A letter to the Fans from Wren Baker

[Jonnyeagle]

Mean Green Nation,

It is a great time to be a part of North Texas Athletics! Momentum is at an all-time high and we have so much to be thankful for as we reflect on the past year and prepare for the future.

I am so proud of our coaches, support staff, and student-athletes who continue to raise the bar of excellence as we deliver on our mission despite dealing with the challenges of a global pandemic. In 2020-21 we saw a number of outstanding successes in the competitive arena, in the classroom, and in the community. A few notable accomplishments include:

• Achieved the 2^nd highest overall winning percentage in the past 40 years
• Claimed Conference USA Championships in softball, women’s golf and men’s basketball
• Earned our first NCAA men’s basketball tournament win
• Secured Conference USA individual championships from Audrey Tan (women’s golf),  Vicente Marzilio (men’s golf), and Zion Hill (men’s javelin)
• Posted a perfect score in the Academic Performance Rate in five sports
• Delivered a record Graduation Success Rate of 86%

Construction progress continues on key athletic facilities that will enable us to further develop our student-athletes physically, academically, and socially. We are near the end of construction on our state-of-the-art golf practice facility made possible by a lead gift from Jerome “Bruzzy” Westheimer and support from numerous donors. Be on the lookout for details on a formal dedication of this great facility.

The Lovelace and McNatt Families Practice Facility has been open for a full season, and I am amazed at how we’ve been able to utilize it to improve the experience of every UNT student-athlete. On bad and extreme weather days, the facility is abuzz with activity from daylight until dark.

We recently completed work with architects to determine programming needs for an expanded Athletic Center. As outlined in the Light the Tower Facility Master Plan, we have a critical need to expand this facility in order to better serve our student-athletes in the areas of sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and academic support. We are also increasing the scope to make improvements to the facilities used by our softball and volleyball programs in the Mean Green Village. We look forward to sharing details of our updated facility plans in the coming months.

Despite a chaotic year with many disruptions, Mean Green momentum remains strong and we want to thank you for the important part you play in our trajectory as an institution. Your financial support and attendance at games are vital to our continued success. We look forward to full stadiums and the return of the full game day experience, including tailgating, this fall. We can’t wait to see Apogee rocking.

Finally, we launched the UNiTe Initiative, a 5-year strategic initiative to grow our donor base exponentially. To learn more about the UNiTe Initiative and to join the Mean Green Scholarship Fund, please visit http://meangreenscholarshipfund.com today. For as little as $25, you can become a member and support the scholarship and academic endeavors of our 400 student-athletes.

On behalf of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff, thank you for helping us Build Champions and Prepare Leaders.

North Texas, We Love!


Wren Baker
Vice President and Director of Athletics

[PlummMeanGreen]

Are there any blueprints or renderings  for our future expanded Athletic Center?  

[MattDamon23]

https://vpaa.unt.edu/sites/default/files/IMCE/inserts/sab0047/athletic_masterplan_book_reduced.pdf
 

Page 45! Keep in mind this was released in 2017, some of this may have changed 

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

6 hours ago, MattDamon23 said:

https://vpaa.unt.edu/sites/default/files/IMCE/inserts/sab0047/athletic_masterplan_book_reduced.pdf
 

Page 45! Keep in mind this was released in 2017, some of this may have changed 

Oh

my 

goodness!!! I’ve been trying to find this for nearly 2 years! Thank you

Edited June 30, 2021 by NorthTexasSportsNetwork

[UNT Mean Green]

6 hours ago, MattDamon23 said:

https://vpaa.unt.edu/sites/default/files/IMCE/inserts/sab0047/athletic_masterplan_book_reduced.pdf
 

Page 45! Keep in mind this was released in 2017, some of this may have changed 

Very nice, thank you for the reminder! This is an excellent analysis by Heery and the Athletics Center feature is enjoyable to read & study. 

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

With that being said, here’s my take on some of the proposed plans:

1. Basketball arena needs to be 7.5K. 6K is too small, mainly if the program continues to win at the rate they are right now. Love the renderings though. Really like the idea of suites and club seats.

2. Softball isn’t moving. Coach Delong has expressed that, so I doubt that changes for the very long term parking expansion.

3. I really hope the scoreboard ideas are gone. I say put the scoreboard on the athletic center, or make something like OSU where it’s on the arena, and it would look so much better. Still having a big scoreboard, but not in the way of the facility except it’s on it (somehow)

4. Parking for the new arena is going to swallow a lot of the Hill tailgating from the looks of it. I wonder how tailgating changes, IF the arena is built.

5. That baseball complex is SWEET! But I doubt we ever see it built unless we get some big donation. 

[bstnsportsfan3]

Really awesome to look back and see how much has already been done. The plans for the upgraded athletic center is awesome and the new basketball stadium looks great! 

[MGNation92]

Seeing this after reading the "Legacy of RV" thread just makes me so happy. Wren Baker is the best thing to ever happen to UNT Athletics in the last 30 years.

[MeanGreenHoops]

Wow that 6K basketball arena would be sweet. 🙏

[Jonnyeagle]

8 hours ago, MattDamon23 said:

https://vpaa.unt.edu/sites/default/files/IMCE/inserts/sab0047/athletic_masterplan_book_reduced.pdf
 

Page 45! Keep in mind this was released in 2017, some of this may have changed 

Thank you @MattDamon23 this really lifted up my spirits today.

[MattDamon23]

24 minutes ago, Jonnyeagle said:

Thank you @MattDamon23 this really lifted up my spirits today.

I’m so glad everyone is enjoying going through it as much as I do!
 

It’s my favorite thing to read before bed. I sleep well knowing the future of Mean Green Athletics is in good hands with Wren Baker 💪

[UNTcrazy727]

1 hour ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

With that being said, here’s my take on some of the proposed plans:

1. Basketball arena needs to be 7.5K. 6K is too small, mainly if the program continues to win at the rate they are right now. Love the renderings though. Really like the idea of suites and club seats.

2. Softball isn’t moving. Coach Delong has expressed that, so I doubt that changes for the very long term parking expansion.

3. I really hope the scoreboard ideas are gone. I say put the scoreboard on the athletic center, or make something like OSU where it’s on the arena, and it would look so much better. Still having a big scoreboard, but not in the way of the facility except it’s on it (somehow)

4. Parking for the new arena is going to swallow a lot of the Hill tailgating from the looks of it. I wonder how tailgating changes, IF the arena is built.

5. That baseball complex is SWEET! But I doubt we ever see it built unless we get some big donation. 

I disagree with you on the scoreboards. I think there are a lot of suite/cabana possibilities we're missing out on. However, I feel like we've been hearing the change was happening every offseason for the past 3-4 years so who knows if its going to actually happen...

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

2 hours ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

I disagree with you on the scoreboards. I think there are a lot of suite/cabana possibilities we're missing out on. However, I feel like we've been hearing the change was happening every offseason for the past 3-4 years so who knows if its going to actually happen...

Change for the scoreboards? Not really sure if you switched the topic from football to basketball, but if you didn’t what would you rather have for scoreboards?