Coach Andy Mac

YORKTOWN — Gary Don Hines went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Saturday, January 22, 2022 at the age of 70 in Williamsburg, Virginia. He left this earth surrounded by family and friends singing and praising God as we shared our love with this precious “gentle giant.” Gary was born to Ellwood and Opal Hines on March 30, 1951 in Texas City, Texas. After moving to Houston, TX as a young boy, he graduated from J. Frank Dobie High School in 1970, where he played on the Dobie Longhorns basketball team with his future brother-in-law, Tucker Smith. Gary earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education in 1977 from the University of North Texas, where he met his lifelong friend, Norman Lance, and began teaching at Thompson Intermediate School, a feeder school to his alma mater, F. Dobie High School. Gary loved coaching basketball and football and took his basketball team to district playoffs during his first year of coaching. Gary married Susan Smith on June 10, 1978, and two years late,Gary and Susan were blessed with the birth of their daughter, Erin. In order for Susan to be a stay-at-home mom, Gary made a career change and went to work for AMOCO Refinery in Texas City, TX. He retired from AMOCO Refinery in Yorktown, Virginia in 2008 after 29 years. Gary’s favorite pastimes included playing banjo and guitar, cooking, traveling, watching westerns, Civil War history, woodworking, painting, and watching the Alabama Crimson Tide. read more: https://wydaily.com/obits/2022/01/27/gary-don-hines-70/

Dallas ISD inducted 9 new individuals to its Athletic Hall of Fame in a virtual ceremony. Among the 2021 class are two track Olympians, including a four-time gold medalist; a pair of top-four NBA draft picks with 18 all-star game appearances between them, including a back-to-back NBA World Champion; a PGA Championship winner; an NFL Pro-Bowl selection and Super Bowl champion; a first-round WNBA draft pick; a four-sport prep athlete that helped lead his baseball team to a state championship; and, a baseball coach that guided his teams to 32 consecutive playoff appearances. The nine inductees include include: LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Bosh, Don January, Johnny Wayne Johnson, Michael Johnson, Stone Johnson, Mike Livingston, Andrea Riley and David Shepherd. Don January played golf for Sunset High School. He later helped lead North Texas State, now the University of North Texas, win three consecutive NCAA championships. He was a member of the PGA Tour from 1956 until 1976, winning 10 events, including the 1967 PGA Championship in an 18-hole playoff. He added 22 wins on the Senior PGA Tour, becoming the first player to earn more than $1 million in Senior PGA Tour earnings in 1985. He played on the 1965 and 1977 Ryder Cup teams. In 1976, he won the Vardon Trophy from PGA of America for the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour. read more: https://thehub.dallasisd.org/2022/01/27/dallas-isd-inducts-9-individuals-into-athletic-hall-of-fame-class-of-2021/?amp

The American went to East and West divisions in 2015 but dropped them in 2020 when the departure of UConn left the conference with 11 members. Even when the AAC reconfigures to 14 teams, Aresco isn’t sure the league will return to divisional play. “I’m not sure we’ll ever go back to divisions even when we get to 14 teams,” Aresco said. “We will look hard about continuing to go without divisions.”

The next step in UCF’s move to the Big 12 Conference could happen sometime this spring as the Knights discuss an exit strategy with the American Athletic Conference. UCF, Cincinnati and Houston accepted bids to join the Big 12 last September but are contractually required to remain with the AAC through 2024. All indications are that the three schools would prefer to leave in 2023. The clock’s ticking, but we’ve had ongoing discussions with the group and they’ve been very amicable,” AAC commissioner Mike Aresco told the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday. “We have great relationships with not only [UCF athletics director] Terry [Mohajir] but [Houston AD] Chris Pezman and [Cincinnati AD] John Cunningham. “I’m hoping that by spring, we’ll have something resolved.” read more: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/ucf-knights/os-sp-ucf-aac-mike-aresco-talks-departure-big-12-timeline-20220127-5vi7pboyxfh5leozkbu7n3xanm-story.html

