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So, Let's Name The New Stadium


DeepGreen

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I mentioned naming the field after Coach Mitchell and here's why:

He is the most successful coach in our history.

He successful broke the color barrier long before SMU and Jerry Levias.

His family has a long history of supporting North Texas and they continue to do so today.

He was a life long resident of Denton and most of his extended family is still in the area.

He was a good man. (Personal thoughts)

Coached at North Texas for 20 years.

From Wikipedia:

From 1946 to 1966, he was the head football coach at North Texas.

His highly successful career there gave him a 122-85-9 record there. From 1946 to 1952, the Mean Green enjoyed 6 consecutive winning seasons, which is a school record. His teams earned 10 conference championships, and played in 3 bowl games. In his 1966 season, North Texas went 8-2, which helped earn him National Coach of the Year honors. In 1986, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Here's are some pictures from him from a website I ran across. One is of him being carried off the field after his last game:

Coach Mitchell

I am also a huge fan of Coach Fry but:

He was only here for 5 years and most people think of the University of Iowa when they think of him.

Most of his success was at Iowa.

As far as a corporate sponsor for the stadium, I really wish they Norm Miller of Interstate Batteries would sign on considering he is an alumni, the location of the stadium between the two I35's and close to the Motor Speedway.

Edited by UNTLifer
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My thoughts are there are many people who have done great things in athletics for North Texas and to put someone's name on the stadium would in deed be an honor for that person or group of people.

Take a look at some of the high profile programs and what they named their fields:

Alabama -- Legion Field

LSU -- Death Valley

So how about----- Mean Green Express!!

Why the name take a look over the years we have had great running backs, and what about the defenses we have had several standouts who have stuffed the runners and picked off passes and returned them and put the offense in a good position to score.

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How about Pohl Field?

I thought about that too, but considering he has a Rec Center named after him I tended to think of others with direct ties to the football program. Dr. Pohl would be a worthy person to name the field after though considering he was our first upper level administrator to fully understand the role of athletics in a successful university.

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My thoughts are there are many people who have done great things in athletics for North Texas and to put someone's name on the stadium would in deed be an honor for that person or group of people.

Take a look at some of the high profile programs and what they named their fields:

Alabama -- Legion Field

LSU -- Death Valley

So how about----- Mean Green Express!!

Why the name take a look over the years we have had great running backs, and what about the defenses we have had several standouts who have stuffed the runners and picked off passes and returned them and put the offense in a good position to score.

I vote - Hell's Lobby

(Louder Than Hell. Hotter Than Hell. Hard as hell to play at.) Welcome To Hell's Lobby.

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My thoughts are there are many people who have done great things in athletics for North Texas and to put someone's name on the stadium would in deed be an honor for that person or group of people.

Take a look at some of the high profile programs and what they named their fields:

Alabama -- Legion Field

LSU -- Death Valley

So how about----- Mean Green Express!!

Why the name take a look over the years we have had great running backs, and what about the defenses we have had several standouts who have stuffed the runners and picked off passes and returned them and put the offense in a good position to score.

Alabama plays at Bryant Denny Stadium, Legion Field is in Birmingham.

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I don't know that it's right to name the stadium after someone that's living - I remember when UT added "Darrell K. Royal" to "Texas Memorial Stadium", there were some who thought the name was "Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium", and commented "when did Darrell Royal die?" Even if it isn't a "Memorial Stadium", that rules out Mean Joe Greene Stadium and Abner Haynes Stadium in my book.

If the Rec center hadn't already been named for Norval Pohl, that would probably be my vote. But otherwise, I think Odus Mitchell Stadium is the best idea I've heard.

A long time from now (I hope), I will be in favor of renaming it Rick Villareal Stadium, since I credit him with finally fulfilling our dreams. :)

I want to suggest a wildcard, a name that no one else has mentioned: Francis Stroup. Not only is he the composer of our fight song, he is a member of the NT Athletic Hall of Fame (inducted in 1987 - basketball). Yes, as far as I know, he's still alive! Maybe he wouldn't be the ideal person to name the stadium for, but surely something could be named for him.

