ADLER

He may have a point but his compass is pointed in the wrong direction. The majority of North Texas alumni living in Denton County live in the southern cities that border Dallas and Tarrant Counties; The Colony, Lewisville, Highland Village, Trophy Club, Flower Mound. We live there but we office in the Dallas or Fort Worth regions and it is impossible to be in a function in Denton by 6:00. The Denton chapter is our geographic chapter, but the leaders of the Denton chapter have historically held chapter events at 6:00 on a weeknight. Is it an oversight? No, this get's "bitched about" every time the chapter does it. It's not a travesty, but it is rude to intentionally plan events to a schedule that doesn't work for the majority of the exes in Denton County.

It's damn rude. They are using organization dues to fund a function that most alumni wouldn't be able to attend because of the inconvenient scheduling. It seems the benefits of the exes are intended to be enjoyed by a select group. Amazingly, it appears to be the same few that have decision making capacity for the organization.

Once again, all of this concern over finding a great salesman who can sell more people on the product? Shouldn't we be looking at why people don't want to buy the product? Fix that, and the product will sell itself. Alumni will be anxious to join if they feel that they are actually getting some value for their contribution. The current "it only costs you 60 bucks a year to get nothing" sales pitch usually doesn't keep members for too many years.

Welll. that would work if we had a large fenced area that could accomodate tailgating and then could be secured during the game. Because we don't have lighting on those fields (actually we don't bother to turn on the lighting on those fields), or security to watch the equipment during the game, people prefer to tailgate in the parking lots where they can monitor their stuff. Make the tailgating 'zone' as accomodating as possible; electricity, music, lights, and security. Close and secure the tailgating area 15 minutes before kick-off. It will be safer for everyone, and will help get people into the game.

Two simple words....East Carolina That is the epicenter for the next conference shuffle. ECU has been posturing for Big East membership since Louisille first started inquiring. ECU has been pumping loads of money into facilities and their athletic director recently announced that he had a dream that they would put another $100 million into facilities by 2020. ECU is willing to take 'football only' membership and place all their other teams in the Atlantic 10 or another eastern conference. The football move now will insure that they are included in a BCS conference if/when the Big East splits and goes to 12 members. Memphis, Marshall, UCF, and Southern Miss all could easily be as attractive as ECU to the Big East at that time, and one of those could edge ECU if the Pirates are not proactive. What will it mean? After all the dust clears there will probably be one less Division 1 conference.

Here's an article from the Montgomery Advisor where they interview the recent president of the University of Houston. Obviously the Cougars and Sand Aggies still compete and I haven't heard about any kind of pending sanctions. What does denial of NCAA certification really mean? Montgomery Advisor Gogue welcomes athletic change By Jay G. Tate AUBURN -- Auburn's new President Jay Gogue knows athletics are an important part of the university's community. But he doesn't expect to become much more than a loyal fan during the coming years. Gogue said his biggest athletic endeavor during his days at the University of Houston, where he spent the previous four years, included short walks around the Cougars' football stadium on game day. "I tried to give away tickets to the game. There were several times when my supply was well ahead of demand," said Gogue, a 1969 Auburn graduate. "People in Houston wake up on Saturday morning and then decide if they're going to a game. People at Auburn made their plans a year ago. I won't be struggling to give away tickets anymore." Gogue will inherit an athletic program that is among the most financially stable in America. When outgoing president Ed Richardson took office in early 2004, the department had a fund balance of less than $1 million. Nearly every dollar that athletics earned back then was spent by season's end. Things have changed. Richardson and athletic director Jay Jacobs have cut costs and restructured the department, making it more profitable. The department currently has a balance of $5 million, and that number is expected to rise by $1 million per year over the next three years. "We're headed in the right direction now," Jacobs said. "I think (Gogue) will be able to rest easy knowing that things are in order, we're building our customer base and doing things that benefit both Auburn and the bottom line." Gogue's travels haven't always coincided with athletic success. Houston and New Mexico State, where Gogue served as president from 2000-03, are two of only a handful of schools that were denied NCAA certification this year. The NCAA doesn't publicly address its reasons for withholding certification. However, Gogue said Houston's athletic department is embroiled in Title IX issues and the NCAA wasn't satisfied with the school's efforts to create more opportunities for female athletes. "That probably is a fair criticism," Gogue said. "(Athletics) is supposed to mirror the makeup of your school and Houston is 58 percent women. It's a difficult situation." As far as NMSU's problems, Gogue said: "I'm surprised they're not on probation for something." Gogue's primary association with athletics has surrounded budgetary planning. Though Auburn's department generates its $72 million budget though receipts, Houston and New Mexico State's programs required significant financial assistance. He appreciates Auburn's situation. "As a president, I have not mixed in the operation of the athletics program," Gogue said. "I'll do what I can to support them, meeting with booster clubs and going to games. I'm a fan. I attend. Historically, I let athletics people handle athletics."

I like this from their site: Chumba Wumba couldn't have said it better.

To be more precise, the new sign says; "See UNT...IT'S WIDE OPEN"

Although I don't know what caused the defections, I hate to see this happening to Baylor. It's hard enough for them to compete against the football factories already and the departure of these players will deplete their team depth.

1) The Louisiana Cajuns have never been 1-AA. Their satellite campus in Monroe was 1-AA in the 80s amd moved up in the 90s. 2) There was an article in the Lake Charles paper about the McCheese fans stuffing the ballot box on this University of Louisiana poll.

That's a perfect location for The Tomato. It's a Denton establishment and now even more people will be exposed to it's popular products.

Here's a link to an online poll on the Louisiana Cajuns site which has North Texas as one of the options for the question "Which football home game are you most looking forward to?" Ragin Cajuns page