letsgiveacheer

Va Tech used to be known as VPI (Virginia Polytechnic Institute) and their nickname was the "Gobblers", based on the way the football team gobbled up their food. The mascot was a turkey. In the late 70's, there was a rebranding effort and VPI became known as Va Tech and they returned to their original nickname, the Hokeys. The turkey (aka Hokeybird) remained their mascot. I know, it's confusing.

They do have that nice cannon!

The first voice you heard was from Jitter Nolen, NTSU's president at that time who was instrumental in bringing Fry to Denton. The second voice was that of Fry. BTW, Nolen died at the age of 95 just a few weeks ago. These excerpts were taken from a film called "Coach" which documented Fry's early days at North Texas leading to the epic game with SMU. Dabney Coleman was the producer and Newt Razor paid for the whole thing. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1040494/m1/?fbclid=IwAR23n_KIXG59uKopXG1JMYgUBdwGdeujpqqMoIuBXHcgrg29rJE4cvOp_Kk#track/1

I received this note from President Smatresk today. A few of us will remember Jitter Nolen and his emphasis on improving both academics and athletics at North Texas. I thought he was an excellent president. Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 Dear UNT Community, I am saddened to share the news of the death of Calvin Cleave 'Jitter' Nolen, who served as university president from 1971 to 1979, a period of tremendous growth and progress for North Texas. He died Aug. 13 at age 96 and flags will be flown at half-staff in remembrance. During President Nolen's eight years at North Texas, enrollment rose 11% and the budget increased 66%. Our campus grew significantly, with construction completed on Wooten Hall, the Art Building, the Coliseum, the General Academic Building, and the Sullivant Visitor Center, which is now the Sullivant Public Safety Center. Our University Union also was expanded, construction began on the Physical Education Building and a south wing was added to the Music Building. President Nolen was considered one of North Texas' most personable and active presidents, and someone who helped us expand our reach into the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. In 1975, the Texas Legislature placed the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth under the university's Board of Regents and Nolen served a dual role as president of TCOM, known today as the UNT Health Science Center. He worked hard to move North Texas from "good" to "great" and programs established during his time include the School of Community Service, the Intensive English Language Institute, and the computer science department. His hire of Hayden Fry as football coach and athletic director also led to winning seasons for the Mean Green football team. It has been 50 years since President Nolen joined the university family and because of his leadership, we continue to transform our students' lives. Please keep President Nolen's family in your thoughts as we remember his legacy. Respectfully, Neal Smatresk UNT President

This appears to be a fake letter.

Yes, Silver is correct. From about 1945 to 1975, the band marched 120 with 8 alternates. The tempi were normally quite fast as you see with the Big 10 or HBCU's today. There may have been some non-music majors in the band at that time but I do not recall any. There just may be some other surprises this season as well. As I have said before, the GB is in very good hands with Dr. Cook.

I don't see any space to lock up their bicycles!

We have played Cincinnati seventeen times in all, winning nine of those games and tying one.

Yes, a much different time then for college football. I think it was ABC who would broadcast one game on Saturday and this was followed by the Prudential College Scoreboard. That was it!

Thank you for the sentiment but we have a tendency to get the days confused. Memorial Day is for those that gave their life in the service of their country. Veterans Day is for those that once served and Armed Forces Day is for those still serving.

Ha! I was a knee-bending Episcopalian. St Barnabas on Locust St. comes to mind. But, I was hired to play in the FBC orchestra when they did that crazy Christmas tree but I doubt that you would have met me, unfortunately, as I recall they only did one rehearsal with the orchestra before the performances.

Thanks very much. That photo is taking from the current GB's website which has many other photos of the various marching bands through the ages. Yes, I was Mr McAdow's last assistant I am proud to say. He was authorized an doctoral candidate as an assistant but he was fired during my junior year so he asked me to fill that position. My senior year, he did not hire anyone so I got to do that year as well. I recall I was paid about 150.00 a month. Big money in those days!

