DENTON, Texas — Full cost-of-attendance for out-of-state students at the University of North Texas runs about $36,000 a year.
Mean Green quarterback Mason Fine has repaid the school for his scholarship several times over — even if it was the only scholarship offer he got.
In 2015, when Fine was a record-setting high school quarterback at Locust Grove, Okla., North Texas averaged just 13,631 fans per home game. A total of 68,155 went through the turnstiles that year. In 2018, when Fine was winning his second consecutive Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year award, UNT brought in 23,355 fans per game, a total of 140,131 and a 71 percent increase in ticket sales.
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“For a long time, I think everybody looked at North Texas from the outside and said, ‘That’s a place that ought to be pretty good: great location, 40,000 students, a rapidly growing area of the country,’” UNT athletic director Wren Baker recently told Sporting News. “And Mason has been a key part in helping turn the program around, which in turn has had a huge influence on the university. Record-setting donations, not only in athletics but at the institution, (and) freshman enrollment is up like 15 percent this year.
“Is he solely responsible for that? No. But has he played a big part in probably the No. 1 marketing tool of the university’s success? Yeah, he’s had a huge impact.”
When Fine was a freshman way back in 2016, the school created a social media hashtag: #NewDenton.
New Denton indeed: Next week, the football program will open its indoor practice facility, which cost $16 million. In January, a brand new track and soccer stadium was christened — part of a master plan called Light the Tower, which will add a new basketball arena, a new softball stadium, a new indoor tennis facility and a new natatorium over the next 20 years. UNT also hopes to add the sport of baseball, and a new baseball stadium, of course.
That’s quite a change from when Fine and coach Seth Littrell arrived for the 2016 season. North Texas came off an 1-11 season in 2015. For the final home game, a 20-17 loss to UTEP — UNT’s leading passer that day went 7 of 15 for 48 yards — only 8,305 fans showed up. Now there’s that many fans tailgating in the Blue Lot three hours before kickoff.
“It was a little different then, no question,” Baker said. “I mean, everything. The demand on parking, the demand on tickets, the concessions — it’s a multiplier.”
Said Fine: “I take pride in being the best I can be not just while I’m here, but building something that’s gonna last a lifetime. That’s really awesome. It's building a program and being that foundation.”
Simply put, Fine, Littrell and former offensive coordinator Graham Harrell made football fun again in Denton.
“We were struggling to find ourselves and to establish a lot of interest and enthusiasm in our program before Mason arrived,” said Ben Joyner, a 1974 UNT graduate and distinguished alumnus who now frequents campus tailgates and waits patiently for the team walk into the stadium. “And almost since the day he got here, it’s been like night and day. He’s been an absolute godsend for us.”
“You look around,” Fine said, “and you’re seeing more fans come, and in Year 4 you’re seeing indoor practice facilities being built, and you’re seeing boosters donating more, you’re seeing more things being done with nutrition and equipment and the administration. It’s all coming together.”
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Fine is currently the FBS active leader with 9,800 career passing yards and 810 completions. He’s second in total offense (9,971 yards), total offense per game (257.9 yards) and pass attempts (1,278), third in touchdown passes (68) and seventh in total touchdowns (73).
And for the second year in a row, Fine is on preseason watch lists for the Davey O’Brien Award, the Earl Campbell Award, the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award and the Manning Award. This year, as a senior, he joins the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list. And in June the school launched a website, 6forHeisman.com. Instead of pumping out statistical minutiae every week, UNT’s Heisman campaign will curate and publicize what others say about their quarterback.
With Harrell now calling plays at USC, Fine has a new offensive coordinator — Littrell hired former Oklahoma State aide Bodie Reeder from FCS power Eastern Washington — but don’t expect a letdown in offense production. In last week’s 51-31 victory over Abilene Christian, Fine completed 76 percent of his passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns.
So how does this happen?
How does a 5-10, 160-pound quarterback who played in a gimmicky offense and didn’t have any FBS scholarship offers when his high school career ended somehow catapult himself to the top of the NCAA charts, get a Heisman website, resurrect a program, put butts in stadium seats and give a community back its football pride?
