University of North Texas Athletics
Villarreal's Views-February 2011
6/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Spring is nearly here! I first have to thank all of our loyal supporters who braved the unpredictable winter weather to come support our teams. We averaged over 4,000 fans in attendance for men's basketball games in February, battling unusually cold and snowy conditions. Believe me, it means more to those student-athletes than you will ever know.
We hope the support will follow us to Hot Springs, Arkansas for the Sun Belt Conference basketball tournament which begins this Saturday, March 5. It is not too late to buy tickets from the North Texas ticket office at 940-565-2527 or on MeanGreenSports.com. If you are in need of accommodations in Hot Springs please contact David Fast at 817-907-4229 or visit http://Fasttraveltimes.Rovia.com.
I am proud to say our spring sports have kicked off their seasons with great success. The Mean Green softball has already played six home games and is hosting a tournament of its own this weekend in Denton. Coach Hubbard and his team have upcoming home games against Baylor and Missouri as well as the usual Sun Belt Conference schedule.
The Mean Green track & field teams had an impressive showing at the Sun Belt Conference indoor championships in Jonesboro, Arkansas last weekend with both the men's and the women's team finishing third. It gives great hope for the outdoor season where our teams typically perform even better than they do in indoor.
After the first tournament of the spring, the North Texas men's golf team is back into the Top-25 rankings. The Mean Green checks in at No. 25 in the Golfweek.com rankings and has several upcoming tournaments with highly-ranked teams that will allow them to move up the rankings even higher.
Last week we hosted the Sun Belt Conference swimming and diving championships in Rockwall, Texas with great success. Our ladies finished the meet in third place and had several great individual and team performances including some new school records. We received tremendous feedback from the conference coaches regarding the event and they are all looking forward to us hosting the event again in the future.
We also recently released our entire 2011 football schedule, which will begin with a road game against conference champion Florida International on Friday, Sept. 1. Coach McCarney will bring the Mean Green home to open our brand new stadium on Sept. 10 against Houston and we would love to see the place packed with Green!
Priority points will freeze April 1, 2011 and in mid-May, football season ticket holders will begin actual seat selection in the new stadium. Based on their priority points, ticket holders will be assigned a specific date and time to meet with athletic development and ticket office staff members for specific seat selection. The new Ballena Seats 3D tool will be available throughout that process to help in the selection process. Keep an eye out for the Seat Selection Communication piece going out at the beginning of March that will provide detailed information on the seat selection process.
Don't forget to reserve your spot with a $50 per ticket deposit, at the new Mean Green stadium for the 2011 North Texas Football season. To reserve your Mean Green Football tickets today, call the North Texas Ticket Office at 940-565-2527.
The countdown to our first home football game against University of Houston, September 10, continues! As our seat selection process begins and that date draws near I hope you are as excited and eager as I am!
Go Mean Green!
Rick Villarreal
