ADLER

Western Kentucky Pillpoppers

Marshall .....The Thundering Turd!

Well, it's a slow time of the year....Not much going on....Time to sit around and make fun of other people. Forget Aggys, Bares, Whorns, Phonies, Latex, and the Muts.... Here are a few of the nicknames that have been used to reference college football programs on message boards. Some are clever, some maybe not so. Please post them if you can think of others. Oklahoma State's home town Stillwater..............Stoolwater Letterman's alma mater Ball State.....................BallS-taste Tulsa's Golden Hurricanes.................................Golden Showers TULSA in the mirror..........................................A-SLUT (New Mexico State) N.M.S.U...............................Enemas-U Utah Utes.........................................................Cousin Vinny's "What the Hell is a Ute" Vanderbilt Commodores....................................Commode-Odors Miss State.........................................................Mis-Stake Wichita State Shockers......................................The only collegiate hand sign that's better known than 'Hook em Horns" Eastern Michigan Hurons.....................................Urines Virginia Cavaliers...............................................Cadavers The University of Miami.......................................The Ewe Florida State Seminoles........................................Seminals

No offense to them, the whole web site looks gawd-awful horrible.

Yes, fellow MFer, I caught it when I was posting it and I too thought it was funny.

Is Larry McMurty a distant relative of Larry McMurtry? I don't know, but he's listed on our Facts about UNT page.

Thank you for for the information Russell, and thanks for the links. OK, now I am depressed. Did anyone click on this link? Is this the kind of CRAP that the university is putting out as promotional material? It looks like it was written and designed by Cindy Brady. What the hell is that, and who the hell is featured alumnus Larry McMurty? Is this the result of all the money that was recently invested in branding? Holy smokes! This stuff really, really, really sucks! And worse, it is distributed to prospective students. OK, now North Texas needs to both fund an athletic department AND new public relations material. Gretchen, you've got your work cut out for you.

I don't know if it has been previously posted, but here is a story on former assistant coach Kenny Evans who is now the head coach at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. NSU spring football adjusts to first coach outside its program in nearly 50 years By Mike Kays Phoenix Sports Editor TAHLEQUAH — Kenny Evans knows the suit has a different smell, like any jacket that stays hung on the same office coat hanger for years. No Northeastern State coach in nearly a half-century has arrived as an outsider. They’ve come from the same hanger, be it position coach, coordinator or head coach. It’s been a place where “ground-floor opportunity” equaled future promise for guys like George Elliott, Tom Eckert and John Horner — coaches covering the last 30-plus seasons who started as staff assistants. But Evans, a Warner native — and NSU graduate — has changed that as he attempts to restore RiverHawk football to the prominence it enjoyed as late as the mid-1990s. As it’s a different step for administration, Evans, who got all his coaching experience away from his alma mater, hopes it will be a positive step. A fresh sense of fan excitement certainly is there. “We had 250 at our first spring scrimmage and 400 at the second with absolutely no word out,” Evans said, sitting in his office this week, The pitch in his voice delivered the wow-effect of a blazing fastball. Word is out, though, for Saturday’s Green-White Scrimmage which wraps up a spring that exemplified a significant step toward installing a new system. Kickoff at Doc Wadley Stadium is 2 p.m. “My basic philosophy that is something is not done right, it's confronted,” he said. “And that’s particularly players and it speaks about off-the-field problems, practice habits, talking back to a coach. “I’ve kind of gone overboard on that this spring, some might say, but it was something I wanted to establish from the start. We’ve had a few leave that weren’t going to help us in that system.” And even if a football secretary hasn’t been faced with a little face-to-face time, most people find that Evans is far from a football dictator. His personality bleeds enthusiasm, a trait needed for selling anything from snake oil to downtrodden football programs. His genuine nice-guy image will be welcome at a lot of high school athlete’s dinner tables during recruiting season, and he’ll quickly engage a group of boosters or civic people. But, says longtime coaching friend Darrell Dickey, don’t fall for it totally. Dickey was the head coach at North Texas where Evans served from 1998 to 2006 and in 2001 led the school to its first Division I bowl appearance since 1959. Dickey, dismissed after the 2006 season, is now a coordinator at Utah State. “Don’t let his good-natured personality fool you, because he’s very much a competitor on game day and when he’s working on football,” Dickey said. “Sometimes, people think you’ve got to be cussing everybody out to be a good football coach. He isn’t built like that. He’s good to people but he’s very demanding in his coaching.” Bob Roberts, a member of NSU’s 1958 NAIA national championship team, has visited with Evans and spoke to the team as well as watched practices. “I was overwhelmed with the organizational aspect. I didn’t see one person standing idle the whole time I was there,” he said. “You can tell he’s structured in what he does.” NSU athletics director Eddie Griffin saw many of these attributes during the search process last winter. “Any hire is an important hire for us, in all of our programs,” Griffin said. “You’re seeking someone who can put you over the top in terms of representing the university in all phases, and I can say that in seeing Kenny’s charisma, and knowing the background he brings to the table, I’m as excited about this hire as I can be and I’m excited for what I believe this is going to mean for Northeastern State football.” Understand Griffin’s remarks to mean a level like the school enjoyed during the early portion of the Eckert years, while the school was still at the NAIA level. Eckert’s teams reached the quarterfinals in 1991 and 1992 before winning the national title in 1994 and reaching the finals again in 1995. Jack Dobbins, arguably one of the Mount Rushmore faces of the university — the basketball facility is named for him — talks to Evans almost weekly. “People skills — whether alumni, players, former players — he is exceptional in that department,” Dobbins said. “Add to that that he truly loves this place and I think that passion is going to play well into everything he does. “Another thing that I think is critical is how that will play into recruiting. Like I said, he has the people skills. But most importantly, he’s spent a lot of time in an area which is ripe for recruiting. We need to compete in Texas as well as right here for players. He’s the right person to recruit there. He’ll help us out there, no doubt.” Most recently Evans coached linebackers and specialized in recruiting at Louisiana Tech University. He spent just one season there after a highly successful stint at the University of North Texas from 1998 through 2006. The 2005 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) National Assistant Coach of the Year, Evans was assistant head coach for the Mean Green in 2005-06. He served as defensive coordinator from 2002-2005, recruiting coordinator from 2000-2002 and was a tight ends coach during the 1998-1999 seasons. Along with installing a new philosophy, Evans recruited 15 players that enrolled at mid-term and will be a part of Saturday’s scrimmage. He added four new assistants. Charlie Cooper, who helped Brent Scott at Sequoyah High School, was hired to coordinate Evans’ “pistol” offense, a shotgun-style attack with a singe running back lined up directly behind the quarterback. Tyler Cummings, who worked with Evans at Louisiana Tech, is the new strength and tight ends coach. David Morgan will coach the offensive line and Kyle Woods, an NSU alum, comes from Northeastern A&M to coach the receivers. Horner, who resigned following a 6-5 season last year, through an arrangement prior to Evans’ hiring, remains on staff as a defensive assistant. “It may be the only example of its kind in the NCAA, but he’s done everything he’s been asked,” Evans said. “He’s a big part of the program’s past. What the future holds, I don’t really know, but everything is in a process of ongoing evaluation and staff is a part of that.” Muskogee Phoenix Sports

