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DENTON -- Seth Littrell came to North Texas a year ago with a national reputation as an offensive guru and vowed to "tee it high and let it fly." The path UNT's head coach took to reach that goal seemed a little unconventional, to say the least. Littrell had been on the job just a few days when he handed his offense over to Graham Harrell, a Texas high school and college football legend with a short coaching résumé. Littrell's decision to hire an old friend as his offensive coordinator and play-caller resulted in a few bumpy moments, but it paid dividends overall. UNT will head into the second year of the Littrell era off a turnaround season that came largely out of the chemistry the pair have developed together -- and with their players. "Those two guys have a great relationship," UNT quarterback Mason Fine said. "Coach Littrell respects what Coach Harrell is trying to do. And Coach Harrell will bounce ideas off Littrell. Their attitudes complement each other. Coach Littrell is more laid-back, while Coach Harrell is always yelling. I am very comfortable with both those guys." read more: https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/collegesports/2017/08/22/tandem-seth-littrell-graham-harrell-getting-unt-football-back-track

http://lamarcardinals.com/news/2017/8/14/football-a-look-at-the-2017-cardinals-qbs.aspx A little hard to swallow, but Lamar brings higher recruited talent to the QB position than we do at this particular time. Looks like they picked up an SMU transfer that can throw deep:

No team in Conference USA made a bigger leap in 2016 than North Texas, which vaulted from one win to five and a bowl game in Seth Littrell's first season. The Mean Green ended up losing in overtime to Army in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, which puts North Texas in the rather enviable position of having momentum to build off of while having a bitter taste to motivate it. For a team with a nice mix of seven offensive and eight defensive starters returning, heading into the second season of new systems, UNT seems well-poised to move forward. "You better have a chip on your shoulder, and you better figure out a way for whatever success you had, whether it's game to game, week to week, or as an entire season, to restart it, refocus, and make sure all your goals are right there in front of you," Littrell said. read more: http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/sports/2017/08/11/unt-looks-build-surprising-success/538824001/

Mean Green Productions introduces a mini-series featuring the personal stories and backgrounds of some Mean Green football players prior to their arrival in Denton. “Born and Bred” will take you to their hometowns to meet their families, coaches and communities that helped create their passion for football and set them on a path for success. Today, the series takes you to Elkhart, Texas to visit Jeffery Wilson's hometown and explore his journey. MeanGreenSports - http://mgrn.us/2vIIqIP YouTube - https://youtu.be/ZlnGj6n66zk

As we are now almost halfway they July It may be a good time to discuss attendance at the opener. There seems to have been a full court press on season tickets and so that is good. There are clearly limits to what this can provide based on past performance etc. Sept 2 6pm is the opener against Lamar. The Cardinals won't bring many but probably more than MUTS. They won't set any visitor attendance records. It's going to be hot as hell. So what can we do to up the attendance to a respectable number given a fairly unknown and lower division opponent? Is there a promotion that could help kick things off in a good footing? I think the student turnout will be decent as they are pretty optimistic at the start of the year. But what about alumni? it just seems to me in years past we might have hoped things would just "work out" and fall into line. Heck I mean we went to a bowl last season and everything so surely there will be a good amount of walk-ups right? Perhaps this is an opportunity to think outside the box. Will we demand full ticket price in the heated corner of the Wing Zone or decide a butt in seat is better than none at all? Will the admin support us and encourage students to attend? Will Denton locals and businesses see a value in showing their face? Here's hoping Wren and company are thinking outside the box on this.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 13, 2017 Contact: Jordan Stepp jordan.stepp@unt.edu/940-369-8329 FOOTBALL Kickoff Times for 2017 Home Games Set Mean Green Kick Off the 2017 Season at 6 pm Against Lamar on Sept. 2 DENTON – The kickoff times for all 2017 home games have been selected. The season openerwill be at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 2, at Apogee Stadium, when the Mean Green host Lamar. The Cardinals visit Denton for the first time since 1985, when the Mean Green won 20-0 and marks the seventh meeting all-time between the two programs. Following road dates at Metroplex rival SMU and Iowa, North Texas returns home for the Conference USA opener against UAB on Saturday, Sept. 23. That tilt kicks off at 5:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on beINSports. The Mean Green then travel to Southern Miss before returning to Apogee Stadiumafter their bye week to host UT San Antonio on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 5:30 p.m. North Texas travels to Florida Atlantic prior to its home date with Old Dominion on Saturday, Oct. 28, which kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN3. After the Mean Green take on Louisiana Tech in Ruston, they return to Denton for homecoming against UTEP on Saturday, Nov. 11. That game kicks off at 4 p.m. and will also be broadcast on ESPN3. North Texas then hosts Army at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, which will be the third meeting between the programs over the past 13 months, including the 2016 Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl. The Mean Green wrap up the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 25 in Houston against Rice. Season tickets for 2017 are on sale and fans can purchase tickets through the Mean Green athletics ticket office. For more information, visit meangreensports.com/tickets or call the ticket office at 940-565-2527 or 800-868-2366. The Mean Green enter the 2017 season following a successful first year under head coach Seth Littrell, who led North Texas to its first bowl appearance since the 2013 season. North Texas improved in several key statistical categories under Littrell in 2016, as the Mean Green had the second-best turnaround in the Football Bowl Subdivision in terms of wins. North Texas improved its win total by four games, finishing 5-8 on the season with a Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl appearance. Littrell helped lead the Mean Green to a 9.6 points per game jump in scoring offense from their output in 2016, which ranked 11th-best in the nation, and the 2016 defense allowed 8.7 points per game fewer than they did in 2015, which was the 13th-best turnaround in the country. Fans are encouraged to follow along with Mean Green Football on social media leading into the 2017 season. Get updates on Twitter and Instagram @MeanGreenFB, or look for news and photos on Facebook at Facebook.com/MeanGreenFB. Fans can also head to MeanGreenSports.com for the latest news on the football program. 2017 North Texas Mean Green Football Schedule Date Opponent Location Time (CT) Sept. 2 Lamar Denton, Texas 6 p.m. Sept. 9 at SMU Dallas, Texas 6 p.m. Sept. 16 at Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 2:30 p.m. Sept. 23 UAB* Denton, Texas 5:30 p.m. Sept. 30 Southern Miss* Hattiesburg, Mississippi 6 p.m. Oct. 14 UTSA* Denton, Texas 5:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at Florida Atlantic* Boca Raton, Florida TBA Oct. 28 Old Dominion* Denton, Texas 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at Louisiana Tech* Ruston, Louisiana TBA Nov. 11 UTEP* Denton, Texas 4 p.m. Nov. 18 Army Denton, Texas 5:30 p.m. Nov. 25 at Rice* Houston, Texas 12 p.m. *Conference USA game