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EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the final installment in a three-part series on the 100th anniversary of the North Texas football program. Today’s story examines the program’s potential for growth. Mistaking Ernie Kuehne for a coach would be easy on a summer afternoon as the North Texas men’s basketball team works out in a gym on the fringe of campus. Kuehne, a stocky man with gray hair and a vibrant smile, stalks the sidelines and chats with assistant coaches and players, who treat him like a member of the team as they go through drills. “The godfather’s here,” UNT head coach Tony Benford yells as he crosses the court to greet Kuehne, whose name is plastered on the entrance sign outside the gym. UNT opened the Ernie Kuehne Basketball Practice Facility this spring. The former UNT track athlete, who is now a prominent Dallas lawyer and businessman, donated $1 million toward the project. He then led a campaign that raised a total of $3 million in 30 days that covered construction costs. UNT officials see the story of how Kuehne’s name ended up on the building as an example of growing support from boosters and fans. They say that growth must continue if the school is to advance during a key period in its history that will coincide with the 100 anniversary of its football program this fall. Less than five years ago, Kuehne was a disconnected alumnus with no confidence in the direction of UNT’s athletic program. “To say that I was not interested and apathetic toward athletics at North Texas would be an understatement,” Kuehne said. “That changed when I drove up here and saw Eagle Point, the stadium coming up out of the ground and the athletic center. The first words that came to my brain were, ‘This isn’t the same North Texas.’” UNT officials believe that is the case. They see the investments the school has made as a key step toward UNT athletics becoming nationally prominent and a more important part of campus life. UNT has dramatically upgraded its facilities over the last decade, a process that reached a pinnacle in 2011 when the school opened Apogee Stadium, its $79 million football venue. UNT also joined Conference USA this summer, giving the Mean Green three Texas rivals — Rice, UTEP and UTSA — after spending 12 years as the lone Texas school in the Sun Belt Conference. Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20130729-football-big-potential.ece