ADLER

New coach has five-year contract By TROY PHILLIPS Star-Telegram Staff Writer New North Texas football coach Todd Dodge signed an escalating five-year contract through the 2011 season that averages $331,448 per season in base salary and guaranteed compensation -- a figure 3 1/2 times his pay at Carroll High School. Dodge's $75,000 per year in guaranteed compensation includes a $30,000 radio stipend, $20,000 in end-of-season deferred money and $25,000 for North Texas maintaining its NCAA certification, Division I-A status and Sun Belt Conference membership. He'll also receive an annual $6,000 car allowance. The contract also has incentives tied to season-ticket sales, conference titles, bowl appearances, bowl wins, season win totals, top 25 rankings, coach of the year awards and team academics. Dodge's ticket bonuses will kick in if North Texas sells at least 5,000 season tickets. UNT sold between 1,500 and 2,000 season tickets last season. The contract's buyout clause requires Dodge to pay UNT one year's base salary, which would range from $185,000 to $224,869. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How long do you think that a BCS program would be delayed by a buyout of $185,000 to $224,869 if they wanted a certain coach?

There is one thing that I can be fairly sure about. Darrell R. Dickey didn't invent the Ford Mustang, but that may change in the next 30 years or so. Look, let's stop beating a dead horse here. North Texas has several football legends that are certainly more deserving than Dickey of having facilities and monuments dedicated to them; Haynes, Greene, Hardeman, Ramsay, Fry, and Cobbs are just a few. Although I believe that Dickeys accomplishments are also worthy of recognition, I believe that it would be better to follow the NFL's example of waiting at least 5 years after that person's departure before dedicating anything. Truthfully, who thinks it wouldn't be awkward at best if Dickey spoke at the dedication of a facility being named in his honor. I dread to think what venom would be laced in that dribble.

Dickey was by no means perfect, but he's still an important part of our history. The facts are that teams coached by Dickey won 4 straight conference championships and he directed the team to 4 straight bowl games. During those seasons the team had a conference winning streak that is unmatched in North Texas history. Coach Dickey is certainly deserving of this honor.

Here's a little information about Thomas Moreland that I found on another Mean Green site. The site also provides videos of the recruits. UNT Football.net Thomas Moreland, Kicker Forney High School 6', 185 lbs. 24 of 28 Field Goals 48 of 51 PAT's 2nd ranked High School punter in nation by Kicking.Com Selected to kick for Texas All-Stars in the 2007 Oil Bowl 2 year Letterman Football 4 year Letterman Soccer

Here's a photo of Central Florida's new stadium. One end is nearly complete. The stadium is designed to give as many fans as possible the best view possible, and of course, the press boxes and the cocktail suites are placed behind the fans where they belong. Central Florida will open the new stadium with a game against the Texas Longhorns and is currently negotiating series with several other premier programs.

It doesn't surprise me one bit. Over on Ponyfans.com they have been discussing how over 75% of their fans view North Texas as their most anticipated game. ponyfans.com Well, it's just further proof of the fact that the North Texas game is SMU's Superbowl.

The Dallas Morning News had done a preseason story about North Texas football and mentioned how they'd beat the Mustangs by a 60-0 score. In the article, North Texas quarterback Scott Davis added to the fire when he said he'd seen SMU practice, and that they looked like "a high school team". He meant it as a reference to the youth on the squad, but the Morning News made it appear as an insult. The Mustangs were fired up and kicked the crap out of North Texas that day. That was one of the two times that SMU has beaten North Texas in football during the last quarter of a century.

It was a pretty cool little car and ran pretty well for a 4 cylinder but the Mustang 1 wouldn't go on to become a production veihicle. The cost of producing the rear engined, tubed framed version was far too expensive for Ford's target market, and the two seats and removable hard top made it impractical. Still stinging from the recent $75 million Edsel bomb, Chaiman Henry Ford was cautious to endorse any untested entry into the market, especially an exotic, and the Mustang I concept never had a chance. By early 1963 Ford had completed the Mustang II concept by adopting several of the Mustang I's designs to fit the chassis of the alredy approved Ford Falcon. The only noticible difference between the Mustang II and the eventual production models of 1964.5 was an additional inch added to the wheelbase to increase the leg room for the rear seat passengers. The Pony Car was born and the rest is history (which shouldn't be monkeyed with, even if the fable somehow involves Hayden Fry).

