UNT Hall of Fame

wardly · June 27, 2020

At first blush it appears that a number of coaches in our Hall of Fame had been fired from North Texas. Is this normal?

MeanGreen_MBA · June 27, 2020

Coaches get fired. Not many retire.

GrandGreen · June 28, 2020

DD should not have been in any HOF, not only was he fired he had a losing record and openly complained about his situation at NT.

Blakeley had some real good teams, but really inherited the bulk of his those teams. He was a great showman.

Can't think of any other fired coaches in the HOF.

meangreen11 · June 28, 2020

1 hour ago, GrandGreen said:

DD should not have been in any HOF, not only was he fired he had a losing record and openly complained about his situation at NT.

Blakeley had some real good teams, but really inherited the bulk of his those teams. He was a great showman.

Can't think of any other fired coaches in the HOF.

I think why he was invited in was he won 4 straight conference championships with pretty sub par facilities.

untjim1995 · June 28, 2020

6 minutes ago, meangreen11 said:

I think why he was invited in was he won 4 straight conference championships with pretty sub par facilities.

His facilities were just as good as anyone in the original SBC.

NT93 · June 28, 2020

Sadly, the bar is pretty low for both coaches and players.

Edited June 28, 2020 by NT93

Cooley · June 28, 2020

3 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

DD should not have been in any HOF, not only was he fired he had a losing record and openly complained about his situation at NT.

Blakeley had some real good teams, but really inherited the bulk of his those teams. He was a great showman.

Can't think of any other fired coaches in the HOF.

Jimmy Gales falls in this category. Coaches are hired to be fired. Hall of Famer Tom Laundry was also fired.

TheTastyGreek · June 28, 2020

2 hours ago, Cooley said:

Hall of Famer Tom Laundry was also fired.

To be fair, many at the time felt he was washed up. He was the reason for loads of success in Dallas, and he definitely put it all on the line every season. But it was obvious near the end of his tenure that the tide had turned. Coach Tom wasn't going to throw in the towel on his own... And while it wasn't pleasant to see it unfold, I'm glad Jerry Jones fired him quickly instead of putting him through the wringer.

And it's not like the Cowboys hung him out to dry... He's still an icon, beloved by fans and organization alike. He's in the ring of honor, he's in the hall of fame... By any measure, he's permanently pressed into Cowboys lore.

MeanGreenTexan · June 28, 2020

3 hours ago, TheTastyGreek said:

To be fair, many at the time felt he was washed up. He was the reason for loads of success in Dallas, and he definitely put it all on the line every season. But it was obvious near the end of his tenure that the tide had turned. Coach Tom wasn't going to throw in the towel on his own... And while it wasn't pleasant to see it unfold, I'm glad Jerry Jones fired him quickly instead of putting him through the wringer.

And it's not like the Cowboys hung him out to dry... He's still an icon, beloved by fans and organization alike. He's in the ring of honor, he's in the hall of fame... By any measure, he's permanently pressed into Cowboys lore.

This is really a delicate topic. I agree that coach Laundry is woven into the fabric of Dallas sports legends, but there was much to Gain when he was fired. I mean, the Cowboys ironed out a pretty nice hire in Jammy Johnson who lint his perfect hair to the cause of 2 Super Bowls. Spin it whichever way you like, but those last few seasons under Coach Laundry were pretty agitated and those late 80s Cowboys teams folded time & again.

RBP79 · June 28, 2020

We've been thru this before. At NT you win FOUR straight Conference Championships you get into NT HoF regardless of the circumstances.

wardly · June 28, 2020

16 hours ago, meangreen11 said:

I think why he was invited in was he won 4 straight conference championships with pretty sub par facilities.

I think both Corky and Judy Nelson are in Hall of Fame as well as Jimmy Gales, all of whom were terminated. My question was is it normal for coaches who have been terminated to be in their school's Hall of Fame or does this just occur at UNT ?

Mean Green 93-98 · June 28, 2020

21 minutes ago, wardly said:

I think both Corky and Judy Nelson are in Hall of Fame as well as Jimmy Gales, all of whom were terminated. My question was is it normal for coaches who have been terminated to be in their school's Hall of Fame or does this just occur at UNT ?

Bobby Bowden was fired. I'm pretty sure he's in Florida State's hall of fame or ring of honor or whatever they call it. Bobby Knight was fired and was extremely controversial, yet I guarantee he's in Indiana's hall of fame.

Those are just a couple of examples and I'm sure there are hundreds more; but as the first reply to your post noted, coaches typically get fired/asked to step down. Later on, people can assess their entire body of work and decide if it's hof-worthy.

GrandGreen · June 29, 2020

5 hours ago, wardly said:

I think both Corky and Judy Nelson are in Hall of Fame as well as Jimmy Gales, all of whom were terminated. My question was is it normal for coaches who have been terminated to be in their school's Hall of Fame or does this just occur at UNT ?

Judy Nelson was not terminated, she left when her husband was fired.

Corky could get his team up to play the best of teams, but he was not HOF quality. Nether was Judy or Gales.

I still wonder with all these coaches in the HOF, why Dan Spika and Rod Rust continue to be left out. They arguably had the best basketball and football teams ever at NT.

Marty · June 29, 2020

Spika was a little ahead of my time. Did he not coach anywhere after he left NT?

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/dan-spika-1.html

GrandGreen · June 29, 2020

11 hours ago, Marty said:

Spika was a little ahead of my time. Did he not coach anywhere after he left NT?

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/dan-spika-1.html

I don't think so, he went into broadcasting after NT.

Thing to remember about Spika's record is that NT was playing in one of the best conferences in the land at the time. Those teams with Crest Whitaker, Joe Hamilton and Leroy Winfield were as good as any that ever played at NT. Hopefully, this year's team will take that designation away from them.

wardly · June 29, 2020

17 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

Judy Nelson was not terminated, she left when her husband was fired.

Corky could get his team up to play the best of teams, but he was not HOF quality. Nether was Judy or Gales.

I still wonder with all these coaches in the HOF, why Dan Spika and Rod Rust continue to be left out. They arguably had the best basketball and football teams ever at NT.

Corky Nelson inducted into UNT Hall of Fame 2013, Judy in 2014,Bill Blakeley 2002, and Bill Brasher 2000. Tina Slinker in to be inducted this year.

GrandGreen · June 29, 2020

4 hours ago, wardly said:

Corky Nelson inducted into UNT Hall of Fame 2013, Judy in 2014,Bill Blakeley 2002, and Bill Brasher 2000. Tina Slinker in to be inducted this year.

Tina Slinker, a perfect example of someone going into the NT HOF that should not even be in the conversation.

if a 241-287 record doesn't mean mediocrity, what does? Longevity apparently counts as much as wins at NT.

If NT keeps adding 5 or 6 a year to the HOF, they will have every head coach that served over a couple year and any player that was good enough to get a honorable mention all conference award.

Edited June 29, 2020 by GrandGreen

TheTastyGreek · June 30, 2020

7 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

Tina Slinker, a perfect example of someone going into the NT HOF that should not even be in the conversation.

if a 241-287 record doesn't mean mediocrity, what does? Longevity apparently counts as much as wins at NT.

If NT keeps adding 5 or 6 a year to the HOF, they will have every head coach that served over a couple year and any player that was good enough to get a honorable mention all conference award.

Benford/Dodge 2024: You're out of options