NTXCoog

TCU had already been WAC co-champion twice (when that meant something including 1 year prior to the MWC split) and CUSA co-champ once before moving to the MWC.

UAB wasn't a charter member for football though. That came later.

I don't know about charitable giving, but there is also a possibility of continuing medical expenses that come out of the ongoing settlement payments. Paying for wheelchairs, physical therapy, ongoing complications due to the injury, building modifications for access issues, and other ongoing nursing/medical expenses are part of what the payments are meant for. The settlement payments also include lost economic opportunities. Luckily it looks like Abbot hasn't let his disability stop him with that regard, but you can't determine that when a settlement is made. Some people lose little in economic opportunities after this type of incident. Others suffer worse than settlement payments compensate for. But they don't go back and readjust settlements based on outcomes.

Present the full facts. There is NOT a cap of $750k on awards. There is a cap of $750k on PUNITIVE DAMAGES. Actual damages can still be awarded in full regardless the amount. Per this article (http://www.texastribune.org/texas-weekly/vol-18/no-32/greg-abbott-as-plaintiff/): "The settlement wasn't filed in public records at the court and Abbott wouldn't reveal the details. Lawyers familiar with the case recalled it was a "structured annuity" meant to pay installments over several years. It did not include punitive damages, but probably did include non-economic damages—some compensation just for going through a terrible accident, the rehab that followed and the lifelong confinement to a wheelchair. Another attorney said Abbott and Riddle didn't "abuse the system" to try to get a bigger settlement, but they also didn't leave anything out." (emphasis mine) Since no punitive damages were awarded, there is a VERY good chance that he would have still received $10 million under the current laws. Under the old rules he could have sued for much more than he received due to unlimited punitive damages allowed at the time.

How sad that this generation can't even listen to opposing viewpoints and hates those that hold those opinions. When I was in school, Jesse Jackson was trying to get the Democratic nomination to run for president. He came to my school to make a campaign speech. This wasn't a graduation speech so I wasn't forced to go if I wanted to walk. So even though I disagreed with him on most political points, I CHOSE to go listen to him. I didn't try to get him banned from campus and as far as I know, no one else did either. Why did I go? 1) He was a national figure giving a speech. That's something you want to see. 2) He had a reputation as a good speaker. He lived up to that reputation 3) He had an opinion worth listening to. He had legitimate grievances and political points to make especially at the time more than 25 years ago. I disagreed with his methods of addressing those grievances and political priorities, but it was definitely a speech worth attending. I broadened my world view, learned about others' concerns, and learned how they wanted to address them. Perhaps some of his ways to resolve issues I could accept. Perhaps some of his issues could be resolved another way that I would like. Perhaps the only thing that I could gain is I understand his viewpoint even if I totally disagreed with it. But without respecting the man and his opinions, how would I know any of the above?

For a comparison, UH is spending $135k for Matthew McConaughey http://m.chron.com/local/education/campus-chronicles/article/UH-to-pay-McConaughey-135-000-actor-will-donate-6171143.php

SMU vs UConn basketball a rivalry? They've played a grand total of 6 times, 5 of those coming in the last 2 years. Plus I'm sure SMU is WAAAAAYYYY down on the list of teams UConn would consider a rival.

Until they're announced officially, I place them as rumors even if they're likely to happen.

And he should have some Texas ties having coached at TX Lutheran, UT, SHSU, Texas St, and Rice.

We didn't have to overpay as much as SMU. Rumor is we're keeping our DC. I hope so. Our defense was more responsible for our wins than the offense. Another rumor is Major Applewhite is going to be on the staff

Tom Herman from Ohio State has been officially confirmed as the new head coach. 5 years for $6.75 million or $1.35 million per year.

Sounds like you're trying to be a lawyer and get technical with the relationship. How does Briles foster that individual relationships with Kolb without the Texas ties? If Briles had no Texas HS HC experience, would he have been able to have that individual relationship? No. Because he coached at Stephenville, Kolb looked up to Briles and wanted to play for him. Yes, there was an individual relationship, but that relationship does not exist without the Texas HS football experience.

