Darrell R. Dickey Football Practice Facility

[Harry]

http://meangreen.beloblog.com/

After more than six months of debate, North Texas made a decision on the name of its football practice fields. They will be named the Darrell R. Dickey Football Practice Facility.

The name was added to the sign next to the fields today.

UNT officials were set to name the fields after booster Jim McIngvale, who donated $1 million toward construction of the Mean Green Athletic Center. McIngvale later came back and asked that they be named after Dickey shortly after UNT's head football coach was fired last season. Dickey and McIngvale later requested they be named after Andrew Smith, a former UNT quarterback who died in a car accident.

In the end, UNT named the fields after Dickey, a move the school's Board of Regents approved.

I will be in the minority on this one, but naming the fields after Dickey was the right move. Dickey led UNT to four straight Sun Belt Conference titles and the Mean Green Athletic Center was built largely because of McIngvale's donation, one he gave the university partly because of his friendship with Dickey.

Dickey's teams hit the skids his last two seasons, but what he accomplished in his four-year run in the Sun Belt moved the program forward. Dickey's tenure is worth honoring, and naming the practice fields named after him is the best way to do just that.

For more on the new Darrell R. Dickey Football Practice Facility, see tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

[FirefightnRick]

I will be in the minority on this one, but naming the fields after Dickey was the right move.

No your not.

Rick

Edited June 20, 2007 by FirefightnRick

[H-towngreen]

I have no problem with this move, although I would have prefered it be named after Andrew Smith. I'm as happy as the next guy that DD is gone, but he did help get the program to where it is today. In a position to hire someone like TD, a new AC, new stadium, etc. etc.

Now lets start thinking of names for the new stadium

[UNTflyer]

I have no problem with the practice field being named after Dickey.... I had a problem with Matress Mac bullying the university into doing it.

[H-towngreen]

I have no problem with the practice field being named after Dickey.... I had a problem with Matress Mac bullying the university into doing it.

I second that

[UNTFan23]

At least it's not the stadium. He is deserving of having something named after him, but given how he treated the fan base at times, in my opinion, it really limits what he is worthy of having his named attached to. I think the using practice fields is a good thing since it is a place that fans can kind of put out their minds since it's not that big of a piece of the puzzle in the fans' eyes.

[NT03]

I have no problem with the practice field being named after Dickey.... I had a problem with Matress Mac bullying the university into doing it.

Agree , but wouldn't something being named after say Hayden Fry or Mean Joe be more appropriate. Those of just 2 of a few names who really put UNT on the football map. Instead we honor a coach who was 20+ games under .500 who left in a very unprofessional manor

[NT80]

I very much appreciated the 4 Bowl games, and very much disliked the Black Jersey ending. Maybe history can overlook it.

[MeanGreen61]

Agree , but wouldn't something being named after say Hayden Fry or Mean Joe be more appropriate. Those of just 2 of a few names who really put UNT on the football map. Instead we honor a coach who was 20+ games under .500 who left in a very unprofessional manor

Mac did donate $1million to UNT athletics. Donate $1million and bet you too can pick a name. Shoulda, woulda, coulda doesn't really count much unless you put up the greenbacks.

[NT03]

I very much appreciated the 4 Bowl games, and very much disliked the Black Jersey ending. Maybe history can overlook it.

In due time , can't wait till actually get to talk FOOTBALL.

DD topics are like uniform & conference changing topics , never ending

[PlummMeanGreen]

Agree , but wouldn't something being named after say Hayden Fry or Mean Joe be more appropriate. Those of just 2 of a few names who really put UNT on the football map. Instead we honor a coach who was 20+ games under .500 who left in a very unprofessional manor

So all Todd Dodge really has to do in Denton is keep MG football in the Bottom 25, not even be close to .500 in career wins/losses as HFC, stay here about a decade with not one ranked football team, have un-ranked teams while going to a few bowl games playing against un-ranked teams, genuflect every time Bobby Ray swaggers into the post-game locker room with cigar in hand, bad mouth his employer and NT Exes everywhere on the Mean Green Radio Network and then all but drop his drawers at Fouts Field to moon the entire UNT community in his last few games as Mean Green head football coach and then.....................

UNT WILL REWARD ALL THIS KIND OF TOMMYROT & MEDIOCRITY WITH ANYTHING NAMED AFTER HIM?

Sorry to say it, but its just more of the same from our almer mater's leadership that sets low goals, sometimes reaches some of them and then names things after some of those who helped us stay mediocre.

