The "Safeway Parking Lot Bowl" will be an annual affair after all.

North Texas and SMU announced Friday that they have signed a four-game contract to renew their football series beginning in 2014.

UNT will host SMU in the opener of the series that will alternate sites through 2017. There is an option for eight additional games through 2025.

"The series fits with what we have said all along," UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said. "We want to create local rivalries. It has been proven that those crowds are some of the betters ones of the year. Those games fill the stadiums and create excitement."

There might not be more excitement created by any other UNT rivalry game.

The schools have played 33 times dating back to 1922 in a series that is best known for the challenge former UNT head coach Matt Simon issued in 1994, after a two-year break in the series.

"I'd like to play because I think we could beat them," Simon said. "And my players feel the same way. If they'd like to play on a Safeway parking lot ... just give us a date and time."

The teams played on a semi-regular basis from 1974-92 before the series went dormant. Despite issuing the challenge, Simon never got a chance to face SMU.

That opportunity fell to former UNT head coach Darrell Dickey when the schools renewed their series in 2006. Dickey and UNT took advantage, beating the Mustangs 24-6 at Fouts Field in front of 25,231, the fourth-largest crowd for a UNT game in Fouts Field history.

SMU bounced back last season and dropped UNT 45-31 at Ford Stadium to extend its dominance in a series it leads 28-4-1, despite a record-setting offensive performance from UNT.

UNT wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald caught 18 passes for 327 yards, which ranked as the fourth highest total for a single game in NCAA history at the time. Quarterback Daniel Meager threw for 601 yards on the day.

SMU quarterback and Denton native Justin Willis threw for 353 yards to beat his hometown team in front of a crowd of 20,517.

The excitement those games created shows why renewing the rivalry makes sense for both teams, SMU athletic director Steve Orsini said.

"At SMU our scheduling philosophy includes playing regional rivals, and North Texas fits that bill," Orsini said. "We feel it's a series that's good for both programs."

UNT also announced a six-game series with Army that will run from 2009-2019. UNT will host Army in 2009 before traveling to West Point in 2010.

The teams will then play each season from 2016-2019 with the site alternating each year. West Point will host the game in 2016.

One of the most exciting games in recent UNT history took place at Fouts Field last season, when the Mean Green lost a historic 74-62 shootout with Navy. The 136 points the teams combined for was an NCAA record for a regulation game, one of several records set by the Mean Green and Midshipmen in front of 26,012.

UNT is hoping to duplicate that type of crowd and excitement during its series with Army.

"The Army game is just like the Navy game," Villarreal said. "They have a great following. It gives the people in the armed forces a chance to come to Denton and be a part of the game."

Making the trip to West Point will also be a treat for UNT fans.

"It's a good chance to go to West Point," Villarreal said. "Any person who has seen the tradition will tell you it's very impressive. It's a great trip."