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"We can't lose focus worrying about what may or may not happen. We'll be prepared for it." Interesting sound bites that Commissioners are throwing out regarding realignment. It depends on their conference's situation: hunter or hunted? It would be fun to play match the quote to the conference. All sides are hunkering down in their war rooms for the realignment draft to begin. The Big 10 has the first picks. The SEC says it will match any size change over 12 members. The PAC 10 wants first dibs over the Big 12 of Utah and Colorado. If the Big10 also raids Mizzou and Neb then the Big 12 will be in full panic mode. That could cause Texas and A&M to be offered by the SEC. Meanwhile, further down the chain with the 29th and 30th draft picks sit CUSA and the WAC. How much they need to reload depends on the carnage from above. As for UNT, we sit and wait for the smoke to clear from the main battlefield. Will opportunity exist or will we be banished to another 10 years in the basement?

The only thing I can say is....that at least right now...with the stadium going up....we can put our best foot forward (so to speak). If we still had dumpy old Fouts in our future....our chances of moving up the conference food chain would be low. Now at least we have something to offer. And if football could start getting respectable again (and I think we will)...we'll really have a lot to offer.

There are so many other things to worry about in regard to the effects of this law.

I understand the situation in Texas - my wife is a teacher here. In fact Unions ARE a factor in how the state and local ISD's run schools. While it is true that they don't have direct contracts here, they do have political power, they do exist in Texas and until yesterday, they have been able to confiscate money from teachers in this state and funnel it to whatever cause, political party and politician they saw fit - and it is these politicians that make up the Texas Legislature. The Texas Attorney General's office has released an opinion this week (GA-0774) that prevents school districts from implementing automatic payroll deductions as directed by teachers unions from the paychecks of teachers for union spending on political action committees. Here's the most relevant paragraph as it appears in the summary at the end of the decision: "Because the Legislature has not expressly or impliedly authorized school districts to process payroll deductions for contributions to political committees such as TSTA-PAC and NEA-Fund, Texas laws prohibits school districts from processing such contributions." So teachers unions in the Lone Star State will no longer be allowed to forcefully remove money out of teachers' paychecks to that they can spend it on left-wing political causes. This decision will not prevent teachers from individually sending their dues to political causes nor will it prevent unions from spending on PACs and political causes but it will prevent the schools from using school resources to make the deductions and for using school accounting departments to keep track of those deductions. By its very nature this will take a big bite out of the millions that teachers unions have available to spend on left-wing causes because teachers will have to expressly provide for unions to spend that political money instead of having it simply taken without their ability to direct it personally. For teachers like my wife who have no use for unions or their political agenda, this is a huge victory. Naturally, the unions are crying foul saying that Texas is somehow stepping on people's right to "political participation" which is obviously absurd. Or take the case last year in Houston when the HSID's raise program wasn't adequate to Union leaders who threatened to sue the district To pretend that the teacher's unions have no power in this state simply because they can't directly ram contracts down the throats of the ISD is to wholly understate the case. To state that bad teachers don't usually last is laughable, as the results speak for themselves, and I hear the stories every day from my wife and her friends and fellow teachers. ...but all of this talk of unions ignores the real point of my argument. The Federal Government, the layers and layers of waste and red tape and additional funding that has been thrown at education in the last 25 years in this country have done nothing to improve the situation - it has simply made it worse. A lack of funding or attention from the federal government is NOT what is wrong with our education system - in fact, it is what is wrong with it. To bring this around full circle, socialism in education hasn't made it better. Socialism in health care hasn't made it better (see how efficiently run the VA and Medicare are?) Socialism in retirement hasn't made it better. (Social Security is broke and has no chance of survival unless we just print money and make the program worthless in the process). We don't need more Government - we need less.

freakin canadians!!!

