Fan Support Key Element To Dodge Success

[MeanGreen61]

Fan support key element to Dodge success

10:07 PM CST on Saturday, December 30, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Maybe it was the dozens of cheering fans that packed his introductory press conference. Or it could have been the North Texas faithful who stopped him the last few days to share a word of encouragement.

It's probably a little of both and more that had Todd Dodge talking in such glowing terms about UNT and its fans last week after he took over as the Mean Green's new head football coach.

"The reception has been unbelievable," Dodge said shortly after moving into his new office. "I don't care what you do in life and what profession you are in, it's good to feel wanted and welcomed."

Dodge should expect nothing less from the UNT community. A large portion of Mean Green fans wanted a coaching change for the last two years, begged for it, sometimes screamed for it, by cutting back their support for the program and leaving seats at games empty.

Those fans got what they wanted with the departure of Darrell Dickey and the arrival of Dodge.

The onus is now on those UNT fans to step forward and follow through on the vows they made when the Mean Green was not living up to expectations the last two years after a run of four Sun Belt Conference titles under Dickey.

How many times have the following statements been uttered the last few years by UNT fans?

"I would come to more games, if North Texas hired a new coach."

"I would give more, if North Texas ran an exciting offense."

"I would be more enthusiastic about the program, if we had a coach who was more positive."

Those "ifs" are all out of the way now with Dodge on board.

Dodge has spoken about UNT becoming a team anyone in the Metroplex can support and about the potential the Mean Green possesses as a program.

He will bring an exciting passing offense with him from Southlake Carroll.

Dodge's enthusiasm and his offense are big parts of the puzzle that could make him a success at UNT, but there is more to the picture. If the Mean Green is to reach the potential Dodge believes it has, the UNT community is going to have to jump on board.

Dodge should be able to bring recruits to home games next season with more than the 15,650 fans in the stands UNT averaged last year. He should be able to tell the best high school players in the Dallas area that Fouts Field is on its way out and will be replaced by a new stadium in the next few years.

He should be able to point to a rapidly increasing donor base that gives the athletic department the ability to provide its new coaching staff more amenities, better salaries and a higher budget.

A more giving fan base is how UNT can get to that point.

"When people talk about having a new football stadium and more flexibility in scheduling, the Mean Green Club and tickets is how we get there," Hank Dickenson, UNT's deputy athletic director and a 12-year veteran of the department said shortly after Dodge was hired.

There have already been several fans that have answered the call since Dodge arrived.

Local businessman Curtis Clinesmith was among the boosters who pledged to increase the amount of money he is giving to the Mean Green Club, a fundraising wing of the athletic department, because of Dodge's arrival.

"People will come back that would not have contributed with Dickey there," Clinesmith said. "I think the hiring will resonate through the donor community."

UNT officials have said in the last few weeks that the number of people calling to inquire about buying season tickets and giving to the program is increasing.

UNT should expect nothing less.

The Mean Green faithful called for a coaching change -- and the hiring of Dodge in particular.

Those fans got what they wanted. Now is the time for those fans to give Dodge what he needs to make the Mean Green a winner again.

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

[NT80]

Wow; a little hard hitting for Vito, great! I like his attitude in this article. A lot of things may be changing.

[ColoradoEagle]

I'd like to know if the Dodge hiring (DD firing) is creating more opportunities like the $1.5 million donation last month.

[PlummMeanGreen]

But why is it that from this article I still detect a little "ruler smack" on the hand for our even wanting to replace a coach that had a 42 W's<>62 L's career record at UNT?

FWIW, some of our Big Donors of late have been on UNT's address lists for years (even before Darrell Dickey arrived) waiting for those who get paid some pretty nice salaries to have a passion for UNT to go outside the Denton city limits, cultivate all the Mattress Mac-types (of which many of us have heard for years we do not have a shortage) and then raise the kind of Big Money that comes from such potential Big Donors.

Each of us will do what each of us can do with donations and ticket purchases, but the real key to all this is how this is orchestrated by those staff members in charge whose efforts as paid staffers will determine if our numbers significantly grow or we just keep seeing the same ol' faces plus a few new ones because of Dodge's presence. Of course, this has been the case all along even before the hiring of Todd Dodge. Not sure Todd Dodge's hiring will take away all the spots off some of our leopards who will probably still do businesss as usual no matter who we have as HFC.

Yet Dodge's hiring gives UNT many new reasons and opportunities to got ouside our past usual box and become very creative in all facets of a NCAA D1-A program, especially in our athletic department's fundraising and marketing areas. But what Todd Dodge cannot do as Mean Green HFC are all the day-in-and-day-out ancillery things that our ancillery athletic staff member types must do (and most likely different than before) that has had us stuck with 15K per home game averages the last 9 plus years, even with all the growth at our main campus and in Denton County.

