After serving as head coach at Troy and West Virginia, Brown came to UNT to build on the momentum of last season. He recognizes that just because his predecessor raised the bar for Mean Green football fans, that doesn’t mean he can’t raise it further.

“Now we’ve got to build off that. There’s still work here to be done,” Brown says. “We haven’t won an American Conference championship. We haven’t been in the College Football Playoff. We haven’t had consistent success at a high level within North Texas football. That’s what we want to do.”

Brown knows that achieving that level of success starts with him leading by example, and he’s literally putting his money where his mouth is. That’s why the Brown Family Foundation donated $100,000 in support of UNT football in March.

“I just didn’t feel like I was in a position to go ask other people to invest in our program if I hadn’t done the same,” Brown says. “We’ve been blessed, and I think it’s important that we give back. From a leadership standpoint, you’ve got to set the standard.”

While donations are critical to program success, Brown also knows his team has to set the standard on the field as well. After a first-ever sellout of DATCU Stadium when UNT hosted South Florida last October, Brown plans to give fans a reason to make sellouts a more regular occurrence going forward.

“We’ve got to continue to grow our fan base,” Brown says. “We’ve got to win while playing an exciting brand of football in offense, defense and special teams to put people in that stadium so we can continue to grow.”

With the right mix of emotional and financial investment, Brown believes UNT has what it takes to stay in the national conversation.

“We’ve got to push from a football perspective to be in the top of the American Conference,” Brown says. “If we’re able to do that from a competitive standpoint and an operating budget standpoint, then we’re going to be in the conversation year in and year out to play in that conference championship game — or to host that championship game right here in Denton.

“North Texas has a unique opportunity right now within the landscape of college athletics. I fully believe that we’re an ascending program. There’s never been a better time to be part of North Texas Athletics.”

Loredana Fouonji (’26) likes to plan ahead.

Fouonji, who moved to Houston from Cameroon on her fifth birthday, transferred to UNT from Division II Saint Martin’s in Washington state to face a higher level of competition on the volleyball court. Although it meant she would ride the bench her entire sophomore season, she didn’t mind playing the long game.

“School has taught me discipline, accountability, consistency and how to keep showing up even when things are difficult,” Fouonji says. “Those are the same qualities I try to bring to the team every day.”