Whether you like watching high-octane sports, or like to compete in the casual pickup game, we’re on par. 
When it comes to sports, Denton is like your favorite cafeteria-style restaurant: There’s a little helping of just about everything. Professionals race at nearby Texas Motor Speedway, collegiate amateurs perform at the fields and field houses of two local universities, and the city’s recreational-athletics shelf is well stocked.
The Mean Green scene
New football coach Todd Dodge is the talk of University of North Texas sports. He inherits the Mean Green’s most visible program after phenomenal success in high school coaching: four state titles and a staggering 79-1 record at nearby Southlake Carroll.
Not to be overlooked, the UNT men’s basketball team drew national attention by capturing the 2007 Sun Belt Conference tournament championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Basketball Tournament. It was the Mean Green’s first invitation to the Big Dance since 1988.
Local hoops insiders have long recognized the school’s 10,000-seat Super Pit as a real peach among regional gyms. It sits across the street from 30,000-seat Fouts Field, the home of Mean Green football—and the accompanying tailgating—on fall Saturdays. The bulk of UNT’s 16 scholarship programs are headquartered at the Mean Green Athletic Village, which includes new soccer, softball, and volleyball facilities, as well as the recently christened $3 million Waranch Tennis Complex.
In quest of the perfect 10
Gymnastics is the headline-maker among five varsity sports at Texas Woman’s University. The Pioneers, who compete in the NCAA’s Division II, have won eight USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships since 1993. TWU (enrollment: 11,000) also competes in basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball.
The Denton Outlaws baseball team is made up of college players back for the summer, competing in the Texas Intercollegiate League. The Outlaws currently play at Lake Dallas High School, just south of Denton.
Pistons, pit stops, and pole positions
Denton hotels and restaurants fill up fast on race weekends at mammoth Texas Motor Speedway, the 200,000-seat track just minutes southwest of town. Two annual NASCAR races and one IRL IndyCar race highlight the track’s annual calendar, as horsepower-happy fans check in from all over the Southwest.
Of bikes and basketballs
The second Denton Downtown Criterium and Bicycle Weekend is already growing, adding a second day this year. Slated to become an annual happening, this year’s event is in September and includes something for local cyclists as well as spectators.
Denton is home to the annual Great American Shootout, where some 180 basketball teams from as far away as California and Florida fill the city’s basketball courts. Roy Williams, Bob Knight, and other coaching legends have been spotted around UNT’s Super Pit, the site of the tournament’s feature games.
For weekend hikes, runs, or bike rides, Denton’s 11-mile Greenbelt Trail begins just north of the city. For even more adventure, try canoeing along the creek that runs parallel to the biking and running trail.
In addition to a smorgasbord of soccer, baseball, and other youth and adult activities, weekend warriors can join one of the region’s most successful rugby outfits. The Denton Rugby Football Club fields a men’s team, while women play for the Denton Whiptails.
By Steve Davis