I HOPE YOU WERE ALL PAYING ATTENTION

[FirefightnRick]

at North Texas. Teaching us again how to raise awareness, spirit, money, show incredible class all with an urgent Can-Do attitude without any excuses for failure that has been rarely seen on the gridiron at NT these past many years.

Did you see the clip they showed on the jumbo screen of him at a press conference back in the 70's? If not, you may have missed one of the most direct, pinpoint examples from a qoute of his that signifies just how great an opportunity North Texas lost when the man left Denton.

While standing in front of a microphone during a press conference he yells back at a reporter:

"SOMEONE HAS TO BE RANKED NUMBER ONE IN THIS COUNTRY, WHY NOT US?"

Huge kudo's to GMoney and the lettermen association for getting him back on campus, and also a major thank you to GGII for bringing the great Sears Woods back as well. I got Sears to sign my Flyin Worm T Shirt that was given away by RHA last year. I also got to meet Coach Fry tell him how proud I was of his accomplishments here. After he signed my shirt he handed back my pen with a laugh and said:

"NOW YOU'VE GOT YOUR CHECK MADE OUT TO ME, RIGHT?"

That's just how he was. He could sell snowballs to eskimos and coached his ass off here. I couldn't believe all the ex athletes standing in line for what seemed like forever for their turn to give him a hug and a handshake. You could easily tell by watching them just how much they loved and respected him. It was magical just to be there and listen to him talk. He still is everything I have ever heard that he was. You couldn't stand there and hear him speak for 1 minute and not admire the man. He said he only quit coaching due to prostate cancer. He later stated that he only left NT because it had become quite apparant that his teams here were not going to be allowed to attend a bowl game.

I'm glad he got to go on to a bigger and better carreer. But it will alway's hurt deeply to think what could have been had he stayed those remaining 20 some odd years on the sidelines coaching the Mean Green?

Rick

Edited October 5, 2005 by FirefightnRick

[SilverEagle]

Rick, that must have been very special for you. I didn't know that Hayden would be available for autographs, or I would have made a bigger effort to arrive early. Sounds like Hayden is pretty much everything we told you he was.

I watched the ESPN interview with him during the third quarter of the game. Hayden commented on what a fantastic game day experience North Texas was putting on. I knew he would be both surprised AND pleased. Hayden never had that kind of game day experience, and he still came up with big wins for the University.

And speaking of game day experience. We can thank our current AD for this wonderful game day atmosphere . Rick V. has worked his tail off to make the game day experience as enjoyable for everyone as possible. Between the facility improvements and the game day experience, Rick V. has done his job as AD better than ANY previous AD (and that might include Hayden Fry).

NOW, if only the BOR would let him do the rest of his job...............

Keep sending those e-mails and/or letters of encouragement to him. He can't make all the changes that he needs to make without them.

[FirefightnRick]

NOW, if only the BOR would let him do the rest of his job...............

Very true! RV has done an amazing job. Last night was complete proof of just how much of a difference his efforts has made.

Rick

[rcade]

But it will alway's hurt deeply to think what could have been had he stayed those remaining 20 some odd years on the sidelines coaching the Mean Green?

No kidding. The guy's larger than life.

He said during the third quarter on TV that three SouthWest Conference teams told him they'd support the entrance of North Texas during his tenure. Anyone know which schools he was referring to?

[Coffee and TV]

No kidding. The guy's larger than life.

He said during the third quarter on TV that three SouthWest Conference teams told him they'd support the entrance of North Texas during his tenure. Anyone know which schools he was referring to?

←

I got $100 that one of them wasn't SMU.

[ipEAGLE]

As soon as we get a new stadium this program is going to rise to new heights. I can't wait... with everything Hayden Fry said last night it just gives me chills.

Its great 3 big Southwest Conference schools wanted us in the conference... where would we be if we some how joined the SWC? This is a very exciting time... the only thing we are lacking is a new stadium.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

UT (Royal) and Arkansas (Broyle) were two of those that supported us. (don't know the third one) ... SMU led the fight against us and convinced Baylor and TCU to oppose us.. I think the rest were for us..... ie. 6-3... I think we needed 7 votes.

