The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 3, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 2, 1981 Page: 7 of 8
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Wednesday, September 2, 1981
THE NORTH TEXAS DAILY—PAGE 7
SWC dream fades, Tyier still talks conference
Writer says 'buffalo chips' to possible Mean Green nickname change
By MIKE WIGGINS
Staff Writer
NT has become just a stopover for
college football coaches in the past few
years. First Hayden Fry took over the
reins as head football coach and then
came Jerry Moore to the rescue. But NT
may have found one coach that will be
around longer than an overnight flight
stopover in New York.
Bob Tyler took over as head football
coach and athletic director for Moore
and Andy Everest. Moore left for the
"greener” pastures and the
Southwestern Conference prestige of
Texas Tech. Everest was quietly dismis-
sed when the ahletic director’s office was
combined with the head coaching job.
The tradition of leaving NT began
with Fry, who left for the University of
Iowa in 1978. Fry left behind his goal, or
dream, of joining the SWC, and the goal
has remained just that — a dream.
Moore inherited the dream from Fry,
dangling it in front of NT alumni, but
the dream faded for Moore after it
became apparent the SWC’s cold
shoulder was not a “maybe in a couple
of years.”
USHER OUT the dream, bring in
Bob Tyler. Forget the SWC, at least for
now. Tyler is still talking conference, but
in a more realistic sense. Not the SWC,
but a new conference composed of
Tulane University, Southern Mississippi
University, Memphis State University,
Arkansas State University, Tulsa
University, UT-Arlington and NT.
The new conference — as yet
unnamed — is a real possibility and
Tyler is waiting for an answer from the
six universitites.
The biggest change, and the one that
may generate the most money for the
athletic department, is turning NT into a
passing team. Abandoning the Moore
philosophy of run right, run left, throw
an incomplete pass and punt.
Sportscope
Tyler plans to pass 40 times a game
and to use the passing program to set up
the running game. The personnel on the
team is suited to a passing game, and so
are the fans. Excitement draws crowds
(which is one reason the SWC has yet
to invite NT to join its conference), and
a passing game creates excitement.
If this new face from Mississippi can
turn the program into a winner, maybe
the SWC will turn its cold shoulder
warm and come begging NT to be in its
conference.
By then, though, NT may have its
own conference affiliation and can give
the SWC the old cold shoulder
ONTO A LIGHTER subject:
Is it a rumor, or are my ears burning
from this gossip left floating from this
summer?
If you have not heard, the rumor mills
have been spreading the word that NT is
looking for a new nickname. I guess
Mean Green is just too trite.
NT needs something like the
“I ighting Buffalo Chips” or the "Flying
Vultures.” Something with class that
really sticks in your mind.
If the nickname is changed, and it cer-
tainly could not happen this year, think
of all the expense, Posters, cards,
emblems, stationery, bumper stickers
and anything else Mean Green adorns
would have to be redesigned.
Besides that, would anyone who has
ever mumbled the words "Mean Green"
be able to dismiss it from their minds,
never to utter those hallowed words
again? Of course not. I probably always
will associate Mean Green with NT and
not the official mascot the Eagles.
How many times have you said to a
friend, “Let’s go watch the Eagles play?"
Not many. The nickname Mean Green
has grown with NT. It was around even
before Mean Joe Greene played defense
at NT
MEAN JOE IN another reason NT
should not change its nickname. Mean
Joe has become famous in this area not
only for his playing ability, but also for
the natural linkage of his name to Mean
Green
Think of all the marketing pos-
sibilities the "Fighting Buffalo Chips”
has. The University Store could sell
souvenir buffalo chips. T-shirts could be
adorned with buffalo chips I ans at the
games could yell "Buffalo Chips”
whenever NT scored Cheerleaders
could throw buffalo chips into the
stands instead of minifootballs. There
could even be a buffalo chip mascot.
No, this business of changing NT’s
nickname is strictly for the birds — and
not the Eagle variet) Mean Green has
been a symbol of this university for too
many years to be shoved aside for
something more attractive.
Mean Green is too much a part of
NT. To change it would be, well, buffalo
chips.
Coach expresses confidence
Youthful Ray heads SID office
By JERRY HILL
Staff Writer
People involved with public relations
often work hard for years before they
receive a chance to become a sports in-
formation director at a major university,
but Doug Ray has reached that pinnacle
at age 23.
Athletic Director Bob Tyler chose
Ray as NT’s sports information director
in June to replace Fred Graham who
retired after serving NT for 22 years.