If you keep doing things the way you've been doing them, you will keep getting the same results?

I think most have believed Rick V has always been very pro-active in mostly positive ways, but how many of those around him are not which might have impeded his and our alma mater's forward progress?

In spite of some negative public relations aspects of the past in MG Country that have kept this program down and (ultimately) prevented significant growth at the turnstiles, many of us now think the future is unbelievably bright at the University of North Texas with Todd Dodge as the new man at the helm leading our Mean Green football program.

Edited December 31, 2006 by PlummMeanGreen

[UNT_playmaker]

Nice article, great mention of the new stadium.....

GO Mean Green

[emmitt01]

Truer words were never spoken. For those that have ever said:

"I'll come when we're winning"

"It's not perfect weather so I won't come"

"It's too far..."

"I don't wanna fight traffic"

"I can't do weekdays"

"I'll give more when I get my way"

Etc, etc, etc.

Just understand that YOU are a big part of the reason we still play in Fouts.

[jjpfootball]

Damn Emmitt you and I agree on something. Hell must be freezing over.

Ken

[UNTflyer]

I did my part. I said I would join the MGC if Dickey was fired, and I kept that promise by donating at the Victory Circle level.

[drex]

So, Vito, how much do you donate to the athletic program....you know, the one that gives you a job.

[MeanGreen61]

So, Vito, how much do you donate to the athletic program....you know, the one that gives you a job.

Vito's job is to cover NT athletics for the DRC, not to financially support the program. A better question is HOW MUCH DO YOU DONATE & WILL YOU INCREASE YOUR CONTRIBUTION ?

[SilverEagle]

Interesting article. I've always been a bit ambivalent about this "remove my support if I don't like the coach" approach. I've always been a person that felt that North Texas Football was my program. And if the current coaching staff was not running it to my satisfaction, then show up and loudly let them know about it.

Now, it's another thing entirely to increase your financial support when a coach more to you liking is hired.

Not showing up was just feeding into our image as disinterested/fair-weather fans.

Edited December 31, 2006 by SilverEagle

[LoveMG]

Interesting article. I've always been a bit ambivalent about this "remove my support if I don't like the coach" approach. I've always been a person that felt that North Texas Football was my program. And if the current coaching staff was not running it to my satisfaction, then show up and loudly let them know about it.

Now, it's another thing entirely to increase your financial support when a coach more to you liking is hired.

Not showing up was just feeding into our image as disinterested/fair-weather fans.

no, they felt the loss of donations and attendance. it did make a statement. it did make a change. but now it is time to make another change and give triple and get that new stadium. we can make changes.

[NTEdgex2]

I'm renewing my season tickets and doubling my MGC donation this next week. We will continue to be at every home game and as many away games as we can. I cannot wait for September. When do OU tickets go on sale?

GMG!

[the real grad88]

With my wife still at home with young kids (started late), and me juggling three jobs (see post on "what we do for a livin'), we have not had a lot of extra cash over the last few years, but I am going to buy season tickets for my family this year. Living in Greenville and pastoring a church gets in the way of some of the late games, but what the heck, I want to be a part of this sleeping giant coming alive once and for all!

Here's to hoping that there are thousands more like me around Mean Green Land.

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

I am pleased with Vito's article and I thought that it was pretty well on the money. Let's let bygones be bygones. We can't dwell on errors of the past other to remember them and not repeat them. Sort of like history.

While we can't quibble over every little detail that we don't like, after a period of time when so many felt the program was tanking, our only alternative was to withhold support, either financially, with our inattendance, or both. I did join those who bought season tickets but no longer attended. I listened to the last three games on the radio but did not/would not attend in person.

This is the dawning of a beautiful new day. We've got the coach that we wanted and needed, the stadium fund is underway with the largest athletics single donation to date, and excitement may be exceeding even the Hayden Fry days. It's time to step to the plate. If my investments do better, I will double my MGC donation and my number of season tickets (I already have two family members who will go). It's nice to see that a number of others are doing the same and even moreso and I applaud you for that. But the real excitement if coming from those who haven't been either for a while and are returning in droves. That's a good reason to have hired Todd Dodge. We may have gotten as good a coach but I seriously doubt that we could have hired anyone who would have been better for this program at this time.

[PlummMeanGreen]

I am pleased with Vito's article and I thought that it was pretty well on the money. Let's let bygones be bygones. We can't dwell on errors of the past other to remember them and not repeat them. Sort of like history.

While we can't quibble over every little detail that we don't like, after a period of time when so many felt the program was tanking, our only alternative was to withhold support, either financially, with our inattendance, or both. I did join those who bought season tickets but no longer attended. I listened to the last three games on the radio but did not/would not attend in person.