That's total crap about us and TV ratings. This goes all the way back to 1983....when we were on ABC TV against NLU (now ULM). Then DMN sports reporter, Cathy Harasta griped about such a lousy game being shown (back then ABC was required to carry one game from every conference--even the SLC. Our game with NLU was for the conference title). After assuring all the Metroplex that our game would get bad ratings...Harasta had to eat her words....as our game got great ratings. When all 11 of our games were televised in 1995....then Associate AD Tim Fitzpatrick told me that the station that carried the games (27?) was thrilled with the ratings. And this was a year when we went 2-9. When we were in the NO Bowls....correct me if I'm wrong....but didn't those bowls get some of the best ratings of the minor bowls? So SMU fans can throw out this crap....but as far as I know....our games on TV get relatively good ratings. And I would bet they get better numbers than when SMU is on TV. (but that I don't know).

There is oversight - legitimate oversight, and then there is bloated bureaucracies that manage this oversight inefficiently and often with a political agenda. You bring up Education, so let's look closely at that. We spend more per child in this country by a long shot on education than other countries which quite frankly are kicking our ass in that same effort. There are far too many layers of crap between the taxpayer and the student in our system and as a result the actual dollar getting spent ON each child is a very small portion of the huge number that gets spent PER each child. Too many layers of administrators, and debt due to unsustainable pension programs (teacher's unions have done the same thing to the Public School system that GM and the other car guys let unions do to them. When it happens to GM, people call it bad management. When it happens to levels of government, no one is blamed, but our taxes just go up to compensate.), programs designed to get students to pass standardized tests instead of actually learning and wasteful spending are the biggest factors in the waste in the public school system. I notice in a time when teachers are being laid off we never hear news stories of Teacher's unions offering to do more for a little less for the good of the system and the children and families they serve. I never hear about Administrators getting laid off. Your argument about the police limiting your freedom wins the strawman of the year award. Conservatives depend on the rule of law as the foundation of our belief system. We are not anarchists. Roe vs. Wade is far from settled law. In fact, constitutionally speaking, it is bad law, and is a perfect example of legislation from the bench. In this case, a constitutional right to privacy was made up out of thin air so that the court could side with the Pro Abortion side of the case. Roe vs. Wade should be overturned by the courts and the issue should return to being a states rights issue, OR a constitutional amendment put in place, which would be the two lawful ways to regulate a medical procedure. ...and lest you blast me as a neanderthal pro-life Christian who doesn't like your statement because you "don't go to the right church", I'm personally pro-choice. ...but my political opinion doesn't change the constitution. I think the argument being made here is that there is a happy medium. Public Hospitals are fine so long as they aren't abused and taxed beyond their limits by folks who are abusing the system or here illegally (or neighboring counties who won't spend their money to take care of their citizens) - but Private ones are too and if folks want to make their own health care decisions without input from Washington they should be allowed to. The FDA is fine, but it isn't efficient, and if a private company let as much tainted food on the market they would be hauled up to capital hill and grilled like BP was last week, but the FDA is given a pass. The reason you're hearing socialism so much right now is the hard swing that this administration and congress has taken in that direction. We've been moving further and further in that direction for decades (since the early 1900's) but now all of the sudden we're adding spending and social programs and making more people dependent on the federal government for their very lives at an astounding pace, and bankrupting us in the process. We need to tax our people less, give them incentive to depend on themselves and not government and get the hell out of the way of the hard working people and businesses that have made this country great. Giving huge new entitlements to more and more people who don't contribute (either by choice or by situation) is not how we get this economy on solid ground and will only take us deeper into debt and further from a point where we can turn it around.

THere is a certain irony in a blog that portends to separate fact from fiction. One thing he is wrong about is the Big Ten networks drive to be on the standard tier of cable networks. In the eight states that make up the current Big Ten, the network is on expanded basic or basic digital tier of channels. That is about as wide as a specialty channel! They are available in 22 of the top 25 markets on some level or another. Plus, even now they are in the unique situation of getting more ad revenue than subscriber revenue. (That is what the network is claiming, so this might be an exaggeration!)