Would you like some Ketchup with that?

Also pure bullshit. The first Mustang was sent to a dealership in Canada where it was for display purposes only. The car erroneously was sold that first week to a buyer who paid cash for the vehicle. Ford attempted to buy back the car, or trade for another but the buyer wouldn't budge. In the early 2000s Ford was finally able to purchase the original car back for un undisclosed price. It was still in near immaculate condition, and now resides in the Henry Ford museum. first Ford Mustang

And once again the masses cry out "Oh Adler, please enlighten us to the truth". Let's never let a few facts stand in the way of a good fable. The Mustang name was suggested for the Ford concept car by designer John Najjar in 1961. Najjar, who had no college affiliation as he was hired by Ford in 1936 out of high school, was an avid WWII warbird enthusiest and intentionally incorporated similarities between his vehicle and the legendary P-51 Mustang. The Ford sports viehicle marketing group considered several other names (Cougar, Cheetah, Thunderbird II) before ultimately staying with Mustang. The Mustang 1 concept car (with current logo) was already being displayed on college campuses throughout the midwest prior to the SMU-Michigan game in 1963, and marketing strategy and design were already complete for the initial production vehicles which first came off the assembly line on March 9, 1964. The SMU logo during this period was also more of a 'bucking horse" style design. It wasn't until several years later (1968) that SMU changed to Ford's Mustang design. Many high schools across the country had alreay switched to Ford's running mustang logo and Ford never challenged any of them for copyright infringement. (The logo is still quite common for high schools) Ford had decided that it was all good publicity and didn't challenge any schools. Now, if Hayden patronized somebody by saying "that's how the legend goes", or "that's what has been said" doesn't exactly make him a liar. It's a fun story, but nothing more. Here's a site which has a few photos and links to the original Ford Mustangs. Please note that the quarterpanel logos of the 1962 Mustang 1 already incorporate the "running mustang" logo. Ford Mustang

Not much, and we still wouldn't be among the top 3 MWC expansion targets under any circumstances. Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, and UTEP would be the logical selections, and if for any reason one of those didn't join, there would be several other current WAC schools that would absolutely sell their soul to join the MWC instead of remaining in the then decimated WAC.

His name is Bryan Lucas and he transferred to North Texas after an outstanding freshman year at Azusa Pacific University in California. (He had also been a star baseball player in high school) The 6-6 Lucas had a strong arm, but as Grandgreen stated, wasn't the option type quarterback that Dickey preferred. Lucas soon learned that his only real opportunity at North Texas would be on the basketball court. Bryan Lucas currently plays for Ulm(Germany) in a European league where he is listed as a 6-9 forward. Bryan Lucas player profile

Yes, and he was able to provide us with one of the most comical moments in North Texas basketball history. A player from the other team misses his second free throw shot. Blount gets the rebound and races the length of the court to the other basket. Blount looks over his shoulder, notices that he is unopposed to score, jumps up and slams the ball through the hoop. Blount pumps his arms victoriously after the awesome display. Yeeaaahh!!! Unable to refrain from laughing, the referee retrieves the ball for the player that is still waiting at the free throw line to take his third shot.

I think either Williams, Wooden, or both are poised for monster years this upcoming season. Both have outstanding ability and their confidence was incredible at the end of this past season. I predict that our frontcourt players are going to be dominant this year.

That's the existing structure apparently which will be maintained while PHASE 1 is being built. Being that those are the West Sideline Seats, I am sure that Phase 2 will have it's most prominant structure planted along that sideline. That stadium could insure that FIU is able to remain in Division 1. I admire the fact that they are trying to entice fans to attend by actually placing them inside the stadium where they would have desirable seating. People should enjoy that a lot more than being seated across the street, down the block, or on top of and behind the press box. Those kind of bad ideas could lead to low attendance and futures in 1AA.

