Have we reached the golden age of North Texas athletics?

[Dannymacfan]

It just seems like everything is going so well for us right now.  Basketball is killing it and is the best it has ever been.  Football is inching towards a conference championship and Littrell is really starting to glow up and receive a lot of praise for his coaching.  Softball, soccer, women's basketball and many of the other sports are doing well.

The only thing I could compare this to is when we won the  Heart of Dallas Bowl in 2013 under Mac.  And at that time the other sports were struggling but Mac did a great job.  DT was our QB that year. 

All of this is occurring because of the great AD Wren Baker and Dr. Smatresk's unyielding support.  I used to be worried about us moving into the American conference, out of the warmth inside of the Conference of USA Judy-womb.  I no longer have those fears.  I think we are headed into the right direction and we will be very competitive in the American next season.

Anyway, as we head into a big homecoming weekend I just wanted to share some of my enthusiasm over the direction we appear to be headed. Go Mean Green.

[drex]

We have made progress, but have a long way to go....Big XII membership to reflect the size of our university vs. some of the smaller schools we are currently playing...pride and traditions are very lacking, too.

[MrAlien]

Golden Age?  No not yet, UNT is playing in a very poor athletic conference at the moment, and one that has been on the decline for several years now.  If this success transfers to the AAC, then we can start thinking about a golden age.

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

Progress towards the goal but not there yet. Especially considering how we don't know how well we'll do in our new conference. 

[tmjerm]

Ne’er yet to climax

[BillySee58]

I’d like to hear thoughts from those around in the 60s and 70s. The football and men’s basketball record books are littered with players, coaches, and teams from about a 15-year stretch from the mid 60s through the 70s.

[NorthTexasWeLove]

[TheColonyEagle]

Maybe getting on the outside edge of "close"

But call me when we're ranked in football...

THEN I'll say yes

[Salsa_Verde]

[NTSU52]

Until we can consistently beat and play competitively against SMU in football, then no.

[Udomann]

[meanJewGreen]

Soccer is losing in the semifinals to UTSA so...... no 

[Travis]

God I hope not. If this is as good as it gets then what’s the point. 

[Travis]

7 minutes ago, meanJewGreen said:

Soccer is losing in the semifinals to UTSA so...... no 

It was a terrible game. I kept watching and was like… these people sure don’t play like division 1 athletes. 

[TripleGrad]

[meanJewGreen]

I think some of you are mistaken as to what a "golden age" actually means. 

[Glory to the Green]

The sleeping giant is still in bed. He’s shifting his weight primed to wake up, but he’s not awake yet.  It’s happening…

[Monkeypox]

God, I hope not.

[VideoEagle]

I don't think so.  However,  people rarely realize they are in a "golden age" while it is happening. 

[TheColonyEagle]

16 hours ago, Travis said:

God I hope not. If this is as good as it gets then what’s the point. 

[BigWillie]

This thread is screaming for @PlummMeanGreen.

[Pavlovs Eagle]

If this is the "Golden Age" we strive for very little out of our corner of Denton.  I'll feel better about the direction if we take home a C-USA Championship in football.

 

[wardly]

22 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

I’d like to hear thoughts from those around in the 60s and 70s. The football and men’s basketball record books are

  lttered with players, coaches, and teams from about a 15-year stretch from the mid 60s through the 70s.

[wardly]

The Southwest Conference was segregated until the mid to late 70's, and African American athletics from Texas had very little options. I don't remember when the U of H integrated , but the Big 10 and Big 8 were their landing places as well as UNT. I was at North Texas from 1961 to 1966 while we were in the Missouri Valley Conference and saw some great basketball teams come thru the Men's Gym. However , our football team was a combined 19-28-2- my first 4 years but went 8 & 2 in 1966 and won the MVC Championship. Rod Rust won the MVC Championship in 1967 an had 2 more  winning seasons until crashing his final 3 with a combined record of 7 & 26. The best team we had, in my opinion, was in 1968. We were 8 &2 , getting hosed by officials in Little Rock losing to # 16 Arkansas 15-17. I moved out of state and missed first two seasons, where he won the MVC Championship in 1973 with a 5-5-1 record followed by a 2-7-2 season. However he got things humming in 1975. It was a different world in the 60's and mid 70's. We only had a dozed or so bowls, the USA population was 2/3 rds or less than it is now, and Viet Nam was ever present.  I guess I would say that my golden age for athletes was 60's and 70's, but facilities beginning with our new football stadium.

[letsgiveacheer]

I am not convinced that we have ever had a "Golden Age", especially now. As Wardly stated, we enjoyed some football success during the Mitchell and Fry tenures and in 1976 (I think) our basketball team was nationally ranked for the only time ever.  The Sun Belt run is diminished by the blow-outs we suffered by non-conference opponents.

There have been a few other flashes of brilliance, notably our four NCAA golf championships.