DRC NT to mull facility naming proposals

OldTimer · November 30, 2006

UNT to mull facility naming proposals

Mean Green contact former TCU head coach

09:41 PM CST on Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Brett Vito/Staff Writer

The North Texas board of regents will consider three proposals to name athletic facilities during its meetings Thursday and Friday.

UNT will consider naming its new softball complex after Donald and Patty Lovelace, who have pledged $300,000 of the total construction cost of $578,000 for the facility. UNT will also consider naming its Student-Athlete Services Center in honor of Gayle and Virgil Strange, who have given more than $175,000 to the university.

The third proposal is renaming the UNT football practice facility after former head football coach Darrell Dickey at the request of donor Jim McIngvale.

The UNT letterman and Houston businessman donated $1 million toward the construction of the Mean Green Athletic Center.

UNT officials have already said they would grant McIngvale's request.

The two new donations will go toward facilities that are part of the Mean Green Village. The Student-Athlete Services Center is already open while the softball complex is in the final stages of construction.

UNT played one fall tournament on its new field and will play its first full season at the facility this spring.

The softball complex is part of a series of upgrades UNT has made to its athletic facilities during the tenure of athletic director Rick Villarreal.

UNT has already opened the Waranch Tennis Pavilion in addition to the athletic center and football practice fields.

UAB coach contacted by UNT about opening

UAB assistant head coach and former TCU head coach Pat Sullivan has been contacted by UNT officials about the school's opening for a head coach, a source close to the situation said Wednesday.

Sullivan was the head coach at TCU from 1992-97 when he worked with Villarreal, who was the director of football operations and an assistant athletic director at the school from 1995-97.

Sullivan was the offensive coordinator at UAB from 1999-05 before becoming the assistant head coach last season.

UNT is looking for a replacement for Darrell Dickey, who was fired in the middle of his ninth season and completed his tenure with the Mean Green earlier this month.

Jackson recovering from hip flexor injury

Sophomore shooting guard Sanetra Jackson sat out practice on Wednesday with a strained hip flexor, an nagging injury she aggravated in a win over Prairie View A&M on Tuesday.

Jackson, who leads UNT in scoring at 14.6 points a game, is not expected to miss the Mean Green's game at UTEP on Saturday.

"Sanetra has a nagging injury that has bothered her since preseason conditioning," UNT head coach Tina Slinker said. "We have three days before our next game, so we thought it would be better to rest her today."

Slinker said Jackson's status would be determined on a day-to-day basis.

"Hip injuries can linger," Slinker said. "She goes hard enough every day that it will not hurt her to miss one or two practices."

UNT has won its last two games after losing its first three games, thanks in part to a solid run by Jackson. The San Antonio native has averaged 18.5 points during the Mean Green's winning streak.

"It does a lot for your offense when your opponent knows that it has to consistently defend someone on the outside," Slinker said. "It helps with the inside game we have."

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@

SilverEagle · November 30, 2006

UNT will also consider naming its Student-Athlete Services Center in honor of Gayle and Virgil Strange, who have given more than $175,000 to the university.
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The Strange Student-Athlete Services Center at North Texas?

The Strange North Texas Student-Athlete Services Center?

I'll be the first to ask, because many non-North Texas people will certainly speculate.

Is the service center strange? Or is it the athletes?

My wife would speculate that since it's North Texas, it's probably both.

Sorry, but when it comes to stuff like this, I have no impulse control.

rcade · November 30, 2006

Does anyone know how Sullivan recruited at TCU?

GoMeanGreen1999 · November 30, 2006

Does anyone know how Sullivan recruited at TCU?
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Have you seen his record?

UNTLifer · November 30, 2006

A rock has a better personality than Sullivan.

He's a prime example demonstrating how good players don't always make good coaches.

Superfrog · November 30, 2006

Have you seen his record?
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He recruited LaDainian Tomlinson as well as Aaron Schobel who starts at DE for the Bills.

Eagle1855 · November 30, 2006

He recruited LaDainian Tomlinson
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oh like THAT guy ever did anything after college

untbowler · November 30, 2006

oh like THAT guy ever did anything after college
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wow what a coach job he did having the best NFL back yet he wins only 6 and 7 games respectively. Yeah just the coach we need, hell we might as well bring back DD then. Has talent but can not use it.

Perfect coach for UNT

meangreenfreak · November 30, 2006

Dead Thread now!

Superfrog · November 30, 2006

wow what a coach job he did having the best NFL back yet he wins only 6 and 7 games respectively. Yeah just the coach we need, hell we might as well bring back DD then. Has talent but can not use it.
Perfect coach for UNT
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I agree.......It doesn't matter how much talent you have, if you can't coach, you can't coach. Sullivans first year at TCU, we beat Texas. We won share of the SWC in 94/95. LT didn't actually play full time until his jr. year and Sully was already gone. Fran should be thanking his lucky stars that LT was at TCU when he came aboard.

Edited November 30, 2006 by Superfrog