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I'd really love to know who this moron's Texas college athletic officials are? (or however he worded it). As we found out from all the wrong rumors during RealignmentPalooza......the only officials that matter are UNT officials. And I doubt that RV wants to go to a Boise-less WAC. What the current WAC brings us: 1) New road trips to Hawaii, Fresno, and San Jose 2) games back in the Kibbie Dome 3) a reunion with former conference mates USU, La Tech, NMSU, and Idaho. 4) Bowl games in Boise (which they probably won't keep)....Albuquerque and Hawaii. 5) Next year's WAC basketball tournament is in Las Vegas. We'll see how much Vegas, a really lousy sports town, supports the WAC basketball tournament. (since UNLV is in the MWC). I once was in favor of us going to WAC (when they had Boise). Not any more. I love the Belt's bowl destinations of New Orleans and Mobile. And I love what we're building in Hot Springs with our b-ball tourneys. Like others have said....if the WAC goes with an Eastern division....and gets some better bowl tie-ins.....I am open to reconsidering.

That's a huge slap in the face to Fresno St. & Hawaii, IMO. What SunBelt school even comes close to being as good as these 2 schools the last decade? I say NT should go to the WAC and push for a package deal with stAte. There would certainly be some regional friendly games with LaTech, NMSU, & stAte in the mix. I thought NMSU was our biggest rival before they left the SunBelch?????

In his case for/against the WAC....Brett failed to mention bowl sites and basketball tournament sites. Right now....that's a HUGE ADVANTAGE in the SBC's favor. HUGE.

I think your point would be: Whack....but not WAC.

To me, any delay in expansion and realignment is a good thing. While we have gotten several of our ducks in a row that were askew the last time C-USA came calling, we still have two significant drawbacks: (1) A terrible record in football the last 5 years, and (2) No baseball team. As far as the strength of our football team, we could not look any worse than we do right now. Hopefully, the addition of Coach Chico and the continued improvement of our D leads to a turnaround this coming season. If not, I am confident that we will have the resources and attractiveness to bring in a head coach who will turn things around. Most of the C-USA schools field a baseball team, and I am sure the conference and member schools would rather keep it that way. LaTech fields a baseball team, so that's something they have on us. RV has said that he is not going to consider putting together a baseball team until the football stadium is finished. If we can at least get to the point where we are actually taking steps to put a baseball program together and making plans to build a baseball stadium, that will definitely be a plus for us. It might be a lot better for us for the present if C-USA remains unchanged, and we bide our time another 2 or 3 years in the Belt.

At least you know she puts out.

unfortunately many NT alums have the "little dick" syndrome and feel inferior to any and everybody. We are our own worse enemy when it comes to promoting NT. We need more alum like Emmitt, Kram, FFR, and many others, who are proud they went to NT instead of acting embarrassed they didn't go to douche U A&M or worse Univ of a-holeville UT. NT is a damn fine school and I am proud of my alma mater.

No need to appologize brah, this is the USA.

How has the WAC's identity been solely based on Boise??? Boise's been good for the last 3-4 years. Fresno was taking down powerhouses way before them. Hawaii was always solid (as long as June was there). I think you guys are blowing this way out of proportion. Boise has just recently been the big fish in the pond.....

The new stadium and a new conference with well known schools like Hawaii & Fresno St. could be huge for increasing our fanbase. Renewing our rivalry with NMSU has to be a positive. Let's say attendance jumps because of this...at what point would it be worth it?

The Sun Belt will NEVER pass anyone in terms of perception. Ever. "Build the Belt" is a dream that teams cling to while they wait by the phone. The Sun Belt will always be an entry-level position for teams moving up or moving down the FBS ladder. If WAC travel is going to hit us hard... hey, looks like we need to have the BOR consider the first increase of the athletic fee!