Thanks for the information Ricky. Here's to a speedy recovery Greenbat from Adler and the family.

I think he actually did a great job of illustrating where recruiting stands as far as the head-to-head battles with our regional rivals. I can't be really concerned with this news. Sure these were 'desired' players or else Coach Dodge would not have offered them, but most of these losses are either for positions where North Texas should already be fairly well equipped for the next few seasons, or not necessarily a good fit for the current system (DL Marquis Frazier seems to be a LB /DE for a 3-4 defense). At least we are recruiting and winning battles against the Big 12 and CUSA schools and not against La Tech and the Southland schools.

Welcome to the Mean Green board Merideth. I hope you are having a nice time in Utah. You know your daddy doesn't want you playing on these evil message boards. Bad people there and all that stuff. Now turn off the computer, and go outside and play in that huge sandbox.

They left the nation's saddest example of uncool off the list, perhaps out of sheer pity for the fools. The poor desperate wretches that felt so rejected by society that they needed to purchase "cool in a can". Harley Davidson should be sued for taking advantage of these feeble and week minded of society by promoting "We're not selling you a motorcycle, were selling you a lifestyle." OK, so nitwits can invest in a bike, buy some black leather clothing, get a few tattoos, maybe an ear piercing or two, and presto, they're cool. So all you really have to do is give up a wad of cash and cast aside your individuality and you can conform with all the other pretend-bikers in the yippee little pretend-biker bars. Really, really, you're not selling out, you're buying a lifestyle! This is as important to your image as those disco outfits, oversize perm. platform shoes and big jewelry were in the late 70's.

This was in no way intended to be a knock against Texas Tech. As a matter of fact, Tech was used as the example because it has a simalar enrollment (only a few thousand smaller than North Texas) and has similar entrance requirements for incoming students, but has a better reputation because of a Tier 3 rating compared to the Tier 4 at North Texas. The students, educational facilities, and staffing are comparable, but where North Texas gets beaten so soundly is in the alumni involvement and university endowment areas. The point I am making is why that Tier 4 is attached to North Texas and how a successful well funded athletic program benefits the academic reputation of a university. Texas Tech; Percent applicants admitted: 77% * 18% in top 10th of graduating class * 48% in top quarter of graduating class * 82% in top half of graduating class Test Scores Middle 50% of First-Year Students SAT Critical Reading: 480 - 580 SAT Math: 500 - 610 ACT Composite: 21 - 26 North Texas; Percent applicants admitted: 66% * 19% in top 10th of graduating class * 49% in top quarter of graduating class * 89% in top half of graduating class Test Scores Middle 50% of First-Year Students SAT Critical Reading: 490 - 600 SAT Math: 500 - 600 ACT Composite: 20 - 25 College Board, Texas Colleges and Universities North Texas does have slightly more selective admissions than Tech, but as shown above, the typical ( Middle 50% ) students are quite comparable. Similar student body, similar university mission, similar funding, yet vastly different perception. What is North Texas not doing that it needs to be doing?

