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Just for one.....I really am surprised and enthused to see that the NT BOR and whoever else is finally opening their pocketbooks to get some QUALITY football coaches from quality football programs and experience. Now the hard part for the new coaching staff......quality players. With this new enthusiasm and a new stadium perhaps we can start seeing more wins...much more wins.

I really cannot believe all of the news of experienced coaches making decent money at my alma mater. For so long it always felt like donating to the school was a bad decision because the school didn't really care. The leadership, the financial commitment, the decisions that were made were always made with what seemed to be in the spirit of - well we have to do something so how can we do it as cheaply as possible but not make that too obvious. Well, this last few weeks have proven that things are different. I mean even the stadium had me only so fired up. It was going to be great to have a beautiful venue to watch games, but if we still treated everything else like an obligation, then it would only take us so far. For years I've read on here we were a sleeping giant. I always thought we weren't because I never expected the kind of change we've seen to happen. I know that's what a sleeping giant was, I just didn't get caught up in it. Now it is apparent that if I support the program, I will be rewarded with support from the school. It's not throwing my money away. I've always given to the school cause I'm loyal, and that's just the way I am. My question to all of you is, now that things have changed, how will that affect your involvement financial or otherwise? I'm not trying to call people out or anything just wondering, now that you can't really blame your lack of giving on the school, what do you plan to do?

I’m not trying to piss anybody off here, it’s just that I don’t get where you guys are seeing this greed coming from. The non-AQ teams are better off now than they were with the old system. Is it fair now? I don’t know, but it is definitely closer than it was prior to the BCS. With the old system, smaller conferences didn’t even have a chance to get a team playing for the national championship. The voters held that power. Sure the bowls were free to choose who they wanted (aside from the select few bowls that had conference tie ins… (Rose, Orange, etc.), but they didn’t take teams like TCU or Utah or whoever when they had the chance. The way it is now, there is a system in place to force these bowls to pick non-AQ schools if they meet the criteria. There is nothing stopping the MWC and the WAC or Conf-USA from getting together and creating a January 1st, huge bowl game between the conference champs. Make it a giant super bowl type production. Do you think people would watch this? The big money is in the draw… the matchup. That is why there are comments about “filling their own stadiums” coming from these commissioners. It’s true. There isn’t enough support for some of these teams (TCU for example) to fill their own stadium on a regular basis, and yet they seem to expect to be placed in bowl games in lieu of teams that draw infinitely better, worthy or not. Now they want more. The BCS was designed to guarantee a 1 verses 2 match-up, not to “be fair” to any other teams. Other than the championship game, the bowls want to be free to pick who they desire, or at the very least pick teams from the conferences they are affiliated with. That’s how the bowl makes money. I don’t think it is greedy to want to hold an event that makes money for the event holders; otherwise the event can’t keep continuing on. This is why all of these little bowls are popping up, dying, popping up again, dying, and so on. Tax exempt status is a joke – I agree with you there. All athletic departments need to lose tax exempt status, but that’s a different argument. The original “power” that these conferences wield today was initially bestowed on them by the power of each teams fan base. It was a popularity contest from the start (and still is) – voters acted accordingly. This “power” held by the major AQ teams is a direct result of each school’s commitment to winning (cheating in some cases) and their large fan following. If Utah would have been kicking ass and taking names from the 60’s until now, believe me they would already be in an AQ conference. As an Iowa State fan, I know the frustration of “popular teams” being purely mediocre at best and put up on a pedestal. No doubt in my mind that TCU is a national championship caliber team this year. The trouble is that their fan following hasn’t historically propped them up in the popularity contest called college football as much as Auburn’s has.

If Neinas puts in as much effort in getting us into a new conference as he did with his "State of UNT Athletics" report, then I'd say we are in pretty horrible shape.

"Old ugly's better than ol' nothing?" (Darrell K. Royal) I found it to be entertaining and probably our athletic version of Blair Witch Project? I kept waiting for Hank to grab the camera and start doing extreme close-ups of concrete pillars as he boogied on down under the stadium screaming to us all that the boogie bear of Fouts Field's past was after em' all out there. Seriously, I thought it served its purpose for what I think they thought that purpose should be. Don't think they were trying for an Academy nomination in the "Best Under A New Stadium Under Construction Short Film" category. Come on, folks, we've waited so damn long for this to happen that even a charcoal rendering of the stadium would make most of us happy. GMG!

I'm just adding a reply to see who shows up for my avatar....Come on cutie!!!! Damn! Not only did I not get a cutie (it's blank), but it calls me a "Bald Eagle". Well at least it didn't say "Fat, Bald, Eagle"

I would like to request that you leave your avatar as is. Thank you in advance.

If she's doing the stalking then maybe it's not so bad.

