University of North Texas Athletics
Green Gang: Top 10 Moments Of The Decade
12/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
By Steven Bartolotta, December 31, 2009, 10:39 a.m.
Well Mean Green Nation tonight marks the end of another decade and like everyone else its time to tell you about our top 10 moments from the decade that ends at the stroke of midnight. With apologies to those who continue to think the decade doesn't end/start until 2011, that ship has sailed.
In my order of importance and relevance, here are my top 10 moments. Happy New Year everyone!
10. North Texas Women's Basketball Advances To SBC Title Game in 2002
This was the capper of the best run in women's basketball history as Jalie Mitchell and Rosalyn Reades powered the Mean Green past WKU in the semifinals of the SBC Tourney and into the title game. Mitchell was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 2002. Despite losing to FIU, North Texas won a school record 21 games and went to back-to-back WNIT's in 2000-01 and 2001-02.
9. North Texas 52 Baylor 14, 2003
Coming off the bowl win over Cincy, the stars aligned perfectly for North Texas. Instead of laying another egg in huge non-conference games at home with Fouts packed, the Mean Green could do no wrong. Cobbs ran wild, Kennedy was unstoppable, and the Mean Green had one the best days in school history that night.
8. Jamario Thomas vs. Colorado, 2004
It was his debut but it was a game that brought Jamario Thomas into the spotlight. His first TD of the game got everyone's attention, but 247 yards later, everyone knew the Mean Green had something special on their hands. Thomas would got onto to a season unlikely to ever be match by another player at North Texas, and much less the nation.
7. Riddle of Diddle, 2007
For so long it seemed North Texas could not win in basketball at E.A. Diddle Arena. And why should they. Western Kentucky had all the tradition, banners, wins, etc, etc. But on a cold night Keith Wooden's layup with less than 10 seconds to go gave the Mean Green an 84-82 win over Western Kentucky and made a statement to the rest of the league that they need to pay attention to North Texas. Without this win, the NCAA Tourney berth probably doesn't happen in my opinion.
6. Soccer Advancing to the NCAA Tournament, 2004
Talk about getting a monkey off you're back, John Hedlund had a 2,000 pound anvil as his team had done everything except win the big one. Well in 2004 that changed as a young and dynamic team finally ended the string of losing in the SBC title games and captured the SBC title. The funny part is it all happened the year after the greatest soccer player to ever suit up at North Texas left, Marilyn Marin.
5. Hiring of Rick Villarreal, 2001-
Love him or hate him, the man has made more of an impact on the direction of the athletic department than any one else. He came in talked a big game, something North Texas had never seen or heard. Everything he has talked about hasn't happened, but go back to April 2001 and think back to where the department was. Now flash forward and think about the progress made. RV was a major player in all it.
4. Miracle in the Desert, 2001
The string of four straight bowl games doesn't happen if North Texas doesn't miraculously find a way to win at New Mexico State. With the game all but salted away, the Aggies pretty much just have to take a knee and the game is over. However the Mean Green forced a fumbled with less than two minutes left, and had life. Scott Hall led the Mean Green to midfield, the clock is rolling, he gets the Mean Green down to around the Aggies 35 (memory is a little hazy) and faces a fourth down. Clock still rolling, no timeouts, Hall finds a streaking George Marshall down the sidelines and hits him in stride for the TD. North Texas wins, they are still alive with a chance to win the SBC title which they eventually do. For those who made the trip, it will be a game that nobody forgets.
3. Going Dancing Again, 2007
19 years later the Mean Green returned to the Big Dance. Six years earlier Johnny Jones inherited a program that had received the last rites and was on its deathbed. He took the Mean Green from the absolute bottom of D-I hoops and to the NCAA Tournament with an unforgettable run during the 2006-07 season. That year you just got the feeling something was big was in store for this team. After dismantling Charlotte on the road, scoring other non-conference wins, the Mean Green flew under the radar most of the Sun Belt season. But things went their way in the tournament and they got a chance at their nemesis that year, Arkansas State in the title game. After losing the previous two meetings, the Mean Green got the Indians (not Red Wolves yet) and punched their ticket.
2. Stadium Ground Breaking, 2009
This is sort of a tie between this and the student vote because without it the ground breaking doesn't go down. But for North Texas to break ground and begin the process of a new football stadium is huge not only for football but the university as a whole. The centerpiece of a good athletic program, is a great facility to showcase, namely football. That project, which I scoffed at until about two years ago, is a reality. The importance can't be understated, but the reality and dream are no more. A new football stadium is going to leave a bigger footprint on the next decade, but it all started during this one.
1. Beating Cincy 24-19 in the 2002 New Orleans Bowl
What a night it was in the Superdome in 2002. The Mean Green beat Cincinnati thanks to the trademark of the Darrell Dickey teams, defense and rushing. Five interceptions were thrown by Gino Guidugli that evening North Texas got an MVP performance from Kevin Galbreath to win. The win made the Mean Green relevant in the world of Division I again when it comes to football. Getting to bowl games is one thing, winning them is another. North Texas played in four bowl games this decade, but the 2002 New Orleans Bowl will be the measuring stick for future North Texas teams.
