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Fine. Maybe we should invite them as a Cheerleading only member.

Talk about a lack of facilities. The cheerleaders have to dress in the cafeteria...

Didn't you read the Bleacher Report article???

Let all of CUSA, specifically those of us in Texas look at it this way: With 4 CUSA schools in Texas we significantly better ourselves to get more media coverage because 4 beats 1. And can we of UNT ever forget how "1" was the loneliest number we'd ever seen as in......North Texas was the "ONLY" SBC school from Texas. Last count, CUSA will have twice as many Texas-based schools in the Lone Star State than the other 2 schools from Texas who are going to the Big East. With 4 CUSA Texas schools I think would continue to give CUSA Commish' Banowsky a better position in which to bargain locally and state-wide, and toward the top of the bargaining list TV execs who would advertise with CUSA and that would also help with all the non-Texas schools, too. GMG!.

In about 3 hours.

...even as recently as the brisket sandwich after eating that followed the flag football game a couple of weeks ago. UTSA cannot be poo-pooed. They hired a real coach. They play in a giant stadium. And, as boring as San Antonio may be to those of us who have been there dozens of times in our lives, it's not boring to dipsh*ts who live outside of Texas. We need less poo-poo and more umph! UTSA, as these Roadrunner cheerleaders show, is giving more umph than poo-poo to their program. Wake up!

I just joined this board with the hiring of Tony Benford and I really don't understand why any UNT supporter would care what Larry Brown does. There are two seperate topics devoted to Brown and SMU. Well, who cares !

I'm sure they're transferring to UT after two years. Just like everyone else does at UTSA. It seriously is a glorified community college

TSU-SM was counting on being in CUSA with North Texas because it would have warp speeded them to the same level that it has taken us more than half a century to get to with some of the crowd we have wanted to be part of since the days we applied for Southwest Conference membership, circa 1975. TSU-SM I fear will be the new North Texas trying to get into a league where they are (presently) unwanted and if anyone knows how that feels it is those of us from the University of North Texas. I'm sorry for TSU-SM, but this a a torch that we of UNT will gladly pass onto them to hold onto for probably what will be a long time. In an indirect way, this CUSA invite will ultimately help North Texas get closer to our Tier 1 research university status and ranking because of increased interest among our donors in the state of Texas and to an extent because of these 2: (1) Potential donors will get to see more of our product state-wide thus creating more interest in our school from alums who've been long dormant (2) Potential donors will be impressed with the schools we will now have coming into Apogee Stadium. No disrespect to UL-Monroe, but a North Texas vs Tulane matchup will do more for our school than a North Texas vs ULM matchup could ever do. GMG!

What's sad is that Texas St would have more business being in CUSA over UTSA

Meh. Even this does nothing to elevate the perception of UTSA.

My point is Texas State gives an entitlement vibe from comments by their posters. They've been pretty average at best in FCS and I don't care how much of a world beater you are in the FCS level but when you transition to FBS you will have a rude awakening and Tx State will surely have one as well especially since they weren't really good in FCS anyways. Those people DID move up and will have a place in FBS and some of them have said they've taken a step back by going to the SBC. Let them take their lumps in the SBC and I'll see what they say after that when they realize it ain't easy.

Now, looky here, it case you are not already conviced of the NMSU goodness: Right there on their campus is The Chile Pepper Institute. How many other campuses in North America can you say that about? Zero. The answer is, zero. How can you be from Texas and not appreciate the main ingredient in everything from our breakfast cereals to dessert? And, right there at NMSU, they are studying ways to make the chile peppers more spicy, tasty, bold, and enticing. Harvest that chile pepper, mamacita, harvest like the wind!

It's not about UNT going down to San Antonio to recruit players and vice versa. It's about prestige in the eyes of the recruits. Current State: UNT's prestige in the SBC is greater than UTSA in FCS (or wherever they are?) This past offseason, UNT was recruiting against the following Texas schools: UT - Obviously, when they offer a guy UNT is after, we lose. A&M - See UT Tech - Being in lubbock would be the only reason a recruit would shy away from this big 12 school. Otherwise, see UT. TCU - consistently winning and going to big bowls. UNT no longer directly competes with TCU. Now they are in the big 12, so look for them to steal a ton of Tech's recruits. When they want a guy UNT is after: see UT. Then there is a drop off and you get to the schools that UNT directly competes with: Houston - As weak as the Big East is currently, it's still the Big East. This puts them on a different level than UNT in the eyes of recruits and their parents. Look for More Keenan Flax scenarios (even though he didn't pan out) with Houston. SMU - See Houston, except they are pretty much our main competitor at the moment. Again, being in the Big East, look for more Chase Walling scenarios. UTEP - Here's where we should see improvement. Now we are on the same level as the Miners. Say goodbye to the Javia Hall scenarios! UNT should be more desirable than UTEP to most of our recruits now (unless they're from far West Texas). Rice - Same level. With our facilities, we should be able to get any recruit we want away from them, unless they want to go to school for academics, or they're from the Houston area and want to stay close to home. Then there was a significant drop off to the non-BCS schools. All of which UNT should beat out for recruits. TX St. - Now moving up to FBS and the Sun Belt. They will be a stronger competitor, but they'll still be perceived as slightly lower than UNT... unless Fran gets them winning consistently. Then it would be very possible for UNT to start losing recruits to the cats. UTSA - Previously, there was no reason a student would willingly chose UTSA over UNT unless it was for guaranteed playing time, or they are from SA or South Texas and wanted to stay closer to home. Now that they are in the SAME CONFERENCE as UNT, they INSTANTLY become a peer institution and like all of you dreamers are citing over and over, San Antonio is such a cool city! Why wouldn't a recruit want to go there? Not just the ones from S.A. or South Texas anymore, we're talking from all over the state! SFA,SHSU,etc... - They're still FCS, so any recruit we want (as long as we're not competing with other FBS schools) we should be able to pry away. All of you guys saying that "If UNT takes care of business, then it wont matter..." need to understand that these other schools are going to be trying to take care of business as well.