After graduation from SMU in I98l,
Ray worked in the Mustangs’ sports in-
formation office as an assistant to Bob
Condron for about a year
"Working with Bob Londron, I
learned things the average sports infor-
mation director would not know,” Ray
said. “And I feel good when somebody
compares me to him.”
When Graham retired in May, Ray
said, NT assistant coach Bill Drake con-
tacted him and told him about the posi-
tion “Bill had been at SMU the year
before, and he was the one who recom-
mended me for the job,” he said.
“Coach Tyler contacted me a few days
later and told me that he was in-
terested,” Ray said. “Negotiations went
on for a couple of weeks and then I came
up Memorial Day and spent the day
with him. And that was when everything
was wrapped up and finalized.”
Tyler had said he wanted someone
who could do more than just supply
facts and said Ray filled all the
qualifications needed for the job.
“Doug is a fact man, but he is much
broader than that,” Tyler said.“He has
expertise in creative ways rather than
just the ability to provide stats."
Coming from the Dallas area, Ray
said he knows the metroplex media pret-
ty well and thinks that helped him get
the position.
“We were after quality control and ex-
perience in the areas that are associated
with the position," Tyler said. “And
someone who had formed good relations
w ith the metroplex media."
Ray took office on July I, and was
faced with the job of starting from
scratch to compose an NT press guide
in less than two months.
“It has been awfully hectic around
here,” Ray said. “We got started late
and it was a rush thing, but we've had a
lot of good comments on the guide, and
I think it turned out pretty good.”
Ray brought some ideas from SMU
dealing with promotions and advertis-
ing. He said the word promotion does
not always please the older information
directors.
“You will find that most of the older
information directors don’t like the idea
of promotion,” he said. “They go with
the old motto, ‘they know we’re here
and they can come here if they need
anything.’
“I do not feel like you can have that
type of outlook and have a successful
Doug Ray
sports information office,” Ray said.
“You have to go out there and grab the
people — you have to sell the school
and the athletic department.”
Although Ray has been at NT for a
very brief time, he said he has had time
to evaluate and compare the two
programs at SMU and NT.
“I have only been around SMU and
North Texas, but I think Coach Tyler’s
staff is the easiest staff to work with,” he
said. “It is hard to express my feelings
for Coach Tyler.”
Ray said that Tyler took a chance
when hiring someone as young as
himself. “He had to take a lot of heat
with the moves he made to renovate the
office, and he had to go out on a limb to
pick a 23-year-old guy to fill such an im-
portant position,” he said.
Tyler, though, said Ray’s age was not
,i factor considered. He thinks Ray was
the most qualified person to take over
the job and thinks that Ray will bring
fresh ideas.
Ray said he has been suprised and
pleased by the assistance he has received
from Tyler’s staff and others involved
with the university.
“The assistant coaches and the entire
staff have been great to us," he said.
“The whole group has been bending
over backwards to help us.”
Ray said he has already gained a lot of
respect for Tyler and said Tyler is very
special to him.
“If I come in and do a bad job, it will
put more presure on him," Ray said.
“So we are going to work our tail off to
make this office as successful as it can
possibly be."
Golf team prepares
for fall tournaments
Tryouts begin Tuesday for the NT
golf team and coach Herb Ferrill is op-
timistic about the team’s chances this
year.
"It’s awfully early to tell right now,"
Ferrill said, “but I think we’re very op-
timistic at this point."
Ferrill, who enters his 27th year as
head of the coif program, said the team
looks solid, with all but two lettermen
returning from last season. The three
returning lettermen are Joel Edwards,
Lubbock junior; Carlos Peluez, Vera
Cruz, Mex., junior; and Greg Morrison.
Richardson sophomore.
NT had a fairly successful season last
year but did not win a tournament, Fer-
rill said. “We had a pretty good season,
but not as good as we expected,” he said.
“We came awfully close to winning
several times, but something always hap-
pened. I hope we can turn that around
this year."
The team will play in three tourna-
ments this fall, competing Sept. 23-25 in
Oklahoma City, Oct. 4-5 in Shreveport
and Nov. 9-11 in Austin. Ferrill said the
team will have a busy spring with eight
tournaments during the semester
“I think most of our guys had a very
busy summer,” Ferrill said. ' Most of
them were playing in tournaments in the
area aiiu an ui incni gui picntj of pTUC
tice.”
Although tryouts do not begin until
next week, Ferrill said the returning
players are already working out on the
NT Golf Course.
“Everybody is working on his game
right now," he said. “They’re trying to
get ready for those tournaments coming
up.”
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Clark, Karen. The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 3, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 2, 1981, newspaper, September 2, 1981; Denton, TX. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1003573/m1/7/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.