It is difficult for me to believe anyone in authority at NT would even consider a move to the WAC. However, I never thought that as many fans would be behind such a move. Vito for move rationale is very weak. The WAC may be still a slightly better overall conference than the Belt but assuming NMSU and La Tech are better rivals than what is in the Belt is highly suspect. La tech has never really been a rival of any kind to NT other than in recruiting. NMSU likewise was only a big football game when the conference title was in play. NMSU is a good BB program but has never really created a stir at the Pit. I assume that the WAC will have a better tv contract but it will be much diminished after the Boise exit. The one plus point that Vito had is the perceived move up. This is much more smoke than substance, the WAC is not that much better; and if the Belt stays together it could quickly bypass the WAC in perception as well as substance. As far as the point, of the WAC being the more stable conference; are you kidding? I also take issue that the WAC would be a big step up in competition. The WAC does still have some attractive teams but Fresno, Nevada and Hawaii are not teams that are going to help NT with attendance or fan interest. USU, NMSU and Idaho were not even big factors in the Belt. The WAC makes no sense for NT. NT is not an UT were travel costs and local rivalries are not important. As for the WAC establishing an Eastern presence, didn't they already try that with disastrous results. La Tech is in an awful position in the WAC. They will bleeding money if they stay and are definitely not wanted by the rest of the conference. Why should NT even entertain joining such a mess? NT is doing exactly what they should be doing, building a solid athletic program. The only fly in the ointment now, is a poor football program. I think a lot of fans would be a lot less flusterated with the Belt, if NT was once again making frequent trips to New Orleans.

Hey guys, Cougar Fan here. First, Congratulation on the new stadium. Second, I wanted to say to the gentleman/woman who called my school "Houston High", I don't quite understand the criticism of the academics of my school. We have a one and one with Texas Tech University, and even though there has been a lot of trash talk between the fans of the two schools, very rarely has there been a criticism of the academics of my school, The University of Houston. Tech students and grads know that the U of H is very similar academically, and we have very similar academic missions. I have a lot of friends who attend/attended UNT and I've never viewed UNT as an academic institution beneath UH. To see someone commenting otherwise is offensive, and also silly at the same time. To call the U of H "Houston High" would also put UNT in a problematic academic situation. I would appreciate the reluctance to use this term towards my school. Third, a lot of UH fans believe we travel enough to the DFW area with our conference games at SMU. However, in 2011 we will be playing SMU at home, so I don't see how this could be a problem for us, as long as it's not the opening football game. I would hate to play the opening football game away (nothing against UNT). Fourth, although we'll be losing Case Keenum, we are stocked on QB prospects. We've recruited that position well (we run the Air-Raid Offense, so we have to). I don't doubt we'll continue to be good in 2011 regardless of losing Case. If we lose Coach Sumlin, we have plenty of qualified people to promote to that position. Fifth, we won't travel to fill your stadium unless we miraculously make a BCS bid in this upcoming football season. However, we typically have a good showing in University Park when we play SMU, so I don't see how we would put fewer people in your stadium that night. I could see 2-3 thousand at minimum showing up. I apologize that we may not meet the attendance expectations that some of you have, but I would imagine you would prefer to fill up your own stadium. Anyways, Here's to a ever more boring off season. I hope to hear some positive news, and I hope the best for the Mean Green.

Wow. What started out as an article about a fairly lame, and local, NY voting position, has morphed into a full-blown discussion of Greek/European/US comparisons. This might be the most significant Hellenic-related hijack since the Corinthians hijacked Epidamnus from Corcyra, thus precipitating the Peloponnesian war.

Well Case Keenum will be gone, and we will be coming off of a New Orleans Bowl win.

Don't like. It's not a name opponent. It's not a team that travels well. It's not a team that we have any sort of rivalry with. And they are not a W for us. I think it would be a terrible choice for our opener. Please for the love of god let this not be true.

Dan Haren has been horrible this year. He is giving up a ton of homeruns and taking this struggling pitcher who always falters in the second half of the season from the NL to the AL in the most hitter friendly ballpark in the league is going to resolve those problems? I think not.

...and, by people, I mean Louisiana Tech and SMU. I think that they think if we were in their conferences and started beating their backsides year in and year out, that they would be seriously hurting in their efforts regarding the recruitment of high school children who play the sport of American football. In a way, I guess I don't blame the cowards in Highland Park and Ruston. I'd be scared of our potential, too. When fate puts it altogether, those bedwetters won't even be able to sleep at night without a night light and extra soft Thomas the Tank Engine blankey. Come get some of this, La. Tech and SMU! Come taste a bit of your nightmarish green future where we lord it over you and spit out the bones of your weak and tawdry! A storm is brewing on the horizon. The clouds are green. The sound is mean. And, it's name is Chico! Seek shelter while ye may, O cowards of the college gridiron! UNT will rise with a mighty, Atlas-like lift of a man whose given Christian name is Mike! To the trees! To the trees!

greek i appologize if i hurt your feelings.

