Granted, Denton is full of festivals, music, academia, and culture, but if it’s sports you’re after, sports you’ll get. Whether it’s tailgating at a Mean Green football game or taking an off-the-beaten equine trail, the city is full of activity.

:: Watch:: With two major universities in Denton, spectator sports are plentiful. The University of North Texas, part of the Sun Belt Conference, is in the middle of a three-phase project that will provide new facilities ranging from the completed athletics center (including a 500-room dormitory, cafeteria, and athletic offices), a women’s athletic complex, a new football stadium, and a new track and field complex. “The Mean Green Village is intended to provide the best support possible for all of our student athletes, from facilities to sports medicine to academic study areas. Since Rick Villarreal, our athletic director, arrived on the scene in 2001, our entire athletic program has received a major overhaul. We’re busy now trying to complete the concept in its entirety. It will become one of the finest benchmarks we have for success,” states Senior Associate Athletic Director Hank Dickenson. Don’t miss football’s opening day September 9 against Southern Methodist University. The Mean Green make tailgating an art form.

Down University Drive, Texas Woman’s University is equally as exciting. The Pioneer gymnastics team celebrated its eighth USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championship in 2006. “The impressive thing about our student athletes is that they are equally competitive when it comes to grades. And they also are involved in community service. Every student athlete is a great role model,” says Athletic Director Chalese Connors. This translates into a really family friendly environment for soccer, softball and volleyball games, and gymnastics meets.

Other organized sports include Denton Outlaws baseball (last year, in their second season, they took home the Texas College League Championship), rugby football, and plenty of action at Texas Motor Speedway (2006 marks the speedway’s 10th anniversary).

:: Play:: Tired of watching? Denton’s Parks and Recreation Department cosponsors Little League.There is also club sports, swimming, and tennis, not to mention other area activities: equine trails, fishing, canoeing, and parasailing at Lake Ray Roberts on the north side of Denton and Lewisville Lake on the south.