UNT athletics finding room to grow
Lofty goal? New stadium not a long shot anymore
10:58 PM CDT on Friday, August 26, 2005
By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle
DENTON – A few years ago, Eagle Point was a place where a quiet round of golf represented just about the only athletic activity on a patch of land bordering the University of North Texas campus.
That tranquility has been lost in a rumble of bulldozers that clear the way for the largest round of athletic expansion in UNT history.
The course of action is one that UNT officials plan on continuing with the construction of a football stadium within the next five years, a goal they believe is attainable.
UNT is building soccer and softball fields and recently presented a facility plan to its Board of Regents that includes a 32,000-seat football stadium that would cost $40 million to $45 million.
UNT Expansion
Expansion plans (.pdf)
"The basis for our plan shows we are committed to athletics," UNT president Norval Pohl said.
The presentation comes at the end of a whirlwind four years for UNT's sports program under athletic director Rick Villarreal. UNT arranged to build several facilities in that time and also had an extended courtship with Conference USA, which eventually left the school out of its expansion plans.
The experiences helped shape the new goals of the athletic department, which feels secure in its ability to find financing for a stadium because of what it's accomplished since Villarreal's arrival.
UNT opened its $7.4 million athletic center this year and purchased Denton Liberty Christian School's campus, where new soccer and softball fields are being built. Construction has also begun on the Ronald C. Waranch Tennis Pavilion, the new home for the UNT tennis program, and a new artificial surface at Fouts Field, which will be ready for this season.
UNT had only three on-campus athletic facilities when Villarreal was hired in 2001. Fouts Field was built in 1952, and the North Texas Coliseum, also known as the Super Pit, was built in 1973. The school's old office complex, which housed administration officials and football coaches, was built in 1976.
Villarreal has no plans of slowing down, despite the fact UNT has quickly exceeded what was accomplished in the last 30 years.
"We have to start all over again," he said. "We had a five-year plan, a 10-year plan and a vision when I came to UNT. That is all gone now. We have to step it up because we accomplished a lot in four years and people are going to expect the same rate of progress."
Working out plans
UNT officials see a football stadium as the next logical step in the expansion of the athletic department, which added softball two years ago and is planning to revive its baseball program by 2007.
"We definitely have a benchmark of success now that we didn't have as many as five years ago," said senior associate athletic director Hank Dickenson, entering his 11th year at UNT. "There are things there people can come and see that show we are able to raise money, whereas before we could only sell dreams. ... The plans for a stadium are tangible now."
The achievements have helped Villarreal gain the support of UNT Board of Regents members C. Dan Smith and Charles Beatty.
"I feel comfortable about the direction we are going," said Smith, who expressed confidence that UNT would build a stadium in the next few years. "All in all, I am very excited about where we are compared to where we were."
UNT officials believe building facilities now will ensure several teams will continue to build on their success in recent years. The football team has won the Sun Belt Conference title and played in the New Orleans Bowl in each of the last four years, and the soccer team advanced to the NCAA women's tournament for the first time in the program's history last year.
"We are trying to make up for 25-35 years of not only no growth in the athletic program, but no improvements to speak of," Villarreal said. "We could do it year-by-year by building one facility at a time, but you would have to wonder what would happen in that span while we are trying to catch up."
Members of the faculty said they are cautiously supportive of the school's athletic expansion, as long as it is kept in perspective.
"There is some concern about the emphasis in a time of decreasing funding," said Frances van Tassell, chairwoman of the faculty senate. "We need to be careful how we spend our resources."
The athletic department recently borrowed $2.57 million for the final payment on the Liberty Christian property, to convert its facilities and the turf at Fouts Field. Van Tassell said borrowing money for athletic facilities was a divisive issue among professors.
Grant Miles, a professor in the department of management who frequently attends games, has no problem with athletic department expansion, as long as it does not come at the cost of academics.
"If the athletic department can build a stadium with outside funding, that is OK," he said. "It seems projects like that are not always done with outside money, though."
Finding outside help
Villarreal is counting on efforts to cultivate donors to jump-start a fund-raising campaign for a football stadium. Those efforts and the success of some of UNT's teams helped the school gain a $1 million donation from former Mean Green linebacker Jim McIngvale for its athletic center and another $1 million from alumnus Ronald Waranch for the tennis center.
McIngvale cited the success of the football program under coach Darrell Dickey as one of the reasons he supports the athletic program.
"I absolutely think it is possible for North Texas to build a football stadium," he said. "I am 100 percent behind it as long as Darrell Dickey is there. There is no reason North Texas can't get it done."
Villarreal and Pohl point to McIngvale's enthusiasm as a sign UNT is cultivating relationships that will result in the donations necessary to build a stadium.
"The financial backing is out there for a stadium," Pohl said. "Our goal is to get it done in five years. That's a realistic timeframe."
E-mail bvito@dentonrc.com
A PLACE TO PLAY
The following is a list of football stadiums in the Sun Belt Conference in the order of when they were built.
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
Facility: FIU Stadium
Capacity: 17,000
Opened: 1995
LOUISIANA-MONROE
Facility: Malone Stadium
Capacity: 30,427
Opened: 1978
Note: Seating expanded in 1993
ARKANSAS STATE
Facility: Indian Stadium
Capacity: 30,406
Opened: 1974
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
Facility: Cajun Field
Capacity: 31,000
Opened: 1971
FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Facility: Lockhart Stadium
Capacity: 20,500
Opened: 1958
Note: Renovated in 1998
NORTH TEXAS
Facility: Fouts Field
Capacity: 30,500
Opened: 1952
Note: Renovated to expand seating in 1994
TROY
Facility: Movie Gallery Veterans
Capacity: 30,000
Opened: 1950
Note: Renovated in 2003
MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Facility: Floyd Stadium
Capacity: 30,788
Opened: 1933
Note: The stadium has undergone numerous renovations over the years.
Source: Sun Belt Conference media guides and sports information directors.
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