2012 record 4–8 (3–5 Sun Belt) | ||
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Home stadium Apogee Stadium(Capacity: 30,850) | ||
The 2012 North Texas Mean Green football team represented the University of North Texas in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was led by second-year head coach Dan McCarney and played its home games at Apogee Stadium. It was the Mean Green's 12th and final season as members of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC); the school will join Conference USA on July 1, 2013. The team finished with a record of four wins and eight losses (4–8 overall, 3–5 in the SBC) to finish seventh in the conference.
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After the completion of the 2011 season, McCarney focused on continuing the momentum created during the team's last game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. 25 players signed letters of intent to play for the Mean Green, and the team's spring practice ended with an intrasquad scrimmage. The team announced its schedule in March 2012, which included five opponents that were bowl eligible 2011. The season opened with a road loss to the LSU Tigers and a home opening win against the Texas Southern Tigers. The team began conference play with a loss to the Troy Trojans. The season reached its zenith when the Mean Green defeated the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns in a nationally televised game on October 16, but the team only won one of its remaining five games to finish with its eighth straight losing season.
Previous season
During the 2011 season, the Mean Green played their home games at the new Apogee Stadium, averaging 18,864 spectators for each of the team's six home games. First year head coach Dan McCarney led the team to a 5–7 record, its best since 2004, finishing the season with a 59–7 victory over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. During the game, senior running back Lance Dunbar became the team's all-time leading rusher.
Recruiting class
25 players signed letters of intent to begin playing for North Texas in 2012.
Spring practice
Spring practice began on March 28 and included 15 practices and an intrasquad scrimmage planned to avoid conflicts with classes. Head Coach Dan McCarney supervised the annual Green and White football game that concluded the spring football schedule on April 21. The 2012 match featured the first and third string members comprising the Green Team and the second and fourth string members comprising the White team.
The White team was given a 20-point lead at the start of the contest; they would be unable to score the rest of the game. Quarterback Derek Thompson threw six passes with four completions for 162 yards in the first half. Wide receivers Ivan Delgado and Brelan Chancellor combined for five catches and three touchdowns. Delgado finished with 2 receptions for 114 yards and 1 touchdown while Chancellor had three receptions for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. Two rushes by running back Jeremy Brown for 52 and 25 yards gave the Green team the lead in the third quarter, bringing the score to 21–20. Ten minutes later, running back Antoinne Jackson rushed ten yards to increase the lead to 28–20. In the fourth quarter, Chancellor caught a 52-yard reception from quarterback Andrew McNulty. Antoinne Jimmerson ran 30 yards for his second rushing touchdown to make the final score 41–20.
Schedule
The University of North Texas announced the official football game schedule for 2012 on March 1, 2012. Five of the Mean Green's 12 opponents in 2012 participated in a bowl game the previous season. Sports analyst Phil Steele rated the schedule as the 79th toughest out of 124 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
Media
All North Texas football games aired via the Mean Green Radio Network, with George Dunham providing play-by-play action and Hank Dickenson providing analysis. Mean Green Radio Network coverage was carried on KNTU 88.1 FM in Denton and on KHYI 95.3 FM in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. 2012 was the first year KHYI provided Mean Green football coverage. Both stations also streamed live online.