North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 16, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 3, 2012 Page: 4 of 6
six p. : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Page 4
Sports
Wednesday, October 3,2012
Joshua Friemel, Sports Editor
joshuafriemel@my.unt.edu
New stadium yielding same attendance results
Football
Brett Medeiros
StaffWriter
At this time last year,
Apogee Stadium was the
talk of the campus. Now that
the stadium is a year old, it
feels like traveling across the
highway is routine.
With Fouts Field no longer
hosting football games,
Apogee Stadium is the high-
light of the Mean Green's
athletics facilities.
The $78 million stadium
is so new that it has yet
to host more than 10 total
home games in its career. The
university set high standards
for Apogee, which brings up
the question: did it accomplish
what everyone hoped?
Before the stadium opened,
advertisements about season
tickets flooded the campus,
TV stations and billboards
along campus.
The athletic program sold
18 of the 19 suites Apogee has
to offer and approximately
650 of the 750 club level seats
in the stadium's first year.
"We have sold addi-
tional seats this year so that
number has risen now, but
we don't want to sell all of
the seats," Athletic Director
Rick Villarreal said. "We want
to retain some of those club
level seats for those who want
to make significant contribu-
tions to the program."
While the club level seats
and suites' sales numbers are
impressive, the overall atten-
dance hasn't seen a rise from
the attendance at Fouts Field.
The first game in Apogee
Stadium brought in a crowd of
28,075 fans - the third highest
attendance at a UNT home
game - but when compared
to the season average for
Apogee's inaugural season
and the final two seasons
at Fouts Field, there is no
obvious change.
In Fouts Field's final two
seasons, the stadium aver-
aged an attendance of 18,228
fans and 17,718 fans per home
game, respectively. Apogee's
inaugural season broke the
school record for attendance
in a single season, but only
averaged 18,864 spectators.
After a record setting
crowd to open the stadium,
the total attendance was over
20,000 fans only once.
"What we have got to do is
get the students to come out
and tailgate and enjoy them-
selves, but when it's game
time they have to get inside
the stadium," Villarreal said.
"I can look out over the back
of the stadium where I sit and
just see thousands of folks or
more still tailgating in the
middle of the second quarter."
Part of the reason for the
steady fan numbers may be
attributed to the location of
other Sun Belt football teams.
As of now, the closest univer-
sity to UNT is 326 miles away,
at the University of Louisiana
at Monroe. By car, it'd take
Louisiana fans almost six
hours to drive to Denton.
That distance is extensive
for any opposing fan base
to travel. Not surprisingly,
Apogee's highest attendance
came when the team played
the University of Houston in
last year's home opener.
Apogee also has a more
green approach than Fouts
had.
Some of the biggest contrib-
utors to the green cause are
the three windmills that the
university received through
grants. It is estimated that the
wind turbines save about 8 to
10 percent of the total energy
used by the stadium and adja-
cent buildings.
Windmills, solar panels,
and nontoxic and biode-
gradable materials within
the stadium are all parts
of Apogee's Platinum level
LEED [Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design]
Certification.
"There is no comparison.
Fouts was a great facility,
but its time had gotten the
best of it," said Nick Nagel,
UNT's director of Facilities
and Event Management.
"Everything you see in the
stadium contributed to the
LEED certification. From the
windmills to the high effi-
ciency toilets in the restroom,
it all contributed."
In this season's home
opener, Apogee Stadium
welcomed 22,259 spectators
to see UNT face Division II
school and in-state opponent
Texas Southern University.
Last season, the first two
home games each had more
than 20,000 fans, but the last
four home games averaged a
total of 15,983 fans.
Players on the UNT foot-
ball team have said that the
stadium is louder and the
atmosphere is electric during
UNT home games.
"The fans are right on top
of the field, and the results
simply outdo Fouts Field,"
junior linebacker Zachary
Orr said.
This season, Apogee may
be more electric, but UNT is
hoping the attendance doesn't
dwindle as the year goes on.
Photo by Erika Lambreton/Staff Photographer
Fouts Field was originally built in 1951 and held an estimated 20,000 fans. It now sits in the shadow of the $78 million
Apogee Stadium that sits across I-35.
i Uip:H
m u Jlh
Photo by Erica Lambreton/Staff Photographer
Apogee Stadium, which opened its doors to the first Mean Green game in Sept. 2011, cost nearly $80 million. The eco-
friendly stadium can hold more than 25,000 fans and has 19 suites and 750 club level seats.
