"Where Are The Fans?"

[Son of Spiriki]

3 hours ago, Monkeypox said:

UNT's record over the last 20 years is 89-149. We are 1-6 in Bowl Games. We have had 4 winning seasons (that's being generous about a 7-7 finish). Our best players are poached every year.

Why would that program have fans outside of the handful of diehards on this board, especially in this state and this area where people have options?

🎯

In addition to our aggressively underwhelming overall record in both the regular season and in the postseason in the last couple of decades, the last time we had a head coach who left of his own accord and not because he was fired, his contract expired, he disagreed with the administration, or he was serving as an interim, was 1980.

That coach was Jerry Moore.

A head coach hasn't succeeded here and moved on to lead a bigger program thanks to that success in 44 years.

[UNTcrazy727]

1 hour ago, Rudy said:

Nope. I live an hour away, had to use vacation days for the first two games, and then had to be at work Sunday morning at 0600 after tailgating and being at The stadium the entire day before. 

Okay, but most people aren't going to do that. Especially, when they can watch all the games from home.

I have to drive from Houston and after making the trip for SFA and Wyoming, I didn't feel like doing it for a third time in less than a month. IMO, if we had the Bye last week and played Tulsa this week, we'd have over 20K. 

[wardly]

I have attended UNT football games, both at home and on the road,for 63 years and basically nothing has changed.  We have a core fan base that as the university and city has grown still only fills about 2/3's of our stadium.  I have decided that for weekends we are close enough the DFW for a large number of our students to drive too but not close enough for our alumni to drive from.In a perfect world our flagship campus would be in Wichita Falls.

[UNTcrazy727]

12 minutes ago, Son of Spiriki said:

🎯

In addition to our aggressively underwhelming overall record in both the regular season and in the postseason in the last couple of decades, the last time we had a head coach who left of his own accord and not because he was fired, his contract expired, he disagreed with the administration, or he was serving as an interim, was 1980.

That coach was Jerry Moore.

A head coach hasn't succeeded here and moved on to lead a bigger program thanks to that success in 44 years.

I'm almost convinced Eric Morris is going to break the streak. Wouldn't be surprised if he's hired away after the 2025 season. 

[KingDL1]

55 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

Is this an issue with Morris?  If it is, this is the first I have heard.

Morris has been outstanding in this regard!  

[rcade]

1 hour ago, GRN-WHT said:

I’ve been beating this drum in other posts, but the bottom line is that the culture and identity of this university does not attract sports fans.

There was a time I would've said that about UCF here in Florida. Now they make games at the Bounce House look like a party and their fired-up crowds of 43,000+ skew younger than any other football school in the state. Fox brought their Big Noon Kickoff pregame to UCF this season and said it was their largest crowd ever.

Just because Mean Green Nation has plenty of reasons for pessimism doesn't mean this can't happen to us. Students want to be a part of something special in their college years.

[Mo Green]

No one talks about the outreach to Dallas and FT. Worth. Are we spending any work getting interest to MAJOR CITIES just an hour down the road. That seems to be the problem just like we saw here in San Antonio, where they went to Austin without any games to discuss. The games were down the road in San Antonio.

So, we've lost fans here because of lack of contact.

[Son of Spiriki]

No matter if it was Seth or if it's Eric or if it's whomever is next, it's going to take more than a heater for a few games to get people outside of die hard supporters fired up enough to start showing up to games.

Ideally, we'd see three consecutive seasons where we win more than we lose and we look competitive in our losses. The last time we had three consecutive seasons with a winning record was 20 years ago, 2002, 2003, and 2004.

[FirefightnRick]

4 hours ago, JayDub said:

Saw this article and logged in to GMG.com for the first time in years to see if there was any discussion on it. 

Frankly, the (as of this posting) lone comment on that linked story is sizable part of the problem.  Blowhard clowns like that guy make attending UNT Football games a less than inviting experience.  It's part of the reason why I haven't been back in 10-plus years, despite living closer than ever.

And, just like Occult Nostradamus...I'm in the wind again.

I am submitting a recommendation to name the next dorm after the blowhard clown for his appreciated achievement.

 

Rick

[TripleGrad]

"North Texas:  where people end up."

That's a phrase I heard long ago when I ended up at North Texas State, and I suspect it really still rings true.  People go to Texas, or Bama, or A&M, or Georgia, or Michigan, in part for the sporting scene and history.  Not all their students, to be sure, but enough that there's a likelihood that the venues will be filled.

Most students at UNT are probably not at their first choice school, and definitely aren't at their first choice school if the athletic social scene is a big driver for them.

North Texas isn't quite the commuter school it used to be, but the attractions of almost anything else on a Saturday night can't be easily dismissed.  Pick up UNT and stick it in East or West Texas, and you'd have more people at the game -- if only because there's nothing else to do.

[C Rod]

2 hours ago, Son of Spiriki said:

The last time we had three consecutive seasons with a winning record was 20 years ago, 2002, 2003, and 2004.

My freshman, sophomore, and junior year. I remember thinking… “It’s only up from here!” 😂

[Rudy]

2 hours ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

Okay, but most people aren't going to do that. Especially, when they can watch all the games from home.

I have to drive from Houston and after making the trip for SFA and Wyoming, I didn't feel like doing it for a third time in less than a month. IMO, if we had the Bye last week and played Tulsa this week, we'd have over 20K. 

Well, driving to and from Houston is a bit more than an hour, so yeah. That said, I used to live in the panhandle and still made as many games as possible, and still had my season tickets. 

 

So the question remains, how do we get student and alumni into the gates?  I'm sure a head coach that acted like he bled green and wore NT gear in his interviews would help. 