Utah State's recruiting connections in the Lone Star State have paid dividends once again. The Aggies added three football players from Texas during the early signing period as part of their 2022, and recently finalized the commitment of a fourth scholarship player from the Lone Star State. Defensive tackle Tavian Coleman, a transfer from Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College, committed to USU a week ago on Twitter, and he has already signed and is on campus. The 6-foot-2, 285-pounder had scholarship offers from a handful of FBS programs and was also Tulsa, Western Kentucky, North Texas and Texas State as potential landing spots. What ultimately gave USU the upper hand? What gave Utah State the edge is their hot season from last year," Coleman said in an interview with the Herald Journal. "I wanted to come into a winning program and continue the tradition they set from last season." read more: https://www.hjnews.com/sports/usu/usu-football-coleman-talks-about-his-commitment-to-the-aggies/article_2105c2b1-a3fd-524a-a60f-2b8a75b9782f.html

Football sees Murphy twins enter the transfer portal The pair joined North Texas in 2019 from Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas, redshirting their first year before playing in a majority of games in the 2020 season. Their transfer comes after a series of North Texas players entered the portal in the last two days. Starting offensive tackle Jacob Brammer entered the portal on Wednesday night and sophomore quarterback Kason Martin entered earlier on Thursday. read more: https://www.ntdaily.com/football-sees-murphy-twins-enter-the-transfer-portal/

41-39 UAB with 12 minutes to go

ACQUIRED: Signed with the Riders in December 2020. YEARS IN CFL: 1 YEARS WITH ROUGHRIDERS: 1 2021: Spent most of 2021 on the practice roster before seeing his first game action on November 20 against Hamilton. Went 5 of 9 for 64 yards. Dressed as the back-up quarterback for the West Semi-Final and West Final. PRO: Signed with the Riders after a strong collegiate career at North Texas. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Made CFL Debut Nov. 20/21 Ranked 28th all-time in passing yards in college football history COLLEGE: Completed 1,039 passes for 12,505 yards, 93 touchdowns and just 39 interceptions while rushing for an additional seven majors over 49 games and four collegiate seasons. Left North Texas as the school’s all-time leading passer (12,505 yards), first in passing touchdowns (93), first in passer efficiency (140.68), first in touchdowns (100), the record-holder in career completions (1,039) and career pass attempts (1,655) and with the most 300-yard passing games in school history (18). Twice awarded the CUSA Offensive Player of the Year (2017, 2018), twice named first-team All-CUSA (2017, 2018), and in his senior year he was named the top college quarterback in Texas by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. Updated Bio Link: https://www.riderville.com/players/mason-fine/164323/

Conference-USA: UTEP's Gavin Hardison Although WKU QB Bailey Zappe and Marshall's Grant Wells had bigger seasons in 2021 than Gavin Hardison, Zappe is out of eligibility, and Wells announced he's transferring to Virginia Tech in the ACC. Rising junior Hardison had a breakout season for the Miners in 2021, throwing for 3,218 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season. The season prior, he threw for 1,419 yards and five touchdowns in UTEP's COVID-19-affected season. Although the Miners lost the New Mexico Bowl 31-24 to Fresno State, Hardison led his team to seven wins for just the seventh time in 53 years and the 19th time in 104 years, per the Albuquerque Journal's Steve Virgen. Hardison started his collegiate career at New Mexico Military Institute before landing at UTEP. The QB said in December that beginning his career there gave him good experience. "At NMMI, you have to be really disciplined with the military environment there," Hardison told Virgen. "Playing there elevated my football career. I was able to play against some great competition. Playing against tough competition elevated my game." read more: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2952769-the-best-returning-qb-in-every-college-football-conference-for-2022

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – They say Texas is a football state, but there is some serious basketball talent here, too. Dallas Kimball’s Arterio Morris has led the Knights to the 5A State Title Game a year ago. He has plans to finish the job this year. READ MORE: Accused Cop Killer Oscar Rosales Caught At Texas-Mexico Border Headed to University of Texas next season, Morris can celebrate his place as a McDonald’s All American. Morris says, “it feels good knowing I’ve put on the work to deserve this….Man of the hour…. Next to my teammates and my family it feels good.” Dallas Kimball head basketball coach, Nick Smith explains, “he’s put in so much work with the person he’s become over the last few years. That’s why I’m proud of him.” Despite limited time on the court this season, due to an ongoing eligibility battle. Duncanville senior Anthony Black has been named a McDonald’s All American. read more: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2022/01/25/dfw-area-boys-basketball-players-mcdonalds-all-americans/

