U N T Established 1890 U N T
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Legends of the Mean Green: Timeline

1900s

Although students organized themselves into teams and played football earlier, the year 1913 is regarded as the first official season of UNT football. UNT, then known as North Texas Normal College, played only one game in its inaugural season-a 13-0 loss to Texas Christian University.

White background with black and white photograph of 12 men in rows of 4 covering most of the page. The text Normal Football Team is in the center top of the pic. The names of all the men line the bottom of the page in 4 columns in rows of 3.

1920s

In 1920, Theron Fouts became coach of football team at the North Texas State Normal College (renamed North Texas State Teachers’ College in 1922). He served as coach from 1920-1924 and would later be named as dean of men and athletics director. The 1920s also witnessed the affiliation of the college with its first conference, the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association, in 1921 and an undefeated season in 1922. Fouts Field would later be built and named after Coach Fouts in 1952.

Black and white photograph of 36 men in 3 long rows. All men are in uniform and appear to be standing in front of the field goal.
Black and white photograph of 7 members of a football team in motion. Three are tackling the other, as a man in all white stands behind them, staring, in the near back.
Black and white picture of several football players in motion. Two appear to be on the ground in a tackle. Several bystanders are in the background in front of a white building.
Black and white picture of a long line of people on the left side standing in front of a church building. On the right side is a road with a black car driving by.

1930s

1931 brought North Texas their first conference championship under Coach Jack Sisco, who coached the team from last place to first place within a two year time span. During Coach Sisco’s tenure throughout the 1930s, North Texas would continue to dominate, winning 76 games and six conference championships.

Black and white photograph of an entire football team of 45 men in rows of 4, all posing on grass in front of a brick building.
Black and white picture of a man in a football uniform, holding a football as he runs the field. Picture is centered in the middle of a multicolored graphic that consists of the entire page. People drawn at the bottom of the graphic look onto the pictures as a crowd watching a movie.
Old photograph of 11 men in 2 rows, in formation on a field. The football is being held by the man in the front middle.
Old photograph of an entire football team in 5 rows. All are in black uniform with numbers on the front.

1940s

Due to the number of male students fighting in World War II, North Texas was unable to field a football team during the war years. The postwar seasons however sparked a UNT record with North Texas enjoying six consecutive winning seasons under the coaching of Odus Mitchell from 1946 to 1952. North Texas also enjoyed its first bowl win in the 1946 Optimist Bowl due to a last minute play.

Black and white picture of a football game in motion. Two sets of men tackling one another are seen. A building can be seen in the middle of the background, and a crowd in the rafters can be seen on the right side of the picture.
Angled photograph of football team sitting in front of the sidelines. A building can be seen in the right side of the top of the background.
A white page with a photo of a football on the top left. Two photos are on the bottom half of the page, with a paragraph in the top right. The title First Annual is seen in bold letters, with a graphic of a tiger at the top.
White page with the title Optimist Bowl under a drawing of an eagle. Under a block of words, 2 photo's are seen at the bottom of the page, and two more photos on the right side of the page.

1950s

The 1950s witnessed the desegregation of the North Texas campus and football team. Abner Hayes, one of the first black players on the North Texas football team, joined the team in 1956, the first year of undergraduate desegregation. By his senior year in 1959, Haynes ranked seventh in the nation in rushing, fifth in scoring, and led North Texas to the 1959 Sun Bowl. Another milestone achieved in the 1950s was the construction of Fouts Field in 1952, named after former coach Theron Fouts.

Old photograph of one man attempting to tackle another. A man in a coaches uniform is seen running towards them. Trees cover the background.
Old black and white photo of a black man holding a football. Another player is seen blurry close in the background, another man in a striped ref's uniform is seen in the right.

1960s

The move in the late 1950s to the Missouri Valley Conference propelled North Texas into the arena of “major” college football for the decade of the 1960s. The 1968 season in particular was an exciting one as the “Mean Green” defense made quite an impression on both fans and opponents alike. The defensive unit featuring players Richard Gill and Joe Greene, who anchored the unit, inspired the nickname “Mean Green,” a moniker that has remained ever since to describe North Texas athletics. “Mean” Joe Greene was named a consensus All-American pick in 1968 and went on to have an illustrious career in the NFL, being named the 1969 NFL Rookie of the Year and a 10 time Pro Bowl selection. Greene was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1981. 1969 also witnessed North Texas quarterback Steve Ramsey achieve the NCAA Record for passing touchdowns in a career, throwing 69 in his time at North Texas.

Black and white photo. Players in white uniform are seen on the right, chasing a player in black. The sideline crowd is full and seen in the background.
Black and white photo of a closeup of an African-American football player in front of the sidelines.
Black and white photo of men in white uniform tackling each other.
Black and white photo of the back of a man in uniform, holding his helmet in his right hand. The photo covers most of a white page, with the name Steve Ramsey next to it at the bottom left corner.
3 men jump, the one in the middle throws a football into the air right by the field goal. The one in the middle is seen higher in the air then the two on his side.

1970s

The 1970s began disastrously for the Eagles with the 1972 season record of 1-10 marking a low point. Coach Hayden Fry was hired in December of 1972 to turn the program around. Over the next six seasons, he succeeded by obtaining a 40-23-3 record. Notable highlights of the 1970s include a 98 yard kickoff return by Sears Woods in a 1975 game with only 4:25 remaining to score a North Texas victory, and the 1977 season which witnessed a 10-1 record for the Eagles. The 1977 season also included a victory over SMU-the first North Texas win over SMU since 1933.

4 men tackle each other, a football is seen on the bottom right. One man is falling headfirst in the ground.
4 men tackle another. Man in the middle is holding football in his right hand and jumps high above the others.
One football player holds another closely by the shirt. Ref in striped shirt tries to pull them apart.
Football player laying in snow covered ground with football cradled in his right arm.
Close up of football player with helmet on. Helmet is covered with snow on the edges.
Man jumps in the air holding football in right hand. 4 other football players are around him, 2 more in the background. Crowd in the sidelines is seen in the background.

1980s

The demotion to Division I-AA status in the late 1970s due to attendance and financial woes served as the catalyst for North Texas to move into the Southland Conference becoming its eighth member in 1982. Coach Corky Nelson led the Eagles to victory in the Southland Conference Championships in 1983, 1987, and 1983 before falling in the NCAA I-AA playoffs in each of those years.

Close up of on man grabbing the other by the shirt in a tackle.
Man with cap on and Eagles sweatshirt is held on the shoulders of football players with their arms raised in the air. Crowd in bleachers seen in back.
Closeup of man running with football in left hand. Man on his right is seen attempting to tackle him with his hand near the other mans leg.
Man jumps mid-air to catch a football with both hands. Other man is going towards him, also in mid-air.

1990s

A push to re-join I-A Conference football was sparked in 1990. The final year of Southland Conference membership occurred in 1994 with the Eagles winning the Conference championship. 1995 witnessed the return of North Texas to Division I-A play with the Eagles joining the Big West Conference in 1996.

Picture in color. Eagle football player is seen close to a Texas A&M player, attempting a tackle. Another Texas A&M player is to their side on the right.
Sideview of 2 men in green uniform looking to the left.
Several Eagle football players are seen blocking the opposite team. Football is seen flying mid-air on the left side of the pic. A crowd in the stands is seen in the background.
7 football players are hunched over in formation facing the right to the opposite team. The football is on the ground in between them.
U N T Established 1890

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