But does RGIII commit without Kevin Kolb's success? Or do Briles' Texas ties cause RGIII's commit? BTW: we're having some of this Texas ties debate on the UH board too while trying to determine our next HC. Some fans are demanding TX HS ties. Some don't care as long as they have experience and a winning background. And there was a prior comment about HC's not doing much of the recruiting. That is true in some cases. Depends on the player and the coach. The HC is not the only one who can have ties though. The position coaches are sometimes former HS HCs or have their communication network built up. Thus there's a tie there even if the college HC has no ties.

Other examples of Texas ties being important: 1) As soon as Art Briles is announced head coach at UH (keep in mind he had only be TT's RB coach for a couple of years), UH gets the commitment of Kevin Kolb, switching from Oklahoma State. That was the beginning of the re-emergence of UH football. Without Kolb (who later went on to be drafted and played in the NFL), any come back for UH would have taken much longer, if ever. 2) No hidden gems? Case Keenum was not recruited to a single other FBS school other than UH. He just went on to become the QB with the most career passing yards and also played in the NFL. Maybe he wasn't a hidden gem and other schools just had him ranked lower (or not at all), but having the network to find an unrated QB like that sure didn't hurt. Having Texas ties may be overrated, and there may be larger obstacles that those ties won't be able to overcome, but I do think the ties can open some doors and not having any ties can create even more obstacles to overcome.

Just because some players flip after their rankings move up doesn't mean all of them do. John O'Korn committed to UH because we were one of the first schools in the country to recruit him, even before he became a starting QB in high school. After he became a starter, he got offers from Arkansas, Miss St, UNC, and Louisville, but he remained a UH commit partly because UH was one of the first to recruit him. So obviously there are examples of players flipping and players staying committed. But without that early recruiting push, some schools will not have a chance to get a player to commit early and then have a chance to close the deal even when a "bigger" school comes calling.

I guess it depends on what you mean by "Texas ties." About a decade ago, UH had a head coach with horrible relationships to Texas high school coaches. Some HS coaches wouldn't even allow UH coaches on campus. So poor relationships can definitely have an effect. As far as positives of Texas ties, a HS coach can talk up a school or college coach. But more importantly, I think communication between coaches can have a huge influence. If a college coach has open lines with a HS coach, he may find hidden gems and late bloomers earlier in the process. Finding those players earlier allows the college coach to get a jump on recruiting which might give a recruiting advantage.

Yes he got an extension last year after that bowl birth.

Great special teams coach. One of the problems when he was hired, no OC, DC, or head coaching experience. Primarily special teams experience.

Most up and down team I've ever seen. Keep in mind that we gave AAC co-champ Memphis their only conference loss. And no one but UTSA beat us by more than 8 points (which was to BYU before their all world QB got hurt and before UH switched QBs). We switched QBs after our 5th game and won 5 of our last 7. We could have blown you out (our only win under double digits was over Memphis and average margin of victory was 24 points) or we could have lost. Who knows? Just maddening.

We don't play one and done money games on the road any more. We prefer to make our money on home games now. But if we don't have any attendance, we'll have to go back to that.

It wasn't just losing the game. It was the complete dismantling of a UH team that returned most of their starters. UH didn't just lose their stadium opener, it wasn't even competitive: 27-7 with the only UH touchdown coming with a minute left in the game. 208 yards of total offense including -26 yards rushing. 6 turnovers. TOP 40:22 to 22:14. And as the season went on and UTSA proved not to be the team everyone thought they would be, it got worse. It reminded too many of Levine's first regular season game as head coach where we were dismantled by Texas State in their first game as an FBS team following a 13-1 UH season, causing the firing of the OC after his first game at UH.

Most likely the Armed Forces bowl. Losses to 3-9 Tulane and 4-8 UTSA in the opening of the new stadium were unacceptable, especially considering we beat 2 of the 3 AAC co-champs and lost to the 3rd one literally by inches. I think it's not only a football thing, but a finance thing. Attendance plummeted after the opening game debacle. Attendance will not improve if he comes back. Paying a buyout would cost less than the lost revenues due to poor attendance.

Would CUSA allow football only? Army is not leaving the Patriot for non-football.

Likely but not official. Per the UH AD: "Tony Levine and I plan on meeting tomorrow to discuss the future of our program"

Besides it being unlikely that Navy would prefer CUSA over AAC, Navy is joining as a football only member. Unless CUSA could convince them to leave the Patriot Conference where they've had their non-Football sports for over 20 years or unless CUSA changes their rules about all sports members, Navy is not an option. Same is true for Army.