By Colin McGuigan
Mean Green to play in 15th bowl game in program history
DENTON, Texas – The UNT football program and head coach Eric Morris have accepted an invitation to play in the 2025 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl in Dallas, Texas and will take on Texas State from the Sun Belt Conference. The game will be played on January 3 at 3:00 PM at Gerald J. Ford Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN.
“We’re extremely excited to have two in-state schools with energetic fan bases, North Texas and Texas State, playing in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl,” Executive Director Brant Ringler said. “We are eager to host the Mean Green and Bobcats and look forward to having their fans join us in Dallas as we honor our first responders.”
UNT finished the 2024 season with a 6-6 record and are making their 15th bowl appearance all-time and seventh in the last nine years. UNT is 3-11 in postseason bowl games with the last win coming in the 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl.
North Texas has faced Texas State 39 times in program history, the second-most played opponent. The Mean Green own a 29-7-3 all-time record against the Bobcats.
The Mean Green are playing in their seventh bowl all-time in the state of Texas after trips to the 1946 Optimist Bowl (Houston), 1959 Sun Bowl (El Paso) plus visits to the Heart of Dallas Bowl in 2014 and 2016, the 2021 Frisco Football Classic and the 2022 Frisco Bowl.
Texas State posted a 7-5 record in 2024, including an 5-3 mark in the Sun Belt. The Bobcats have won three of their last four games heading into the bowl contest.
First played following the 2010 season, the annual bowl game in Dallas began honoring first responders for the 2014 game. First responders include police officers, firefighters, EMS workers, correctional officers, search and rescue, dispatchers, security guards, federal agents, border patrol agents and military personnel who have specialized training and are the first to arrive and provide assistance at the scene of an emergency.
In 2018, the game was officially renamed the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl to reflect the efforts to show appreciation to first responders. Tickets for first responders are underwritten by corporate partners.
Gerald J. Ford Stadium has served as the site of the last five contests, three of which have been decided by a touchdown or less. The game, previously known as the Heart of Dallas Bowl and TicketCity Bowl, was originally contested at Cotton Bowl Stadium.
The SERVPRO First Responder Bowl is one of 17 college football bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events. For additional information, please visit FirstResponderBowl.com and follow on Facebook and Twitter/X.
COURTESY NORTH TEXAS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
BOWL WEBSITE
DALLAS – For the second consecutive season, the Texas State football team is headed to the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl and will face North Texas out of the American Athletic Conference on Friday, January 3. The game is slated to kick off at 3 p.m. CT from Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.
Texas State finished the 2024 season 7-5 overall with a 5-3 record in Sun Belt Conference action, giving the Bobcats consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2008-09 and matching the most conference wins at the FBS level. The Bobcats also won three games in November to close out the regular season for the first time since 2014, and it was the first season since 2014 with three road wins.
TXST defeated Rice, 45-21, in the 2023 edition of the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, the program’s first bowl appearance in program history. The 26,542 announced attendance set the bowl game attendance record for Ford Stadium.
North Texas finished the season 6-6 overall and 3-5 in league play. Texas State is 7-29-3 all time against the Mean Green, with North Texas winning the last match up 27-14 in 1994. This will be the first meeting of the teams at the FBS level.
UNT is 3-11 all-time in bowl games, with the most recent a 35-32 loss to Boise State in the 2022 Frisco Bowl.
Two of the nation’s top offenses, UNT ranks third nationally in total offense (488.7) with the Bobcats coming in at sixth (474.3). TXST’s scoring offense sits 11th (37.1), while the Mean Green are 26th (34.0). Defensively, Texas State is holding opponents to 24.3 points per game and 346.5 yards of total offense against UNT’s 34.5 and 456.6.
The game will air on ESPN and fans can listen on KTSW 89.9 and the Varsity Network app.
Visit TXST.com/JumpIn for up-to-date bowl information.
COURTESY TEXAS STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
