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Here are pictures from Halli's 5th Birthday party!! *Future North Texas cheerleaders Go Mean Green!

Earlier today I had a pretty cool experience. I went to my niece's 5 year old birthday party today. My sister once asked one of the UNT cheerleaders if she would be willing to bring a few of the other cheerleaders to come "cheer" on a 5 year old girl's birthday since it was a cheerleading themed party. It was so great to see about 6 of the cheer squad come out to a little girl that they didn't even know and do UNT cheers and teach some stunts to all the children during her birthday party. They brought some UNT stuff to pass out and really were great representatives of the program. All the kids loved it, though they were a bit shy and intimidated at first. They really made it special for that little girl. I know we can often be critical of everything UNT, and sometimes forget to be appreciative... but seeing some of these guys volunteer their early saturday morning to come out and represent UNT athletics and the UNT community was extremely impressive. My wife and I later talked to some of them, since my wife was a cheerleader at UNT ten years ago. They seemed to really care about the cheer squad and the university. Though, it surprised me to know that they have been going with out a coach since last summer and it has been completely run and organized by the squad(captain) itself. In fact, they showed some concern about not only the direction of the cheer program, but whether or not they will even have/sustain a cheer program (my words, not theirs). I think what they do can often go unappreciated... all the work they put into cheerleading, being an ambassador for the program, and going to many non-athletic events to promote the university because they love the program and the school. Anywho, I hope the athletic department gets some things together for their squad like maybe perhaps a coach for starters. Even my wife recalls the athletic department wanting to set some stuff (scholarships or something of the sort) for the cheerleaders... this was promised nearly ten years ago... and it doesn't sound like that was ever delivered. Hopefully some things will get going for these guys. I just wanted to let you all know what a great thing they did for a little girl's birthday and how appreciative we are of them.

Those poor bastards....

who cares? Dude wants to go play in a town where if he did find a ladyfriend...he would have to stand in line with her cousins to see who gets next.

Where can I buy a Riley watch? On second thought, a Riley watch wouldn't be the most practical...the minute hand would be covered in a cast and the hour hand's limited range of motion would only be able to tell time between 2 and 9.

Scholarships, stipends, book money, meal plays, etc. is something the cheerleaders have been working to get for a long time. As the first post stated, his wife was told it was in the works TEN years ago. In 2009 we were invited to a dinner with Dr. B and RV to discuss some of these things. Although we are closely associated with North Texas "Athletics", we are DIRECTLY associated with 'Marketing and Promotions'. We are strictly a spirit group, not athletes. We receive lots of support for the athletic department but any scholarship money that is available goes to football, basketball, soccer, softball and other sports. We were told for us to be able to receive scholarships, it was up to our alumni. They would have to set it up with the school and somehow make it a "Cheerleading only" scholarship. In the past three years, we've gone from ONLY getting camp t-shirts and warm-ups... to now receiving shirts, bags, backpacks, sweat shirts AND shoes! I can't tell you how excited I was when an order form went around for shoe sizes at one of our practices. It was like an answered prayer. We think small... I'd probably have a heart attack if scholarships were ever a real possibility; I'm just thrilled we have shoes. However, this year... we lost a coach... mid-season. This really wouldn't have been such a bad situation if there was any sort of backup plan... but my team mates have just been put on the back burner. Understandably, they have bigger fish to fry... the football team also lost a coach so that was a little more of a priority than ours... and there is a HUGE new stadium in construction... but they fired the cheer coach and although there have been applicants, there has [still] not been a single interview... or even a call back. Anyway- As far as I've been told... there is no scholarship money available for *spirit groups* (Dancers and mascots included). We are here, at every basketball game, athletic event, appearance because we love the program and the university. It's not easy... it's a lot of hard work... but it's lots of fun! Thank you so much for your support

I'll bet those kids didn't even go to those schools.

Ronnell, you made a committment and you did not honor it, so you are a quitter. Have fun living in a town where everyone is related and the most popular name is cletus.

Right this down and fold it up and keep it in your wallet: If we have a winning season in 2011, Arkansas State will be an afterthought to us. One winning season with this new stadium and this new coaching staff will be the end of losing battles to schools with lesser facilities and fewer opportunities to move to better conferences.

MLK the man.....great guy. MLK the street in any major city in America = an area you best stay out of.

It was a great run for our National Champion Cheerleader squad and that in the Big Time Division they competed. What proud moments for all NT alums and fans who watched them on national TV from Tampa, Florida. And now one of the national cable stations has a series called "Hellcats" which features the life and times of a cheer squad each week (or night for the repeat shows). To say the least, cheerleading has come a long way from the old megaphone days and racoon coats with "too large of letters" on them. Way To Go UNT Cheerleaders! GMG!

