Harry

He doesn't share his tailgate beers either.

Cheaters never win.

Really hope we can land Hodge. Will depend on whether or not ASU offers him HC it appears.

Lol!!

Luxury suites generate more dollars for the program so that needs to happen. When you factor in the aged electronics and other building issues it may be better to build a new one over at Eagle Point.

This is very cool.

No I agree it looks much better. The external lighting is what needs a facelift. It is dark and not very inviting. I have more extermal issues with that Pit than inside.

My take is the newer arena stands are more vertical with better visuals and louder. Super Pit as a facility is not bad. It's just the lighting and external look that bug me. The biggest thing is it has to be shared with University. It does need to happen but after indoor practice facility and other things more pressing.

The college sports-television industrial complex is at a crossroads. It seems like everyone involved is dealing with one crisis or another. The SEC, Big Ten and (soon) the ACC have or will have their own private fortunes through television networks, but traded a portion of their souls to get there. The Pac-12 has its own network, but no fortune. The Big 12 has a host of issues, stemming from its lack of a network. ESPN and Fox are losing subscribers by the bundle, threatening to bring the entire system down with them. On the other end of FBS, the MAC has submitted itself fully to the whims of television, releasing a schedule earlier this month that calls for zero Saturday games in November. The Mountain West has also handed carte blanche to the television networks in exchange for a pile of cash, and is now wondering if the trade was worth it. As detailed by the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Mountain West is fresh off a conference tournament that saw the second of its two semifinals scheduled for a 9:30 p.m. Pacific time tip off (which resulted in a 9:52 actual tip time)… and its championship game tip at 3 p.m. the following day. “I’ve had several people, at least three people today, text me and say, ‘Is it really 9:30? I just looked at the schedule,’” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson told the paper “I had to say, ‘Yeah, it’s really 9:30.’ It’s brutal.” read more: http://footballscoop.com/news/mountain-west-leave-tv-online-only/

Music to my ears!

starting shortly....LIVE VIDEO LINK IS: http://CUSATV.COM/NORTHTEXAS

What are the odds the Texas job comes open for her? Yes the timing on that was tough.

The difference between this hire and Coach Pete is age. We were a retirement nest egg for Pete. Mac stung us as well. Coaching has become a younger man's profession. Ark state to their credit has a simple model in hiring young up and coming coaches. It appears we are following suit.

Guys @Arkstfan is a very close and long time friend of this site. He needs to be treated with respect. Please stand down on your comments. GMG

A-State had a 400K 5-year guaranteed deal on his desk. UNT landed him with a 5-year $600K guaranteed deal if you include the $500K buy-out. In total a $3.5 million dollar contract. This deal placed UNT at the #2 spot in all of C-USA in head coach basketball salaries. So, without a doubt, if you look at where our compensation is now, in the three main sports, there is no question that we are at the top of C-USA. What I am interested to learn is what the buy-out is on the new UNT contract.

Dear Mean Green Family, I am writing today to inform you that we have found the next head coach for your Mean Green men’s basketball program. It is with great excitement that I announce that Coach Grant McCasland will be the 18th Head Men’s Basketball Coach in our history. As you are a loyal supporter of the program, I wanted to share this information with you first. Coach McCasland is an 18-year coaching veteran and arrives at North Texas after leading Arkansas State to a 20-win season for only the fourth time in ASU history. McCasland’s career winning percentage is an eye-popping 80 percent. The 20-12 record during his inaugural season at ASU is a 10-win improvement, which is the second-best turnaround in NCAA Division I basketball this year. The press release with more information on Coach McCasland is available on MeanGreenSports.com. We would love for you to join us next week on Tuesday, March 21st at noon in The Union as we welcome Coach to campus. Let’s give Coach McCasland and his family a warm welcome to the Mean Green family. The future of North Texas Basketball is bright. Please share this great news with all basketball fans across the region. Together, we will light the tower and work relentlessly to bring men’s basketball championships back to UNT. Thank you as always for your continued support. North Texas We Love, Vice President & Director of Athletics