Tashard Choice, RBs coach Despite being a Georgia native, Choice has endeared himself to many in the Lone Star State. A seven-year NFL veteran running back, who spent five years as both a player and coaching intern with the Dallas Cowboys and two years coaching at North Texas, Choice knows a thing or two about football in Texas. He began his coaching career with the Cowboys before serving as a graduate assistant for UNT, and would later be promoted to running backs coach for the Mean Green. Choice then served as Georgia Tech’s running backs coach for three seasons, before being recruited to join Lincoln Riley’s coaching staff at USC. After being a Trojan coach for no more than a week, Choice decided to take the Texas job, following Drayton’s departure. read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-longhorns/2022/01/25/meet-the-new-members-of-the-texas-longhorns-2022-football-coaching-staff/

https://twitter.com/meangreenmbb/status/1485275891970322432?s=21

Down 28-10 already. ODU looks like a mediocre high school team compared to North Texas. link: https://csnbbs.com/thread-940706.html

They Don't Know With nine EPs, a blockbuster movie role and an Emmy nomination to his name, Tobe Nwigwe has come a long way without even hitting the mainstream yet. Get familiar with the movement. Interview: Peter A. Berry Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Winter 2021 issue of XXL Magazine, on stands now. Tobe Nwigwe is on his way to rap stardom, but his 1.3 million Instagram followers, an Emmy-nominated commercial and cosigns from Beyoncé and Michelle Obama say he’s already made it there—without going mainstream. Read More: Tobe Nwigwe Flexes His Star Power With Viral Movement - XXL | https://www.xxlmag.com/tobe-nwigwe-interview/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

College football's hot seat is always among one of the sport's biggest discussions. This past season, however, it was something else that sped up the carousel. There were openings at Florida, Notre Dame, LSU and USC. Huge splashes were also made, as LSU hired Brian Kelly away from the Fighting Irish and USC hired Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma. Next year could bring some more spice. ESPN's Adam Rittenberg listed a handful of coaches on the hot seat and some others to keep an eye on. Keep an eye on: Ken Niumatalolo, Navy; Willie Taggart, Florida Atlantic; Seth Littrell, North Texas; Willie Fritz, Tulane; Jason Candle,Toledo; Danny Gonzales, New Mexico; Butch Jones, Arkansas State. Littrell, once a popular name for Power 5 vacancies, was 8-14 from 2019-20, and the Mean Green started this past season 1-6, but rallied to win their final five games and reach the postseason. read more: https://247sports.com/LongFormArticle/College-football-hot-seats-ESPN-eyes-early-names-for-2022-season-181180302/Amp/

becoming WVU’s offensive coordinator began with just a few conversations with head coach Neal Brown. As for his future in the profession, that was in Harrell’s blood. Coaching high school football in Texas is the Harrell family tradition. His grandfather, father and two brothers all have experience in that area. Harrell played for his father at Ennis High, and together, they earned the Class 4A title in 2001. By the time he was finished at that level, he set state records, including 12,532 yards and 167 touchdowns for his career. Those stats got him to the next level, but it’s what he learned from his dad along the way that ultimately got him into coaching. “He’s probably been the largest influence on everything and still influences me,” Harrell said in an exclusive interview for Mountaineer GameDay. “He’s the reason I got into it just because that’s all I ever knew and I thought it was the greatest profession in the world.” read more: https://www.wboy.com/goldandbluenation/wvu-football/watch-graham-harrell-discusses-career-evolution-coaching-philosophy/amp/

LARAMIE – University of Wyoming football coach Craig Bohl announced Friday the Cowboys have promoted Mike Grant to associate head coach. Grant, who will continue to serve as the Cowboys’ passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach, is heading into his seventh season with the program and his 30th coaching college football. “Mike’s overall collegiate experience has been valued greatly here at Wyoming,” Bohl said in a news release. “We look forward to him taking on an even larger role in mentoring our players and other members of our football staff as he takes on this new role as associate head coach.” Prior to his time at Wyoming, Grant served as an assistant at North Texas, Western Michigan, Southern Miss, Iowa State, James Madison and Nebraska, where he worked alongside Bohl in 1995 and 1996. read more: https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyosports/university_of_wyoming/grant-promoted-to-associate-head-coach-with-cowboys-football/article_6e507f73-2761-5632-9df1-3fb4aae947b0.html

