The Administration Building (now known as the Hurley Administration Building) was constructed at the north end of the original football field in 1955-1956. The structure was placed on Chestnut Street and Avenue B, just west of the Union Building. President Emeritus McConnell took great pleasure in the construction of the new Administration Building. President Matthews stated… Read more »
In addition to its strengths in jazz and western art (i.e. classical) music, UNT’s College of Music also boasts one of the country’s largest early music programs. For the uninitiated, early music in this context refers to the study and practice of historical performance techniques, using primary (treatises, contemporary accounts, original manuscripts and editions) and… Read more »
A central place to rest, meet friends, and have fun was the wish of students for many years. This wish was delayed due to the Great Depression and the Second World War. Following the war the UNT campus entered a building boom to better serve the increased enrollment due to the returning soldiers. A union… Read more »
Abner Haynes and Leon King became symbols of “North Texas integration and ambassadors of good will” in 1956 when they were the first two African-American football players to play for the University of North Texas football team. Abner Haynes grew up the son a well-known Denton minister and attended Lincoln High School in Dallas where… Read more »
On May 15, 1988, the University of North Texas celebrated its transition from North Texas State University to its current name. This would mark the seventh title for the institution since it began 125 years ago as the Texas Normal College and Teacher’s Training Institute. The event was celebrated with a small parade, releasing green… Read more »
In November 1901 the first North Texas student publication, the North Texas State Normal Journal, was published. From 1901 – 1905, the Normal Journal served as North Texas State Normal College’s literary journal and yearbook, as well as the student newspaper. Short stories, poems, and literary criticism were published on a monthly basis alongside coverage… Read more »
Prolific writer and North Texas alum Larry McMurty was born on this day in 1936 in Archer City, Texas. McMurtry contributed works of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction to the campus literary magazine, Avesta, during his tenure at North Texas. In May 1957, during his junior year, he won $25 in an Avesta “best-of” contest for… Read more »
The advent of jazz studies at North Texas — diplomatically referred to as “dance band” in early years — met predictable resistance. In an oral history recorded in October of 1978, Gene Hall recalled: “Generally, they [the music faculty] were antagonistic toward it. There were two or three who were very much in favor of… Read more »
1953 was a big year for paleontological finds near Denton. Excavation related to the construction of the Garza-Little Elm dam (Lewisville Lake) revealed many significant ancient remains. A Denton County Archaeology Society formed after the discovery of a mastodon tooth cap near Lake Dallas. Society members joined together to locate and save artifacts from inundation… Read more »
A group of women in Denton started Old Maid’s Day in 1950 to get “recognition, not menfolks.” It all began when Miss Dorothy Babb, a Latin and English teacher at North Texas State College (NTSC, now the University of North Texas) was tired of buying gifts for weddings, Mother’s Day, and baby showers. She complained… Read more »
Celebrate with us as we look at some memorable people, events and traditions spanning from 1890 to the current day. Each week we'll post historical photographs, documents and memorabilia from the Archive of the University of North Texas.