North Texas and Houston, the series and some history

[ADLER]

A Stadium with several names during different eras - Public School Stadium (1942–1958), Jeppesen Stadium (1958–1980), Robertson Stadium (1980–2012)

Like many colleges, North Texas had suspended playing football during World War II and was anxious to restart the sport for the 1946 season, but they needed a sixth football school added to their conference.

In August 1945, the University of Houston announced that the school would field a football team for the first time. Following the announcement, the Lone Star Conference, spearheaded by Theron J. Fouts of North Texas, extended an invitation for Houston to join.

On November 16, 1946, in the fourth college game ever played on the Houston campus, North Texas defeated the Cougars 7 - 3.

North Texas won the Lone Star Conference championship and secured the right to square off in December with legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg's College of the Pacific Tigers in the 1946 Optimist Bowl. The game was played  in Public School Stadium on the UH campus and North Texas won 14 - 13. The game is notable as North Texas first bowl victory, and also as the last football game ever coached by Stagg.

The North Texas - Houston series is currently tied at 7 victories per school, North Texas winning in 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1958, 1959, and 1975, an Houston winning in 1948, 1951, 1960, 1980, 1998, 2011, and 2012.

The Houston Cougars were the first guest at the opening of North Texas' new Apogee Stadium in 2011. The Cougars, led by quarterback Case Keenum, won 48 - 23.

 

[Matt from A700]

[VideoEagle]

Nice find!

[97and03]

Been a LONG time since we beat them. 😢

[emmitt01]

1 hour ago, 97and03 said:

Been a LONG time since we beat them. 😢

Since you seem to understand the passage of time, can I interest you in the all-time SMU series record?  

[SilverEagle]

I was in attendance at that last win 28-0. It was played at Texas Stadium. Houston had already been admitted to the SWC but was not allowed to compete for the crown. The next year (1976) they won the SWC championship and beat Maryland in the Cotton Bowl....30-21.

[jperg2]

This should be the "rivalry" we all talk about, not that UTSA wanna-be crap.

[Wag Tag]

Houston Athletic Level should be our goal! GMG

[ADLER]

The history of the two programs was quite intertwined. North Texas AD Theron Fouts worked with the WPA to get Houston's stadium built, and then worked with the WPA again to get the North Texas Stadium built, but in a more round, track & field friendly, configuration. The 'track first' design was a blunder that would haunt North Texas for over half a century.

[Harry]

Good find @ADLER

[drex]

The  Houston game at Texas Stadium was the first game I ever saw a defensive lineman intercept a quarterback pitch to the halfback.  Walter Chapman did just that for the Mean Green.

[ADLER]

22 minutes ago, PlummMeanGreen said:

It was the year before UH won the 1976 SWC football championship.

I was on the field the day Houston won its first SWC championship, well I was one of the kids that rushed the field, and we all tossed cotton balls on the players while the Cotton Bowl invitation was being issued.

Then...we ran down to the other end of the stadium to get Rice quarterback Tommy Kramer's autograph.

[SilverEagle]

33 minutes ago, jperg2 said:

This should be the "rivalry" we all talk about, not that UTSA wanna-be crap.

You know, you're not the first person who has mentioned that. But for some reason, Houston seems content with their Rice rivalry game. And correctly me if I'm wrong, but down the corridor of years I haven't heard any Houston fans longing to have a yearly game with us. And even when we were in the old Southland conference a true rivalry never developed between us and either Texas State or SFA. There were a lot of lively games, but nothing approaching a true rivalry. Well, except for UTA. If their administration had not shut down their program the head coach of UTA, Chuck Curtis, would have made sure, one way or another, that there would be a true rivalry between us. 

Many schools are glad to have our friendly fans and great Bands come to their campus, and then the next year come to Denton to enjoy our friendly atmosphere.  But I haven't detected anyone that wants to "love to hate us" like UTSA. 

Our history has lots of "we wanted them, but they didn't want us (and vis versa)", or "we could have had something great, but the powers that be screwed it up.....or kept us apart"

There's a country and western song in there somewhere.......or at least the title of one.

Sorry, too many hours of watching the very great Ken Burns special on Country music.

 

Edited September 25, 2019 by SilverEagle

[UNT 90 Grad]

43 minutes ago, jperg2 said:

This should be the "rivalry" we all talk about, not that UTSA wanna-be crap.