I think that we're in 100% agreement on your assessment of the current state of the university. It's for those very reasons that I believe there is so much potential right now to make something great happen. As Dr. Norval Pohl stated, "Athletics is the window through which people view your university". Now is the time to upgrade the athletics program. It's time to let alumni, the community, and the academic world know about the great things happening at North Texas. Or, we can let them keep the perceptions of inadequacy that North Texas had earned over the preceding 60 years. The time for change is now. NORTH TEXAS, A GREAT UNIVERSITY

Fan23, in your opinion, what would be necessary to make something great happen for the University of North Texas? Personally, I would love to see it done as a student referendum, but that would only be possible if the right leadership became involved in the matter.

Why do people try to pose this as an athletics vs academics discussion? Not one person is advocating taking anything away from academics. The results should be that the academic image of the university should be enhanced because of the change, and donations to academic departments should increase. Please answer the question at the end of this if you doubt me. - The most common (note I didn't say accurate) method that the general population compares academic institutions is by comparing their tier ranking as published by US News and World Report. North Texas is a National Tier 4 school. Is it possible to raise that rating without increasing the alumni giving rate? Wouldn't almost every other catagory be assisted and enhanced if the alumni giving rate were significantly increased? Although it has lower admission rates than North Texas, Texas Tech ranks as a Tier 3 along with most of the respected 'big' schools, what are they doing right that North Texas is doing wrong, because it's certainly affecting their academic reputation? Are we really saving money by not investing wisely in the main veheicle that helps students become emotionally attached to the university and keeps them involved with their university and it's individual departments after graduation?

It would probably increase the enrollment figures. The increase would be relatively small and would no way be comparable with the cost of leaving for another academic institution. (if I'm wrong, I'd sure like to know which one, transportation costs included). More likely, more students would want to attend North Texas. Everyone likes to be affiliated with a winner. There will quickly be dividends from the investment.

Perhaps you were confused when I stated 'not the rare exceptions'. We all know individuals that have labored hard and donated generously to support the university. The problem is those people are far and few between, and I am trying to explain why. I believe the answer to each of the questions is 'no' because people don't want to make an attachment to the university, neither emotionally or financially . Is it Dr. Bataille's fault? No, but I don't think any of our former administrators is in any position to address the problem. She can. She can't magically fix the problem herself, but she can certainly work with other leaders on campus to do it. It can not be done without her leadership. You people act as if I am advoctaing bleeding the students dry for some obscure reason. I am only suggesting that a student athletic fee should be instituted in increments over a period (maybe 8 years) that would eventually raise the annual educational cost to be about equal to what students at Texas Tech, University of Houston, Texas State, and UT-San Antonio currently pay. This is called paying the average rate. Maybe North Texas would have to dump the "bargain basement, cheapest education in the land" advertising campaign, but so be it. North Texas may no longer be significantly cheaper than the others but would still be more cost efficient than attending a distant college. North Texas has a horrible reputation for being irrellevant, not just nationally but even in our home market. North Texas has incredible amount of spirit apathy amongst it's students and rabid disinterest from it's alumni. Having front page reports show that North Texas was not nationally competitive in a single sport only reinforces those beliefs. It has to be accepted as a wake up call. You state that you're not sure if North Texas can afford a successful athletic program, but I think that I have been able to provide sufficient evidence to suggest that North Texas cannot afford not to have a successful athletic program. It is how everyone outside our university views it, and it is the main conduit for getting and keeping people involved. North Texas has paid a horrible price through these many decades and continues to do so. Having a competitive athletic program benefits every aspect of the university. North Texas has the potential to be an absolutely great university. We all know that. I just want to see somebody take the leadership in unleashing that potential.

Utah is a given. I too don't see BYU being selected, they certainly have many of the right qualities but they also tote a lot of restrictions with which the Pac 10 will not want to be saddled. Colorado has an athletic program but is too far away (mountain time zone) and has a relatively small state population. Along with the addition of Utah, the University of Nevada is probably the best remaining candidate for inclusion; right location, right market, and sufficient academics.

The Dallas Morning News did a report this morning on the All-Sports Standings of all Division 1 universities in the country, and then focused on the 20 Texas Division 1 schools.

True, it's one of those "sorry that they took it that way" apologies, not an "I'm sorry I said that". The jackass had a similar diarrhea-mouth incident when his former boss Nick Saban was leaving LSU for the Dolphins job.

There's always these guys....

He very well may be right, I too believe that something minimal is being done, but just enough to get the smallest, least costly stadium possible built, but I don't think those drawings are any indication of anything. I actually think they'll break ground by the end of this year. We'll get what we can currently afford, and we'll be stuck with that for the next fifty years.

OK, I'll doubt. Those elevation drawings are either at least 5 years old and commissioned before the athletic center was built, ... or somebody is going to have a really hard time moving the tennis courts.