UNT student-athletes are national champions — for the second consecutive year — of the annual Gender Equity Scorecard released by Penn State York.

UNT’s second national top-place finish on the Gender Equity Scorecard marks the third straight year the university topped the Sun Belt Conference. UNT also was the only school in the conference to receive an A+.

The scorecard, which measures the commitment of 115 NCAA Division I colleges to gender equity, grades colleges based on participation, scholarships, operating expenses, recruitment budgets and coaches’ salaries.

“This award is a credit to the commitment we have made to the development of women’s athletic programs,” says Rick Villarreal, athletics director.

Since 2002, UNT has added 10 new facilities, including courts, fields and an academic center, to help student-athletes excel.

Academic excellence

UNT’s student-athletes have made great strides academically, according to the NCAA’s latest Academic Progress Rate, or APR, which tracks academic performance over a four-year period. Seven UNT sports had perfect single-year 1,000 scores in 2007-08.

Mean Green soccer ranked among the nation’s top 10 percent again with a multiyear score of 994. Thirteen of 16 sports had a 2007-08 single-year score equal to or better than the previous year. The football team earned a 968 score last fall but posted a multiyear rate of 911, below the 925 acceptable minimum, which means it will have four fewer scholarships than the NCAA limit.

Hall of Fame inductees

Four new members will be inducted into the UNT Athletic Hall of Fame this Homecoming: Billy Dinkle, running back and kicker who helped lead the Mean Green to its first-ever bowl victory in the 1946 Optimist Bowl; Jimmy Gales, head coach who led the 1987-88 men’s basketball team to the NCAA Tournament; Corina Marginas (’04, ’06 M.B.A.), who in 2003 was named the volleyball program’s first All-American; and Ja’Quay Wilburn (’04), the only football player ever to lead the team in rushing four straight seasons.

The 1959 football team also will be honored for its Missouri Valley Conference title and trip to the Sun Bowl 50 years ago.

Upcoming games

Catch all the Mean Green football action this season. Home games include Middle Tennessee for Family Weekend Sept. 26, Florida Atlantic for Homecoming Oct. 17 and Army Nov. 21. Eight of the 12 Mean Green games will be televised this year, including an ESPNU broadcast. Visit Mean Green Sports for a full listing of athletic schedules.

Wear your green

Sport your Mean Green pride with the latest in UNT T-shirts and game day gear.

No bad seats in the house

UNT’s new football stadium will transform the Mean Green game-day experience — and underscore UNT’s status as a high-quality, comprehensive university.

Crowds of more than 30,000 will enjoy seats close to the action in the new bowl-shaped stadium, which is expected to open for the fall 2011 football season.

Groups might view the game from new areas such as the end zone berm and Touchdown Terrace, an exclusive hospitality area in the south end zone. Fans also can lease a private suite or one of the 760 seats on the club level, all featuring prime sightlines and amenities like flat panel televisions, food service and VIP parking.

And green may turn to gold if — as expected — the new stadium becomes the nation’s first collegiate LEED Gold-certified football stadium.