Sorry ... not my doing. I've sent a message to Harry to find out what the issue is. Of course, if I had to pick a picture to be stuck with this would be a good one.

All good eitherways. The fact that a Big 10 school saw the same thing we did at least gives me hope that we're finally hiring the right type of coaches. Dan will find another, although I hope Bowen stays. Crazy time of year, let's just take a deep breath and hash it all out when the dust settles. Hope you stay Coach Bowen, was looking forward to seeing your stamp on our Defense. Go Mean Green!

Clearly you have the same mentality as the Big Six. What the hell does attendance have to do with determining who the best team is? Nothing.

From our perspective, CUSA is preferable to MWC, but MWC is preferable to SBC. Or, to use the entire spectrum, Big XII > Other AQ > CUSA > MWC > SBC > WAC > Indy > MAC > FCS. WAC, MAC, and Indy might be interchangeable.

Delaney: I think the only question is, 'Does one team's 12-0 and another team's 12-0 equate?' Exactly, butthole. And, the way to determine it is to have them play one another, not to exclude one because of conference affiliation. Greedy, cowardly bastards.

No Bowl Game would be meanginless to me if the Mean Green were one of the participants. Don't watch them then! Fans, Alums, and Players have one more game to have fun and create memories. Good for every one of them!

Delany is a tool... I'll give you that for sure. Aside from the arrogance, he does have a point. TCU wouldn't be playing in the Rose Bowl (for example) under the old system. I don't know where greed comes in here. The AQ conferences actually GAVE UP exclusivity with the BCS bowls to the benefit of the smaller conferences. Didn't HAVE to do that.

Agreed, if we start looking for issues, Johnny gets benefit of doubt... Can we chalk this up to a learning experience? Not everybody is going to lay down and hand it to us. Just glad to see a program where we're 7-2 and upset about 1 of our 2 losses, as well as a couple of the wins... Much rather throw a clunker against SMHU than in conference play... Let's call it a wake-up call and and an eye-opener for the boys...

Why so much negativity!!! Its ridiculous, i actually drove 3 hours to the game and feel totally different about this one. 1st sam houston honestly out played us the first 5 minutes and last 5 minutes thats it! The rest of the time we were a better team... 2nd they shot lights out and we didnt, this isnt going to happen every game and no the perimeter d was not as bad as your making it out to be, they stepped up and hit big shots we didnt this time... 3rd SHSU is a darn good ball club and they beat us on their court w/ a solid enviorment, it was actually quite loud and emotions were high, and lastly i still left the gym thinking we are a good team and have the potential to be great! i dont understand how everyone can just throw in the towell after this one just doesnt make sense

No conference games until Saturday...but I have some free time right now...and I really don't want to talk about last night's game. Southern Illinois @ Western Kentucky Ole Miss @ UA - Little Rock Florida Atlantic @ Hofstra Troy @ Miami (OH) Portland @ Denver Centenary @ UL - Monroe Alabama State @ Arkansas State Southern Illinois is good...this is another really tough game for WKU who almost let a mediocre (at best) Bowling Green team creep back up on them last night. If they can sneak out a 2-1 record over their next 3, WKU would've managed .500 through a very tough OOC schedule. UALR has been good at home...and I think this will be a good barometer for how good UALR actually is. Hofstra dominated WKU for 38 minutes...FAU is fresh off 2 big wins, this game kicks off a 2 game northern road trip against 2 quality teams (Hofstra and Siena). I'd be happy if they cross back across the Mason-Dixon 1-1...thrilled with 2-0. Troy sucks. Not feeling their first D-1 win here. Denver at home is usually a good thing, but Portland is good...I'd be shocked if UD gets a W. ULM and ASU get inferior competition at home. Should be Ws. Should...

Yet over their dead Peruna carcus would that happen! (But I like your moxy, anyway)! SMU will one day change their mind about UNT when they (1) have new leadership (starting with a different President than their present) and (2) start seeing us as a turnstile cash cow , but until then, we are a large, looming over the North Texas Metroplex force and threat to whatever they think their own future in NCAA D1 actually is. GMG!

PROOF....that people will bitch about anything.