Hodge is McCasland's main assistant at Ark St. He is from Dallas. Here is his info: http://www.astateredwolves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=35067&SPID=2746&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=7200&ATCLID=210884922&Q_SEASON=2016 Ross Hodge Bio Courtesy: ArkansasState Release: 04/12/2016 Ross Hodge is in his first season as Associate Head Coach on coach Grant McCasland's staff at Arkansas State. Hodge, named the No. 6 recruiter in an ESPN.com top-10 list of recruiters outside the high resource conferences, joined the A-State coaching staff after four seasons with head coach Larry Eustachy at Colorado State. Hodge, labeled as the No. 14 recruiter in a CoachStat.net top-25 list of coaches outside of the high resource conferences, served as the lead recruiter at Colorado State and helped the Rams to an 87-48 record over his four-year stint. During his time at Colorado State, the Rams advanced to postseason play twice, including the NCAA Tournament in 2013. This past season, the Rams posted an 18-16 record and completed a four-year stretch with 87 wins, the most in program history. Colorado State has led the Mountain West in scoring each of the past two seasons, ranking 36th nationally in 2015-16 averaging 79.4 points. The Rams posted a program-best 27-7 record in 2014-15, ending the year in the NIT for the fifth postseason appearance in six seasons. Colorado State, which was ranked in top-25 polls for the second time in three seasons, opened the season with the program-best 14-0 mark. Coming off a third round appearance in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, Colorado State posted a 16-16 record in the 2013-14 campaign. Hodge was named a top-five assistant coach in the Mountain West conference by Next Up Recruits in 2013. The Rams went 26-9 in 2012-13 bowing out in the third round of the NCAA Tournament to eventual champion Louisville. The Rams led the nation in rebound margin (+11.9) and ranked 31st in scoring margin (+9.3) and Colorado State entered the national polls for the first time since the 1954. Hodge, a Dallas native, joined the Division I coaching ranks when he was hired by Eustachy as an assistant coach at Southern Miss prior to the 2011-12 season. The Golden Eagles posted a 25-9 record and finished second with an 11-5 mark in Conference USA. Southern Miss received an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament and was paired against Kansas State in the No. 8 versus No. 9 seed matchup. Before joining Eustachy at Southern Miss, Hodge compiled a record of 146-24 in head coaching stints at Midland Junior College (2009-11) and Paris Junior College (2006-09). In his two-year stint with Midland College, Hodge guided the Chaps’ to an impressive 63-7 (.900) record. Hodge saw his 2010-11 squad post a 33-4 record while winning the Western Junior College Athletics Conference Title, the Region V Tournament championship and advance to the NJCAA Championship game. In his first season (2009-10), following McCasland’s departure to Midwestern State, Hodge led Midland College to their best start in program history (26-0) before ending the season in the Region V Tournament title game with a record of 30-3 and the nation’s No. 1 ranking. Hodge coached for four years at Paris Junior College, the last three as head coach. In those three seasons, Hodge led the Dragons to an 83-17 (.830) record. The Dragons won two Texas Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season championships and in 2006-07 he was named the Conference Coach of the Year. The following season, Hodge earned Region 14 Coach of the Year honors after his team won the Region 14 Tournament and finished eighth in the NJCAA Tournament. Between 2003 and 2005 Hodge served as the assistant men's basketball coach at Texas A&M University-Commerce, where he helped the Lions to the 2004-05 Lone Star Conference Championship, and a spot in the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen. Hodge was a two-year starter at Paris Junior College, where he won the Bobby Walters Leadership Award in 2001. He finished his playing career at Texas A&M-Commerce, where he was honored with the Terry Allen Award for leadership and positive representation on and off the court in 2003. Hodge, a native of Dallas, Texas, and his wife, Shelly, have a daughter, Emery, and a son, Reed.