Edited October 5, 2005 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[UNTFan23]

As soon as we get a new stadium this program is going to rise to new heights.  I can't wait... with everything Hayden Fry said last night it just gives me chills. 

Its great 3 big Southwest Conference schools wanted us in the conference... where would we be if we some how joined the SWC?  This is a very exciting time... the only thing we are lacking is a new stadium.

←

Why do [some] people think that we'll suddenly be world beaters when we get our new stadium? The thing I look forward to with the new stadium is being closer to the action. The new Athletic Center and the Academic Center, those are the things prospective athletes look at when considering where they want to go to school, not a stadium they play in 5 times a year.

Edited October 5, 2005 by UNTFan23

[ipEAGLE]

Players probably look more so at the stadium more than the athletic complex. The stadium is where they put on their show.

The stadium will attract a lot of recruits. 95% of recruits could care less about an academic center.

Edited October 5, 2005 by ipEAGLE

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

---Worldbeaters???? Maybe not... but we should be able to recruit better and can get a lot of teams to come to Denton that will not come now.. It should bring more recognition to North Texas..... and that helps in all areas of the university .

--- There are some who equate football level with academic level as well. Trinity(San Antonio) is supposedly a pretty good university in Texas but few people know anything about it. UT-Dallas has higher freshman SATs than any state university/college in Texas (including UT) but is a relative unknown outside of Dallas. They have no high profile athletic programs.

---That explains why we need to be more visible and gain respect. It makes our degrees worth more and employers are more likely to hire people from universities that they know something about.

---Academics and athletics are connected, whether some some want to admit it or not.

Edited October 5, 2005 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[SpaceMonkey]

Why do [some] people think that we'll suddenly be world beaters when we get our new stadium?  The thing I look forward to with the new stadium is being closer to the action.  The new Athletic Center and the Academic Center, those are the things prospective athletes look at when considering where they want to go to school, not a stadium they play in 5 times a year.

←

I call mild...no wait, make that MAJOR BS on that. You don't think that recruits get super jacked up about playing at the Horseshoe or playing at Kyle Field? I know for a fact that there are many recruits who go down to A&M who are only giving that school half ass consideration and when they hear that crowd and see that place they all of the sudden put A&M right at the top of their list. Athleetic Centers and Academic Centers help, but stadiums are a HUGE part.

Otherwise every school in the nation would have a soccer field with goal posts and folding chairs.

And how many top DIA prospects do you think are drooling over the new international learning center at whatever university they choose?

[ipEAGLE]

Great post Screaming Eagle... a new stadium will solve A LOT of problems.

Edited October 5, 2005 by ipEAGLE

[Eagle-96]

Great Fry Article:

http://www.hawkcentral.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...0309/1053/HAWKS

Imagine life without the University of Iowa football team.

Weird, isn't it?

In the late 1970s, after nearly two decades of losing, there were some people who thought UI would be better off not having a football team.

In stepped Hayden Fry, hired to rescue the sinking program in December 1978.

"There were a number of people in town, particularly in the academic world, that thought the football program was so embarrassing we should do away with it," Fry said recently from his home in Mesquite, Nev. "I even had some of them write me letters when I first arrived and just flat out told me that I had taken over an impossible job."

The letter writers underestimated Fry, who will be among the 22 people enshrined today at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.

With a style born in the South, Fry won 232 football games as a head coach. Only 10 coaches have more wins.

When he came to Iowa in 1978, Fry already had won 89 games by rebuilding the football programs at Southern Methodist University and North Texas State.

He walked into Iowa City determined to do the same at Iowa. The letters simply made him more determined.

Before long, nobody was talking about dropping football, but they were talking about the Iowa football team.

Fry took a program that had been the laughingstock of the Big Ten and made it a conference champion and Rose Bowl representative in just three seasons.

He took a community that was numb about losing and gave it something to feel good about.

And he took a conference that for so long had been dominated by Michigan and Ohio State and broke the stranglehold.

The Rose Bowl season of 1981 ranks as one of the greatest achievements in school history. It was the start of a glorious 20-year run under Fry that was highlighted by three Big Ten titles, 14 bowl games and his Texas charm.