The old way… voters crowned a national champion after watching all of the teams all year. Then they voted how ever they wanted. Nothing was stopping them from voting for UTEP or Eastern Michigan if they thought those teams were any good. The whole thing was never anything more than a guided popularity contest. Nobody ever said it was fair, or that it was supposed to be. That was how it was. The larger conferences don't give a damn about a fair system. That's my point. Popular teams get the votes. Be pissed at the voters and not the teams or conferences. The BCS/Bowl system isn't supposed to be fair. It wasn't set up to be fair in the first place. The ONLY thing the BCS system was set up to do was to guarantee a 1 vs 2 matchup. As a result of non-AQ conferences griping (and having very good teams I might add), the bowls (and AQ conferences) agreed on adding criteria that allowed non-AQ teams into the BCS bowls in certain situations. To me this seems like a good thing for the smaller conferences. Boise, Utah, TCU or any other smaller conference team wasn’t going to get invited to any of the major bowls any time soon under the old plan anyway (BYU in 1984 not withstanding). I understand your argument that the system we have now isn’t a true championship and I agree with that argument. The system we have now is not fair. I agree. What I don’t agree with is the “greedy evil big conference argument”. Say you have twenty dollars. I have four dollars. You give me five bucks… does that make you greedy? After all, you only gave me five... eight dollars would have put us even… In reality the ONLY way to crown a legitimate champion would be to have a playoff (For the record, I am all for a playoff if they go that route). However, this wouldn’t fix the fair or not-fair dispute either. Arguments would then erupt over the ratings of the teams at 8/9 (or whatever the cutoff for the playoffs is). Smaller conference teams would get shafted in the 8th or 9th position in the polls instead of 1 or 2. We’d argue about what teams shouldn’t have been left out, strength of schedule, etc. just like we do now.

Remember all those posts you made about how there was no way we'd ever pay for coaches like this? Me neither.

It really doesn't. Though, many sports programs that aren't football or basketball run at a deficit. And that's okay, that happens. But I still stand by this: When I'm 45 and my kids are playing whatever sport they choose, I want my kids to be able to play as high up the ladder as their team's abilities allow. If they can fight up the bracket to the local championship, then so be it. If they lose, they lose. If they win, they win. However, I do not believe my kid's team shouldn't be allowed at the championship game because they don't get as many people in the stands. But too many have lost sight of the real heart of any sport - and that's competition on the field. And that makes me rather sad.

It's a sport I'm interested in. And I'd rather the best team in said competition be crowned the champion. I don't care how many fans they have or how big their stadium is or what conference they're from. I do care that the team that walks away with the crystal football and the #1 ranking is without doubt, the best team in the league. Do you hear people complain about the brackets in the race for the NCAA basketball crown? No. That competition is probably more exciting because you don't exactly know who will be on it short of a handful of names. And at the end of the basketball season, you know that the team with the crown earned it and wasn't excused from playing an upstart due to some sort of bureaucracy or other needless obstacle. So in short - sport. That's why. It's why anyone should care. It's the heart of competition - you put two opponents on the playing field together and let them answer the question of who is better than whom. Not computers, not coaches, not news rankings, not fans. Maybe you've forgotten what sports are all about. But maybe you're alright with a popularity contest.

I agree. Show me a video of the stadium. I could care less about these two guys.

Free market system? Not if you don't have access. Closer to a monopoly.

Then in that case they should lose all NCAA status in all other sports - plain and simple.

I don't think it's what we, as a fanbase, have done. Really, it shouldn't even be about fanbase or butts in seats at stadiums. It should just be about players, and when our players get to the point where they can face down a BCS team (and they're close based on the KState performance), we want to be ready and the field to be leveled out. Plus, it's not just talking on behalf of UNT, it's also talking on behalf of TCU, Utah, Nevada, Boise and the rest of the teams whose players are performing and should be rewarded with an opportunity to prove how good they are. I don't think anyone wants a donation from anyone. What they want is a level field of play when it comes to rankings, or they want the AQ confs to just be up-front about it and say, "look, we don't want you here" so the rest of the NCAA can split off and do it's own thing or the politicians can slam the AQ confs with serious oversight for abusing the hell out of their tax status. When we're choosing the best team in NCAA football, it should come to two sets of numbers. Win and loss record, and score at the end of a game. If these AQ conferences think they're so bloody tough, then they should be able to take on all challengers and win at any time instead of spouting trash talk that they're unwilling to, and probably unable to back up.

A super division of the big six is inevitable; they will drop out of the NCAA and create they're own before they acknowledge we are all (120 of us) supposed to be treated equally...and before any playoff is created.

The greed is there. If the larger conferences really gave a damn about a fair system in which the best team in the NCAA gets to walk away with the crystal football, then they won't care about teams that don't fill stadium seats. They won't care about TCU not selling as many tickets as an AQ conference team. But since the major conferences like to keep the bowl money for themselves, there's no real motivation to let a non-AQ team into their set of bowl games. Why would I risk millions of dollars of revenue AND my precious record to play Boise or TCU or Utah or Nevada? If I play them in the regular season as part of my OOC schedule and I happen to lose, then my record is shot, fans don't show up, I might lose my bowl berth for a less-popular bowl. So what I will do is get together with other people who are too scared to lose to "Sisters of the Poor" and lock them out. And in order to do that, our ranking system won't be based on a series of brackets where anyone can topple my team. It'll be based on polls and computer calculations of some sort or another with pretty much no transparency into how those logarithms work. I see what happens with the NCAA basketball tournament where any school with enough guys to fill the roster can trash what are considered to be the best teams in the NCAA. I don't want that. So why risk my status in real competition when I can win in a popularity contest where my peers vote in my favor because I'll vote in their favor? An aside: The arrogance that these BCS guys are spewing gets more and more vile everyday. I mean, I like free enterprise and controlling your revenue stream, but this, as a sport, should be about competition on the field. And as they're getting a huge tax shelter here, they should also be watched for how they do it.

