oldguystudent

That's a little ambitious for a startup program that struggles to get 20,000 in football and 5,000 in basketball. 1,500 seatbacks expandable later on, grass hill for kids and general admission (not blocked like Lupton), brick facade. I like the wing idea for the seating. You need 3,000 assignable seats to host in the post season, but building that many to start might be a little much. Other things that are strong considerations for both the NCAA and high school recruits are the quality of the playing surface, the amenities in the dugouts and clubhouse, the scoreboard, the setup for media coverage (there is a LOT of terrible video streaming in college baseball because they didn't build their stadiums for that). I suppose that suites will be part of the package too, right? While I certainly appreciate the club level on cold, rainy game days in football, that's not nearly such a consideration for me in baseball. Like I've said many times on here before, the Sunbelt is a big up and coming conference in baseball, currently 7th, and knocking on the door of becoming an addition to the current big 6. Should UNT make the jump to Big Country (I think that's the name of the new monster alliance), it would automatically be in a major baseball conference. Either way, it is really reasonable to build a program, in Texas, in the sun belt, that goes to the post season and wins in a short period of time.

Lupton has some serious flaws. The grandstand is all metal and sounds like a county park when people walk up and down the stairs (although it does make for a noisy environment to rattle opposing pitchers). The general admission section (a popular feature these days) has no view of the field at all as it its blocked by the grandstand. I had ga tickets for Fullerton last year because it was otherwise sold out. I could hear that there was a game being played, but I couldn't see anything beyond the right fielder, and people got angry at me for trying to see, since it apparently blocked their view of the bullpen or something. Lupton, was thrown together quickly and without thought to increase capacity so they could host in the post season.

Word on the street is they try harder.

It's unfortunate that something that should be so unifying as sharing a common alma mater is so hatefully divisive.

Well, spill it! If the grumpy old man board is public, what's the url?

Heh. Expanding with fcs schools. Name me one conference that's thrived under that plan.

I, for one, welcome the continuance of our administrative overlords. I've gotten to know Rick over the years, and I don't think this is just a job for him. I think he's taken on an internal identity as ambassador of North Texas. That goes farther with me than someone padding a resume for the next step up the ladder. Mistakes were made with the football coaching staff, but they were remedied, and two very large steps forward followed. It's gonna keep getting better around here. Now how do I go about getting Rick on speed dial?

I can't look at the timeline of membership and see that his tenure in the WAC has been a resounding success. He lost eight teams to the MWC in 1999, loaded up with more teams who bolted to CUSA, then became a landing pad for transient programs moving up from 1-AA, via the Big West, one of which, just so happened to be Boise. For the third time in his career, the conference is at the verge of collapse and reloading with lower tier programs than it had before. I don't know the guy, I have nothing personal against him. This is just what I see looking at the ever informative wikipedia pictogram.

Season starts this weekend, and I can't wait! I hope I get to catch some sweet, sweet college baseball action in Denton someday.

If the information on that site is correct, I threw away a winning sports book ticket in 1995. Bummer.

I don't know if there is a D1 school in the country that is more openly antagonistic toward its athletic program. Their baseball field is a dump that any self respecting high school would be ashamed to play on. I'm certain there are no lights. The AD just doesn't give a damn. At all. It's bad out there.

-3 so far. Glad somebody got a laugh out of it!

I'm voting for whichever candidate installs leather upholstered people movers with ice chests and cup holders on the new bridge.

It's discriminatory to hate only select groups.

Does Colorado have that anti-pollution additive requirement? I can't remember what it's called, but it used to be one of the reasons California gas is so much more expensive. Texas added the requirement a few years ago, and prices jumped accordingly.

Gas prices ate greatly affected by HUGE increase on world demand led by India and China, both of whom were trudging around on bicycles ten years ago. Go ahead. Drill Alaska. I genuinely could not care less about the red spotted Arctic mongoose. But the man who drills Alaska, then sells the oil for a discount to world market prices so his domestic commuting compatriots can get some relief at the pump isn't a very good businessman.

FTFY

Wow, who pissed on those guys' cornflakes?

I'm on my eighth US president, and I don't recall any of them ever taking responsibility for anything of substance.

She shows up on unt.edu as a junior ” Texas Academy of Math and Science” major. I'd not heard of this, so I looked it up. It's a residential program for high school aged kids who, well, are too bright for high school, so they go to full blown college early.

I'm not from these parts, so I have neither history with nor hatred for SMU. In fact, I have nothing. I am completely indifferent, and disregard SMU completely, having never to my knowledge even encountered an SMU alum. All I know is that I drove up to Denton, got a graduate business degree, and walked out the door with a kick-ass job. All for a fraction of what the same degree, with the same resulting job, would cost had I gone down Mockingbird way. If there is any scorn I hold for SMU, it's those god awful radio ads for "Executive MBA's" at the Cox School of Business that "Cost more, but are better." Horse shit. If that isn't the Pink Polo mentality I've heard so much about being bandied around the FM dial, then I don't know what is. Bottom line: UNT degrees work. Unless your last name is Bush or Clinton or some such ilk, I don't care how much your degree costs. You're starting out in the same place I am, and we'll match wits in the free market from there on out, nobody ever bothering to ask our alma maters again. Everything else, results on the field, logos on personalized license plates, season tickets sold, conference affiliation, or number of pristine hedges on campus, is secondary.

UTA's new joint cost as much as Apogee. I'll take Apogee and suffer with the apparent crap hole that is the super pit, thanks. I swear this place has such caviar tastes on a mac and cheese budget.

People who think the Super Pit is a crappy venue don't get out much. There are tons of D1 programs that play in absolute high school level dumps. If there are better facilities at some programs, that's great, but I'd certainly put the pit in the top quartile of places I've visited.

Wasn't it 45 in my day back in the 90s? Then you had UNLV abusing it in the other direction, running teams built for slow methodical approach ragged.