I’d ultimately like to see a 3-way (fight the urge) rivalry for a trophy between UNT, SMU, and TCU, similar to the Commander-in-Chief Trophy.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander-in-Chief's_Trophy

[Christopher Walker]

2 minutes ago, UNT 90 Grad said:

I’d ultimately like to see a 3-way (fight the urge) rivalry for a trophy between UNT, SMU, and TCU, similar to the Commander-in-Chief Trophy.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander-in-Chief's_Trophy

Hard agree.

Also, do we need to go ahead and preemptively reinforce our claim to the first integrated major football in Texas again before Houston does? I feel like that’s almost a prerequisite to any game history y’all with them.

[Harry]

1 hour ago, jperg2 said:

This should be the "rivalry" we all talk about, not that UTSA wanna-be crap.

[RBP79]

It just is crazy that with the history of NT football we never got into a conference with the so called "Big Boys". Guess between the shallow leadership we've experienced and state politics it just wasn't in the cards. 

I keep getting told our fan base isn't as large as it should be???? I always say look up our attendance and if NT was in a Power 5 it may well double easily if not more. Ahhh but not the case.

[ADLER]

48 minutes ago, RBP79 said:

It just is crazy that with the history of NT football we never got into a conference with the so called "Big Boys". Guess between the shallow leadership we've experienced and state politics it just wasn't in the cards. 

I keep getting told our fan base isn't as large as it should be???? I always say look up our attendance and if NT was in a Power 5 it may well double easily if not more. Ahhh but not the case.

Quote

North Texas Stadium built, but in a more round, track & field friendly, configuration.

Fouts Field, with its horrific sight lines for fans, is the number one reason North Texas faltered.

North Texas was quickly passed by relative newbies UH and Tech because of this incredible blunder.

Edited September 25, 2019 by ADLER

[Huff]

In the 1950s North Texas and U of H were both in the Missouri Valley Conference. They left and moved up to better things. We didn`t.....

[ADLER]

23 hours ago, SilverEagle said:

I haven't detected anyone that wants to "love to hate us" like UTSA. 

Seriously, I haven't noticed any UTSA fans trolling our sites in years.

Houston, on the other hand, well, we have our own pet troll to prove its a rivalry.

A certain nameless UH troll

Edited September 26, 2019 by ADLER

[drex]

I talked to guy who was there for the opening of Fouts Field.  He said it was ugly even then.

[untjim1995]

7 hours ago, ADLER said:

Fouts Field, with its horrific sight lines for fans, is the number one reason North Texas faltered.

North Texas was quickly passed by relative newbies UH and Tech because of this incredible blunder.

You think being only about 50 yards away from the playing surface was a bad idea?

[FirefightnRick]

14 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

You think being only about 50 yards away from the playing surface was a bad idea?

It was the only football field I’ve ever seen in which the playing surface was equidistant to the concrete stands.  You could rotate the field 90 degrees and it would still fit length wise between the stands. Think about that.

If that wasn’t bizarre enough,...the front row seat at the 50 yard line was 33 1/2 Yards from the nearest point to the sideline.  Further,...the front row seats and several rows behind were below or level with the backs of the players and staff standing on the sidelines blocking the view point of anyone sitting in the lower rows of the stands, making it absolutely impossible to sell those seats to donors..  The result of this can be seen in the famous aerial view of the 2001 Baylor game in which you can see how many people moved back and up to the 7th thru 9th rows to see over the players.  

And the reason this occurred was as Adler stated earlier, the designers blew it planning the thing out.  They started the crown of the surface in front of the seats instead of going out level from the seats,...THEN  placing the typical crown you see on outdoor football fields where the playing surface starts.  

You couldn’t intentionally create a MORE LOUSY venue to watch a football or soccer game than Fouts Field.

 

Rick

[SilverEagle]

On 9/25/2019 at 8:16 AM, ADLER said:

The history of the two programs was quite intertwined. North Texas AD Theron Fouts worked with the WPA to get Houston's stadium built, and then worked with the WPA again to get the North Texas Stadium built, but in a more round, track & field friendly, configuration. The 'track first' design was a blunder that would haunt North Texas for over half a century.

The WPA ceased to exist after June 30th 1943.  Fouts (Eagle Stadium) started construction in 1951 and opened in 1952.

[ZacB]

Speaking of questionable stadiums, Houston was also our opponent for the last game at Eagle Field, the predecessor to Fouts.

Don't think you can really call Eagle Field a stadium though, was mainly just bleachers by open land and what appear to be parking lot-type lights.

Still won just over 75% of the games ever played there, the best home winning percentage between Apogee-Fouts-Eagle.