It was an unprecedented football season for the University of North Texas (UNT). The school, known prominently for powerhouse liberal arts programs, reached its highest ranking in decades in 2025 by climbing as high as No. 22 on the AP Poll. This marked the first time the team was ranked since 1959, when they reached No. 16 in college football rankings, breaking a longtime drought.
This feat was steered by Coach Eric Morris, who was with the Mean Green for two years. Morris, known for an explosive, Air Raid-style offense, was quickly picked up by Oklahoma State University at the end of the season.
A new era has begun with UNT football as the school recruited a new, highly vetted coach, Neal Brown. The Kentucky native favors the same fast-paced offensive approach as Morris. He is known for consistence and a culture-first mentality.
Brown comes to UNT as a special assistant for the University of Texas football program (2025). Prior to this he led West Virginia University (2019-2024), where he made four bowl appearances. In his early career, he had breakout moments with Troy University (2015-2018) and was named the Sunbelt Coach of the Year.
In this exciting new era of success on the turf in Denton, some are describing Coach Morris as the spark, and his successor, Coach Brown, as the architect who will frame a football program that can consistently maintain national relevance.
“My personal mission is to leave people and places better than the way we found them,” Brown explains when asked about his vision for the school. “What Morris and his staff did here last year was really just the beginning of what can be a special run for North Texas.”
You could say it’s in his pedigree. With his mother a librarian and his father a superintendent and former coach, Neal Brown remembers knowing quite early that this would be the trajectory of his life.
“My parents were educators, and I’m so proud of that,” he explains fondly. “I’m doing a lot of the same things they did. I just do it on the field instead of in the classroom.”
And he has already been creating a blueprint for the 2026 season with the Mean Green. This includes a very exciting and physical brand of football. On offense, the team will play at a quick tempo, spread the field out, and transfer the ball to the playmakers.
It’s an exciting new chapter for Denton. Last year the average attendance at UNT home games climbed to 24,492 per game. The school set a record with 31,386 tickets sold in its first home sellout in program history against USF.
Amid all the hype, Brown says he will also emphasize the values of his players. Success is not just measured in physical ability but by the depth of ethos they carry along with a diploma.
“Football is a great developer of character,” Brown says. “We’re preparing these guys not just for the game of football, but for the game of life.”
As a father of three children, this burgeoning area was a top choice for Brown and his family.
“Denton is such a close community,” he describes. “It reminds me of home. It has the small-town feel but access to everything. I’m excited to be here.”
And it is within this tightknit community that expectations are shifting. With a nationally ranked season still fresh, the conversation has evolved. It’s no longer centered on whether UNT can compete, but whether it can keep its place on the national stage.
“My personal mission is to leave people and places better than the way we found them. What Morris and his staff did here last year was really just the beginning of what can be a special run for North Texas.”