I'm going to call Ashley and ask if male cheerleaders have a tough time shedding their stereotype that they're all gay. No...I'm not. I wonder if they get annoyed at people always assuming. Think they're doing any of their female counterparts? I would.... What? Shit. I'm typing this all out, aren't I? Dammit. Thought this was all just rhetorically in my own mind, but now its out in the open for everyone to read. All out in the whole interwebz world! Stars coverage is over, guess I'll flip it over to ESPN and watch that fight hunger bowl. I wonder why we need to fight hunger...can't we just like cure it or something? I mean, is it really putting up much of a fight, or is it more or less fighting the causes of hunger, like distribution and disease and instability in the places where hunger exists...

MLK = Overrated

Sorry to see this thread sink to such a level when the point should be to look at the tragedy of what has happened and to hope and pray that those injured will survive and that the families of those slain will find some comfort. Idiots that do this sort of thing usually do not belong to any recognized main stream political party, and to make it out to be so is just not helpful or appropriate. What we should all be considering is what has led this great nation of ours to the point where our elected officials cannot openly and freely meet with the constituents without fear of some deranged idiot shotting up the place. I can all but guarantee you that this guy was known by someone to be loony and a danger to society, but nothing could be done or was done for some reason. One has to wonder what this will do to the ability of these elected representatives to meet in public with those they represent? I care not what party or what views this Congresswoman holds in this case, and it should not matter to any other person. We have six people dead including a federal judge and a nine year old little girl with her life fully in front of her and a congresswoman shot through the brain trying to hold on in the hospital. Let us all stop and pray or at least stop and think about how we as a great nation came to this! May God help and comfort all those who are suffering because of this tragic series of events.

Seriously? The dude was crazy and fixated on this woman. Maybe if you look hard enough, you can blame this on Pres. Bush, also. Oh, wait, he's out of office, let's move to Palin now (who really isn't worth the effort) Maybe we should quit referring to good three point shooters in basketball as sharp shooters. Makes about as much sense.

It is true... I was on campus at TSU yesterday and saw this crate being delivered to the Athletic Office. It could only mean one thing.

You give lots to this program, right? You travel to the games, right? If the answer is still yes to each of these questions, why would you post this? I assume you are joking and that your disgust for this program is at an all-time high, which is understandable, but you seem like this program has just beaten you down to a point where you can't see us even competing against the Sun Belt. I know that we need all the supportive fans we can find, but if I was as down as you seem about the program, I think I would just stop the heartbreak and find something else to support. If you are by some chance being serious, then the new stadium was the biggest waste of money in the history of the entire university.

Make that basketball game a three-on-three tournament and open it up to as many teams as possible. All proceeds go to the cheerleaders.

I can tell you that I think you can still "buy" an endowed scholarship through the UNT Foundation for $10,000. However, a fund could be set up for an annual use for much less. We do that with the proceeds from the GMG.Com Bowl each year...it goes to the Andrew Smith memorial; scholarship fund. OK, how about we set up a GMG.com basketball game like the football game and designate proceeds from that little event to the Cheer Squad? Might start slow and small but could develop over time? What do folks think? If so, sure, I'll help get it going. And, I'll try not to set it for the same date as graduation...I promise!

One thing that just dawned on me that might could help this situation is for more people to join the Mean green Club and for those that are members to think about increasing your donation amount a bit...even 10% or so. A 10% increase may not get one to the next level, but it is an increase in support. Why do I say that Mean green Club support could possibly help the Cheer Squad? Well, every dollar that goes to the Mean green Club supports scholarships for our athletes, and it is one less dollar the department needs to use from its budget to support scholarships. So, if Mean Green Club donation levels were to increase enough to cover athletic scholarships (as such donations do in many D-I programs across the country), then more support could be provided the Cheer Squad from the general athletic budget. Make sense? Just trying to find an easy way without having to set up a special fund to help the Cheer Squad out. What do you think? It would seem to be a "win-win" situation if enough funds were to flow in to the Mean green Club. Another idea might be to simply designate donations to the UNT Foundation or Athletic Dept. for use by the Cheer Squad. These young men and women do deserve support as they work very hard to help promote the university. GO MEAN GREEN!

Are the UNT Dancers in this same situation? I am finding this a bit hard to believe. I know for a fact that Cheer squad members at some other universities are awarded some scholarship monies and have full support from the university for what they do to help promote the university. These young men and women work extremely hard and are very talented. I need to give this some thought. How can we help? There are so very many areas that could use some support, and I am hopeful that our Alumni and fans will start looking for ways that they can provide some help and support in areas such as the very worthy cheer squad members. You folks are GREAT, and are very much appreciated for all you do. GO MEAN GREEN!