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I don't know that it's right to name the stadium after someone that's living - I remember when UT added "Darrell K. Royal" to "Texas Memorial Stadium", there were some who thought the name was "Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium", and commented "when did Darrell Royal die?" Even if it isn't a "Memorial Stadium", that rules out Mean Joe Greene Stadium and Abner Haynes Stadium in my book.

If the Rec center hadn't already been named for Norval Pohl, that would probably be my vote. But otherwise, I think Odus Mitchell Stadium is the best idea I've heard.

A long time from now (I hope), I will be in favor of renaming it Rick Villareal Stadium, since I credit him with finally fulfilling our dreams. :)

I want to suggest a wildcard, a name that no one else has mentioned: Francis Stroup. Not only is he the composer of our fight song, he is a member of the NT Athletic Hall of Fame (inducted in 1987 - basketball). Yes, as far as I know, he's still alive! Maybe he wouldn't be the ideal person to name the stadium for, but surely something could be named for him.

Interesting thoughts on Stroup. Must have been an incredibly talented man.

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Take a look at some of the high profile programs and what they named their fields:

Alabama -- Legion Field

LSU -- Death Valley

This actually brings up a good point that is pertinent to this conversation...

What a stadium is named and what it is called...

No one named LSU's stadium Death Valley... The name of the stadium is Tiger Stadium and the name of Clemson's stadium is Memorial Stadium...

Nicknames like Death Valley are born through supporter tradition and media inertia...

That is why I love something along the lines of Villareal Stadium... It will be called the V almost by default and that is a cool name...

Stadiums that have nicknames are the ones that are iconic...

Like "The Blue Field Abomination" in Boise... Well, that one might have been coined by rival supporter groups...

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This actually brings up a good point that is pertinent to this conversation...

What a stadium is named and what it is called...

No one named LSU's stadium Death Valley... The name of the stadium is Tiger Stadium and the name of Clemson's stadium is Memorial Stadium...

Nicknames like Death Valley are born through supporter tradition and media inertia...

That is why I love something along the lines of Villareal Stadium... It will be called the V almost by default and that is a cool name...

Stadiums that have nicknames are the ones that are iconic...

Like "The Blue Field Abomination" in Boise... Well, that one might have been coined by rival supporter groups...

Hmmm...I'm definitely a fan of RV so I'm not really trying to bash him, but depending on what happens this season, he did possibly hire and retain the worst wins vs. losses coach in the history of our school for 4 seasons. I'm not so much griping about the hire, but griping about the free rein he gave him in moving nearly the entire SLC staff up to Denton and such. If this turnaround does happen (as I expect), then maybe I would vote for a Villareal Stadium approach, but for now I've got to go for something simple along the lines of Mean Green Stadium.

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Until we get a high dollar sponsor to name our stadium after, why not name it North Texas Memorial Stadium to honor UNT Alumni from all walks of life who have left us. On the other hand, I have no problem naming it Odus Mitchell Stadium.

Edited by DeepGreen
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Lifer, I don't disagree with you about Mitchell and his contributions. I also don't disagree with any of you about why you want it named after the likes of Pohl. And I also have an immense amount of respect for Joe Greene and his career accomplishments. But to me the new stadium is the beginning of a new era for UNT football. Simply, we have ridden Joe Greene long enough. Soon, the dad's of recruits will have to look him up to know who he is and what he accomplished. Therefore, I think it should be something that reflects a new era for football at UNT, not a link to the past. I don't know, "Mean Green Field at Eagle Point Stadium". That just came to mind.

Again, I have all due respect for the one's who worked hard to put us on the map (Fry, Mitchell, Greene, Haynes) and put his sour attitude aside, even Dickey. Those 4 championships were not given to those teams, those players and coaches earned them. A lot of those efforts were made without the resources that future coaches at UNT will have to work with. And many complain about the lack of support now, you should have been around before RV got here. All of that said, I am just we glad we have a new stadium so we can all debate the name.

Edited by Green Dozer
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