First, I had an excellent visit last week with Daniel Cook, the GB director and was very, very, impressed. The program is in very good hands for certain; the organization of the first band day in over 40 years being just one example. As Plumm and Silver mentioned, we used to have these each year starting from the 50's and ending in 77. They were a logistical nightmare to organize and also tough on the HS students as they all had their Friday night games which ended less than a few hours before they got on the road to Denton, depending upon their distance. But they did fill Fouts and the bands and parents seemed to get a kick out of these. Plumm, one small error. Winslow game from UCLA, not from USC. When Maurice McAdow retired, there were 100s of applications for his job as you can imagine, even from the biggest of schools. Band Day, 1963

Many thanks, @NT93!!

Thanks very much, Lifer. Much appreciated.

Thanks for asking. I am honored that the UNT Music Library is establishing a special collection in my name so the purpose of this trip was to deliver scores and other materials for this collection. I had a great time for the two days I was there and was treated very well. Most importantly, I got to visit with some classmates, most of whom I had not seen in 45 years or so! The campus has changed so much as you would imagine from the early 70's! There were only 16,000 students enrolled at that time and Denton County had a population of about 30,000. About the only thing that hasn't changed was Voertman's! The loss of the sketchy shops on iconic Fry Street was disappointing. They had a very nice dinner for me at Queenies where I met the Dean of the College of Music as well as Daniel Cook, the marching band director among other conducting responsibilities. I am so pleased that the band is in his very capable hands.

Thank you to all who provided recommendations. We ended up at Rudy's as I was only in Denton for a very short time and did not want to spend any extra time on the road than was needed. It may not have been the best but for someone who has not had any Texas BBQ in over ten years, it was good enough. BTW, how Denton has grown!! What a shocker.

Hello my feathered friends, I am excited to return to Denton for a very short visit this week. This will be my first time in about five years so am looking forward to this very much. At the risk of opening a can of worms, what would be the best BBQ in town? I am meeting a group of classmates for lunch on Friday and would appreciate your recommendations. None of them live in Denton so they are not up on things there. Please accept my thanks in advance as I will not have an opportunity to thank you personally. I am driving from Durham so will be on the road a great deal.

Brute Bernard and Skull Murphy!

Even better, it appears that we will have them at home once but three aways.

I wore the version on the left as I entered North Texas in 1971. The older uniform on the right was worn from the early 50's to the late 60's so I would imagine they were pretty ripe by the time they were retired. The uniform on the right was black with green trim on the hat and plume. There was a scroll on the left shoulder saying, North Texas State. There was also a green and white cape showing NTS. The "new" uniform on the left consisted of a green jacket and black pants and an overlay which was reversible. The NTS you see was worn most of the time. The other side consisted of a map of Texas with a star placed at the location of Denton. Both uniforms were also worn on stage when the concert band was performing. The older uniform was worn as is, sans the hat, cape, and spats. With the new uniform, the overlay was removed and we wore only the jacket and pants along with a white shirt and black tie. No spats were worn on stage either!

Looking pretty sharp in their new uniforms!

I was a decade after you and saw the transition from the Pit to the Super Pit. The very first game at the Super Pit was such a let down with none of the excitement of the Pit. Not to mention those orange seats... Opera and basketball have little in common but when I was director of a company in NYC, I always careful not to rent a theater that was larger than we needed, even if that meant we had to turn away guests. The cast always performed better to a packed house. I suspect that is the same for any athletics team, including basketball. Who wants to play in a 10,000 seat gym that is only 1/5 full?

Hmmm...something is not right about this photo. The NTSU scoreboard, so beloved at Fouts, is in the background. However the game against Tennessee was played in Knoxville, not Denton. I suspect that this was photoshopped or whatever the equivalent was in those days. Or, the final score of the NTSU-UT game was reconstructed on the Fouts scoreboard for the photo. My guess is that Andre the Giant had a show at the Dallas Sportatorium, one of the greatest wrestling venues of all time! Yes, it was a hairy time!

Yes, four national titles in a row!