Lots of emotion over there. They are about to feel like what UNT has felt like being the odd program out at least for awhile. Further neither UTSA nor TSU realizes just how hard they are going to get beat down in the early going. The Bobcats can plan on getting shallacked by Troy, drilled by an angry MTSU, crushed by Arkie State and thumped by Louisiana Monroe! Throw in the drubbing by ULL and they will quickly realize that they need to set their sights on competing in the Belt and then going bowling in the Belt. UTSA is going to be a delicious treat for all of us long timers who have paid our football dues. The ugly bird is going down hard and often in the coming years. GMG

I guess I don't get some of the logic on here, but I, like many others, am not an expert. How is playing in conference with UTSA more of an opportunity for them to recruit in DFW than it is for us to recruit in San Antonio? Especially if we have them on facilities and talent, as so many have voiced. Seems like if we consistently take care of business to the south on 35, advantage UNT.

LaTech or Tulsa will be our rival. It's pretty obvious that UTEP and UTSA will be each others chief rival. ...and yeah, this is still better than 'Sun Belt 2.0' where we have exactly zero rivals after 10 years of play.

I would like to see some opinions on this. Sure, he has been better than what we have had but we are no longer a new program. The softball field was needed but my guess it is the most "needy" of our otherwise great facilities. It seems being in a position to win championships is the new standard around here and the softball squad is fighting for a .500 record this year. I don't think this guy is safe.

Now, that is some longe range planning! Screw the 5-yr plan!

Seems to not be much that makes that eastern CUSA group happy at any time, too. GMG!

First...Rawlins was instrumental in setting up conf USA in the first place...Im sure he knows what he is doing.....I bet heis instrumental this time around also...playing a bigger roll than most would expect. I think UNT is keeping options open as long as possible...USA vs MWC...probably calling friends and making an assessment as to Boise State...AQ situation..? as to if smu and/or UofH , et al will want to return to confUSA...TV deals, etc. I have COMPLETE confidence in Rawlins directing us into the best possible situation...this is an area where he has expertise...and who knows, maybe there is a bigger fish he is trying to reel in, since the AQ thing is going away....but I look for UNT to announce conf USA shortly...but who knows!!...it will be good anyway you cut it!

And, here's another thing...Miss New Mexico USA 2011 is a NMSU grad: Are you prejudiced against bleach-blonde latinas or some thing, huerco?

Very excite. Today is a good day for all Americans.

The other thing to remember is that there is enough Division 1 talent in Texas alone to elevate all (now) 12 Texas schools to Top 25 status, year in and year out. A ton of these recruits just end up in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana et al. So take care of business. There's plenty of Texas talent to go around; they just haven't always had a reason to stay.

Ya, he's a peach. I had a PM conversation one time to figure out why his grapes are so sour. I don't really understand it. He's bounced around to 3-4 different universities in Texas, UNT being one of them. If you're bouncing around that much, maybe you need to look into the mirror. He's obsessed with university academics on athletic sports boards. I believe he posts as GL2Greatness on GMG.

How on earth did they come to that conclusion?

Coach TJ is a good and very positive, high integrity guy. He started very young, and is in his fifth season. He has set a base foundation that provides higher pre-season expectations and results that are better than his predecessor. Hopefully, he can build off that as he moves forward. The team has a nice facility and it appears Coach provides an atmosphere that the ladies enjoy being a part of. It is interesting to talk to some of the parents. I learned that the best pitchers generally are committed to programs by their 9th grade season. My hope for the program is that we establish a more prominent presence locally, drawing more recruits from the great Metroplex programs, and that we expand the fan base to provide a more rowdy home field advantage. GMG

How much greater it would be if we were the ones to cast the nay vote to let them back in.