And name something after College Football Hall of Famer & ex UNT Coach Hayden Fry? Are you kiddin'.............this is North Texas we are talking about, folks.

PS: What happened to Jim "Bullies His Alma Mater" McIngvale and DD's suggestion to name all this after Andrew Smith? I think many would really like to know.

Edited June 20, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

[ADLER]

Dickey was by no means perfect, but he's still an important part of our history.

The facts are that teams coached by Dickey won 4 straight conference championships and he directed the team to 4 straight bowl games. During those seasons the team had a conference winning streak that is unmatched in North Texas history. Coach Dickey is certainly deserving of this honor.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Dickey was by no means perfect, but he's still an important part of our history.

The facts are that teams coached by Dickey won 4 straight conference championships and he directed the team to 4 straight bowl games. During those seasons the team had a conference winning streak that is unmatched in North Texas history. Coach Dickey is certainly deserving of this honor.

And who did he beat to win those 4 straight conference championships? DD's good buddy Wright Waters league, ie, the "TTC?" (the Throw-Together Conference) consortium of schools?

What will keep North Texas small time are those that just don't expect much and really don't have a problem when a coach 20 plus games under .500 after more than enough years to reach .500 has had something named after him. I guess some of us just need to learn how to be kids all over again; you know, just "play-like" we really have it going on in Denton, eh?

Edited June 20, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

[megagreen]

Easy there, Plumm. You make some good points about Dickey's mediocre results, but I think the kids playing for the teams in the "TTC" would say that they tried as hard as they could to not let us win 26 games in a row against them. I think that the winning streak might be his greatest accomplishment and demonstrated that we could develop (although temporary) a winning attitude around here.

That being said, I'm glad that the bar is raised now. Also, this is just a practice field we are talking about. It's not a Dickey statue in the front of a new stadium. I would love to see Mean Joe or Coach Fry in that spot for sure!

GMG!

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

I very much appreciated the 4 Bowl games, and very much disliked the Black Jersey ending. Maybe history can overlook it.

---I wonder he feels now... or at least some time in the future.... Surely he will come to realize what a classless move that was.

[DallasGreen]

---I wonder he feels now... or at least some time in the future.... Surely he will come to realize what a classless move that was.

Don't bank on it--note his "could not be reached for comment this morning", I know the "us against the world" was a coaching technique, but it should have remained behind closed doors if he had to use it at all. I have never heard of a coach attacking his fans and school verbally the way DD did. At any other D-1 school RF would have been given his walking papers Mon. morning after his Sat. escapade. Between that and the FFR incident that's probably as close to being in a riot as most of us will ever see. I really don't think RV knew how bad it was since he was away with the girls' soccer team.

Edited June 20, 2007 by DallasGreen

[trud1966]

Not happy with him personally, but I do respect the good he did when he was here. People will always argue if the good outweighed the bad. Same type of arguement about Pete Rose. The guy was amazing player his entire career, but all of that good was forgotten when he committed the sin of betting on baseball. Should that incident keep him from the Hall of Fame? Debatable...Same with DD.

For those of you who are really bothered by this announcement, keep this in mind and it'll make you feel better. It's ONLY some fields. I would guess eventually, one day, those fields will be enveloped with an indoor practice facility, maybe in 2 years, maybe in 20. But when that happens, the new donor for that facility will get naming rights and DD's name will disappear when they begin construction.

Feel better?

[Eagle1855]

Mac did donate $1million to UNT athletics. Donate $1million and bet you too can pick a name. Shoulda, woulda, coulda doesn't really count much unless you put up the greenbacks.

Exactly! Now we can move on.

[greenminer]

I'm fine with this, but would still like to see something put up to honor Smith.

[UNTLifer]

And who did he beat to win those 4 straight conference championships? DD's good buddy Wright Waters league, ie, the "TTC?" (the Throw-Together Conference) consortium of schools?

What will keep North Texas small time are those that just don't expect much and really don't have a problem when a coach 20 plus games under .500 after more than enough years to reach .500 has had something named after him. I guess some of us just need to learn how to be kids all over again; you know, just "play-like" we really have it going on in Denton, eh?

That is a shot at the young men that gave us a great four year run. You sure seemed to enjoy the championships and winning streak when it was going on. It's time to let go of this and move on.

