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Volume 96 | Issue 19
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The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Report suggests ways to improve UNT athletics BY BEN BABY
place they want to go play in front of,” Villarreal said. “It’s still their institution. It is still where they go to school. We still need to take pride in wearing that green and being part of what we are every day.”
Neinas suggested in his repor t t hat UNT consider adding baseball to the athletic program, something that he says there appears to be significant interest in. Accord i ng to Nei na s’ report, if the Mean Green has any hopes of moving up to Conference USA, then it needs to increase its below-average budget. The University of Houston, which has an enrollment of 25,000 students, has a $ 30 million budget. The University of Texas-El Paso boasts a budget of $23 million and an enrollment of 29,000. T he repor t states t here should be an increase in the athletics department budget on top of student fees that w i l l be used to pay debt service requirements. More money would allow Villarreal to increase salaries for the school’s coaches, improve athletic facilities and give more money for marketing of the program. Villarreal said that he would not charge students to spend a ny add it iona l money on athletics on top of the current fees that are in place. “I think that if we move this program where I believe we can, and we fill those stands, especially the home side stand, and we’re selling those season tickets, it’ll carr y us a long way,” Villarreal said.
large storm presented greater problems. The Phi Gamma chapter sought to get more organizations involved with the event this year and created a promotional video posted on Facebook and YouTube to draw people to the march. “We really do have it easy,” said Forest Turner, president of the chapter. “We have buses, we have e-ride, we have parking. Most of the stuff we complain about on a daily basis we really shouldn’t because we do not have to go through what they went through.” Students, many of whom were a part of 11 different fraternities, sororities and cultural organizations, gathered in the Biology Building to pay tribute to UNT’s first black students and their experiences during the university’s integration. “Frats are known for partying or for social events, but it’s really important that we as students from all walks of life pay tribute to those that came before us,” Turner said. The event’s keynote speaker was Leon King, one of 13 black
students who attended UNT in 1956 and grandfather of a member of the Phi Gamma fraternity. King came to UNT to play football even after the head coach informed him he would not be able to receive a scholarship if he made the team. Turning down a four-year scholarship to another school in Colorado, King played on the freshman team in 1956, the only team in UNT history ever to be undefeated and untied. King spoke about the hardships of attending the university during the early 1950s and the adversity students faced on campus, both from professors and fellow classmates. At that time, black students were not allowed to join fraternities or sororities, King said. As a result, King said, the black students became a close group, creating their own independent fraternity and working together to overcome the problems they faced. “The one thing we decided when we came: Regardless of what they do or what they say, we are going to stick together and we are going to make it,” King said.
Senior Staff Writer Amidst a room full of media, faculty and alumni last Friday, Chuck Neinas presented a 17-page report which examined UNT’s athletic program, its current state and what it would take to further the school’s program. One of the main points in Neinas’ report is the lack of funding the school receives compared to the rest of the Sun Belt Conference, and the need for a higher budget. UNT has made considerable strides since joining the conference in 2001, but still has quite a ways to go. “Today, I can pretty much look every coach in the eye today and say, ‘You know what? You have the things in place to win,’ and that’s what it’s about,” athletic director Rick Villarreal said. “We got to support our teams, but after a while, you got to put the wins up.” The current budget for the school is $16.6 million dollars, which ranks fifth in the Sun Belt. However, it is below the conference median of $17.8 million. UNT is one of nine schools that have a football program. A rk a nsa s-L it t le Rock a nd Denver do not have a football program, while South Alabama is currently in its inaugural season. UN T, wh ich has 36,000
PHOTO BY RYAN BIBB/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The UNT athletic department will try to stretch its budget just like junior running back Lance Dunbar stretched for extra yards in the team’s 32-31 loss to Rice on Sept. 11 at Fouts Field. students, is in the process of constructing a new football stadium that is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011. In his report, Neinas, who was named one of the 10 most influential people in college
football by Sports Illustrated, said “the harsh reality is that UNT athletics has generated minimal interest or excitement.” Even though the Mean Green has not had a successful season
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in recent years, it has still averaged the fourth highest attendance average in 2009 with 18,228 per game. “When football players show up at a football stadium and the seats are empty, it’s not a
Fraternity, groups honor UNT’s first black students BY ISAAC WRIGHT Staff Writer
The rain prevented the Omega Psi Phi fraternity from holding its fifth annual Desegregation March on Saturday, but the weather didn’t stop it from bringing people together to remember the movement in U.S. history. In the 1950s, when the first black students attended UNT, they were not allowed to live in on-campus dorms. Those students had to walk back and forth nearly two miles from southeast Denton to attend class. “I’ve met most of these trailblazers,” said Cheylon Brown, director of UNT’s Multicultural Center. “It’s not that they were trying to get an education just for themselves. They knew they were paving the way for somebody else to come behind them.” Each year since 2005, UNT’s Phi Gamma chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity has marched from the MLK Jr. Recreation Center in Denton to the UNT campus to commemorate the struggles those students faced. Last year the march was held amid light rain, but this year, a
Accusations lead to investigation Staff Report
PHOTOS BY GREG MCCLENDON/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Radio, television and film students Russell Irby, shown above, Mitch McCutchen, shown below, and Brad Eggerton, a sociology senior, started producing a feature film, “The Fifth,” in 2008. “It was interesting to learn stuff in class and see how it’s actually applied when you’re actually on the set,” McCutchen said. “You can learn quite a bit in class, but it’s not until you’ve actually gone to do it that you really see why you were learning it.” The film’s budget totalled $2,000, which was paid for out of their own pockets. “The Fifth” premiered last year in Lewisville with more than 200 people in attendance. See UNT on Page 3
Officials from the UNT athletics department said Monday that allegations of inappropriate conduct by a member of the volleyball coaching staff were being ha nd led i n a n i nter na l investigation. The department declined to comment on the situation until all the facts had been gathered to complete
the investigation. “We are aware of a situation involving our volleyball tea m in which improper comments were made by a member of the coaching staff,” said UNT director of athletics Rick Villarreal, i n a n of f icia l statement relea sed late Monday afternoon. “We are in the process of collecting all of the information regarding t he a l legat ion a nd w i l l continue to work to ensure
that the welfare of a ll of our student athletes is our primary concern.” T here a re 14 c u r rent member s on t he Me a n Gre en v ol le y ba l l te a m, which has a 9-8 record so far this season. U N T spl it it s con ference-opening series against Florida Atlantic and Florida International last weekend, and will return to action on Fr iday when it hosts Louisiana-Lafayette.