New Stadium + Name Coach + Our Integration Legacy + Student Diversity

PlummMeanGreen · October 22, 2010

The humongous (and forever) missing part of the puzzle at UNT is finally being built at the Mean Green Village as in the $80 million football show place. It will one day be enlarged to 40-50,000 seats as growth demands and that will be sooner than later because growth is everywhere in Mean Green Country. The City of Denton has even made one list as one of the 15 fastest growing cities in the USA. Denton County has over 600,000 population. I think most of us would likely agree that in the 8 million populated North Texas Metroplex that UNT should be able to very soon find our own 32,000 fans out of that number, especially now that we will have a new stadium that will be fan friendly, butt friendly, very accessible and one that we don't have to feel like 2'nd class citizens among our Texas intercollegiate peers any longer. All this will go a long ways toward adding to our fan base.

So........at last--UNT can now put our entire formula (listed in the thread) to work in our statewide, regional and "national" recruiting--both athletically and academically. The stadium, now quickly becoming our largest focal point & soon to be UNT's athletic symbol of excellence, will even enhance every other non-football sport many of those added added with new venues since AD Rick Villarreal has been in Denton. Come next Fall, start watching for other new faces showing up from UNT academia--faces not seen in a long time if ever. Why? They, too, will begin to most wisely utilize our football showcase to introduce their own culled potential donors for their academic pet projects and even those who might endow an academic chair or 2 or 3 or... UNT's New Stadium ='s Everyone Wins At The University of North Texas

A Legacy That Should Be Highlighted & Put On Permanent Exhibition At Our UNT Sports Hall of Fame:

Our being the first major traditionally caucasian university in Texas to integrate in the 1950's with our great All American (and friend to many of us) Abner Haynes who would later be voted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and Kansas City Chiefs Circle of Honor. IMHO.....the Abner Haynes Era At UNT should be a in an exhibition of photos with storylines at the Mean Green Village's UNT Sports Hall of Fame collection and yes, include the good, the bad and the ugly of that era--we should never forget that time in our history just as Israel will never forget the Holocaust. (Abner has expressed to many of us some of the things blacks had to contend with in the 1950's--it would make your hair stand straight up).

In deed, the 1950's was a long time ago but that still does not take away from the fact that our university bucked the tide the segregation South/Southwest and had the correct attitude toward civil rights. UNT did this before the Southwest Conference integrated with John Westbrook of Baylor and Jerry Levias of SMU. In fact, we were almost 10 full years before the SWC and when that subject was not being addressed by any major universities in the Deep South and the Southwest part of the United States. NOTE: Of course, in a perfect world where equality was reality instead of just a theory, we should have integrated in our schools first year of operation, ie, 1890.

I am going to guess there could be some of our older alums on GoMeanGreen.com who were around (or know those who were) during the Abner Haynes Era at UNT who could very well have some old photographs or maybe even super 8 film footage of some of our games in that era. Present UNT Athletics staffers put what I believe to be a knockout collage of film of many of our greats for pre-game entertainment on our giant scoreboard with the huge HDTV type screen. How many of us does that film vignette of our former Mean Green greats get the green blood going everytime they run that piece pre-game?

:clapping: In fact, many of us applaud those who put that multi-media film and music vignette together several years ago and still run it to this day. That collage of film with the great AC/DC music in the background is one of the things I hope we will take with us across the interstate to our new football palace. You agree?

GMG!

FYI: Some Recent Numbers On UNT's Diversity

African American

14 %

Asian American

5 %

Hispanic

12 %

International

3 %

Native American

1 %

White

65 %

Unknown

1 %

Out-of-State Students

7 %

Student Age Breakdown

Under 18: 1 %

18-19: 20 %

20-21: 30 %

22-24: 30 %

25+: 19 %

Edited October 24, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

GrandGreen · October 23, 2010

I never understood why NT was not better able to take advantage of their history as it relates to the integration of its athletic teams. However, I believe the time for that has long passed.

I do think with the right leadership decisions that NT could ultimately become a force in Texas athletics. It is the only football playing public school in the biggest and most prosperous part of the state. The major problem is that athletics has a very poor infrastructure, and I am not talking about mortar. NT just has never developed the fan base and support it needs to be successful. Frankly though it is slowly improving, NT has never enjoyed the financial support it takes to excel. NT can rapidly process even with the historical perception of athletic ineptness but it is going to take great leadership. I believe NT has taken the first steps by getting good base facilities for a non-AQ program and the next step in the process is hiring a recognized coach that illustrates that NT is at long last serious about its athletic program.

PlummMeanGreen · October 23, 2010

I never understood why NT was not better able to take advantage of their history as it relates to the integration of its athletic teams. However, I believe the time for that has long passed.

I do think with the right leadership decisions that NT could ultimately become a force in Texas athletics. It is the only football playing public school in the biggest and most prosperous part of the state. The major problem is that athletics has a very poor infrastructure, and I am not talking about mortar. NT just has never developed the fan base and support it needs to be successful. Frankly though it is slowly improving, NT has never enjoyed the financial support it takes to excel. NT can rapidly process even with the historical perception of athletic ineptness but it is going to take great leadership. I believe NT has taken the first steps by getting good base facilities for a non-AQ program and the next step in the process is hiring a recognized coach that illustrates that NT is at long last serious about its athletic program.

Good post... :thumbsup:

As I hope would one day become a permanent exhibition of the Abner Haynes/Sun Bowl Era at our NT Athletic Hall of Fame in the Athletic Center, wouldn't it be nice to hear Abner in an oral history recording talk about some of his era? Problem is, those from the Abner era are (like many of us of middle age status) running out of years to make such an oral history of their life and times as UNT students in the 1950's. So.......with some of this time is of the essence?

The UNT Athletic Dept. could probalby get some help with such an photo and oral history exhibition from other departments on campus starting with the History Department. If you've been to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and have seen all their giant photo and oral histories from actual participants of their eras, you'd kinda' know what kind of project I'm talking about here..

This alum hopes the next new Mean Green HFC hire is the last one I see before I go to that Mean Green heaven in the sky. :innocent: As far as who we hire next? I don't have a clue and freely admit it since my record is not that great of recent days because I was hog wild about the hiring of Todd Dodge and still don't quite understand why he didn't have a bit more success. NOTE: But I do know the last true collegiate name coach we hired did us proud.

GMG!

Edited October 23, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

letsgiveacheer · October 23, 2010

22-24: 30 %

25+: 19 %

This is a very interesting statistic. Almost 50% of our students are of non-traditional age. I would guess that many older students are not so interested in college athletics due to financial pressures, work, families, etc.

foutsrouts · October 23, 2010

22-24 is pretty much a traditional age`these days for college Seniors, so I wouldn't say that we are all that skewed toward older students. Hell, even Riley Dodge is a 22 year old Sophomore eligibility wise. Don't know where he is academically.

PlummMeanGreen · October 24, 2010

22-24 is pretty much a traditional age`these days for college Seniors, so I wouldn't say that we are all that skewed toward older students. Hell, even Riley Dodge is a 22 year old Sophomore eligibility wise. Don't know where he is academically.

Wonder what the gender breakdown of our undergraduates would be? Usually there are more females at most universities.

GMG!