University of North Texas Athletics
The First 150 Days
3/1/2017 12:00:00 AM | Mean Green Athletic Fund
From The Desk of Wren Baker
Mean Green Nation,
As I reflect on my first 150 days leading North Texas Athletics, I thought this would be a good time to deliver some initial impressions, as well as what I believe is the direction for an exciting future.
I'm extremely grateful for the hard work of our coaches, staff and student-athletes during the fall semester. While we have made significant strides in a short time, we still have a great amount of work before us. Each and every day, we are dedicated to providing our coaches and student-athletes with the necessary tools to be successful. Below are the several of the accomplishments and accolades earned by coaches and student-athletes this year:
• After recording his 300th career win earlier in the fall, John Hedlund directed his women's soccer team to its 12th conference title in his tenure.
• Only three active coaches in the NCAA have more consecutive winning seasons at the same school than John, who has 22 straight.
• We recently extended Coach Hedlund's contract, keeping the man we affectionately call "Johnny Soccer" leading our program for years to come.
• Under first-year head coach Seth Littrell, football advanced to the ninth bowl game in program history by participating in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
• The thrilling overtime game was voted the sixth-best bowl game of this year.
• We have come to agreement on an extended contract with Coach Littrell. This contract extension was important to continue the forward progress of our football program.
• Susanna Lynch and Florian Lussy both earned all-region honors in cross country as both teams finished higher in the regional meet than their rankings going in.
• Freshmen A.J. Lawson and Ryan Woolridge have been recognized as Conference USA freshman of the week on five occasions this basketball season.
• 198 student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the fall semester. That's approximately 60% of our student-athletes.
Overall, I believe that we have a very good group of coaches who, when given adequate resources, can win Conference USA championships and raise the profile of our programs nationally. In order to do that, we must accomplish our goals of raising more money, selling more tickets and building better facilities, all while pursuing and delivering on our mission of "BUILDING CHAMPIONS and PREPARING LEADERS through the pursuit of perfection in academics, athletics, and life." This updated mission statement will serve as the bedrock of who we are and what we are about moving forward and you will see it repeated throughout our facilities and publications.
Our administrative team is in the final stages of developing our athletics strategic plan which will set the long-term direction for our program, along with addressing more immediate needs that have been identified through discussions with our coaches, staff and feedback from you. I want to encourage you to continue to provide viable suggestions and recommendations to our staff via phone, email, or social media. Utilizing Twitter to connect with our Mean Green fans has personally been a source of knowledge and enjoyment during my first few months in Denton.
As we launch into the spring semester, I want to share a few of the projects we are working to complete:
• Athletic Facility Master Plan that will provide a facility road map for North Texas Athletics for the next 15-20 years.
• Construction of a new track and field and soccer complex just south of Waranch Tennis Complex to be completed by December of 2017. We hope to release finalized design concepts very soon.
• "Fast track" design process for an indoor practice facility. Plans to be completed by May of 2017 with fundraising currently taking place.
• Athletic Center lobby renovation to better tell the story of North Texas Athletics and our rich tradition and history.
• Completion of a golf practice facility at Maridoe Golf Club.
• Revamped Lettermen's Association to better serve and engage one of our greatest assets.
• Overhaul of athletic fundraising processes and structure. We will develop greater accountability and direction in order to meet the needs of a growing Division I program.
• Restructure of Mean Green ticket office and operations to better meet the needs of our patrons.
• Develop comprehensive year-round marketing plans for all of our teams and the 2017-18 season.
• Continue our work in building schedules that are attractive to season ticket holders, fans, current and future student-athletes.
• Finalize third-party multimedia rights deal that will provide new, guaranteed revenue to North Texas Athletics for years to come.
• Heightened focus and attention in the area of graphic design and our social/digital media platforms in order to strengthen the brand and reach of North Texas Athletics.
• Launch pilot program in late spring to address training table and nutrition needs for student-athletes. I believe this to be one of our greatest needs as we develop the talent needed to compete within Conference USA and other national peers.
As you can see, we've had a productive fall and are going to have an extremely busy spring and summer as we pursue an aggressive and ambitious plan. I want to be clear that pursuing excellence in athletics is critical. We expect to build programs that compete for championships in our conference and are nationally relevant. As a member of the Mean Green family, you are very much a part of our future success! We hope that you can join us later this spring as we share further updates and details at our Mean Green Caravan events. We will be releasing dates, locations and details in the coming weeks. I look forward to seeing you soon!
North Texas We Love,
Wren Baker
