Unt Officials Predict Record Attendance!

[PlummMeanGreen]

I know there is probably a link on this from the DRC, but my main Denton source said our officials are predicting a record turnout which means we could have our 1'st sellout of the expanded Fouts Field.

FWIW..............BE EARLY FOR THE DODGEBALL HOME SEASON DEBUT @ VENERABLE FOUTS FIELD IN...

DENTON, TEXAS, AMERICA!

JUST LIKE THE YOUNG RASCALS HIT SONG OF YESTER-YEAR:

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL MORNING!

GMG!

Edited September 22, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

[UNTflyer]

The Fouts Field attendance record for a UNT game is 29,437 set in the Mean Green's win over Baylor in 2003. UNT has only drawn a crowd of more than 20,000 for a conference home game three times in its history.

That number is expected to grow by one for Dodge's debut in a game against an FAU team that has always been a thorn in the Mean Green's side.

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/...2.f9b05eae.html

[Censored by Laurie]

Tell me the DRC used the word venerable to describe Fouts! Thats awesome...I did the same last week...Vito...I know you read this board from time to time...if the name sticks and you get royalties you'd better cut me in.

[NT03]

The Fouts Field attendance record for a UNT game is 29,437 set in the Mean Green's win over Baylor in 2003. UNT has only drawn a crowd of more than 20,000 for a conference home game three times in its history.

Okay which 3 , I can't recall. I'm sure the SBC clincher versus NMSU was one.. the other 2 I can't think

[BonfireBrian]

Okay which 3 , I can't recall. I'm sure the SBC clincher versus NMSU was one.. the other 2 I can't think

I seem to remember a game against Middle Tennessee with a great crowd.

Either way, pack Fouts tonight!

[PerryG2480]

I'd say that the "fast" majority of us will be there early.

[UNT_playmaker]

They are dreaming that this game will be a sell out of break the attendance record. Not with an opponent like FAU

I think the three games they are talking about are all three conference games we won at FOUTS and the goal posts were torn down... Its a big draw.... We should do it after each game, ha ha.

[SUMG]

Our three conference home games where we have had crowds of more than 20,000:

20,733---McNeese State (1994)

20,252---SFA (1989)

20,064-----NMSU (2002)

Personally, anything over 25,000 is going to be fantastic. And, that would be about 10,000+ more than this game would have drawn if Dickey was still our coach.

GMG!

[NT03]

Our three conference home games where we have had crowds of more than 20,000:

20,733---McNeese State (1994)

20,252---SFA (1989)

20,064-----NMSU (2002)

Personally, anything over 25,000 is going to be fantastic. And, that would be about 10,000+ more than this game would have drawn if Dickey was still our coach.

GMG!

Thanks SUMG , I've been looking at records back in the 70s in the old MVC days trying to find the other 2. I was able to attend the NMSU game , seemed a lot more than 20064 at the time.

Edited September 22, 2007 by NT03

[risinggreen]

Our three conference home games where we have had crowds of more than 20,000:

20,733---McNeese State (1994)

20,252---SFA (1989)

20,064-----NMSU (2002)

Personally, anything over 25,000 is going to be fantastic. And, that would be about 10,000+ more than this game would have drawn if Dickey was still our coach.

GMG!

Yeah, I was thinking that the "Goodbye McNeese State" game was one of the 20k's. Last game in 1AA wasn't it? Wouldn't of guessed the SFA game.

[Censored by Laurie]

Man I'm so jealous to be reading all this talk of 25K...please be sure to put up lots pf pictures of the field and the tailgating scene. Homecoming cannot get here soon enough!

[PlummMeanGreen]

They are dreaming that this game will be a sell out of break the attendance record. Not with an opponent like FAU

I think the three games they are talking about are all three conference games we won at FOUTS and the goal posts were torn down... Its a big draw.... We should do it after each game, ha ha.

Dreaming?

UNT's 2007 Fall Enrollment......................35,000

City of Denton Pop...............................100,000 plus

Denton County.........................Approx. 600,000

DFW NT Exes.......................................100,000 (give or take)

SLC Fans @ Fouts This Evening..................3,000 (+/-))

Why not dream? Sounds do-able to me, although I'm with SUMG's above post and his comments. In light of the past 2 years and last year's last 2 games, anything close to 25,000 should be something to shout about.

It's just that our UNT constituency is growing very large for us to keep on accepting what we've gotten in the past at the turnstiles. Be nice when others of our very best alums begin feeling the same way as all our expectations for future attendance rises congruently with our constituencies's growth.

Edited September 22, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

[DeepGreen]

I know we are 0-2, but if we don't hit 20,000+ for this game then, in my opinion, the Sun Belt is the problem.

O.K., start throwing the darts.

[NT03]

I know we are 0-2, but if we don't hit 20,000+ for this game then, in my opinion, the Sun Belt is the problem.

O.K., start throwing the darts.

Since WE are in the SUN BELT , then WE are part of that problem... but I think we will hit 20,000+

If not , then I don't want to hear another thread , cry , pledge for a new stadium. We don't deserve one if we can't draw 20k +

Edited September 22, 2007 by NT03

[GoMeanGreen1999]

I have said all week, I will ONLY be shocked by our attendance IF it is less than 20,000. With you put in 3000 - 5000 SLC fans in addition to all of the increased excitement in our fan base with Dodge (not to mention the exciting offense) I expect us to have at the very least 22,000 - 25,000. I really think it will be closer to 26 or 27k.

[NT91]

What a bunch of B.S.

[Zeke]

What a bunch of B.S.

I am not that surprised - the end zone seats are simply so bad that people just don't want to sit there. Our stadium seats just over 20K as far as I am concerned.