The statistics look rough, but there may be a legitimate reason. The competition is tough in the Big East, especially for an incoming freshman from a 4A Texas school. Dennis was switched to point guard his sophomore year because of injuries to teammates. He started at point guard because he was the best ball handler on the team even though he had never previously played the point. He was thrown into an unfamiliar position and performed to the best of abilities against players of amazing ability. His statistics suffered because of the move. I think he's going to do quite well with the move back to his natural position.

It looks like it's going to be nice once it is completed. This illustration shows only what the Phase 1 version will look like since that area of 'prime' seating still shows obsolete stands from the existing structure in the west stands. Phase 1 is 18,000 intimate seats placed as close to the action as possible. I haven't seen a drwaing of the completed design but the next phase will add another 27,000 seats in that west section, and perhaps with an upper deck on the east side. Like Central Forida, FIU appears to be interested in the ability to host major division 1 programs. Florida International University Finalizes On-Campus Stadium Deal With Odebrecht Construction, Inc. Courtesy: FIUSports.com Release: 05/23/2007 A rendering of what FIU's stadium will look like after the first phase of construction. MIAMI (www.fiusports.com) – Florida International University’s dream of a state-of-the-art, on-campus stadium is one step closer to reality after FIU and Coral Gables-based company Odebrecht Construction, Inc. signed a contract to begin construction, it was announced today. “I am pleased that we have reached an agreement that allows us to get started on the stadium expansion," said FIU President Modesto A. Maidique. "The new stadium will become a landmark and a gathering place for the FIU community.” The first phase of construction will bring the stadium’s capacity to approximately 18,000 and will feature 1,400 club seats, a 6,500 square-foot Panther Club, an upper concourse and 19 suites. Seating will include chairback seats and bench seating, all with backrests for fan convenience. Additional phases of construction will include a student support complex and will bring the stadium’s seating capacity to approximately 45,000. “This will be the crown jewel of FIU’s athletic department,” Athletic Director Pete Garcia said. “The stadium will be the vehicle that will take the athletic department to the next level.” “We look forward to building an excellent facility; one that will enhance the campus environment and contribute measurably to FIU athletics, student life and the broader community,” said Gilberto Neves, CEO of Odebrecht Construction, Inc. The company, which has been operating in Florida for 16 years, is responsible for building two of Miami’s most important architectural icons – the American Airlines Arena and Carnival Center for the Performing Arts – as well as the expansion of Miami International Airport’s North and South Terminals. The new stadium is set to open for FIU’s 2008 football season and will be the only Division I on-campus football stadium south of Orlando in Florida. “This puts FIU on an even playing field, in terms of facilities,” head football coach Mario Cristobal said of the deal. “Now local athletes have one more reason to stay home and build a championship program, and athletes from all over the state and country will have one more reason to come here. This will have a huge impact on recruiting and will give our students and fans something to rally around. It is a great foundation to build on.”

from an article this past basketball season:

Eaally, I think Rick is just as anxious as you are for North Texas to field a baseball team. Rick loves college baseball and has talked about starting a program since he first arrived at North Texas. There are a multitude of challenges facing baseball's start-up however; funding, facilities, Title IX, etc. Rick has addressed working on the quality of our current programs instead of overly extending the the university with a quantity of new programs. I too want a baseball team, but only when there is the ability to make sure it is a quality program. In the 1980s North Texas had a baseball team and it had a horrible record every single year. The games were played in a public park accross town and the coach sometimes also ran the concessions booth. Admission was free and nobody other than parents and girlfriends ever attended. We shouldn't start a team until we can supply all the necessary infrastructure and funding needed to support it.

RivalsHoops Brandon Webster

Buford is right. This legislation is the worst thing that could ever happen to Texas high school sports. For proof, look to other states where it's already been enacted.

I put a post about a potential basketball prospect in the RECRUITING forum. Please keep the discussion about that prospect in the recruiting forum.

At 7:00 this morning: Which undrafted WR has the best chance to make the roster in 2007? Choice Votes Aaron Brown (New Hampshire) 331 (13%) Jemalle Cornelius (Florida) 1435 (56%) Scott Mayle (Ohio University) 230 (9%) Johnny Quinn (North Texas) 558 (22%) 2554 Responses