North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 20, 2012 Page: 4 of 6

Page 4
Sports
hursday, September 20,2012
Joshua Friemel, Sports Editor
joshuafriemel@my.unt.edu
Sun Belt series part two: Mean reen botball
Tyler Owens
Senior Staff Writer
When the Mean Green closes
the book on the 2012 football
season, it will also close the
book on its time in the Sun Belt
Conference.
On July 1, the Mean Green will
join Conference USA and will play
teams that are more geographi-
cally relevant to the North Texas
area.
"It's going to be great for
the school/' redshirt senior
Christopher Bynes said.
"Conference USA is way better
than the Sun Belt, and it'll bring
in more athletes [and] more fans,
so I think it's a good move for the
Mean Green."
Though the team is 48-88 in its
12 years in the SBC and a lot of
fans may consider UNTs time in
the conference as a low point for
the program, the Mean Green was
relatively successful in its early
SBC years.
From 2001 to 2004 the Mean
Green won the SBC and partici-
pated in the New Orleans Bowl
four consecutive years under
former head coach Darrell Dickey,
who earned four straight SBC
Coach of the Year Awards.
During that time, the Mean
Green offensive attack was led
by running back Patrick Cobbs,
who had 4,050 rushing yards and
36 touchdowns during his time
atUNT.
"When I first got to North Texas
in 2001, that first year we won a
Sun Belt title," Cobbs said. "It was
great to be in the Sun Belt, and for
four years all the Sun Belt knew
was North Texas being champions.
Here lately, it hasn't been so much."
In 2005 UNT went from the best
team in the conference, with a 7-0
conference record, to the worst,
with a 2-5 record, and failed to win
a home game that season.
Cobbs attributes the lack of
on-field success to a complacent
feeling within the program.
"When we were freshmen and
we first got there, no one really
expected anything of us, but I
think some of the younger guys
coming in didn't know anything
but winning," he said. "I think we
kind of hit a lull in there, and we
just haven't recovered from it yet"
Following the 2006 season,
Dickey was relieved of his
duties with three years left on
his contract, and the Mean Green
hired Todd Dodge, former head
coach of Southlake Carroll High
School, to lead the team.
Dodge accumulated a 6-37
record during his time with the
Mean Green, the lowest winning
percentage in school history and
was fired in the middle of the
2010 season.
"There are good things that
Todd did that we are thankful for
and appreciate, but as far as what's
going on between the sidelines,
2002
The Mean Green defeated
Cincinnati 24-19 in the New Orleans
Bowl. It marked the only bowl win
for UNT while in the Sun Belt.
we need to be better," Athletic
Director Rick Villarreal said.
From 2005 to 2010 the Mean
Green hovered around the bottom
of the SBC, until current head
coach Dan McCarney was hired
in 2011 and the team moved up
to fifth in the conference.
"We haven't done well because
there was so much confusion and
too much going on that we just
went on a losing streak," redshirt
freshman running back Antoinne
Jimmerson said. 'That's why we're
here now. We got a new coach, so
we build a new team and a new
family."
During its time in the SBC
the Mean Green has 82 All-Sun
Belt players and three straight
Player of the Year award winners
in former defensive lineman
Brandon Kennedy (2002 and 2003)
and former running back Jamario
Thomas (2004).
The move to C-USA in July will
provide UNT with an opportu-
nity to start off fresh in a new
conference.
"I think it's a good move as
far as getting more media expo-
sure, and getting more TV expo-
sure and letting everyone in the
nation know who North Texas
is," junior defensive back Hilbert
Jackson said.
Part 3 in the Sun Belt series
will be in Tuesday's edition of
the North Texas Daily.
2003
Patrick Cobbs set the UNT
season record with 21 total
touchdowns for the entire
season.
Opponent
UNTs
Record
7-4
against
Middle Tennessee
4-1
against
Western Kentucky
8-13
against
Arkansas State
2-7
against
Troy
Key Stat
In the 2011 season
finale, UNT set
nine total season
records in a 59-7
win.
In 2009, UN beat
the Hilltoppers 68-
49. The 68 points
were the most points
scored in a single
game since 1976.
UNT has lost
seven straight
games to Arkansas
State, dating back
to November 2005.
In 2003, Troy
alumnus DeMarcus
Ware, a Dallas
Cowboys linebacker,
had eight tackles and
a fumble recovery
against UNT.
Graphic ByTherese Mendez/ Design Editor
2011
Apogee Stadium opened. The
Mean Green had played at Fouts
Field for the previous 59 years.
The football team played ts first
game as members of the Sun Belt
Conference. UNT lost the game
19-5 to Texas Christian University.
2001
Of the 12 games played, UNT's only
win of the year came against Western
Kentucky in a 51-40 shootout. The
team finished 1-11 on the year.
2008
UNT will depart for Conference
USA
2013
Graphic ByTherese Mendez/ Design Editor
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Mean reen needs to
start Midnight Madness
Opinion
Dave Carson
Intern
In my second semester at
UNT I have to say that I am
stunned at some of the little
things that we don't do to
support our athletic programs.
I believe it is my job to spark
interest in the concept of
Midnight Madness.
Midnight Madness started
back in 1971 at the University
of Maryland. At 12:03 a.m.
the basketball team went for
a 1.5-m ile run with 3,000 fans
following them. It has now
evolved into a massive pep
rally that students enjoy across
the country to officially kick
off the basketball season.
This celebration of basket-
ball on that special night can
put UNT right next to some
high profile schools that
take part in this. Michigan
State, the University of North
Carolina, the University of
Kentucky and the University
of Connecticut all participate
in this celebration.
Three years ago a little
school in Indiana called Butler
started doing a small Midnight
Madness, and the following
season they made it to the
NCAA Championship game.
That same school even went
back to the championship
"Can UNT be the next Butler?
Midnight Madness could help
kick-start that process
game the following year.
Can UNT be the next Butler?
Midnight Madness could help
kick-start that process.
Everything has a cost, but
how much could this really
cost UNT? We're not looking
for a reason to party, we are
looking for a winning basket-
ball program with which we
can stand proudly in our Mean
Green shirts as our teams walk
off the court in victory.
By not hosting Midnight
Madness, the school isn't only
hindering the Mean Green
fans, it's also not helping
the coaches land recruits.
The potential recruits could
see the pride of UNT. Loud
music, cheerleaders, dancers,
the players showing off their
skills and coaches showing
personality could help boost
recruiting.
This season both Mean
Green teams have a lot to
prove. Last year, the men's
team was one win away from
making an appearance at the
NCAA tournament, and the
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women s
team was
one win
away from
posting a
.500 record.
Both of these
teams are on
the threshold
DAVE
CARSON
of taking their game to the
next level.
I want to remind fans about
the last game of last season
when we saw Tony Mitchell
on the court in a shower of
confetti, with his head hung
down being consoled by assis-
tant coach Shawn Forrest
after a 74-70 loss to Western
Kentucky in the Sun Belt
Championship game. This
is our last year in the Sun
Belt, so let's crank up the
music, throw down some sick
dunks and take the Sun Belt
Championship on our way to
Conference USA.
If we do not host Midnight
Madness we are telling our
team that March Madness
means nothing.
EWS TO YOU
North Texas Pail1