MANCHESTER, UK (TTWN) Two men were arrested in Britain in connection with the Colleyville synagogue standoff. Manchester Police released a statement on Thursday, Jan. 20, which described two suspects being arrested in Manchester and Birmingham as part of their ongoing investigation into Saturday’s 11-hour standoff. No details were released about the suspects. On Saturday, a 44-year-old British national held several people hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, north of Ft. Worth, before being shot dead by FBI agents. A British official confirmed the man was known to U.K. security services and had been investigated before. Two teenagers arrested in the U.K. not long after the synagogue standoff ended have since been released without charge. read more: https://www.kntu.com/2022/01/20/two-suspects-arrested-in-colleyville-hostage-probe/

DENTON, Texas – North Texas women’s basketball will finish its road trip at Old Dominion on Saturday in Chartway Arena. The game is slated for 2 p.m. (CT) and the game will broadcast on CUSA.TV. Zac Babb will have the call on KNTU 88.1 FM. Old Dominion has been steady eddy in the conference since joining from a women’s hoops prospective. They are led by the high scoring duo of Iggy Allen and Ajah Wayne who both average 14.6 points per game. Allen and Wayne were both selected in the in the preseason as First Team All-Conference selections. The Mean Green will look snap a skid of losing five out of its last six. In Thursday’s game against Charlotte, Jaylen Mallard posted her first UNT career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Madison Townley had early foul trouble in the game but managed to do most of her heavy lifting in the second half, registering 12 points and seven rebounds. Jazion Jackson lit a spark in the offense with 12 points, six assists, and five boards. Amber Dixon eclipsed 1,000 career points in the loss. After its trip to the East Coast, North Texas will return home for to face Southern Miss (Jan. 27) and Louisiana Tech (Jan. 29). Both games will broadcast on ESPN+. QUOTING HEAD COACH JALIE MITCHELL “This will be another tough matchup for us. They have three all-conference players that we will have to matchup with. I think our lessons that we learned from Charlotte will need to carry over into the Old Dominion game to be successful. Defending without fouling will be a huge key for us as well as rebounding. ODU loves to clean up the boards on the offensive end of the floor.” HISTORY - This will be the 14th meeting between North Texas and Old Dominion in C-USA play. - ODU owns the all-time series record, 9-4. - Monarchs have won the last two matchups. SCOUTING OLD DOMINION (13-3, C-USA 3-1) - Won 10 out of its last 11. - Owns a 6-1 record at Chartway Arena. - Allen and Wayne were both selected to the Conference USA Preseason All-Conference First Team. - Amari Young was also selected to the first team and is the team’s third leading scorer. - Head Coach Delisha Milton-Jones is in her second year with the program. - ODU was selected second in the C-USA Preseason Coaches’ Poll. AROUND THE COUNTRY - Top-30 rebounding team in the NCAA. - No. 22 in the country in defensive boards per game (29). KEEPING TABS - Townley is two rebounds from the all-time record for career rebounds at UNT. - Amber Jackson currently holds the top spot with 761 in her career from 2005-09. - Townley is also seven games from the all-time record for career games played at UNT. - Mitchell is 10 wins away from 100 career victories at UNT. FOLLOW US Please make sure to follow North Texas women’s basketball on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@MeanGreenWBB) for news and updates all season long. TICKET INFORMATION Tickets for the 2021 season are available now. Any ticket-related questions may be directed to the Mean Green Athletics Ticket Office via email at ticketoffice@unt.edu or by phone at (940) 565-2527.

C-USA action tips on Thursday as the Charlotte 49'ers visit the North Texas Mean Green. Charlotte enters its fourth conference game this year with a 9-7 record after winning four of its last five contests. The 49'ers recently lost 96-67 to host Florida Atlantic. North Texas is 11-4 heading into its sixth conference tilt this year. The Mean Green have won their last three outings after defeating host Western Kentucky 65-60. Charlotte Winning Streak Busted On The Road Known more as an offensive unit, Charlotte gave two strong defensive efforts before falling 96-67 on Monday vs. Florida Atlantic. The venue shift might've spurred the lopsided outcome. Generally, a decent home team, road troubles have found the 49'ers enough this season to now list away games as concerning for Ron Sanchez's troops. The traveling fare gets no easier on Thursday opposite defensive powerhouse North Texas. read more: https://winnersandwhiners.com/games/ncaab/1-20-2022/charlotte-vs-north-texas-prediction-9643/