Harry

FAST FORWARD 10+ years...... With Wren Baker running the helm at AD, Seth Littrell taking us to a bowl game, it sure seems like we have come quite a long way from where we were back a decade ago. Instead of wanting to beat the 4th place team in C-USA in a bowl -- we are now in C-USA and playing bowl games against ARMY. Facilities have improved for sure yet we still seem to require more for success. Recruiting not so much but it is still early to tell. Interesting that there remains the common theme of high expectations. Will it ever end? STAY TUNED as we will revisit this subject again in a decade from now. GMG!

I tend to think there will be a second tier conference behind AAC comprised of the next level of AD budgets... regionality will play a part but the primary will be what is your overall commitment financially (facilities, academic support, attendance etc). The days of having schools who just don't have the budget or ability to compete at a higher level will be over. The ULM's -- who essentially game the system, will have to drop down to FCS. The only interesting component of it to me is how attendance can offset financial challenges. UTSA comes to mind. As a satellite of the UT system, they are always going to have budget issues yet their location and their fan support put them in a unique place when C-USA expanded. C-USA's last remake was built around TV markets. This time around it will be based on budgets in my opinion. To give you an idea, look at this dated (last year) listing of the AAC football coaching staffs: Houston - Tom Herman, $3M/yr ($45M; $25M subsidy) SMU - Chad Morris, $2.6M/yr ($55M; $13M subsidy) Temple - Matt Rhule, $2.5M/yr ($39.8M; $10M subsidy) Cincinnati - Tommy Tuberville, $2.4M/yr ($51.7M; $23M subsidy) Navy - Ken Niumatalolo, $2.25M/yr (N/A; N/A) UCF - Scott Frost, $2M/yr ($47.6M; $24.7M subsidy) UConn - Bob Diaco, $1.7M/yr ($72M; $28M subsidy) USF - Willie Taggart, $1.6M/yr ($47M; $21M subsidy) Tulane - Willie Fritz, $1.5M/yr ($41M; $15.6M subsidy) ECU - Scottie Montgomery, $1.25M/yr ($49M; $18M subsidy) Memphis - Mike Norvell, $1.25M/yr ($43M; $18M subsidy) Tulsa - Phil Montgomery, 800K ($40M; $5.5M subsidy) What jumps out to me is their LAST place coach is paid more than ours. So it truly is not even close. Those who do their budgets to stay in the middle and "get by" will be passed by. Those who think outside of the box and look to build through coaching and facilities will move up. EDIT: I forgot to mention SUBSIDIES -- very important factor. Schools that are running their entire AD off of student fees etc are less desirable in the new world order. This link explains it -- look at Georgia State: http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/4/19/11451554/Sun-Belt-Athletic-Budget-2015-Arkansas-State-Georgia-Southern-Appalachian-State

More details on Marshall's indoor facility: http://www.herdzone.com/facilities/chris-cline.html

Apogee was a great facility win for UNT. However, people forget that the athletic center and Apogee etc were in reality us "catching -up" with our peers after years of neglect. I stated when Apogee was finalized my fear was it would allow us to fall into a false sense of "athletic facility security". The other issue that works against UNT is our geography. We love to tout that we are in a hotbed of recruiting yet, the fact is many high school powerhouses that have indoor practice facilities and enhanced stadiums etc. So, when you live in a neighborhood that drives luxury suvs its kind of hard to sell less.

LINK to UNT BOR Agenda: https://www.untsystem.edu/sites/default/files/BoR-meetings/02.23-24.17_agenda_final.pdf LINK to previous and future BOR agendas and minutes: https://www.untsystem.edu/leadership/board-regents/upcoming-meeting Government Code, Chapter 551, Section .074 - Personnel Matters Relating to Appointment, Employment, Evaluation, Assignment, Discipline, or Dismissal of Officers or Employees Consideration of individual personnel matters related to the appointment,employment, evaluation, reassignment, discipline and dismissal of System and Institution officers or employees  Consideration of individual personnel matters related to the evaluation of and employment agreement with the UNT Dallas President,and possible action  Consideration of individual personnel matters related to the employment agreement with the UNT Head Football Coach, and possible action  Consideration of individual personnel matters related to the evaluation of and employment agreement with the UNT System Chief Audit Executive, and possible action

Proud of these ladies!

Would take him in a big way. Excited to see who else comes available.

Nice win for both teams. Any time you beat nUTSAck twice in a day is a good day. GMG

I agree with you, and in it is obscene. The kryptonite to the argument is why can some schools with lessor resources that UNT, like Western Kentucky, UTSA or Ark State etc seem to patch together more success? SMU has paid a ton to Chad Morris and his staff and in return they have maintained a fair amount of stability since Jones left. It seems like from the recruiting it is paying off. What I think we can all agree on is that it is a very complicated formula with many variables to field a successful FBS G5 football program. I seriously doubt that Littrell factored in when he took the job that half his staff would be poached in the first year. Sugarcoat it all day long but that's a tough blow to a coach trying to develop a winning culture. Perhaps this is a movement to show our support and desire for him to stay awhile longer and provide stability.

Would love to think we were just being proactive here -- but not historically our way of doing things.