Find a way to get SMU removed from that conference.

Are there fence sitter fans on this board? I wouldn't think so. Also, have we really lost that many fans in 15 years. It seems to me we have more fans now than ever. How else do you explain relatively good attendance during the worst run in history? And I'm like you, I was already giving more than was comfortable. I guess I just now feel like it's worth it, which makes me want to figure out a way to do more. Which I didn't think 1 month ago.

John.......it's the same sign. When I posted about it.....they just had the lower part "Home of the Mean Green" on there. So the top part were just white panels. I'm glad they filled the top part out....which they did a week or two later.

I don't think Delaney actually wants to find out because he is afraid that the answer is yes.

I absolutely feel the same way. I always felt like UNT was my grass roots effort at college football. But things are changing, tides are turning, expectations are being raised and standards set. Is it just me, or has RV done a pretty darn good job or guiding us thru multiple presidents, agendas, projects and coaches. The Dodge hire was bold if not anything else, but the new staff, increased budgets, coordination and transparency on the stadium project... I'm pretty impressed with where we've come from and where we're headed. I'm young, new baby girl on the way in Feb., but I can assure you my donation level and commitment, both financially and emotionally, have and will increase as a result of the recent efforts. I've been a MGC member and season ticket holder, but this year was tough after a move to Florida in August. But seeing the direction and excitement of this program has me wholly committed to season tickets at the new stadium, when in reality I'll probably only be able to attend 1 game. I plan on being back in North Texas in 5-10 years, and I know then, I'll be glad I picked my seats and got my popcorn ready. How long till the home opener?

88 Fiesta Bowl had an independent West Virginia in after an undefeated season, playing an unofficial national championship game against Notre Dame. I remember that one because they had a bunch of players sing the West Virginia fight song as part of the game presentation, and I still remember a few lines from it.

No, he doesn't. No, he can't. Watch Knox's feet next time he is on the court. Both on offense and defense. Terrible, terrible footwork for a big man (which is HUGE for the position), which is why he collects so many fouls so quickly on defense and why he has 0 offensive game and gets pushed out of position on the offensive glass by smaller players. Knox was not a 3A player, he was a private school player that was a HUGE project when he was signed. This staff does not have any success stories in taking big men high school projects and developing them into productive, Sun Belt caliber big men. This is why I am not that disappointed in him because I never thought he would be anything but an end of the bench player (See: Howerton). The fact that they are trying to make him anything more says a lot about the huge lack of depth on this team. The much bigger disappointment so far is Jacob Holmen, who seems to want to get the ball out of his hands as quickly as possible every time he gets the ball. I was really hoping that he would have adjusted to the speed and size of the college game by now, but he still seems intimidated in game situations. But, there is still hope. Last night's game? One loss, it happens, move on.

What a power grabbing jerk!

I think it's nuts to overreact to one game in any sport, especially in basketball. It's still early in the season, and if UNT can't get its defense together by the conference schedule, then you can run around and panic. Go ahead and light your hair on fire if you want.

Thank you students for approving the dedicated athletics fee.

I'd guess Bowen's salary would be in the $185,000 to $200,000 range.

But, it's so old. You really should broaden your horizons. Ha! Willie, Waylon and the Boys...no where in the lists. Shame. But, not much new except a MJ bust from Willie these days...hehe! I agree, love the White Album!

Last night's game was an embarrassment.

Just to be clear ... it's not just Texas. Nebraska loved it when at first when they were winning big. Oklahoma prefers the rules as they are. It's not just Texas.

I try not to be too negative, but I had the same thoughts.

Riddle is confirmed.

I watched the entire game too. Our man to man defense MUST get better, they had far too many easy paths to the bucket. Keeping your man in front of you is defense 101. In fact I have noticed all season that it leads to a bigger issue...you get beat off the dribble by your man, someone rotates to help, your man passes, WIDE open shot. Aside from George there was no toughness down low on the boards. Knox isnt gonna dissuade anyone from scoring down low. So, no, everything is not hunky dory if we want to be confident of winning the conference tourney, get a good seed, or win in the first round.

TCU beat Tech 81-77 Our win vs. Tech, while exciting, is carrying less and less weight.

Even if I agree with you (and I kinda do), that was not the reason we lost tonight. Not by any stretch.

I think we are seeing how much we miss Eric Tramiel right now.