[TheReal_jayD]

This team is 4-1

this offense is one of the top offenses in the country 

this defense is one of the most improved in the country

this staff continues to prove they can scout, recruit and develop. 
 

this athletic department is all completely remade since Seth was hired, 

 

quit holding past failures against current accomplishments. It takes all hands on deck to move this program forward. 
 

 

Go Mean Green 

 

[MCMLXXX]

4 hours ago, DeepGreen said:

We have to do this consistently.  Not every 3-4 years or more.

We have done this every 3-4 years?  

[emmitt01]

“If it’s a priority, you’ll find a way.  
 

If it’s not, you’ll find an excuse.”

 

This is posted in my office and kicks off a lot of conversations with my officers about what being truly committed to the mission means.  Seems we could use the same reminder around here. 

Edited October 5 by emmitt01

[NT80]

Continued winning will eventually help attendance, but the fanbase has been beat down recently in football.

The last 5 season records are: 5-7,  7-7,  6-7,  4-6,  4-8.

Sell to DFW, not just Denton!

Better marketing is always needed for UNT Athletics.  Time for billboards about NT sports around DFW, not about dorm food!  

Social media, twitter, and "X" are great for students and under 40s, but some of the older geezers and alums need printed copies in the mail and phone calls!   It's NOT happening.

[untjim1995]

Sadly, we crap the bed when we play teams that our students and alumni care about almost every year. When we played SMU, they almost always annihilated us. We play UH or Tech, get absolutely crushed. It gets old. 
 

But I quit going to games because of the portal. It has ruined college sports for our level of play. Add in the NIL and it’s just not a game I’m meant to be a part of anymore, especially with kids at home.

[ADLER]

Fan support? I wore a black shirt to the last home game so I, like all others that do, can't really claim I give a shit about the North Texas program, at least for a week.

My only excuse is that it was our annual "blackout" game or else I'd never wear anything besides Green North Texas gear to any North Texas sports event. 

 

 

 

[UNTLifer]

7 hours ago, KingDL1 said:

Morris has been outstanding in this regard!  

@untbowler makes it sound like Morris either isn't showing up or is leaving the coach's show early and doesn't interact with the fans.  You claim his has been outstanding, and I have no point of reference except the comments on here.  So which is it, has he been outstanding, as you state, or terrible as "bowler" states?

Regarding attendance, I have to commit a full weekend to attend since I live 5 hours away.  Honestly, if I lived in the DFW area and we were a one loss team, I would have been there Saturday.  I was shocked at how empty the student side was after their showings at the early home games.  They just have to trot across campus to attend.

[cogido]

8 hours ago, DentonStang said:

This is very fixable with games that matter.  SMU has had over 2/3 of their entire student body at the last two games. If UNT did that you'd sell out the stadium.   Do you think SMU just has sports crazy students?

Generating that excitement will be harder without marquee opponents but with winning and the right promotion you can get much,  much farther down the line and mostly fill the TCU stadium

Ho hum third tier opponents don’t attract fans to Denton.  Been that way for years. People in the Metroplex will come to see name brand opponents, it’s been proven.  We don’t get them and when we get them we usually blow it.

Edited October 4 by cogido

[UNTLifer]

23 minutes ago, cogido said:

Ho hum third tier opponents don’t attract fans to Denton.  Been that way for years. People in the Metroplex will come to see name brand opponents, it’s been proven.  We don’t get them and when we get them we usually blow it.

Is Tulsa a "third tier" opponent?  We had a better crowd for the SFA game.  Outside of being the first game of the year, I would expect Tulsa to be the bigger draw.

[GMG_Dallas]

13 hours ago, rcade said:

There was a time I would've said that about UCF here in Florida. Now they make games at the Bounce House look like a party and their fired-up crowds of 43,000+ skew younger than any other football school in the state. Fox brought their Big Noon Kickoff pregame to UCF this season and said it was their largest crowd ever.

Just because Mean Green Nation has plenty of reasons for pessimism doesn't mean this can't happen to us. Students want to be a part of something special in their college years.

"The DJ is too loud."

"Why do we need constant music blaring, I want to hear the band."

"It's so loud I can't even have pleasant conversations with the people next to me."

We've seen the above complaints on this board. We want fans and students but don't want an environment that excites younger graduates and students.

[GMG_Dallas]

14 hours ago, DeepGreen said:

We have to do this consistently.  Not every 3-4 years or more.

Winning against ranked opponents, conference championships, and bowl games every 3-4 years would be an improvement. Since the 2005 season we have 1 bowl win, 1 win against a ranked opponent, 0 conference championships. That's 18 freshmen classes and however many graduating classes who have had that type of performance to kick off their college football experience.

[MeanGreenMat]

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/sorry-harvard-everyone-wants-to-go-to-college-in-the-south-now-235d7934#
 

I saw this article recently about how students are attending school in the south more often when given a choice. I found the culture and traditions piece interesting. Students want to be a part of the community. Homecoming is probably the only time I really felt UNT promote their culture. I swear most of the time I thought pickles before the game and mean green tea shots were traditions. 
 

We have a fundamental culture issue. UNT lacks a personal connection with our alumni, Denton/DFW community, and students. Lots of people I graduated with 3 years ago- are glad they got something out of being here, but they don’t care about the university’s long term success. They don’t feel like they are a part of that growth and don’t feel empowered to help drive success. We make noise at the stadium when we’re 3rd and long because we want to help the team win. 

[GBarksdale]

13 hours ago, TripleGrad said:

Most students at UNT are probably not at their first choice school

It was my first choice b/c they had a first-rate RTVF program and I always liked Denton.  But I recognize that I'm in the minority.