It starts with Fine. He’s Seabiscuit in shoulder pads, and a hell of a football player who dreams of route trees, RPOs and throwing spirals tighter than a clam at low tide. One thing high school coach Matt Hennessy and offensive coordinator David Blevins learned quickly of Fine, then nurtured: His brain waves are in tune with all things football.
“I have been around guys who like the idea of playing college football,” Reeder told the Dallas Morning News, “but they don’t love the game: the lifting, the running, the early mornings and watching video. Mason loves every second of it.”
Also credit Littrell, who accomplished much as offensive coordinator at North Carolina and Arizona, and, like Fine, brought to campus a single-minded Oklahoma toughness. And credit Harrell, the former Mike Leach quarterback who was long regarded as a sophisticated offensive mind but, like Fine, only needed someone to give him a chance.
Littrell’s first head coaching job, Harrell’s first OC job, and Fine’s only FBS offer became a perfect synchronicity that transformed UNT’s west side of I-35. Baker, another Oklahoman, took over as AD in the summer of 2016 and has delivered clarity for all those Mean Green fans with big dreams for the football program.
“We’ve put a ton into it that we didn’t have into it before,” Baker said. “We spend 2-3 times what we used to on strength and conditioning coaches and nutrition — and all that matters. All the stuff you hear coaches and athletic directors talk about helping young people grow and develop, not just athletically but academically and socially. We’ve doubled down on that and it’s made a return.
“But it’s hard to imagine the return would be near as great as it is without No. 6 under center.”
Said Littrell: “Wren’s done a great job providing us with the resources we need for our student-athletes, but at the same time, you’ve got to have ‘that guy’ that’s gonna come in and lead your program, and Mason’s done a great job of that.
“What he’s done for this university is unbelievable. Having success, and having a guy like Mason really be the poster child for your university and athletics, the things that he’s done, he’s a great ambassador for our university. He believes in it.”
Fine threw for an Oklahoma-record 13,081 yards and 166 touchdowns in his three-plus seasons as the starter at Locust Grove. The turnaround there was “eerily similar” to what has occurred at North Texas, Fine said. The team struggled, and fans stayed away. Then Hennessy, Blevins and Fine arrived, making victories and fans became commonplace.
“It’s no coincidence,” Baker said. “And I think given the opportunity, he’ll do it at a level above this.”
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That’s hardly the first time Fine was referred to as yet another short college quarterback making his way to the NFL. Six pro scouts showed up to last week’s opener. Fine, who chatted up a few scouts at the Manning Passing Academy this summer, smiled wryly and just said it was a dream for the future.
“I’m only gonna control what I can control, and that’s what I put on film,” he said. “So if I want to put great film out there, if I want a shot at being in the NFL, then I’d better be the most prepared quarterback and the hardest worker at the college level and be the best college quarterback I can be first.”
One NFL scout, whose employer certainly could use a dynamic young quarterback, told Sporting News, “Of course we’re looking at him. He’s a good quarterback. Throws a great ball. He’s really good. And he hasn’t changed one bit through this whole process.”
Well, he’s changed a little. He’s 30 pounds heavier now, 190, and is listed at 5-11. He’s gotten a whole lot smarter under Littrell, Harrell and Reeder. And he fully embraces being a leader, role model and even celebrity.
And he’ll soon be honing his craft in the Lovelace & McNatt Families Practice Facility — aka, the House That Fine Built.
“Well, I would say this,” Baker said. “We have a lot of momentum in this department — across a lot of sports. But it all is driven by football, and when you look at the people responsible for that football success, there’s a lot of people that have had their hands in it. But certainly, if there’s a Mount Rushmore, Mason’s on it. Maybe it’s Coach Littrell and then, like, Mason three times or something like that. He’s done a lot for his university, and he’s made us very proud.
“There’s no pretend, there’s no fake. There’s no salesmanship. He is what you want the face of your program to be.”