Couple of comments from the CUSA board thread: [quote='KnightLight' SMU is a long-long-long way for ever expanding their 30,000 seat stadium. As the Dallas Morning News article pointed out in yesterday's article: "But SMU averaged 21,000 fans this season at 30,000-seat Ford Stadium, a number inflated by some major ticket initiatives." If SMU's best season in 25 plus years needed accounting/tix gimmicks to reach an "ANNOUNCED" average attendance of 21,000 (i.e. not ACTUAL attendance), I think its safe to say that SMU's 30,000 seat stadium (which is beautiful by the way) is safe from becoming a construction site anytime soon.

School boards don't RUN the schools any more than a Board of Directors RUN a company. They set policy and then have non elected staff implement that (often very vague) policy as they interpret it. For someone who's a teacher, are you not offended when these stories come out about having to lay off more teachers, but the staff in the administration building remains safe? I know we are when we hear about it. Layers and layers of administration at so many of these school districts, most of whom are lifers. These is the bureaucrats who I talk about, and the staff that works for the local and state school boards who aren't moved as a result of election.

For me, the most notable thing Banowsky said is, We have it openly. We do, however, believe while you're on the team, you've got to support the team. This is true regardless of which conference we're talking about. As long as we're in the conference we're in, we should support it by supporting North Texas. The question should never be"Who are we playing." Rather, "North Texas is playing."

I think he was talking nationally since there was the absence of a specific state in the post you replied to.

Edited. "MDH0192 was showing his prowess with the football, no one could figure out what it was." I believe it was everyone's second half fatigue

A nice write up of the game. http://www.eagletalk.net/

If they keep winning, they become relevant, especially if Jones can do in University Park what he did at Hawaii. Dallas is a town that loves a winner. If Jones can pull an 11-0 or 10-1 season, Ford will be over capacity. That is what the alums expect to happen.

I can't see a SMU football ticket becoming a hot commodity just because the Cowboys no longer play in Dallas county.

Contradiction.

Why? As in, why do they need the additional seats?

Not to state the obvious but an improved performance in any of the 14 sports in which we did not win conference would also have been enough to keep us in second. Give me baseball, yes, but being without it is not what has kept us from winning the Bubas Cup...EVER. (Eye opening that WKU will have SEVEN conference championships and NOT win the Bubas cup) GMG

The Dallas Cowboys are the real team of Dallas. For college Texas is the team of Dallas.

SMU has always been the Dallas team. It's where they're located. Kate Hairopoulas is the beat writer for SMU. Did you expect North Texas to be picked over SMU? Would Brett Vito pick SMU over North Texas? I don't know how you say that North Texas is not a factor in the SBC. In the last five years of football, that would be true. Before that, four championship seasons. NT stands second in the Bubas Cup rankings but since we do not play baseball could fall to third. That's still significant in the Belt. In the same DMN Sunday paper, writer Chuck Carlton omitted both SMU and North Texas from expansion. I have no idea if he has an inside opinion or if it is just his own but I'd expect the latter, judging from some of the other choices that he made. Also, he gave no idea as to what happens to the teams that he did not list. We don't even know how many will be in the revised Big 10. If it's Notre Dame only then everything else could be as you were. Or, some conferences might try to position themselves for better TV deals and either add teams or make a coalition with other conferences. To say that North Texas is not a player in the DFW market is unconscionable. We have more alumni than any other university and far more potential. To balance that, both TCU and SMU have been major players where we have not. Heretofore, except for our time in the Missouri Valley Conference, we haven't acted as if we wanted higher aspirations. That has changed now. We can't undo the past but the future looks bright. Maybe we need to hire a Paul Tagliabue type to plead our cause.

There is only one school in Louisiana that can command anything and that is LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY. La. Tech is just like NT, lucky to be in a FBS league.

NT is a non factor at this time. NT must win to change that issue.