Please don't lump all of us living outside of Austin as part of 'we.' We don't all share your obvious misplaced anger.

Money talks. I think NT has to bring in stAte if they want to go WACky. Otherwise, it has to be a no. i wonder what the studies show what revenue could be generated if the WAC went to twelve and created a title game? Also, why would Cusa want to add another Texas school?????

It's suicide if you really think the WAC is worse than the Sun Belt. Even if CUSA doesn't come through with an offer, the WAC is so much better than Sun Belt. The WAC has 4 automatic bowls, and three of them are against MWC teams. Even without Boise, WAC revenues will be better than Sun Belt. The WAC gets almost $8 million while the Sun Belt gets $1.5 million. Take away the Boise State BCS payout, it still means the WAC rakes in $3.5 million, more than twice as much as the Belt.

Maybe being in a local division with close rivals had a little to do with that. It led to better things because the majority of the Eastern division split off into a different leauges to get out of the WAC leaving only La Tech behind.

Since CUSA is NOT going to be raided anytime soon, it is more like playing lemming than chicken. With chicken, you can win if they other guy flinches. With lemming, we just go wacy and jump off a cliff. But maybe suicide is the "perception" some want to convey!

No, more like 17 years backward.

Dan Akyroyd told him they already pre-taped the game on the same soundstage where they faked the moon landing.

To be fair... We've all been a little testy lately, too. Other than the one exception a week and a half ago, it's been historically significant how quiet things have been. Nobody has their usual vent, and the tension is passing us by.

And to think that all this was started by my really very harmless comment about Greece and entitlements. Sigh! Amazing what gets folks excited in the off-season, isn't it? I'll be in Athens in September, maybe we can set up a UNT tailgate at the Acropolis.

-1

While boring as fuck amidst nothing but conference realignment talk...this place has been surprisingly devoid of stupid for quite a while. Go away. Or to tie it back into recent conversation...jog off.

I hear it's going to be a smash hit! It will change the world, and then they're going to get right back on that Jew problem.

All of Europe has the welfare state mentality. Greece has it the worse. Pick up a paper or look on various web sites & notice the "riots" in Greece. Why are they rioting? They want more entitlement money for retirement, they want to work less for more pay & now the country can not sustain the financial burden. Greek credit is basically .... junk. Portugal, Spain & Italy are in the same boat but not as bad. Their current birth rates are not sustaining growth to achieve more or the same entitlements. The only groups that are having positive rates of growth that are double to triple the countries growths are the Muslims. Not too far behind these European countries is the United States. As far as the original topic I am surprised this has not headed to court. But since all measures are political and for the most part the American people are left out of the loop does this surprise anyone? IMHO, political equality via the ballot box is of little use when you compare it to social/economic inequality. Case in point the '64 Civil Rights Act.

God, i hope we don't go to the WAC. It would be a costly mistake. We eitber go to C-USA or better or we improve the belt by pursuing la tech and maybe one more. Whatever we do, we don't go into the wac.

Why is Greece off limits? Don't take it personal but Greece is a society full of the "entitlement mentality". If you don't understand that, I would be very surprised. Part of Greece's economic challenges is how to deal with the bloated entitlement programs. No, not the entire reason for the challenges Greece has been facing, and all the lovely street rioting and protesting of weeks past, but a major challenge none the less. A challenge the US is facing to a much greater extent every year. You may be the resident Mean Green "expert" on Greece but that hardly means you are the only one here who has a bit of knowledge concerning the current situation and why Greece finds itself there today. We should all watch the situation closely and hope Greece finds a way to stave off increasing economic challenges. If they can't, it is likely that Europe and the Euro will feel the pain for a long time to come. Glad to see that most of the other Euro countries came to Greece's aid with a bailout of sorts to stabilize the situation. We'll see if it "sticks". I certainly hope so, but since I'll be in Greece in September, I wouldn't mind the Euro staying a bit "weak" against the dollar. Don't get too excited Tasty...no body is picking on Greece.

Drawing up district lines to proportionally give a political party, race, religion etc an advantage or put a political party, race, religion etc at a disadvantage is not the same as allowing one voter multiple votes for multiple candidates or multiple votes for one candidate. Even by allowing multiple votes per person, a minority (or any candidate) could get more single votes from more voters but fewer votes overall.