1) Coach Mac may be the first person in U.S. history to be on more than one bill denomination. 2) Ding! Ding! I think that you have a winner there. 3) I'm not sure that we can even route our shuttle busses through the new stadium parking lot. 4) It must be handsomist man since that word doesn't exist and handsome and most handsome don't seem to apply.

I gave permission for my phone number to be used on this forum... only because I did not have a login created to reply... but I went ahead and created one so there was no confusion. I have no problem blocking numbers or unwanted contact but if there is any need to contact me about information or questions regarding North Texas cheerleading, appearances or other similar topics... feel free to contact me. I am so glad my team mates and myself could be involved in such a great event for one of my past gymnastics students. Spending time with kids outside of the "North Texas athletic" scene and just being involved with families in the community is a perk of our job. *Ashley UNT cheer captain meangreencheer@gmail.com (972) 571-5997

I like Milk too.

Emmitt, I doubt that there are any racists on this board. If there were we couldn't be football fans. Maybe you just received the minuses because you put it on the football forum and it didn't relate to football OR they don't get MLK Day off OR they thought that he should have gotten rid of Ralph Abernathy OR they didn't have a dream. Whatever the reason, you'll get them back.

Since last Monday, we lost to MTSU. #8 Drexel went 1-2 with losses to Hofstra and VCU, win against Delaware #10 George Mason went 1-2, losses to Hofstra and Old Dominion, win against Delaware #11 Portland lost to Gonzaga #12 VCU went 2-1, loss to Georgia State and wins against Drexel and UNC Wilmington #13 Coastal Carolina went 2-0, beating Virginia Military and Liberty #14 Montana went 1-1 with a loss to Northern Colorado and a win against Sacramento State Only Coastal Carolina is really primed to make a jump, and we may actually stick around in the top 10.

First, let me point out how disappointing this thread is without pictures. Second, I totally agree, and it would be nice to see the AD leadership pick this up and so something to fix it.

As if everyone doesn't already know..... You've always come across as an apologist for the Throne.

Your point? I don't see Sarah Palin asking anyone to shoot the Congresswoman... Those are survey map symbols, not gunscope crosshairs. On the other hand, let's take a trip down memory lane of the Bush years...

From Port Arthur News Sports Editor Bob Wests Sunday column- " Lamar University, although it appears to be overloaded with quarterbacks, has set up a visit with former North Texas QB Riley Dodge. Todd Dodge’s son will be coming to Beaumont late this week, after making visits to three other Southland Conference schools — McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin. I don’t care how many quarterbacks the Cardinals have, getting this kid would be a coup. He’s a natural-born leader, he’s like a coach on the field and he’s a terrific talent . . . If things had unfolded differently, Todd Dodge might have beaten his son to Lamar. When LU’s current offensive coordinator Todd Whitten was in the running for the head coaching job at San Angleo State, LU head football coach Ray Woodard discussed the possibility he would have an opening with Todd. San Angelo State went another direction, so nothing materialized. Dodge, by the way, is mulling over two or three possibilities as a college quarterback coach. None of them involve the University of Texas, which is disappointing . ." I have a hard time believing that either Todd or Riley would be clamouring to get on board with Lamar.

Love it!!! Keep up the good work, NT Cheer! What a classy way to represent our University. Regarding your situation, lack of funds/coach - I'd like to hear more. More folks aware of where need is will be the best way to have some of that need possibly addressed! Thank you all for all that you do for us and our school!

Won NCA College National 95' 00' 02' 2nd in 03'

skim, 1%, 2%, or whole? Personally, I prefer 2%

You'd have better luck calling Eagle89 about that question actually.

and we get a day off because of him

too soon ?

Funny, I really don't "pop up" after all of your posts, but I find it funny that you get defensive as soon as I disagree with your post and point out your obsession with UT. What does my post have to do with NT's place in 1A? That's pretty comical and I would love for you to expand on this thought. Look, I liked Riley and especially like how he represented the program. I also respect his decision and his choice to transfer without uttering a bad word about North Texas. It would be nice to see the fans act in kind.

If I were a congressional republican, I'd be looking out for Robin Hood or Orion at any of my meet-and-greets. I was wondering why CBL had started growing an Errol Flynn moustache...

