Mean Green athletics are more than just football
For the entirety of this semester, the Mean Green soccer and volleyball teams have been quietly dominating. Soccer is fresh off a Conference USA championship and with two wins this week, volleyball will claim the regular season conference title.
But there’s a problem.
A lot of people are not giving them the credit they rightfully deserve.
Every time football gets a win, public support is inescapable from Apogee to Fry Street and virtually any social media platform. Last weekend, the North Texas Daily received 386 retweets on a post announcing football’s sixth win of the season, allowing the team to become bowl eligible. On Sunday, only 31 users retweeted a similar post announcing the soccer team not only becoming C-USA champions but also advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.
The major fall teams at North Texas — football, volleyball and soccer — have a record of 44-8-4. When you break that down, 38 of those wins belong to volleyball and soccer. They’re responsible for nearly 80 percent of the university’s wins this semester.
So why aren’t they getting the publicity the Mean Green football team is?
WFAA had Seth Littrell on air discussing the improvements he’s made with the football program and its wins. That’s great. But when are we going to see the soccer and volleyball teams on TV?
You can try and make the age-old argument of “this is Texas, football is king,” but that has nothing to do with the colossal success these female athletes are rounding up.
Not being a soccer or volleyball fan isn’t a good enough excuse not to express support for your school’s teams. There’s a lot of talk about “filling Apogee,” but that shouldn’t just be exclusive to football.
That should be extended to all of Mean Green village.
According to www.MeanGreenMap.com, the Mean Green Soccer Complex has only sold out its 1,000+ capacity twice in its history. Furthermore, North Texas’ volleyball attendance falls below the C-USA national volleyball attendance average.
The Mean Green soccer team is the No. 1 ranked team in C-USA and not only has an average attendance number of just 299 fans (also below the national average), but hasn’t lost a home conference game in nine years. They are 41-0-3 in that span.
Nine years.
There’s already enough conversation surrounding the lack of female representation in sports, so please, by all means, have pride in the hard work that UNT’s athletes are putting in to truly make this a #NewDenton.
Do them the courtesy of showing the same amount of pride and support for every team’s accomplishments.
Featured image: Mean Green volleyball players Karley York (1), Amanda Chamberlain (13) and Barbara Teakell (7) celebrate after scoring a point against Abilene Christian University. Madison Gore
Title 9 guarantees women’s representation in intercollwgiate sports. I support the women’s teams wholeheartedly and applaud their success
The girls are doing great. Go Mean Green! When was the last time you saw volleyball or collegiate soccer featured on the regular news period? It doesn’t take away from their success. That is just reality. They normally stick to football, basketball, baseball and major soccer.
Volleyball players are incredibly skilled athletes and do deserve the same amount of media attention that football gets. I’m not a fan of many other sports, but I love volleyball. With that being said, all sports should be recognized as much as football is.
I was at the last 3 UNT home volleyball games and have never seen anything like it. The gym was packed, there was so much energy, the players are so friendly to the fans.
As of yesterday they are the conference champs and I can’t find too many articles on it. I saw Amanda Chamberlain being filmed and interviewed after the game – and I can’t find that interview anywhere. That is what makes me sad – these athletes worked so hard to get where they are and aren’t being recognized by the media. That doesn’t take away from what they achieved, but it does make me sad.
Thanks for writing this article, I’m sure it means a lot to the athletes!