I believe that La Tech will be a formidable candidate also, but that to me is different from them being cast as a natural. They have definite budget issues and the likelihood of most or any of the Northern Louisiana state schools being concentrated under the La Tech banner is miniscule and even if they did, I am not sure how that would directly benefit their athletic program. I doubt even La would shut down schools to add a portion of those savings to athletes at Ruston. The only perceived advantage La Tech has is a prior association with many of the CUSA schools that where in the WAC. If you look closely at the current college landscape and what is happening and almost happened in conference shakeups, you can see the value of those prior relationships is not much. One thing about La Tech posters, they have no doubt that La Tech is one of the best programs outside of the AQ conferences. This is opposed to many NT fans who seem to think that anyone who has a fb division program is some how vastly superior. In the case, of UTSA and TSUSM; they don't even have to be fb division. La Tech has been successful and in many ways is to be admired, but they don't have NT's facilities, media market, transportation hubs, number of alums, general resources and potential. A lot of average fans base their assumptions on the current football program and name recognition. So you get people who believe for instance that Troy will be a coveted conference member or that La Tech is a "natural". People who make decisions are going to do it on a long term basis. Facilities, geography, academic standards, and overall resources are the major factors. Plus unfortunately the fear of competition for recruits and fans definitely enters into the equation. I frankly think that NT compares very favorably with the rest of the Belt as well as La Tech and the Texas newcomers. I just wish more of our fans would look at the many positives and believe in a program that is at long last moving quickly forward.

another team record? Patience.

No, coming home after months in Iraq and getting to hold your son for the first time since he was about three years old., and getting to hug and kiss your wife again. And, knowing that you have something to fight for that is worth the sacrifice away from family, friends and the home you love so much. Sorry you missed the point.

Nothing much coming out of Washington surprises me any longer. We have "lost" so much of what made this nation the greatest nation on earth. We are fast becoming a nation of entitlement and will soon find that America looks very much like France, Greece, etc. We are Black-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Gay/Lesbian-Americans, Asian-Americans, etc., etc. Get real...we are all Americans, not some hyphenated American sub group. Until we start to think and act like Americans one and all and stop finding some pet cause or some excuse to blame someone or call someone some "name", we will continue to fall further and further from the ideals that our founding fathers fought and died for so many years ago.

Ok, I think it's time to lock this one up.

Agreed, that would be a must for any consideration - ASU and perhaps UL and maybe Texas State if they can get their attendance up. Put NMSU and La Tech in the Eastern Division and you have the start of a pretty salty conference. Belt could replace the three schools with UTSA and the impending move up by USA to get back to 8.

I hope you only heard part of the opponent and we're actually playing Sam Houston. I'd much rather break in Greene-Booger Field with a W.

95% of us want C-USA. It is the perfect fit. If the WAC were to steal a few C-USA teams along with North Texas, I think that would be fine as well.

Fixed it for ya.

Not on board at all with the new standards for superstar. The kid is a talent, a big talent, but not a superstar. Unless, of course, you consider someone like Taylor Hicks a superstar. David Clyde: http://timcowlishawblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/06/strasburg-debut-its-david-clyd.html http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/spt/misc/history/stories/june/062773rang.html

We don't need quitters.

Here's the last ten years. 2010 (2) 12's 2009 (1) 11 2008 (1) 14 2007 (2) 7 & 13 2006 (2) 5, 12 2005 (2) 9, 11 2004 (2) 10, 13 2003 (1) 15 2002 (2) 10, 12 2001 (2) 12's That is NOT a major conference representation. So in the last decade schools from the WAC were favored in 2 first round games, and never got more than two in the dance in any year. That is NOT a major conference. No way, no how. It is a very respectable mid major league tho.

The program already runs over budget. We're subsidized by funds from the university. WAC is not ideal, but I think it's better than the Sun Belt. Like Vito said, the athletic fee and the increased conference revenues would offset the increased travel costs. Of course, if C-USA emails us an invitation then it's a no-brainer. But if not, we should take the WAC invite.