' L
I he Mm tonH. MeyersOti Symphony Cente
"
E^ill
DSOon the GO I Denton
DSO on the GO's inaugural 2012-2013 season features the Dallas Symphony Orchestra playing
classical and pops concerts in eight cities and neighborhoods across North Texas. DSO on the
GO will include 17 perfonnances featuring the most familiar classical pieces and popular light
classics, with concerto soloists who are principal musicians in the DSO. DSO on the GO is
presented by The Ebby Halliday Companies. Visit DallasSymphony.com/DSOontheGO
for more information. Artists, programs and dates subject to change.
October 9, 8:00 PM
Murchison Performing Arts Center, UNT
Alasdair Neale, conductor | Christopher Adkins, cello
BERLIOZ Roman Carnival Overture
SAINT-SAENS Cello Concerto No. 1
DVORAK Symphony No. 9, From the New World
Tickets available at www.theMPAC.com/tickets
Presented by
halliday
REALTORS8
B Y . C O I
B
dallas symphony
ORCHESTRA
Petersen striving for
immediate success
Basketball
Ryne Gannoe
Senior Staff
During the offseason, the
entire UNT basketball program
underwent significant changes.
On the men's side, Johnny
Jones left for Louisiana State
University, and Tony Benford
was introduced as the new head
coach.
Like the men's team, the
women's basketball team expe-
rienced changes of its own.
Mike Petersen was hired as the
new head coach after Karen
Aston left for the University
of Texas.
Petersen became the third
head coach for the UNT
women's basketball team in
three years and the seventh
all-time. He takes the reins of a
team that hasn't had a winning
season in six seasons.
"I didn't come here to have
a seventh [losing season],"
Petersen said. "I'm not one of
those that [says], 'Well gee-
whiz, we're going to have to
rebuild - that takes some time.'
That's not fair. We have seniors
on this team; that's not fair to
them. They don't have time for
me to come in here and waste
a season.
Petersen spent the last eight
years at Wake Forrest. He leaves
Wake Forrest as the program's
winningest head coach with
125 wins. He led the Demon
Deacons to the postseason three
out of the last four years.
"As we set out to find a
new head coach, it was a high
priority to find someone with
a long history of success and a
great knowledge of the game,
and Mike Petersen definitely
brings that," Athletic Director
Rick Villarreal said during a
press conference back in April.
The head coach isn't the only
new thing about the Mean
Green basketball program.
In the offseason, Petersen
added three new assistant
coaches and recruited eight
players. As practice begins,
Petersen said the biggest adjust-
ment is having everyone get to
know each other.
"There's an awful lot of new
people in this program," he
said. "That's a lot of moving
parts that have to all be put in
alignment, and all have to be
on the same page."
The transition has gone
pretty well, Petersen said, but
building team chemistry takes
time. He said that every team in
college basketball has changed
over the offseason and that
UNT is no different.
"Chemistry isn't 'we like to
hang out at the movies/" he
said. "Chemistry is [when] I
trust you and you trust me.
I got your back out there on
the court. Chemistry is hard,
it's work [and] it requires an
investment."
The coaching change left
only one staff member from
last year's team, assistant coach
Wesley Brooks. Junior guard
Laura McCoy said Brooks added
stability to all the changes.
"It helps to have a coach
who was here," McCoy said.
"He knows what we've been
through, he knows how hard
we work, and he knows our
personalities. I think that
helps."
Petersen laid out the
program's five focal points for
the upcoming season.
"We will play hard, we will
share the ball, we will commit
to defense, we will encourage
our teammates, and we will
enjoy that game," he said.
"When we get that all the way
right, basketball will take care
of itself."
Club competition: How UNT club teams are performing
Miguel Perches
Intern
Bowling: The team played in Albuquerque, N.M., on Saturday and Sunday, finishing sixth out
of 16 teams. Junior Robert Wyman placed sixth in all individuals, with a bowling average of 209.
Men's Rugby: In the second tournament of the season at Texas Christian University on Saturday,
the team placed third out of four teams. The "Man of the Match" was sophomore Jon Hiller.
Tennis: The team played in the Central Texas Regional last week against 56 teams and 400 tennis
players from around the nation. Two separate UNT teams won in consolation matches. Junior Lisa
Robertson won all of her matches, including one against the University of Texas.
Swimming: The swimming club had its first meetSaturday at UT Dallas, placing second out of
five teams. The University of Kansas, Texas State University, the University of Texas at Dallas and
St. Edwards were the other participating teams.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Stratso, Chelsea. North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 16, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 3, 2012, newspaper, October 3, 2012; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth291795/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.