Five former student-athletes and a former coach from three different sports were selected for the 2024 North Texas Athletics Hall of Fame class. The honorees span four decades, with the earliest dating back to the late 1980s.
The hall of fame induction ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Gateway Center on campus. Located just across the pedestrian bridge from DATCU Stadium, the ceremony will take place before the Mean Green vs. Army game.
According to the University of North Texas (UNT), the hall of fame voters include current members, current dues-paying letter-winners and the hall of fame committee. Over 250 votes were cast for the 2024 class.
The 2024 class consists of three football alumni: Phillip Armour (1995-98), Dylan Lineberry (2004-06) and Roderick Manning (1986-89); two representatives from the track and field program: former coach Rick Watkins (1992-2011) and Shahaf Bareni (2011-15); and former women's basketball standout Terriell Bradley (2016-19).
Armour started his UNT career on the defensive line, but after an injury in his freshman year, he switched to the offensive line. He went on to start 38 games, including every game in his final three seasons and was voted first-team All-Conference each of those years, the first UNT player to do so since Mean Joe Greene. Armour played in the East-West Shrine Game and the Hula Bowl in 1989 and spent two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.
Lineberry was a key figure on the offensive line in the mid-2000s, playing a crucial role in supporting Hall of Fame running backs Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas. Lineberry earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors from 2004 to 2006 and was named the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year. He is one of only five offensive linemen in program history to receive All-Conference recognition three times. In 2006, Lineberry was named to the Outland and Lombardi Trophy watch lists.
In the late 1980s, Manning tied for second all-time with 20 career sacks, just behind Willis Hudson's 24. In 1989, he set a school record with 13 sacks in a single season, still the second-highest ever. He earned All-Southland Conference honors in 1988 and 1989 and was a three-year starter under Hall of Fame coach Corky Nelson and one of only five Mean Green players named to the Kodak All-American team. After UNT, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears.
Bareni, an international athlete from Israel, still holds the top six finishes in UNT history for the high jump. She is an eight-time champion, including conference titles in 2012 and 2015, and was part of the 2013 Sun Belt Outdoor Championship team. She represented UNT and Israel at the 2013 World University Games and narrowly missed the Israeli Olympic team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Bradley was a standout on the women’s basketball teams of the late 2010s. A two-time first-team All-Conference USA selection, she left UNT as the program’s all-time leader in career free throws and third-leading scorer. One of just 15 players to score 1,000 career points, she led UNT in scoring for three seasons, was the leading rebounder in 2017-18 and led in steals in 2018-19.
Watkins, the only coach on the list, is a five-time Sun Belt Coach of the Year and the 2002 South Central Region Coach of the Year, marking him as one of the top track and field coaches in school history. He spent 20 years at UNT, starting as an assistant under Hall of Famer Ken Garland before becoming head coach. During his tenure, Watkins mentored three Sun Belt Freshmen of the Year, nine Outstanding Track and Field Performers and two NCAA All-Americans. He also guided over 20 athletes to the NCAA Championships and saw seven compete in the Junior USA Championships and five in the Pan American Junior Championships/IAAF World Junior Championships.
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