constituency as we have today) will be creating many, many new MG fans just as this NT Ex (and others on this board) became during another similar high profile era of Mean Green football. One day, some of you young gun alums will be talking about Todd Dodge the way many of us still talk about Hayden Fry and all of you will then have younger NT students and young gun alums in that future year be pokin' a bit of fun at you for doing that, too. I feel good that with Todd Dodge we have a head football coach that we (especially us older nestors who were around in the 70's)) will talk about Coach Todd Dodge and Coach Hayden Fry in the same breath one day in the future. That makes me feel real good. FWIW.................I just feel damn good period! GO SLC DRAGONS & GMG!

Shamless bump because... ...this thread was really created (moreso) for our many, many visitors and/or critics (with maybe one local female ESPN 103.3 FM radio personality in particular? ) who may need to know that some D1-A schools have actually lost coaches and still survived and even moved up the NCAA D1-A food chain. Boise State U has not only survived 4 new HFC's in 9 years, but have topped all that off by gaining a spot in the BCS Championship Series in the next few weeks. Certainly I (as all of you) are a bit biased, but I think Mean Green football with all we now have working for us, ie, the hiring of Todd Dodge as our new HFC, a busting out of the seams main campus enrollment with our growing residential campus status, many new faces moving into Denton (County) AND.......the first almost $2 million put down on a new football stadium, ie, palace at our "most visilble" Mean Green Village...... ...........anyhooooo, I believe UNT now has all the ingrediants in place to steer our Mean Green football ship in the same direction that our former Big West Conference-mate, Boise State, has with their inclusion in the BCSCS. It's mostly all good now...& GO SLC DRAGONS!

Thanks for the info, GB. I was hoping for the Pearland (Houston area) Oilers which is a city in the county (Brazoria) of which I was born and raised. GO DRAGONS!

I am just not that crazy about the font selected for the "North Texas" part on our present helmet. I think it is about as "plain Jane" as you can get, but what the heck, I have yet to see a helmet for UNT that has unified this board as the selection of Todd Dodge seems to have pulled off. A helmet logo I do like is the "N T" where the letters are not directly on top of each other and when I showed someone a sample of that one day they asked me: "What does the "T N" stand for?" This I do know: This new era we're in at UNT needs a whole new uniform design/look and a new helmet design would not hurt, either. Folks, this is no longer the DD Ball era and we just don't need DD Ball era unis' IMHO. I would feel this way no matter who Dodge's predeccessor at UNT would have been quite frankly. New HF Coach ='s New Era ='s New Unis'? ? ? ?