When I read Greek entitlement mentality in something you wrote, I wonder what the hell you are talking about. That's not a nation of people who feel entitled to much of anything. Greece didn't have an economic crisis because of an "entitlement mentality". They have an economic crisis because the past century has been one disaster after another, some internal and some external. I'm not worried about you "picking on Greece", I'm just annoyed over how everything you're saying betrays a total lack of awareness of the history that led to the current situation and system of government. I'm not claiming to be an expert, I just heard it all secondhand while growing up. My grandfather was one of two males in his family to survive a genocide that was barely nipped in the bud. His family just happened to live in the worst possible place at the worst possible time. Because of it, he grew up mostly illiterate. Didn't know for sure when his birthday was because he wasn't even 10 years old when he was smuggled across the sea disguised as an elderly woman so that he wouldn't be killed like every other man in his family was. Wasn't reunited with two of his sisters for over a decade. When they finally found each other, they couldn't remember and agree on what their last name was. The other male who survived was imprisoned for years until he was released under the terms of a treaty that repopulated over two million people between Turkey and Greece. By the time he got out, he had been beaten and tortured so badly that he couldn't even walk. He pushed himself around with the palms of his hands, dragging his ass and his mangled legs along the ground until a compassionate doctor took pity on him and performed a series of surgeries that allowed him to limp around for the rest of his short, pain-filled life. My grandfather was luckier, and unlike his only other surviving male relative, managed to live long enough to endure a military occupation by Hitler. His wife was almost killed before his eyes when she caught an Italian soldier trying to steal food from them, and chased him off by beating him with a broom. The Italian was trying to steal their food because part of the German occupation strategy was instigating a famine that killed more than a quarter of a million people in Athens. Then Hitler was defeated and Greece settled into another four years of distress with the start of the Greek Civil War. That conflict caused more social and economic damage than the Nazi occupation did. Then, in 1967, the three colonels staged a military coup. For seven years, my grandfather had to live in constant fear of the government. Having guests over to the house was dangerous because it might look like secret political meetings. If his daughter rejected the wrong person for a date, he might denounce her as a communist and she would be tortured and killed. Just dumb random bad luck, like shopping at a grocery too close to an underground meeting place or riding on a bus with a suspected subversive was enough to get himself thrown in prison, tortured and/or killed. During the military government, my mother tracked down a third sister that everyone thought had been murdered 50 years earlier. She had been living in the northern part of the country, and she had a different, third variation on their family name. Then, in 1974, the Colonels were overthrown and my grandfather (and all of Greece) could finally relax. All they had to worry about was the Cyprus crisis that popped up in the wake of the military government's collapse. It merely spawned a cold war with Turkey that persists to this day. Oh, and the military government also led to the formation of a domestic Al Qaeda that operated for nearly 30 years and carried out over 100 terrorist attacks. But all in all, a cold war with a territorial neighbor that they've already fought four major wars against in the past 125 years, that occupied the country and outlawed the language for 400 years, and that slaughtered nearly everyone in his (and his wife's) family probably wasn't a very big deal for my grandfather. At least, not compared to the other stuff he had to live through. So there's your recap of the past 100 years of Greek history from the perspective of Ioannis Malakias. Or Ioannis Malaki. Or Ioannis Malkas. Depending on whose memory you trust most. Not a whole lot of grounds for a sense of entitlement to anything. Not even basic survival. Don't casually throw out Greece as a nation of "entitlement mentality" because of some conclusion you might have jumped to based on the recent economic situation. Because the recent "crisis" is only in relation to what is really an economic miracle. The fact that Greece isn't a semi-anarchic smoldering ruin like Albania is evidence enough that the people there aren't of an "entitlement mentality". It's a country that has spent the past century (and perhaps even more accurately, the past 500 years) entitled to nothing but a chance to struggle to pick up the pieces every time the universe pounds it down into the ground. If Greece were a state in a federated European Union, the "crisis" wouldn't even be a spit in the ocean compared to how California relates to the United States. And what you call "bloated entitlement programs" is what kept millions more people from starving to death at various times of complete devastation and ruin. I'm no socialist, but I'm also not blind to the hard, savage realities that led to the genesis of the situation. I still like you, KRAM, but you are way, way off base in what you're saying. You aren't the only one, but seeing anyone here talk about how we might "turn into Greece" as though that were a bad thing is laughable. The only prevailing mentality among native Greeks (a group I am not a member of) is to tolerate whatever wretched calamity pops up next, struggle through it, and then put their heads down and work their way back.