Agreed. I wish nothing but failure for all things SMU related, Collin Mangrum now included.

I agree.

--You must not live in Texas, Teacher Union's have no power here. I taught 30 years in public schools (retired but have 34 years in college math classes as well, now part-time) and both of my sons made more their first month on the job in industry than I did my last month in Texas classrooms. That is exactly why it is so difficult to hire good math and science people now, especially male ones. Women are a bit different since some teach so they can have a similiar schedule as their kids and be home with their kids in summers and during some holidays. ---Poor teachers rarely last long but those still around are there often because nothing better exists, so much competiton from the private sector. To say Teacher Unions have any real power in Texas is just showing no understanding of the realities in Texas. What you say may be true in some northern states, not here. ---Salery minimums are set by the Texas Legislature, the local school boards can raise them from there if they chose. Where did you come up with the Union comments??? No Union has any contract with any school district in Texas. ---Ran by bureaucrats??...hmmmm.. locally it is run by schools boards which YOU elect. They even have final say on who gets hired as administrators and teachers in your district. Statewide YOU elect the state school board and the legislature that controls schools.. That is a rather crazy comment. Who do you want to be in charge then???

Smu alums alone won't fill half of Ford Stadium. The average Dallas/Metroplex sports fan does not care about or attend Smu football games. Unless your name is Biff or Buffy and you drive a BMW or similar don't expect to see your peers there.

A non-factor in what? Too many people stupidly IMO think that the only thing that mattered is how good is your football team when evaluating possible conference affiliations. If being good in any sport is important, it is men's basketball because a team that does well in the NCAA; monetarily benefits the whole conference. Public perception of the university, geography, and political relationship with the potential conference mates are all factors that are as important as athletic prowess. Universities generally want to be grouped with similar institutions in athletics and academics. Even though a school like UT has to get almost all their athletes in school as special admits because of their academic selectivity, they still want to be associated with university with the highest of academic standards. While every university now would like to be in a regional conference to cut costs, most still do not want to give a leg up to potential competitive programs. Tulane does not want to be involved with other Louisiana schools, Memphis with Middle, SMU and others with UNT, etc. In summary, every school is going to act in their own interest and there are a vast number of issues involved with football competitiveness being only one criterion. NT is in the best position, they have ever been to be considered for other conferences. Facilities including the building of a new football stadium are turning from a big minus to a plus. The recent push to become a first tier academic institution will be of substantial help. Being the only public football playing university in the fifth biggest media market has to be very positive. Also being the third largest campus in Texas can't be ignored. Yes, NT has negatives too, but overall NT has recently make great recent strides in athletics and academics. NT is far from a non-factor in the potential conference realignment.

+1

I wish I had more time right now to reply to your post. While there are definitely things I agree with you on...I have never heard of anyone saying the problem with our education system is the teachers get paid too much????? There are alot of things in the education system that need fixing and teachers pay is one of them, except it is far too low for what we expect them to do. Teacher pay if why we are falling behind in education. Why go to college to become a teacher with a starting salary in the $35,000-$40,000, that will max out at $60,000 when you can go into business or engineering where you will start in the $50-$60K range and proceed from there. That is why we no longer get the best, the brightest, the most motivated to educate our future generations.

I don't believe teachers are paid too much; I AM disgusted by teacher's unions who take actions to protect teachers who shouldn't be in teaching, and who have been a part of building pension programs that are unsustainable instead of securing more cash pay for teachers and letting them invest in and for their own futures and retirement. ...you rail against the pay for teachers being artificially low - and I agree 100%. ...now ask yourself why that is. If someone can go to college and go into a private career and make more than they can teaching, what does that tell you about the public school system? Teacher's pay isn't the problem with our education system. ...the fact that our education system is run by bureaucrats and that a teacher's pay is set by a scale insured by the union and not based on excellence and achievement is a huge problem with education - but it isn't the only problem. Sorry to confuse.