The naming of the practice facility is fine, especially considering DD was known for those marathon sessions.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Easy there, Plumm. You make some good points about Dickey's mediocre results, but I think the kids playing for the teams in the "TTC" would say that they tried as hard as they could to not let us win 26 games in a row against them. I think that the winning streak might be his greatest accomplishment and demonstrated that we could develop (although temporary) a winning attitude around here.

That being said, I'm glad that the bar is raised now. Also, this is just a practice field we are talking about. It's not a Dickey statue in the front of a new stadium. I would love to see Mean Joe or Coach Fry in that spot for sure!

GMG!

Revised

The Actual Address of Darrell R. Dickey Practice Fields: 18 Under 500 Bonnie Brae...

Subtopic: So we should never question what a whole bunch of non-UNT graduated employees at our alma mater ever do with their decision-making process? We should just give them a blank check to do as they please (and then leave us with whatever good or bad results their decisions have created for us to live with long after they have gone)? Sounds like a true formula for even more problems for UNT if this were the case

You know, it really is a Catch 22 talking about DD "Bottom 25" Ball. We did have some success if that is what you would call it (which I bet Boise State would not); but only about 8 other SBC football schools in the entire 119 member NCAA D1-A would half-heartedly concur. Folks, we had freakin' "non ranked" success at the NCAA D1-A level which most across the college football world would call no success at all. Why would we begin to? We could call it a degree of progress, but success? Come on now.................. The question one NT Ex asked me was: "Why are so many of our alums & fans so accepting of all these low goals and subsequent low performances?"

Now some of you have (apparently) resolved in your minds to settle with the premise that we will never have any semblance of a "true" national recognition that began with some of Hayden Fry's wins (and you can start with the U of Tennessee win). A win over U of Houston the year before they won the Cotton Bowl wasn't too bad a win, either. A win over 19'th ranked San Diego State was one for the books, too There were others...

To some of you, DD Ball "IS" your golden era of Mean Green football--to many of us, it cannot touch what Fry Ball did for NTSU; but DD Ball to many is (more or less) a large degree of merely disguised & veiled success that did not (listen to me)----it did not give Darrell Dickey "ONE", count em', folks) not ONE.................... high profile D1-A job interview; in fact, with all our, uh, "success," we should have had an army of high profile D1-A school hiring authorities blitzing Denton, Texas, America making offer$ to hire many of our ancillary athletic staff away from UNT (instead we have some of that group planning retirements in Denton while silently laughing under their breath as to how so little they really have to do at UNT to make a (too) large number of you happy & content). The joke is on us, folks! Do Yall Like That?

The fact that anything is named after Darrell Dickey, now an "assistant coach" (HELLO!?!) and a former UNT HFC not even close to .500 in career W/L's) over College Football Hall of Famer and ex NT Coach Hayden Fry is a total abomination and attrocity. Hellsbells! Jim McIngvale played football for Hayden Fry for crissakes! Is our alma mater chock full of alums who had been residents just out of Terrell?

But sadly, all this only makes many of us think there are just many more such such decisions as this DD Boneheader of the Year on the way from dear ol' alma mater. (I'm beginning to truly understand how all the foot soldiers who were under General George Armstrong Custer were all probably silently cussing the good (yet a bit "touched") General while marching them to their impending demise at the Little Big Horn. Whoops! I guess I just pissed off some group in the good ol' USA with that statement!

So just proceed with all the mediocrity, UNT leaders, temporarily forget the shame of our (now non-existant) Lee Jackson Memorial/UNT Law School and while forgetting that enormous state-supported blooper & blunder, then wonder why we still cannot average more than 19-20,000 (I'll give em' that with Dodge Ball & with all the new SLC fans) and that (still small'ish) number expecially in light of our an enormous UNT constituency and population center location (6 million Metroplex citizens) within 1 hour of Fouts Field).

The best thing of all this is, life does goes on, but at UNT what the hell can we expect next? Name one of our Politcal Science classrooms after NT EX and former Charlie Manson disciple, Tex Watson?

For Todd Dodge, I just feel sorry as hell for the guy (although he'll have to say in public how all this with the DD Practice Fields doesn't bother him at all). Well, it bothers a whole bunch of us for him.

Proceed....

Edited June 21, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

[MeanMag]

I'm fine with this, but would still like to see something put up to honor Smith.

While what happened to Smith was a tragedy... I don't think anything beyond a locker should be named after him. Put up a plaque or a picture or something in the athletic center, but he didn't do enough while he was here to warrant the type of honor naming a facility after him brings.