Is it me or is the one guy on their board obsessed with "North Texas State" and everything but athletics? It seems to me he suffers from a type of phallic envy. Bed space, tier 1, student body size, ect... Wow. I'm not a douche so I won't refer to them as Southwest Texas State University nor would I throw salt on the wounds they obviously have for not getting what they wanted. Don't they realize our fans don't really pay attention to them and will continue to not pay attention to them because we won't be playing them? Freakin haters and sore losers. They ought to be thankful the Sunbelt might want them because some other D1 schools that have been D1 won't be so lucky. Entitlement junkies.

I don't get why they don't do it similar to how they do NCAA basketball. Win your conference and your into the playoffs, and still have at large bids to make it a 16 team playoff. Each game can be a different "bowl". how hard is that?

Not saying you're wrong, GrandGreen, but is there a link to prove that TSU-San Marcos has passed us academically? Anyone know how TSU-San Marocs graduate school programs ranks with North Texas? GMG!

I find it very amusing.

I think this is a mistake by CUSA. Sure, on the surface it looks like UTSA brings fans, but visual evidence disagrees. The next question is how well they will travel. There is no real way to know that. My guess is that they will not bring many to Apogee. This dilutes the conference strength that was already damaged by the teams leaving. They are just gambling that UTSA is the second coming of USF.

they don't see to happy with thier AD, Prez, or the Sunbelt. I think the sunbelt is a great starting point and thier is no reason they can't grow. Thier board may be more negative than ours. A feat that is not easily done.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/18895649/smu-hires-brown-to-win-for-attention-but-not-the-right-kind

Serious question--is that within NCAA regs?

Well, if the MTSU prez let C-USA know right off the bat they were not interested, of course an invite never came.

As a refresher, who committed and never showed up?

Keep it neutral or keep it rotating

Good question, overall the team has made progress albeit slow. One thing that is a little puzzling to me, I know last year there were a bunch of players that committed and/or signed that apparently never joined the team. I wonder what happened. He has a bunch of commits or signees for next year it will be interested to see what occurs. I also wonder why there are so few metroplex players on the team. He is also rare in that he was not hired as hc from the outside, not a knock but unique at NT. I doubt he is any trouble, but I would like for the team to advance past a .500 club. We have to wait and see how track develops, but if you look at the rest of the so called non-revenue teams softball is trailing volleyball, swimming, soccer, tennis and both golf teams.

No. Every school uses that same practice facility

I know he has improved the hell out of the team. It was a complete train wreck when he took over. But is fighting for a .500 record the last week of the season going to keep him safe?

they finished with their best conference record ever...he's improved the hell out of the team and they keep improving.

Although I'm not exactly thrilled about jumping into bed with UTSA, this would obviously be much better than continuing to tread water in the SBC. Instead of being one FULL step behind the Texas schools that are heading to the Big East, we now (hopefully) will just be a half step behind. Nice stepping stone, and nice regional teams that most will recognize. I suspect that the influence of "UT" in UTSA's name is helping them out with this undeserved opportunity, because a few extra TV sets coming out of SA shouldn't be providing CUSA with enough added value to vault UTSA past a more deserving TSUSM.

I think that all those schools who will apparently join us in this expansion know they are behind North Texas in the facilities arms race, but we don't need to go into a 15 year funk of not improving or adding to what we have. Seems an indoor practice facility would be toward the top of the list of our next project and of course, a men's varsity baseball stadium which I think will happen sooner than later. North Texas officials need to also work on a viable plan of gettting 31,000 fans out for each game out of a metro population center of almost 7,000,000 citizens and hire the right additional ancillary staff who can and will make this happen. Our UNT constituency coupled with the the DFW Metroplex population numbers should make this more than do-able. GMG!

I buy season tickets based on when North Texas is playing. Not WHO North Texas is playing. To do otherwise would make me less of a North Texas fan. GO MEAN GREEN

The Alliance is like a dream for us travel-wise with division rivals Tulsa, Rice, UTSA, and La Tech each within four hours, and the Tulane game in New Orleans every other year is also very enticing. It's not too early for campus organizations and residence halls to start discussing bus trips to these games. You'd think every campus Greek organization would be excited about about party weekends in New Orleans and San Antonio.

Perhaps if we had been playing our football games at Texas Stadium we would have got in last time. That is what UTSA is right now, except their facilities for other sports are worse that ours used to be. And we were coming off four straight conference championships. They are coming off a win against the Bacon College Baconeaters with a stadium full of KFC fans.

It's like busting your ass for years to get that big executive promotion. The day finally comes, only you find out some 19-year-old intern was just named VP as well.

Playing Las Vegas Community College would be a fun road trip, too. But it would do nothing to enhance the perception of the conference. Sorry guys, I don't mean to poo-poo on this but I think this is a BAD strategic decision on the part of CUSA.