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The Super Pit
The UNT Coliseum, better known as The Super Pit, is home to Mean Green men's and women's basketball and to a long and colorful history.
The nickname Super Pit derives from the Coliseum's predecessor, the Men's Gym, which was known as the Snake Pit, a moniker allegedly stemming from stories of the gym flooding in heavy rain which occasionally drove local snakes from their homes and into the building.
In 1973, North Texas basketball moved across Highland Street to the Super Pit, trading 5,000 wood-bleacher seats for 10,500 padded, individual seats. While much more comfortable than the Snake Pit, the Super Pit nonetheless earned its own reputation as a tough place for visitors.
The Super Pit's opening night was December 4, 1973, and the Mean Green got a 30-point, 16-rebound performance from Bobby Iverson in a 109-93 win over TCU. During the 1975-1983 era under men's coach Bill Blakeley, North Texas, playing primarily as an independent, recorded three 20-win seasons, its first-ever top-20 ranking, the four biggest crowds in Super Pit history and memorable wins over Texas, Kansas State and SMU.
Immediately hailed as one of the finest basketball facilities in the southwest, it was host to first- and second-round games of the 1976 and 1980 NCAA Basketball Tournaments.
In 1976, North Texas began playing women's basketball at the Super Pit.
In 1988, the Super Pit was the site of the men's Southland Conference Tournament, and North Texas rolled past McNeese State and Northeast Louisiana to capture the conference championship and its first invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
The Super Pit's location offers easy access to parking and to pedestrian traffic from campus, and it was designed with a wide concourse with concession stands and ample restrooms.
The concourse later became the home of the North Texas Athletic Hall of Fame. The Super Pit was also designed with plenty of room for the media, complete with positions for television cameras and the ability to handle increased power demands.
A true multi-purpose facility, the Super Pit has also been the site of countless events such as high school playoff games, cheerleading competitions and graduation ceremonies, and it has classrooms in its lower level.