DRC: Pohl raised bar at UNT

[OldTimer]

Brett Vito: Pohl raises bar at UNT

09:08 AM CDT on Sunday, April 30, 2006

Brett Vito

Norval Pohl isn’t sure exactly when he first uttered the statement about North Texas athletics that has been attached to his name ever since.

It was sometime back in the days after he took over as UNT’s president in the fall of 2000 and he was asked for his stance on the importance of a sports program to the school. After working at UNLV and seeing the impact winning a men’s national basketball championship had on the school, Pohl was quick with his answer.

“This is a major university,” Pohl said of UNT. “It’s important that we have a highly-visible athletic program.”

Since Pohl made that statement, UNT has won four Sun Belt Conference football titles, been to the NCAA women’s soccer tournament twice, built an athletic center and added a complex dedicated in large part to women’s athletics.

That’s not a coincidence.

Pohl has backed athletics at a university better known for its music and arts programs during a tenure that is coming to an end in August. The UNT athletic department ought to thank its lucky stars for Pohl’s contributions, because who knows when the school will have another president as conscious and supportive of athletics again.

“From almost Day 1, I have been talking about athletics being a window or a front porch to the university,” Pohl said. “When I came here I inherited a university that was one of the best-kept secrets in the Metroplex. I said one of the best ways to get the word out was through athletics. The four bowl games the football team went to and postseason success in other sports has helped us to be better known in the area and across the state.”

Ask anyone in the Mean Green Athletic Center and he will tell you that Pohl’s fingerprints are all over each of the championship trophies UNT’s teams have brought home the last few years.

“Dr. Pohl is a person with great vision who understands how athletics can change a university,” UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said. “He let us take athletics to another level and gave me a lot of rope to do what I thought would advance the program. We wouldn’t have accomplished as much the last few years without Dr. Pohl.”

Pohl hired Villarreal and basically turned him loose.

Since Pohl and Villarreal teamed up, UNT has added a softball team, facilities for women’s teams and drastically improved its position when it comes to Title IX gender equity regulations.

The women’s soccer team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice playing basically on a glorified recreational field will play in a new stadium next season. The volleyball team will have a new court.

UNT football coach Darrell Dickey has been around for all of Pohl’s tenure and credits him for helping establish the base that allowed the Mean Green to play in the New Orleans Bowl in four straight seasons.

“Norval had a positive attitude, stepped to the plate and asked what he could do to help improve athletics,” Dickey said. “A lot of what is getting done here he supported and helped see through.”

Making those improvements wasn’t always easy. Pohl had to push for an aggressive athletic director in Villarreal and an emphasis on athletics. Those moves were not always popular at a university where some only knew a football team was on campus because they had to move their cars out of the Fouts Field parking lot on Saturday to clear the way for tailgating.

“There were a lot of people who asked why we were putting money into athletics when we had a dismal record,” Pohl said. “I said it was because we haven’t put enough money into athletics to be successful.”

Pohl showed his support not only by what he said, but also by becoming a regular at games on campus.

The Mean Green still have a long way to go; just about anyone involved with the program would acknowledge that. Fouts Field needs to be replaced. The basketball programs have gone far too long without an NCAA Tournament bid. The dream of playing in a regional conference and consistently beating in-state rivals in all sports is still out there.

Those goals will be left for UNT’s next president and the coaches and administrators Pohl leaves behind.

UNT might not have the visibility in athletics some want yet, but it’s closer than when Pohl first talked about raising the Mean Green’s profile. When it comes to UNT athletics, that’s not a bad legacy for Pohl to leave behind.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com

[Huff]

Dr. Pohl is the best thing that has happened to North Texas in a very long time. We will miss him a LOT.

[the green rokemi]

Dr. Pohl is the best thing that has happened to North Texas in a very long time.  We will miss him a LOT.

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Indeed...soon he will be replaced by someone who can further the smuNT conspiracy...

[DeepGreen]

“There were a lot of people who asked why we were putting money into athletics when we had a dismal record,” Pohl said. “I said it was because we haven’t put enough money into athletics to be successful.”

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This about sums up NT athletics since the beginning of time. I truly hope we do not regress.

[LoveMG]

I truly hope we do not regress.

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it has already started if you havn't noticed lately.

[Harry]

Disagree. We are in a state of limbo until the new Prez is hired. Then we will know.