Democrats can be real hypocrites, can't they? They used very similar targets on a map, called Republican states "enemy lines," and specifically called candidates "targeted Republicans." http://www.verumserum.com/?p=13647 I fully expect all Democrats to join me in condemning such inflammatory rhetoric and irresponsible use of archery symbolism. Clearly the intent of these pictures is to incite violence against Republicans. (/sarcasm off)

No Riley fest here, just an informational post only. Next time if/when you see his name in the heading, don't open it up. Geeeeeesh!

I'll agree to stop the Dodge discussions about where they may end up, or as emmitt puts it, "the lovefest," if posters also agree to stop calling RD a spoiled brat, ertc..., and if you stop you constant envy laden posts of all things UT. There is so much difference in character between Riley Dodge and Vizza that your comparison is ridiculous.

Mac at I-State was really open to letting the OC run their offense. He was pretty hands off. That is one reason I wasn’t shocked he kept Canales. At I-State he had a hard time keeping offensive coordinators because they were getting hired away for more money, so he let the guys come in and do their thing with very little meddling from him. Some of our best offenses were pro-set style with a good running game and a solid (if not spectacular) QB. Wisconsin this year would be a pretty good example of what our best Iowa State offenses looked like. Expect to see Dunbar featured prominently… Mac is completely of the mindset that running the ball is a MUST… that said if what Canales wants to run works, Mac won’t meddle with it. At least he didn’t at Iowa State. We ran different offenses under 3 different coordinators, each distinctly different and working in different ways, all with success under Mac. If the guy’s offense puts points up, it’s good to go. Defensively, he is most certainly a bend but don’t break guy. I have heard him speak at camps and other engagements about various aspects of defense, and his main theme is… Don’t beat yourself… Make the other team beat you if they can. Basically, at the college level, a lot of things need to go right for a team to put a 16 play scoring drive together, so make them do just that. Sooner or later, more often than not, they will drop a pass, commit a penalty, turn the ball over, etc. The more snaps you make them take, the more chances there are for them to screw something up. If you give up 3 play, 32 second, 76 yard TD drives, obviously you aren’t making them work for it. There isn’t the opportunity for your defense to make a play because they are only on the field for 3 snaps. Against typical college competition, the offense will muff something more often than the defense will in a bend but don’t break system. This scheme has problems with the really elite teams that have the skill to put long drives together over and over, but the vast majority of college teams don’t have this. UNT won’t see any in the SBC and Iowa State only saw maybe 2 (if that) a year in the Big 12. Bend but don’t break defense gets frustrating to watch at times, but at the end of the game, only points on the board matter. It was always fun to hear Iowa fans brag about how they put up X number of yards on us and had Y number of first downs… they dominated the game… and yet, they still lost… they couldn’t understand it… five years in a row…

That does sound like a shame. Didn't our cheerleaders win a National competition @ 6 years ago or so?

It's always nice to read a story about a North Texas organization doing something great like this. It is sad that they are having to operate under such difficult circumstances. For years I have felt like our cheerleaders do not get enough attention. I hear about the dancers, but not much about the cheerleaders. Travis, Maybe you should pass this story on to the Denton Record Chronicle. The Denia person isn't the only one who can write a letter to the editor. Thanks for sharing.

I am sure that Coach Dodge wants to go watch his son play. And I am equally sure that it would be very weird for him to watch his son from the stands in Denton. Awkward times 50 good luck to the entire Dodge family, I appreciate everything that you did to clean up our program. Our APR score is back up, the off the field problems have been drastically reduced and we have a new stadium. Good luck in the future, i will be following your football careers (both dad and son)

Yeah, because teams in the BCS title game cant afford to lose out on recruiting time.

I find it hysterical you are accusing liberals and ONLY liberals of hate speech. This is another great example of a Right winger identifying a fault in his own party and flipping it to blame someone else. Dude, listen to 90% of talk radio and there is SO much hate speech from the right it's laughable.

And?? I guess "target" is the new polticially incorrect word. By the way, let's remove "bomb", "Blitz", and "running attack" from football. You know, because saying you are going to throw a bomb may incite someone in the crowd to actually throw a real bomb at the defense. Take sharpshooter out of basketball, because a fan may actually bring a marksman's rifle to the arena and take out the opposing shooting guard. Heaven forbid a guard knife into the lane. Fans may just knife the guard! So freaking stupid, you actually make Sarah Palin look like a brain surgeon, which takes a lot.

I thought about not doing it , but we weren't going to win either way. Plus it's been a slow day for BB so far

I would vote for no unless we can have a ballpark at least on the level of Lupton at TCU ($7 million) or preferably Baylor Ballpark ($9 million). If we're talking about 'acting like a big time program', that doesn't involve putting up a small time venue and being at a disadvantage from day one.