Bio: http://www.astateredwolves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7200&ATCLID=210811791 Grant McCasland Bio Courtesy: ArkansasState Release: 03/17/2016 Grant McCasland was named the 15th head coach in Arkansas State's history on March 16, 2016. A 17-year coaching veteran, McCasland holds a 199-44 (.819) record as a head coach at the junior college and NCAA Division II levels. THE McCASLAND FILE GRANT McCASLAND College Baylor, 1999 (B.S.) Texas Tech, 2001 (M.S.) Family Wife: Cece Children: Amaris, Jett, Jersey, Beckett COACHING EXPERIENCE Year School, Position 1999-01 Texas Tech, Director of Operations 2001-03 Northeastern JC, Assistant Coach 2004-09 Midland College, Head Coach 2009-11 Midwestern State, Head Coach 2011-16 Baylor, Assistant Coach 2016-present Arkansas State, Head Coach POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE 2004-05 NJCAA Elite Eight (Midland) 2005-06 NJCAA Region 5 Final (Midland) 2006-07 NJCAA, National Champions (Midland) 2007-08 NJCAA Region 5 Semifinals (Midland) 2008-09 NJCAA, finals (Midland) 2009-10 NCAA Division II, Elite Eight (MSU) 2010-11 NCAA Division II, Elite Eight (MSU) 2011-12 NCAA, Elite Eight (Baylor) 2012-13 NIT, champions (Baylor) 2013-14 NCAA, Sweet 16 (Baylor) 2014-15 NCAA, First Round (Baylor) 2015-16 NCAA, First Round (Baylor) McCasland spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach at Baylor, helping lead the Bears to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Prior to Baylor, he spent two seasons as the head coach at Midwestern State and led the program to back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. McCasland also has head coaching experience at the junior college level, leading Midland College to the 2007 NJCAA national championship. Working on head coach Scott Drew’s staff at Baylor, McCasland has helped the Bears average 26 wins per year, posting a 125-55 record, including a 10-3 postseason mark. The Irving, Texas native helped Baylor rise to national prominence with five 20-win seasons, five postseason appearances, the Big 12’s first NIT championship and Baylor’s first postseason tournament title in its 107-year history. In his final season at Baylor he helped lead the club to a program best third straight NCAA Tournament apperance. The Bears posted a 22-11 mark this season, playing 18 games against teams that are in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. During the 2014-15 season the Bears went 24-10 and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, tying the best seed in program history and recorded the program’s first-ever back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. It was the program’s seventh 20-win season in the previous eight years, accounting for all but three of the 20-win seasons in school history. A school-record seven of Baylor’s 24 wins came against top-25 ranked teams during the 2014-15 campaign. Baylor became one of just 12 teams nationally to reach three Sweet 16s in a five-year span (2010-14) with a late seasons surge that saw the Bears reach the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The Bears advanced to the Big 12 Championship title game and posted 26 wins in the 2013-14 season. The 2012-13 season saw Baylor become the first Big 12 team to claim a NIT title. The Bears won five straight that culminated with a 20-point win over Iowa in the championship game. In his first season with the Bears (2011-12), McCasland helped the squad to a school-record 30 wins and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament South Region Final, the second in three seasons. Baylor was ranked throughout the season, a first in program history, reaching as high as No. 3 in the polls while not falling below 14th. Before his five-year stint at Baylor, McCasland spent two seasons as head coach at Midwestern State (Texas), posting a combined 56-12 mark. In the 2010-11 season, McCasland, the Lone Star Conference (LSC) South Division and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) South Region Coach of the Year, saw his Mustangs finish 25-9, win the NCAA Division II South Central Region title and reach the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The Mustangs were knocked out of the national tournament with a 70-64 loss to eventual champion Bellarmine. The previous season (2009-10) saw Midwestern State earn the LSC South Division title, the LSC Tournament championship, the NCAA Division II South Central Region championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Prior to his tenure at Midwestern State, McCasland spent five successful seasons as the head coach at Midland (Texas) College, taking the reins of the program prior to the 2004-05 campaign. It didn’t take long to see the impact he made on the program as his first season as the head coach resulted in the Region V championship and trip to the NJCAA Elite Eight. In the 2006-07 season, the Chaps finished 29-8 and won the national championship. In his final season in Midland (2008-09), the Chaps finished 33-4 and lost in the national championship game and McCasland ended his time at Midwestern State with a record of 143-32 while earning district, region and national coach of the year honors. Preceding his time at Midland College, McCasland was the assistant coach at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo., for two seasons (2001-02 and 2002-03). He began his coaching career in Lubbock, Texas, where he served as the Director of Basketball Operations on James Dickey’s staff at Texas Tech in the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons. A three-year letterman and four-year player for head coach Harry Miller at Baylor, McCasland earned Academic All-Big 12 honorable mention honors in his senior campaign of 1998-99. He graduated from Baylor in 1999 with a degree in entrepreneurship and management and received his master’s degree from Texas Tech in 2001. Grant and his wife, Cece, have four children: daughters Amaris and Jersey and sons Jett and Beckett. What they are saying: Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew "Coach McCasland is a proven winner. He has won wherever he's been, and I know he will have the same success at Arkansas State. In addition to being a home run hire on the court, Coach Mac is a great man and a great leader, and he will be a major asset on the campus and in the community. He will truly be missed at Baylor." James Dickey, Former Texas Tech head coach and current Oklahoma State assistant coach “You ought to be ecstatic. He is a wonderful young man. I’m an old Arkansas guy and I know they love basketball in Northeast Arkansas. He will represent Arkansas State and make you all very proud. He is a quality young man with an infectious personality. I’d coached against him when he was a player, and I had watched him work my camp and observed how he conducted himself. I jumped at the chance to hire him to be a part of my team at Texas Tech. He has the whole package – a strong recruiter, great X’s and O’s, and he’ll be a community member. Grant and his family will be great representatives of and ambassadors for A-State basketball, the athletic department, the university, the city of Jonesboro and all of Northeast Arkansas.” A-State Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir “Grant McCasland has proven himself as an outstanding coach and recruiter, winning on many levels. He is coming from a program that carried out one of the nation’s biggest turnarounds and then sustained its success. We have high expectations for our men’s basketball program, and we believe Coach McCasland has the skills, drive and determination to build a consistent championship-caliber program here at Arkansas State.” Arkansas State System President Dr. Chuck Welch “I knew within minutes of meeting Coach McCasland that he was the right person to lead our men’s basketball program. He has been a big-time winner at every level, and his energy, enthusiasm, and intensity are infectious. Our fans are going to love him and his family, and I have absolutely no doubt that he will elevate our program the right way and bring winning basketball to the Convo immediately.”

Great find @TheReal_jayD! Great hire! Surprised they kicked in the $500K buy-out but things are a changin at North Texas these days. Excited about basketball again!

That's what I was thinking -- signing period could benefit us to the detriment of another program.