I do have high hopes for the Navy game attendance though.

[akriesman]

I was impressed with attendance tonight. FAU fans were almost non-existent. The Navy game will be very good, if the weather holds out and the team is playing at least exciting football.

[gruu]

SMU at TCU homecoming crowd of 31,511

FAU at UNT crowd 20,479 (record for a Sun Belt game at Fouts)

[PlummMeanGreen]

I was impressed with attendance tonight. FAU fans were almost non-existent. The Navy game will be very good, if the weather holds out and the team is playing at least exciting football.

REVISED SUNDAY MORNING:

First of all, we still had too many tail-gating during the game in the east parking area according to several I spoke to.

As I was eating my Whole #3 (please cut the cheese) sub sandwhich at New York Subway at Eagle and Avenue C earlier today, I did grab a Saturday edition of the Denton Record/Chronicle which said (in essence) "a packed house could be expected this evening" just to verify what a Denton-based friend had told me earlier this AM when I posted this thread in the first place (and based on what the DRC quote had truly said) Well, we all know that was hardly the case tonight but lets still examine a reason or two why on tonight's attendance.......OK?

(1) Perhaps we can start with 5 wins the last 2 years? 0 & 2 this year with basically the same team that won 5 games the last 2 years as well?

(2) Having a home season opener so late in September after playing OU, SMU @ Ford Stadium and (yet another) much improved SBC football program that we are now 0 & 4 against with 2 of those losses even during 2 DD Ball bowl years to boot?

Many of us forecasted upon TDodge's hiring last December that 3 or 4 wins might be just about it for his first team at UNT in 2007 and that was even before Spring football practices began when he would find out what he had left from the Darrell Dickey Era cupboard. He then installed a complete new system with a team that (again) only won 5 games the two previous years which made this season probably even tougher for a group that may not have won too many even under the old system. (IMO, Dickey left some talent, but not enough to compete in today's Sun Belt Conference albeit we were no that far off the mark in tonight's game against FAU).

The FAU Owls will probably battle it out with Troy U for the New Orleans Bowl berth this year; yet were we really that far behind this year's Howard Schnellenberger-coached FAU Owls this year-- like last night?

The Attendance Upside--Just Fill One Side of Fouts Field At A Time? Lets look at it this way: We know we have filled the Press Box side with many season ticket holders now. In 30 plus years I really don't think I've seen the Press Box side as full with our fans even filling those "hard to fill" seats on the very bottom sections near ground level; those which have most always stayed empty--even during the Baylor games if you'll look at photos of those 2 games.

RIGHT ON! UNT ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT! So UNT athletics has all but successfully filled the Press Box side for probably the majority of games in the future with (already purchased tickets) in what will eventually be an (improved) future for the DodgeBall era. All we have to do now in Mean Green Country is make the East Side/NT Student Side stands the next realistic project or goal as to put 10,000 NT students on that side most every game in the future. Instead of the old Dallas Mavericks's "One Fan At A Time" promo, at UNT we can make it "One Entire Side of Fouts Field At A Time", right? Once we meet that goal (and we will) we will have moved our fan base from 15K to 20,000 or more with more forecasted growth on the way for UNT and Denton/Denton County. We are hardly located in a sparsey populated backwater college town, folks.

Sitting where I sat on the Press Box side this evening, the "non-accoustics" factor of Fouts Field has never been so glaringly obvious to me. It's all but 100% dead accoustically as far as a D1-A college football stadium is concerned and that makes it very difficult to get the noise factor working for you (and "OUR" team).

Let's just all admit that not only is our football program under Todd Dodge a work in progress, but so is our attendance-building at Fouts, too; that is, adding new fans with all of the new population that have moved within blocks of Fouts Field (on-campus) and within 15-20 minutes of our campus throughout Denton County). We lost much attendance momentum the last 2 yrs according to many of you, so we have to get all that back plus add what I feel (in my heart of hearts) DodgeBall will do for us in a very tough major league sports market as the North Texas Metroplex, especially for all 3 D1-A entries that reside in the Greater DFW area.

Nothing has changed many of our minds about the bright future of Mean Green football under the direction of Coach Todd Dodge and back in December upon his hiring, many of us thought back then that we could very well be where we were with our W/L record going into our home season opener this evening.

Darrelly Dickey got his 1'st above .500 season in Year 5 and I still feel Todd Dodge (in light of what he inherited and with a much improved Sun Belt Conference he inherited as well) will have his 1'st above .500 season in his own Year 3. Whoever thought that we would not be in a rebuilding mode this Fall may need to get their College Football 101 books back out again for a refresher course. I certainly have to from time to time.

Still...........amazing is how close we were to beating a SBC-contending FAU for the first time ever and an Owl football program that (only) beat a Big 10 school just last weekend. Folks, our time will come in Mean Green Country with Coach Todd Dodge, but we will all have to have the patience of Job before it does; but isn't that the way of such journeys, but when we come to a successful destination with all this in the near future how we will all appreciate it much more than merely walking thru a brand new throw-together league of schools most of whom were new to a new NCAA classification & trying to find their D1-A legs and this being the Sun Belt Conference football portion of the league which began in 2001?

PS: Boo-Boo #2 From Yours Truly: I really thought the SMU/TCU game was to be at Ford Stadium tonight instead of Amon Carter. If the game had been at Ford Stadium @ SMU, I believe we would have given the Stangs/Frogs a real run for their money on the "true" attendance numbers battle; but later finding out the game was at TCU, I knew it was not happen this year for us. And FWIW, SMU & TCU still have that SWC legacy thing going for them from which 1 of the 2 schools was able to build a decent fan base.

GMG!

Edited September 23, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen