RETROSPECTIVE

movie shoot is a ‘necessary’ remembrance for Unt alUmni

Photos from Rick McKinney (‘90) show props and moments from the set.

WITH JUST SECONDS LEFT IN THE FOURTH QUARTER, the crowd starts chanting “block that kick” while the underdogs strategize their next move. “There’s an open man in the end zone,” the announcer yells over the stadium sound system. “It’s Charlie Banks!” And it’s good! The Fighting Armadillos defeat the Texas Colts 22-21 in a nail-biter of a game in Fouts Field.

Sound familiar? North Texas fans have probably watched this movie at least once, and those of a certain age may have even been in the stands for the filming. Necessary Roughness hit theaters 30 years ago last fall and still has an impact on the Mean Green Family.

The football comedy features several key locations — Paul and Manu’s dorm room in Kerr Hall, Suzanne Carter’s office in the old Biology Building, a hospital room that features a great view of the Hurley Administration Building, and all of the game day action at Fouts Field. In April 1991, Paramount Pictures began production at UNT, making this football movie magic happen — with actors Scott Bakula, Sinbad, Jason Bateman, Rob Schneider and Kathy Ireland, to name a few, as well as famous athletes for cameo roles.

Not only did they bring a great cast and crew to Denton, but they also gave students a chance to work as assistants and interns and, along with faculty and staff, as extras. There was an even larger role waiting for one new graduate. Rick McKinney (’90) was looking for a job when he was approached by Jim Hobdy (’69), then UNT’s assistant athletic director of marketing, about a request from Paramount to be in the film as the team mascot.

“I got a call from the assistant head costumer, Barry Kellogg,” says McKinney, a former member of Talons who served as the Eagle mascot Eppy (later renamed Scrappy) during UNT basketball games, and also served as the equipment liaison between the film crew and the athletic department. “And later that month, I met head costumer Dan Moore, who took me to Dallas to get costume fit for the Armadillo mascot suit.”

The UNT connections don’t stop there. Most of the fill-in football players were UNT students. And several alumni kickstarted their careers with their experience on the set, including Micheline Mundo (’91), who worked as an extras casting coordinator; Michael “Jocco” Phillips (’92), who was a production assistant; and Bone Hampton (’93), a football extra who got encouragement from Sinbad to pursue his career as a stand-up comic. So while they’ve paved “paradise” (or at least Fouts Field) and put up a parking lot, the memories of the Fightin’ Armadillos live on. — Kayla Lindberg

Learn more about alumni’s memories from the set. northtexan.unt.edu/necessary-roughness-turns-30