"The first thing I think of is it's a great tribute to all my assistant coaches and guys like Bump Elliott, as well as my players, because everybody had to work together as a family and as a team to achieve it," said Fry, who retired from coaching after the 1998 season. "You can't do it by yourself.

"It'll be my name and it'll be my honor, but behind the scenes are all the other great people."

Ahead of his time

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder was among those who worked behind the scenes during Iowa's rise to national prominence under Fry. Snyder was member of Fry's original staff at Iowa, serving as offensive coordinator.

Together, they helped change the face of Big Ten football by installing a wide-open passing attack at a time when most of the teams preferred to run.

He made opponents adjust to his team's style of play.

And because of that, he made the improbable seem probable.

"We just live in a society where virtually anything can happen," said Snyder, who left Iowa after the 1988 season and has since built the Kansas State program into a national power. "I don't think that precludes the game of football."

But it still took someone unique to make it happen at Iowa, especially over a long period of time. The four coaches that preceded Fry at Iowa failed to do it and ultimately lost their jobs.

"The whole story on Hayden is he was able to come in here and sustain a successful program for 20 years when most of the coaches during the 20th century at Iowa had failed," said George Wine, who worked as the Iowa sports information director from 1968 to 1993.

Bad news Hawkeyes

Iowa football hadn't been successful since the late 1950s under coach Forest Evashevski. However, that was during an era when most players went both ways because of rules that limited substitutions.

"(Fry's predecessor) Bob Commings had me convinced that the only way Iowa would ever again compete for a championship in the Big Ten is if the NCAA changed its rule and went back to limited substitutions," Wine said. "He just thought we didn't have the recruiting base in Iowa to compete with Michigan and Ohio State and so on."

Commings had an 18-37 record coaching from 1974 to 1978. Jerry Burns (16-27-2), Ray Nagel (15-32-2) and Frank Lauterbur (4-28-1) had not had any luck duplicating Evashevski's success before him.

Iowa athletic director Bump Elliott was determined to prove Commings wrong. He also needed a strong hire to help save his job.

So when Commings was fired after the 1978 season, Elliott immediately began pursuing Fry, who had just led North Texas State to a 9-2 record.

There was pressure on Elliott to find the right person because his previous two hires for football, Commings in 1974 and Lauterbur in 1971, were failures.

"I think Hayden was it," Wine said. "Sometimes, they only give you two chances. Bump had three."

Getting a commitment

Fry was adamant about what he needed to be successful at Iowa. His first demand was a commitment from then University of Iowa President Williard "Sandy" Boyd.

Before he officially would accept the job, Fry had to be convinced that Boyd was serious about supporting the football program. He put Boyd on the spot during a pre-hiring meeting with school officials.

"I asked President Boyd right in front of all them, I said, 'President Boyd, do you really want a football program of excellence just like you do academically for the University of Iowa?'" Fry said. "Well, obviously, he had to say yes. He made a commitment to help us."

Upon arriving at Iowa, Fry inherited a group of disillusioned, but hungry players, who had been beaten down, both physically and mentally.

"I never set a timetable, and I think that helped us win that quickly because you never want to underestimate a group of young men as hungry as what I inherited," said Fry, who overcame a battle with prostate cancer that was diagnosed near the end of his coaching career.

But while the players were hungry to win, they also were undisciplined and sloppy about their behavior and appearance. Fry quickly changed that.

As a former Marine, Fry valued discipline, and he knew how to enforce it. He preached to his players that part of being successful on the field is being successful off it.

"It all goes together to become a winner," Fry said. "A lot of those kids wanted to win, but they were lackadaisical about their schoolwork, about the way they took care of themselves and about the way they talked.

"We eliminated the profanity. We eliminated them being late for practice or meetings, even if I had to get an assistant coach to go over to the dorm in the morning to get them out of bed and walk them to class."

Immediate impact

Fry's meticulous approach paid immediate dividends as Iowa finished 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten in his first season in 1979. The Hawkeyes had finished only 2-9 the previous season.

After slipping to 4-7 in 1980, Fry and his cohorts shocked the college football world in 1981 by making it to the Rose Bowl for the first time 23 years.

