University of North Texas 
Who We Are
UNT Athletics is guided by a mission of Building Champions and Preparing Leaders through the pursuit of perfection in academics, athletics, and life. We strive to unite and inspire the Mean Green Community through championship excellence, integrity, tradition, and meaningful connection. We are committed to becoming a national leader in collegiate athletics where every voice fuels our success. Aligned with Look North: UNT 2030, our strategic plan positions Mean Green Athletics as a preeminent program in the American Conference and a national model for student-athlete experience, competitive excellence, stakeholder engagement, and sustainable revenue generation.
Our Strategic Goals (2026–2030)
Student-Athlete Experience
Enhancing research security and compliance
Competitive Excellence and Championship Culture
Revenue Generation
Our Implementation Priorities
-
Advance academic excellence and career readiness: In alignment with Look North's Develop pillar, Athletics will maintain Academic Progress Rate (APR) targets, conduct Dallas-Fort Worth employer site visits, and lay the programmatic groundwork for the Leadership Academy launching Fall 2027, ensuring student-athletes graduate with the skills and networks to succeed beyond sport.
-
Deepen campus presence and student engagement: Athletics will establish a permanent on-campus marketing and student engagement team by Fall 2026 and launch the Mean Green for Life Mentorship program, connecting current and former student-athletes while growing student attendance and strengthening Athletics' role in the broader UNT community.
-
Elevate the game-day experience and fan connections: Building toward a second DATCU Stadium sellout by Fall 2026, Athletics will advance premium seating planning across football, basketball, and softball, integrate emerging technology in game production, and drive growth in average attendance across all major sports.
-
Pursue early philanthropy and revenue milestones: Athletics will reach 3,000 total donors and $1.8 million in Mean Green Scholarship Fund contributions by end of FY27, grow ticket revenue to $2.5 million annually, and launch a comprehensive data analytics strategy to sharpen return-focused marketing and enterprise revenue growth.
-
Build a championship culture and accountable team environment: Athletics will embed UNT System values and Gallup engagement principles across department activities, targeting Gallup scores at or above 4.0 in all categories by 2028, while benchmarking coaching compensation and operating budgets against conference leaders to position all sports for competitive success.
Core Metrics
UNT Baseline (2024/25): 77% | UNT Target (2030): 90%
Unit contribution to achieving targets:
- Student-athletes benefit from dedicated academic advising and support structures that model retention best practices; Athletics' Academic Progress Rate (APR) requirements align directly with this institutional priority.
UNT Baseline (2024/25): 42% | UNT Target (2030): 65%
Unit contribution to achieving targets:
- Athletics tracks graduation rates through the NCAA APR and Graduation Success Rate; student-athlete graduation outcomes contribute directly to this metric.
UNT Baseline (2024/25): 61% | UNT Target (2030): 80%
Unit contribution to achieving targets:
- Athletics tracks graduation rates through the NCAA APR and Graduation Success Rate; student-athlete graduation outcomes contribute directly to this metric.
UNT Baseline (2024/25): $124M | UNT Target (2030): $250M
Unit contribution to achieving targets:
- N/A
UNT Baseline (2024/25): 286 | UNT Target (2030): 300
Unit contribution to achieving targets:
- N/A
UNT Baseline (2024/25): 6 years | UNT Target (2030): Decrease time for programs over median
Unit contribution to achieving targets:
- Athletics' career readiness programming, employer site visits, and Leadership Academy support student-athlete workforce preparation and time to first professional placement.
Emergent Metrics
Important Dimensions of Our Success that Require New Approaches
Percentage of graduates placed in high-demand occupations or graduate and professional programs
Athletics tracks post-graduate plans for all graduating or eligibility-exhausted student-athletes each semester; employer site visits and the Leadership Academy are designed to improve placement outcomes.
Percentage of academic programs that integrate internships, industry-sponsored projects, or other work-integrated learning experiences
Structured employer engagement, Leadership Academy programming, and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee events provide career-aligned experiences integrated into the student-athlete experience.
Prestigious awards, exhibitions, and performances achieved by our students, faculty, staff, and alumni
Conference championships, Learfield Directors’ Cup rankings, academic all-conference honors, and individual athletic awards are tracked annually across all sponsored sports.
New ventures, startups, and public impact projects launched by students, faculty, and alumni
N/A
Perceptions of how well UNT prepares graduates to pursue lives of meaning and purpose
Athletics tracks letterwinner engagement, fan attendance, mentorship program participation, and student attendance as core indicators of community connection and institutional pride.
Unit Level Metrics
- Multi-year Academic Progress Rate ≥ 985; single-year Academic Progress Rate ≥ 980 across all sports: The Academic Progress Rate (APR) is the NCAA’s primary academic performance and eligibility measure. Sustained performance above threshold reflects the strength of UNT's student-athlete academic support.
- Every sport achieves cumulative team grade point average ≥ 3.0 annually: Provides a straightforward, sport-by-sport accountability measure for academic outcomes across the full department.
- Minimum 2 conference championships annually; top-5 finishes in ≥ 70% of sponsored sports: Conference championships directly indicate competitive excellence and progress toward top-third American Athletic Conference standing. The 70% threshold broadens accountability beyond marquee programs.
- Top-150 Learfield Director's’ Cup finish by 2029: Provides a national, multi-sport competitive benchmark for tracking progress against peer programs.
- Department Gallup engagement scores ≥ 4.0 in all categories by 2028: A high-performing culture is foundational to competitive and academic success; Gallup scores measure organizational health department-wide.
- All sport operating budgets in top third of American Athletic Conference by Fall 2029: Resource parity with conference leaders is a prerequisite for sustained competitive excellence across all sponsored sports.
- Athlete Network Membership: 3,600; Letterwinner Association active membership: 475 by Fall 2027: Tracks depth of alumni connection and long-term engagement with the Mean Green Athletics community.
- Average student attendance by 2027: Football 7,000; Men's Basketball 1,000; Women's Basketball 500: Student attendance reflects campus integration and the vibrancy of the Mean Green identity among current UNT students.
- 3,000 total donors; $1.8M in Mean Green Scholarship Fund donations by end of FY27: Donor count indicates breadth of stakeholder investment in student-athlete success. Scholarship fund growth tracks direct impact on student-athlete access and support.
- Ticket revenue $2.5M annually; avg. attendance: Football 26,000; Men's Basketball 4,000; Women's Basketball 1,750 by 2027: Attendance and earned revenue are direct indicators of fan engagement and long-term enterprise sustainability.