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Wrestling matches add to buzz for UNT opener

Posted: Aug 31st 2018 By: Brett Vito - DentonRC.com

North Texas coach Seth Littrell won’t be involved in one of the more unique promotions the school has come up with for a football game Saturday when the Mean Green host SMU.

But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t thought about what it would be like to come off the top rope in the series of pro wrestling matches.

“I have always wanted to get JR to let me come down there and do something,” Littrell said of wrestling legend and friend Jim Ross. “I don’t know what my finishing move would be.

“I think it’s awesome. It will be a cool thing for our fans.”

Those fans are the reason UNT will be the first institution to stage professional wrestling matches in conjunction with a major-college football game.

UNT will set up a ring on the turf at Apogee Stadium following the 6:30 p.m. game and has several wrestling legends set to appear, including “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and Ross Von Erich and Marshall Von Erich, the sons of iconic wrestler Kevin Von Erich.

There’s a palpable buzz surrounding UNT’s program after the Mean Green played in bowl games the last two years.

UNT is hoping to add fuel to the fire while capitalizing on the rich history of pro wrestling at the school and in the Denton area.

Kevin Von Erich and fellow wrestling legend “Stone Cold” Steve Austin played football at UNT.

Bill Mercer, the longtime radio voice of the Mean Green, called professional wrestling for years and is a member of the UNT Athletic Hall of Fame.

“Fan attendance is critical to our success,” athletic director Wren Baker said. “It contributes to an electric atmosphere, which helps our team win games.

“It’s imperative we find unique ways to pull people in who haven’t been to Apogee. I’m confident if they come experience a Mean Green game day they’ll be back.”

Baker started thinking about ways to capitalize on UNT’s wrestling history not long after he took over as athletic director in the summer of 2016. He worked at Memphis earlier in his career and saw the Memphis Grizzlies benefit from similar promotions that involved professional wrestling.

UNT is hoping for a similar impact at a time when schools across the country are struggling to draw fans.

Figures released by the NCAA following last season showed that attendance at college football games declined for the fourth straight year. The number of fans nationally at games last season declined by 1,409 fans per game from 2016, the largest decline since 1983.

UNT has bucked that trend and seen attendance climb in each of the last two seasons, thanks largely to the success the Mean Green have enjoyed under Littrell.

The Mean Green finished 9-5 last fall and won the Conference USA West Division title while attracting a school-record 22,362 fans per game.

UNT isn’t resting on its laurels and is pulling out all the stops to try to boost that average. The school has yet to sell out Apogee, a 30,850-seat venue that opened in 2011.

“It’s a great idea to try to get more fans in the stands,” UNT quarterback Mason Fine said. “It will be fun.”

The tactic appears to be working. UNT was approaching 19,000 tickets sold for its game against SMU on Thursday afternoon, a total that doesn’t include student tickets. Attendance could approach a sellout, or at least the Apogee record of 28,075 set against Houston in 2011.

The excitement surrounding the Mean Green entering a season in which they return 17 starters and are the consensus pick to repeat as West Division champions has driven those sales.

The wrestling promotion has added to the excitement surrounding Saturday’s game for fans, and for at least a few members of UNT’s team.

UNT offensive coordinator Graham Harrell is a big wrestling fan and has given his quarterbacks a few lessons on pro wrestling.

“If he talks about wrestling and we don’t know what he’s talking about, he’ll get mad, pull it up on the internet and make us watch it,” Fine said.

Wide receiver Jalen Guyton and defensive tackle Ulaiasi Tauaalo said they watched wrestling growing up.

“I’m not a wrestling fan now,” Tauaalo said. “Back when I was a little kid, sure. But I will be around to watch it and see how it goes.”

UNT is hoping a lot of people follow Tauaalo’s lead and pack the stands at Apogee for its game against SMU — and the matches after.