This is the dawning of a beautiful new day. We've got the coach that we wanted and needed, the stadium fund is underway with the largest athletics single donation to date, and excitement may be exceeding even the Hayden Fry days. It's time to step to the plate. If my investments do better, I will double my MGC donation and my number of season tickets (I already have two family members who will go). It's nice to see that a number of others are doing the same and even moreso and I applaud you for that. But the real excitement if coming from those who haven't been either for a while and are returning in droves. That's a good reason to have hired Todd Dodge. We may have gotten as good a coach but I seriously doubt that we could have hired anyone who would have been better for this program at this time.

I HESITATED WITH THIS, BUT WHAT THE HECK: First of all, let me preface this post with one small fact and detail of my own life that 2 mos. ago (November), I "celebrated" (I know, a very poor choice of a word) my 20'th year of having sufferred from depression and have been taking (expensive) medication during all that time to treat such. To be honest, some of the intensity of the posts and attitudes you get from ol' PMG here are probably because of one of the meds that I take. In fact, I actually once asked my doctor during a visit if some of this medication is even some form of truth serum which seems to makes me be a bit more expressive with opinions than I ever used to be BD (before depression). That doc only gave me a strange $mile of which he charged me for even that, too.

To say the least to you who have had the "D" word at one time or another in your own life or have someone in your family who does, it does (in deed) alter one's personality to an exent and with others to a great extent. To some of you who knew me when younger, I probably fit the latter. Yet this is my own personal cross I have to bear in my life of which my own personal faith has sustained my perservance and given all hope and reason as to want to reach this end of this adventure we call life. Personally, I hope that comes at age 100 for me so I can keep posting on this forum! Seriously, my late sainted mother had this depression thing, too, so I guess this was one of those things that was transferred to me with that ol' DNA thing or whatever. Oh well, at least I got this from a most wonderful person who I dearly loved and think of every day since her passing in September of 1995. I also know the road she had to travel with her own personal cross. Enuf.......................if this part of the post has offended some of you, I do apologize.

A New Years resolution of mine is to just simply try to get over it; that is, to get over the fact that our alma mater's athletic program has mostly disappointed me for most my adult life which seems to be passing me by like that Road Runner cartoon. I know, there are many of you much older, but I think I will now be close to 60 years old when we finally get this new football stadium (I'm 56 now)--and age 60 not exactly the age I wanted to be when this would happen because, hellsbells, by then, one of you may have to assist me to my seat by then.

Nevertheless................Happy New Year To All.

PMG

UNT Class of 1976

[ParksAndRecRick]

Plumm,

Your posts are a gomeangreen.com tradition! Hail to you heath and another 50 years!

ParksAndRecRick

[SilverEagle]

I am pleased with Vito's article and I thought that it was pretty well on the money. Let's let bygones be bygones. We can't dwell on errors of the past other to remember them and not repeat them. Sort of like history.

While we can't quibble over every little detail that we don't like, after a period of time when so many felt the program was tanking, our only alternative was to withhold support, either financially, with our inattendance, or both. I did join those who bought season tickets but no longer attended. I listened to the last three games on the radio but did not/would not attend in person.

This is the dawning of a beautiful new day. We've got the coach that we wanted and needed, the stadium fund is underway with the largest athletics single donation to date, and excitement may be exceeding even the Hayden Fry days. It's time to step to the plate. If my investments do better, I will double my MGC donation and my number of season tickets (I already have two family members who will go). It's nice to see that a number of others are doing the same and even moreso and I applaud you for that. But the real excitement if coming from those who haven't been either for a while and are returning in droves. That's a good reason to have hired Todd Dodge. We may have gotten as good a coach but I seriously doubt that we could have hired anyone who would have been better for this program at this time.

Well, here is one thing to consider. If RV had fired DD like he wanted to do back in 01, would we have been as excited about his replacement as we are now?

I don't adhere to those old adages of "things work out for the best", or "God has a plan for us". I usually regard those statements as trite and unimaginative.

One could argue however...........

[NT80]

Well, here is one thing to consider. If RV had fired DD like he wanted to do back in 01, would we have been as excited about his replacement as we are now?

I don't adhere to those old adages of "things work out for the best", or "God has a plan for us". I usually regard those statements as trite and unimaginative.

One could argue however...........

The Bowl years were fun, although trouncing thru the SunBelt allowed a false sense of invulnerability with some of our fans. We saw in the '03 and '04 Bowl games how undersized we were and how athletic other mid-majors could be. I could have lived without enduring the '05 and '06 seasons, except the SMUt win was nice. The Dodge hire has re-energized the fanbase to where it should have been a couple years ago. I hope we take advantage of this positive time to push hard for a new stadium as well. Strike while the fire is hot!