University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Getting to Know Our Opponents -- North Texas
8/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The countdown is on as your Golden Eagles prepare for the 2015 Football season! The Golden Eagles and Mean Green take the field at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss. on Saturday, Oct. 3.
Getting to know... North Texas
General Information:
Location: Denton, Texas
Founded: 1890
Enrollment: 36,111
Nickname: Mean Green
President: Dr. Neal Smatresk
Athletics Director: Rick Villarreal
Colors: Green and White
Athletics Website: www.meangreensports.com
Institution Website: www.unt.edu
Twitter (Athletics): @MeanGreenSports
Twitter (Football): @MeanGreenFB
Football Information:
Primary Offense: Spread
Primary Defense: 4-3
Lettermen Returning: 37 / 20
Offense: 15 / 11
Defense: 18 / 8
Specialist: 4 / 1
Starters Returning: 12 / 10
Offense: 6 / 5
Defense: 6 / 5
Head Coach:
Dan McCarney is the head football coach for North Texas. He is entering his fifth year with the Mean Green and has posted a 22-27 overall record at North Texas. McCarney led North Texas to the 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl and the Mean Green took the victory back to Denton. McCarney has gone 16-7 in Denton and helped the Mean Green set the all-time attendance record in 2013.
Football Stadium:
Apogee Stadium, the home of North Texas football, is the long-awaited replacement to Fouts Field and the centerpiece of the Mean Green Athletic Village. Opened in 2011, Apogee Stadium was designed by the same team that created the spectacular Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and they brought some of the same touches to Denton. The stadium seats 30,850 in a horseshoe-shaped bowl, putting fans close to the action and offering excellent sight lines from every seat.
About Denton:
The city of Denton is located on the northern edge of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Denton is the county seat of Denton County. The Texas land grant led to the formation of Denton County in 1846. The city and county were both named after a Texas militia caption, John B. Denton. Denton is known for its active music life. The students of North Texas stay busy with events such as the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo, Denton Arts and Jazz Festival and the 35 Denton Music Festival. Those events attract over 300,000 people to the city of Denton each year.
Notable Alumni:
Norah Jones -- nine-time Grammy Award Winner
Wende Zomnir -- Co-founder and creative director for Urban Decay, a popular cosmetics company.
Dr. Phil McGraw -- Self-help expert; host of the nationally syndicated top rated talk show, Dr. Phil, and best selling author
Thomas Haden Church -- Actor; Academy Award nominee for Sideways; Emmy award winner for Broken Trail
Peter Weller -- Actor; starred in Robocop, Star Trek: Into Darkness and Buckaroo Bonzai; Director who has helmed episodes of Hawaii Five-O, Sons of Anarchy and House M.D.
"Mean" Joe Greene -- NFL Hall of Famer and defensive lineman for the five-time Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s (played on team from 1969-81)
Dave Barnett -- Fox Sports and ESPN broadcaster/host and Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs announcer
Charles "Chuck" Beatty -- Played with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1963-72 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1972
David Clark -- 1960 Olympian in pole vaulting
Billy Maxwell -- Golfer, member of the PGA Senior Tour
Sandra Palmer -- LPGA Player of the Year in 1975
Johnny Quinn -- 2014 Olympian in bobsledding
Bill Schmidt -- Won the bronze medal for the javelin at the 1972 Olympics
Ron Shanklin (1948-03) -- Football player and All-Pro for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1970-76)
Brian Waters -- 2009 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year and six-time Pro Bowler (1999-present)