[NTPhiKap99]

The way I see it we have a couple different practice fields I would have names one after Dickey and another after Andrew Smith I think they both deserve the honor. Dickey really did do a lot for the program but if both he and mattress Mac wanted it naming it after Andrew that’s really the way I would have gone but since that didn't happen I'd put both names on it. If Texas can have Joe Jamail field at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium why can't we have Darrell Dickey field at the Andrew Smith Memorial Practice Facility. Ok I just want to throw my two cents.

[KRAM1]

In case you haven't noticed...the DD era is OVER! Can we stop talking about the guy please???? Let's look forward to the TD era, and talk about that...give UNT $1mm and you can name what you want...Fine by me. And, so sorry about Andrew Smith, but, can we move on from that too? It was a tragedy for sure, but it too is in the past...we need to remember Andrew, but let's move on....not trying to be insensitive here or hurt anyone's feelings (wouldn't want to do that), but let's honor Andrew by winning some football games and bringing Mean Green football back to respectability...where it rightly deserves to be. Let's look forward folks...I am tiring of this "bacward stuff" that comes up time and time again. Too much positive to look forward to...bring it on!

[Daddy Dumpsalot]

A New Address @ UNT: 18 Under .500 Bonnie Brea... (The inmates have now taken over).

You know, it really is a Catch 22 talking about DD "Bottom 25" Ball. We did have some success if that is what you would call it (which I bet Boise State would not); but only about 8 other SBC football schools in the entire 119 member NCAA D1-A would half-heartedly concur. Folks, we had freakin' "non ranked" success at the NCAA D1-A level which most across the college football world would call no success at all. Why would we begin to? We could call it a degree of progress, but success? Come on now.................. The question one NT Ex asked me was: "Why are so many of our alums & fans so accepting of all these low goals and subsequent low performances?"

Now some of you are (apparently) have resolved in your minds to settle with the premise that we will never have any semblance of a "true" national recognition that began with some of Hayden Fry's wins (and you can start with the U of Tennesse win). A win over U of Houston the year before they won the Cotton Bowl wasn't too bad a win, either. There were others...

To some of you, DD Ball "IS" your golden era of Mean Green football--to many of us, it cannot touch what Fry Ball did for NTSU; but DD Ball to many is (more or less) a large degree of disguised & veiled success that did not (listen to me)----it did not give Darrell Dickey "ONE", count em', folks) not ONE.................... high profile D1-A job interview; in fact, with all our success, we should have had a ton of higher profile 1-A schools blitzing Denton, Texas, America with attemtps to hire many of our ancillary athletic staff away from UNT (instead we have some of that group planning retirements in Denton while laughing under their breath as to how little they really have to perform or do in Denton to make a (too) large number of you happy with their performance). The joke is on us, folks! Do Yall Like That?

The fact that anything is named after Darrell Dickey, now an "assistant coach' and a former UNT HFC not even close to .500 in career W/L's) over College Football Hall of Famer and ex NT Coach Hayden Fry is a total abomination and attrocity. Hellsbells! Jim McIngvale played football for Hayden Fry for crissakes! Is our alma mater chock full of alums who had been residents just out of Terrell?

But sadly, all this only makes many of us think there are just many more such such decisions as this DD bonehead on the way from "OUR" dear alma mater. (I'm beginning to understand how all the foot soldiers who were under General George Armstrong Custer were all probably silently cussing the good General while marching them to their impending demise at the Little Big Horn. Whoops! I guess I just pissed off some group in the good ol' USA with that statement!

So just proceed with all the mediocrity, UNT leaders, temporarily forget the shame of our (now non-existant) Lee Jackson Memorial/UNT Law School and while forgetting that enormous state-supported blooper & blunder, then wonder why we still cannot average more than 20,000 (I'll give em' that with Dodge Ball with all the new SLC fans) and that (still small'ish) number expecially in light of our an enormous UNT constituency and population center location (6 million Metroplex citizens) within 1 hour of Fouts Field).

The best thing of all this is, life does goes on, but at UNT what the hell can we expect next from this group? Name one of our Politcal Science classrooms after NT EX and former Charlie Manson disciple, Tex Watson?

For Todd Dodge, I just feel sorry as hell for the guy (although he'll have to say in public how all this with the DD Practice Fields doesn't bother him at all). Well, it bothers a whole bunch of us for him.

Proceed....