Momentum is building for the Mean Green football team with great skill and leadership.

Senior offensive lineman Manase Mose has started every game of his career for the Mean Green, playing both center and guard over the course of his four years with the team.

He's been named to the watch lists for the Outland Trophy and for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding college football player of Polynesian ancestry who epitomizes great ability and integrity. Mose helped spearhead what was the nation's fifth-ranked rushing attack (233.5 yards per game) in 2021.

"Mose is one of our captains and a great leader and another coach on the field," head coach Seth Littrell says. "He makes all our calls and he's invaluable with his experience and the way he works."

Senior linebacker KD Davis, leading tackler for the Mean Green the last three years, made the watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Butkus Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Rotary Lombardi Award.

Also named to watch lists were junior receiver Roderic Burns for the Biletnikoff Award, and senior punter Bernardo Rodriguez for the Ray Guy Award.

"We have a mature football team with a lot of great men and a great culture," Littrell says. "We're going to continue to grow stronger and have a great season."

Construction is nearing completion on a new Unity Plaza honoring the men who broke the color barrier in major college football in Texas. Abner Haynes and Dr. Leon King ('62, '72 M.Ed.) were the first Black players to integrate college football at a four-year Texas institution.

The pair joined the North Texas freshman team in 1956, moved up to the varsity team the following year, and served as inspiration for many young men that came after them. Both had successful careers -- Haynes in the American Football League and King as a teacher, coach and administrator in Dallas ISD -- and they have served as wonderful ambassadors for UNT. Unity Plaza is being constructed adjacent to the UNT Athletic Center and the Lovelace and McNatt Families Practice Facility.

Thanks to teamwork and determination, the UNT women's golf team overcame a challenging course and two-shot deficit to win its second consecutive Conference USA Championship at PGA National in Florida in April. This year's excellent performance landed three players on the all-conference team, and sixth-year head coach Michael Akers was named C-USA's Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. The team's successful season came to an end at the NCAA Regional in Albuquerque May 9-11, where they finished in 10th place.

That's how many Mean Green teams had spring 2022 semester GPAs over 3.0. The teams were: men's cross country, men's golf, women's basketball, women's cross country, women's golf, women's soccer, women's softball, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, women's track and field, and women's volleyball. The overall UNT student athletes' semester GPA was 3.206 -- the highest in UNT Athletics history.