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The Wearin' of the (Mean) Green SMU and TCU each have a lengthy and well-documented tradition of excellence in football. Until the troubles of the 1980s, the Southwest Conference in which they played was the stuff of legend. That isn't necessarily true for North Texas, which begins its second season in the Big West Conference. The Mean Green has traditions of its own, but it's been in seven different conferences or alignments and never has enjoyed the prominence of the Metroplex's other squads. However, with the population boom north of Dallas-Fort Worth, UNT has the opportunity to develop a regional audience, Helwig said. "The growth of the Metroplex is out here," he points out. "With the (Texas Motor) Speedway, and Intel going into Alliance, we're at the tip of the triangle. It's a tremendous advantage to have access to this population base. There are 41/2 to 5 million people here, which is more than Kansas State, Nebraska or Oklahoma (universities). And that's right in this immediate area." With that population base, the North Texas Eagles have mounted a strong campaign to win the hearts of Denton fans. "We don't have to be the ticket for the Metroplex, but if we could be the ticket for Denton County, we'd be in good shape," Helwig said. "There have been marketing studies done, and we've utilized direct mail. We do a lot of marketing within this county. We're working with the Denton Chamber of Commerce." Helwig has a smaller budget to work with -- $5.7 million in 1995-96 -- but doesn't have to support the expense of private-school scholarships, as Copeland and Windegger do. At the moment, though, UNT is in the position of being cannon fodder. The Mean Green will play Big 12 heavyweights Texas A&M and Texas Tech this season, along with Oregon State of the Pac-10, after losing to Vanderbilt from the SEC in their opener, 29-12. Those games offer six-figure guarantees to the Eagles, as well as giving them tough tests before the conference season opens Oct. 4 when they take on Idaho. read more: https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/1997/09/08/story3.html