Makes you wonder if someone wasn't sniffing around on Littrell. Clearly his stagf was decimated. A feather in his cap, perhaps but I would love to see them up his assistant pool to keep some semblance of continuity.

slow sports day

Lol

Sources told the Express-News that Romo’s chief of staff, Sonia Martinez, may have been involved somehow, and while emails to Martinez bounced back, the university wouldn’t confirm whether she, too, was put on leave.

Plenty said about why not North Texas... how about why? Sounds to me that we need a gambler. I do not dispute any of Tasty's good info, especially the part that the money deal has changed since when we hired Johnny. That said, we still have the carrot that just 5 years ago our coach was able to parlay his time here into a SEC gig at LSU... that is no small feat.. SMU and TCU can't boast that. We need a coach looking for a big payoff opportunity. Come here and win and you could get a fast track to a high profile gig. I also think location is a big plus. We have so much talent around DFW. Combs wanted to stay close to home, I expect there will be others. Not to mention the bounce back players like T-Mitch who you may be able to land. Everyone talks about how why Scott Cross would leave UTA. My question is, if he is such a valued commodity why would he not get another opportunity already? I think if Cross was offered this job (and more money/budget) he would still take it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 16, 2017 Contact: Jordan Stepp jordan.stepp@unt.edu/940-369-8329 FOOTBALL Littrell Adds Jeff Koonz as Linebackers Coach Koonz Joins North Texas After Spending 2014-16 at Cincinnati DENTON – North Texas head football coach Seth Littrell announced Thursday that former Cincinnati co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Jeff Koonz has been named the Mean Green’s linebackers coach. “We are extremely excited to welcome Jeff to our staff,” Littrell said. “He is a young, energetic coach with a lot of quality experience at Cincinnati, around the Big 12, and in Conference USA as well from his time at Louisiana Tech. He is an excellent teacher and we look forward to immediately hitting the ground running with him this spring. Jeff comes very highly recommended from two coaches I have a great deal of respect for in Sonny Dykes and Gene Chizik.” Koonz spent the last three years at the University of Cincinnati and was elevated to his most recent role of co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach prior to the 2016 season under former head coach Tommy Tuberville. He coached safeties in 2014, his first year with the Bearcats, and linebackers in 2015. In 2015, Koonz mentored second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection Eric Wilson and freshman standout Bryce Jenkinson, who finished first (106) and third (59) on the team in tackles, respectively. Cincinnati finished its 2014 campaign with a 9-4 record, an American Athletic Conference Championship and a matchup against Virginia Tech in the 2014 Military Bowl. Prior to Cincinnati, Koonz spent four seasons at Louisiana Tech. During the 2013 campaign, Tech’s first as a member of Conference USA, Koonz directed a revamped linebacking corp, which was led by Conference USA honorable mention player Daniel Cobb, who finished the season with 82 total tackles. In 2011, Tech’s starting linebackers Adrien Cole and Jay Dudley accounted for 230 total tackles - 65 percent of Tech’s tackles for the season. Cole led the team with 128 tackles and 13 tackles for a loss as he was named first-team All-Western Athletic Conference and the WAC Defensive Player of the Year. Dudley was responsible for 102 tackles, eight tackles for a loss and four interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns. In 2010, Koonz’s first year at Louisiana Tech, three of his linebackers finished the season in the top four on the team in tackles, with Cole earning second-team All-WAC honors. The Wallkill, New York, native previously served as a defensive quality control assistant at Texas, helping lead the Longhorns to a Big 12 title and an appearance in the 2009 Bowl Championship Series national championship game against Alabama. He also served at Texas as a graduate assistant from 2005-06, and linebackers coach for the 2006 season. Prior to his second stint at Texas, Koonz was the secondary coach at Iowa State for two seasons under Chizik, while also assisting with special teams from 2007-08. Koonz was also a graduate assistant coach at Auburn during the 2004 campaign under Tuberville, coaching the secondary. While at Auburn, he worked on staffs that led the Tigers to the 2002 Capital One Bowl championship, a 2003 Music City Bowl victory, the 2004 SEC championship and a win in the 2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl.

We can't just go out and do the same ole hire based on a 10% bump of what we paid Benford and keeping somewhere in the middle of C-USA salaries. We have to make a commitment to building something special. If we present the right package and commitment to facilities we will be able to make a very good hire. My point is it is not just the coach, it's the vision we can convey.

I hope this works out for all involved but I would suggest we set up a process to evaluate each opportunity that arises based on its merits. What I don't want to see is UNT become a easy scholarship continuation subsidy for those who couldn't make things work at their original choice. If they can provide us value and have a burning desire to compete we should welcome them with open arms. I agree with UNT Jim that this is a no brainer strategy for UNT and should be a great way to accumulate talent into the program. I just want to be careful that this is in the best interest of our program.

I agree 100%. Just rewind to when Benford was hired. This was a pretty highly sought after job. We've certainly seen better days but the potential remains.

Yes I like that aspect of it for sure.

Agreed. Do you like the ad? I have mixed thoughts. We selling education or medical marijuana LOL? Good to see UNT being proactive though.

Like seeing it there for sure but does anyone read the paper anymore? Deep?

Wow dodn't know he had been there 18 years. Set to retire in 6 months. Makes you wonder if they have known about this and were hoping they could let him exit stage left. http://www.ksat.com/news/video-students-divided-about-utsa-future-after-president-ricardo-romo-put-on-leave