|
2006 North Texas Athletic Hall of Fame Class
 Vidal Carlin ('76)
Vidal Carlin was North Texas’ starting quarterback in 1965 and 1966, leading the Mean Green to an 8-2 record and the Missouri Valley Conference championship as a senior. He finished the year ranked fourth in the nation in passing. In just two seasons, he completed his career as North Texas’ all-time leader in single-game passing attempts (54), single-game completions (32), single-season passing attempts (341), career passing attempts (633), career completions (276), career touchdown passes (25) and career passing yards (3,233). Following his career at North Texas, he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL in 1967. He went on to play quarterback with Atlanta and Houston, ending his professional career in 1974 with the Oilers. Carlin also spent one year in the Canadian Football League, playing quarterback with the BC Lions in 1970. Carlin is now an independent dry wall contractor in San Francisco and serves as the San Francisco area vice president for the northern California chapter of the Retired NFL Players Association.
 Bill Eschenbrenner ('61)
Bill Eschenbrenner was a three-year letterman with the North Texas golf team from 1958 to 1960, helping lead the Mean Green to the Southern Intercollegiate Championship in 1958 and to a third-place finish or better in five tournaments. While he was a member of the North Texas golf team, the Mean Green finished runner-up at the 1958 and 1960 Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Eschenbrenner has become a PGA Class Master Professional and was a 2005 finalist for the National PGA Professional of the Year. Currently the president of Golf Management Inc., he has held several PGA offices over his career. He was mentioned in Sports Illustrated as the person who helped Lee Trevino get his start on the PGA Tour and the person who helped Rich Been win the PGA Championship. As a PGA competitor, he made the cut for the PGA Senior’s Championship and played in the Senior U.S. Open, both in 1992. Eschenbrenner was inducted into the El Paso Golf Hall of Fame in 1990 and the El Paso Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.
 Dick ‘Rosebud’ Lindsay (’50, ’54 M.S.)
Dick Lindsay joined the Navy in 1944 at the age of 18 before arriving at North Texas in 1947 and going on to letter three years as an offensive tackle for the Mean Green. He helped lead North Texas to its first bowl berth, the Salad Bowl, in 1948 and to its first bowl victory, a 14-13 win over an Amos Alonzo Stagg-coached Pacific team in the Optimist Bowl, in 1946. Lindsay was named All-Lone Star Conference as both a sophomore and junior and started 40 games in his career at North Texas. After his playing career, he became a Texas high school coach and administrator until his retirement in 1987.
 Richard Lowe
Richard Lowe served as the head men’s soccer coach at North Texas for 14 seasons, from 1980 to 1993, and guided the Mean Green to a winning record each year. Lowe got his start with the team as the faculty sponsor when men’s soccer was a club sport from 1971 to 1975. He was one of several people who urged the university to elevate the sport to varsity status, which was done in 1976. Athletic Director Andy Everest named Lowe the team’s head coach in 1980 and in his first game at the helm, Lowe led the Mean Green to a season-opening victory at Fouts Field over national-power Indiana. The next year he led North Texas to its first NCAA Tournament berth in any sport and won an opening-round game over Eastern Illinois. During Lowe’s tenure North Texas defeated several former NCAA champions and was frequently ranked in the national polls as well, achieving a top ranking of No. 7. Lowe has served on the UNT history faculty since 1968 and is a Regents Professor at the university. His research specialties include the U.S. Civil War and Reconstruction.
 Troy Redwine (’97)
A four-year letterman with the North Texas football team from 1992 to 1995, Troy Redwine helped lead the team to a No. 18 national ranking in NCAA I-AA in 1994 and the Southland Conference championships. He was the team’s go-to receiver in 1995 as the Mean Green made the jump back to Division I-A and at the time of his induction was the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 2,567 (the Mean Green’s Johnny Quinn broke that record this season Nov. 4 against Louisiana Tech). Over his four-year career with the Mean Green, he recorded six 100-yard receiving games that included a career-high 167 receiving yards against Oklahoma State in 1994. He posted a career-high 10 receptions and three receiving touchdowns, tied for the most in North Texas history for a single game, in a victory over Oregon State in 1995. His 10 receptions, including the game-winning catch that lifted the Mean Green to its first victory over a Division I-A opponent since returning to Division I-A status, are the fifth most in school history for a single game.
 Victor Rodriguez (’55, ’62 M.S.)
Victor Rodriguez became the first Hispanic to receive an athletic scholarship at North Texas, in 1952, and went on to letter three years in track and field. His versatility in long-distance events helped North Texas win the Border Olympics and the Fort Worth track meets. At the Kansas Relays he was a member of the winning Two-Mile Relay Team and at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, he was a member of the winning Sprint Medley Relay team. He went on to earn his Ph. D. from the University of Texas in 1982. He had a long career as a teacher and administrator in the San Antonio ISD, serving as superintendent from 1982 to 1994. He was named one of “100 Top School Executives in the Nation” in 1990 and 1993 by the Executive Educator magazine, published by the National School Boards Association, and was inducted into the National Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. |