"That very first championship had to be one of the most memorable times in my life," said Elliott, who retired as UI athletic director in 1991.

Playing for Fry was one of the most memorable and rewarding times in Marv Cook's life.

Cook grew up in West Branch and came to Iowa with little fanfare. He left in 1988 as a consensus all-America tight end.

"I think the main reason for his success was the person he is," Cook said of Fry. "He had a knack. Every time I sat in a team meeting with 120 or 130 guys, I thought he was talking right to me.

"He had a great way to communicate and a great way to motivate each player."

Fry's success at Iowa reached a peak in 1985, when the team, which featured all-America quarterback Chuck Long, was ranked No. 1 in the country for five weeks during the season. Iowa went on to win the second of three Big Ten titles under Fry that season, while Long finished runner-up for the 1985 Heisman Trophy.

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz was the offensive line coach on Fry's staff from 1981 to 1989. Ferentz said there are "a ton of reasons" why Fry was successful.

"First and foremost, he just has a great gift with people," Ferentz said. "I think he sizes things up pretty well and knows where to focus, what buttons to hit.

"The other thing, I think he's a great football coach."

The fact that Fry stayed at Iowa for 20 seasons is a major part of his legacy. So are the 13 winning seasons, the countless jokes and silly catch phrases and the money he helped to raise for UI.

Fund-raising significantly increased after Iowa started having success under Fry in the early 1980s.

"He stimulated the giving to the university because he was able to contact a lot of people about the success of the football team," said Iowa City resident Earl Yoder, who is a member of the UI Foundation Board and one of Fry's closest friends. "He has a tremendous amount of respect among his peers."

[Mad Hatter]

Why was he at our game last night? I'm glad he was there, but was it because ESPN wanted him to? Or did we ask him to come back for a game?

[untgirl04]

I call mild...no wait, make that MAJOR BS on that. You don't think that recruits get super jacked up about playing at the Horseshoe or playing at Kyle Field? I know for a fact that there are many recruits who go down to A&M who are only giving that school half ass consideration and when they hear that crowd and see that place they all of the sudden put A&M right at the top of their list. Athleetic Centers and Academic Centers help, but stadiums are a HUGE part.

Otherwise every school in the nation would have a soccer field with goal posts and folding chairs.

And how many top DIA prospects do you think are drooling over the new international learning center at whatever university they choose?

←

I'll have to disagree with you on that one. Recruits want to play at Kyle Field and the Horeshoe because of the traditions of those schools and stadiums, but most importantly, because of the COACHES and their ability to showcase their talent enough to attract NFL scouts. You also mention the crowd.... Fouts was pretty loud last night, especially on the students side. And think about the NMS game a few years ago, or Baylor year before last. When Fouts is full, Fouts is loud. Our new stadium won't seat that many more fans than Fouts currently does. Yes, it will be larger, but not the 80K+ stadium you're referring to in Kyle Field. Players get "jacked up" for a game because they've got 70-90K people screaming and supporting them.

It's going to take us a while to build that kind of support, and a new stadium is not going to cure all of our ills. Know why JMo picked North Texas? It's not because of our facilities. He chose North Texas for academic reasons. And it's the smart ones who excel and make it to the NFL. Our new Athletic Center and Academic Center will help just as much, if not more, than a new stadium.

[FirefightnRick]

Good post 66. And thank you to 96 for posting that article about Coach Fry.

Together, they helped change the face of Big Ten football by installing a wide-open passing attack at a time when most of the teams preferred to run.

He made opponents adjust to his team's style of play.

And because of that, he made the improbable seem probable.

In a report in last year's Startlegram, I beilieve it was in their football preview, not sure?, but they surveyed graduating HS seniors throughout the region on what they rate from most to least importance for their choice of school's to attend. There were several major program's AD's interviewed including Deloss Dodds at UT and the guy from TCU. I can't remember the exact percentage, but playing time was near the top. I have gotten to know many of our players over the years and when asked just about everyone of them said the opportunity to play at North Texas right away was a major factor in their decision to come here.

Of course, by now, after 8 years into this sytem, I would have thought that would not be the case any longer due to DEPTH, however I'm still hearing that? Which I believe is one of the major problems we face right now.

Rick