Football:unt Abuzz After Hiring Of Dodge Last Week

[NT03]

By Brett Vito/Staff Writer

What was once a quiet atmosphere at the North Texas ticket office became a little more frantic in the last week.

The phone rang more often and fans that had not been to a UNT football game in several years inquired about coming back.

The change came just hours after an announcement last Tuesday night that Todd Dodge was leaving Southlake Carroll to become the next head coach at UNT.

"Today has been remarkable," Hank Dickenson, UNT's deputy athletic director, said the day after Dodge was introduced at a press conference. "We have gotten nothing but positive feedback. People want to get back into the Mean Green Club or find out about it. To be talking about next season in December is impressive. I heard from a lawyer in town today who wants to double his Mean Green Club membership."

That enthusiasm has continued to build in the week since Dodge was introduced as the Mean Green's next coach and immediately talked about the school's potential to develop into a power in the region and beyond.

Dodge said that potential is one of the main reasons he is leaving a Carroll team he built into one of the most successful high school programs in the country.

"I am coming from a place where we are winning a lot of games right now," Dodge said. "I wanted to make sure that if I took another job it would be at a place that I believe deep down in my heart that we can win. We can win at North Texas. It has been proven and I want to be a part of keeping that going and bringing it back up to speed."

UNT athletic department officials have had a chance to gauge the impact of what Dodge had to say on the Mean Green's fan base over the last week and have been excited with the response.

"We have absolutely seen an effect,” said Mandy McKinley, the director of the Mean Green Club, a fundraising wing of the athletic department. “We have heard from a lot of people who have said they will be supportive of [uNT athletic director Rick] Villarreal and of coach Dodge.”

Jackie Vaughan was one of the first UNT athletic department employees to see the direct effect of Dodge becoming the Mean Green’s next coach. Vaughan is UNT’s assistant ticket manager and was in the office the morning after Dodge was hired.

“Between 8 and 9 a.m. I had another call every time I hung up the phone,” Vaughan said. “A lot of people said they used to be season ticket holders and are coming back.”

Vaughan said the office was as busy on the day after Dodge was hired as it had been since the Mean Green beat SMU in the second week of last season.

UNT hired Dodge in the hope that he can bring the Mean Green out of a slump and move it beyond the success it enjoyed in the 2001-04 seasons. UNT won the Sun Belt title and played in the New Orleans bowl in each of those years.

UNT graduate Denny Kalk is among the boosters who have decided to increase their financial commitment to the athletic department because of Dodge's arrival.

"Actions are much stronger than words," Kalk said. "I will be giving five figures again. I cut back significantly in the last few years. Dodge will be a breath of fresh air because of his ability to motivate and coach his players."

The task is one Dodge is not entirely unfamiliar with on the college level. He enjoyed a successful two-year stint as an assistant coach with the Mean Green from 1992-93 before becoming perhaps the most visible and successful high school coach in the state.

Carroll won Class 5A state titles in 2002, 2004 and 2005 and will play four a fourth title under Dodge on Saturday when it takes on Austin Westlake in San Antonio.

Dodge will start at UNT following his final game with the Dragons.

Dickenson said building on the momentum UNT has gained in terms of fundraising and ticket sales since hiring Dodge would bring the athletic department closer to its goals.

“When people talk about building a new football stadium having and more flexibility in scheduling, the Mean Green Club and tickets are how we can get there,” Dickenson said.

[sources: Former UNT player to join staff]

Former UNT wide receiver Clayton George will join the Mean Green's staff under new head coach Todd Dodge, multiple sources at the school said Wednesday.

George, 35, spent one season as Haltom's head coach before resigning late last week. Dodge coached George from 1992-93 when he was an assistant coach at UNT. George also coached under Dodge from 1996-2004.

George was Southlake Carroll's offensive coordinator from 2000-03 and also spent two seasons at Hillcrest.

George led UNT with 36 catches for 563 yards and two touchdowns in 1992. He did not respond to messages seeking comment.

[MeanGreenBuzz]

All great news. This is going to be the hire of the last 30 years for UNT, win or lose for Dodge. He brings visibility and excitement (not to mention fan PR) to UNT that we haven't seen in years. I was at Tavern tonight BSing with a couple buddies tonight about NT football and we had random people join in on the conversation after just hearing the name Todd Dodge. At one point there were probably 10-12 of us BSing about how excited we were about the hire. I don't expect more than a 500 season next year (a bowl game would be great though unexpected.) After that though I think we could see great things especially if we get Tre Newton (according to my sources, which is a high school friend of Riley he is a lock to NTs next recruiting class.)

Also, I have heard we have sold more season tickets this season so far than we sold last season. Can anyone confirm that?

*edit* And as a credit to TD all of his 07 recruits are 5 star accoring to Rivals. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=4&yr=200

Also his 08 recruits are all 2 star without seeing their senior season. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=4&yr=2008 (Riley is not listed)

Edited December 21, 2006 by MeanGreenBuzz