MeanGreen61

December 11, 2007 A few recruiting tidbits I picked up a few random recruiting tidbits the last couple of days. Here is what we know: I talked to Anthony Barnes of Wesson (Miss.) Copiah-Lincoln C.C. today. There was a rumor going around that UNT had landed the defensive end who could slide into the spot vacated by senior Jeremiah Chapman. Barnes said there is no truth to that rumor and that he is still pondering where he wants to go to school. He visited UNT in lake November. I also heard from Trinity Valley Community College head coach Brad Smiley, who said none of the three players from his team who visited UNT over the weekend committed to play for the Mean Green. UNT hosted defensive tackle Blake Gumm, cornerback Cordarious Mingo and safety Khenon Hall. Gumm, a 305-pounder, is the player UNT really needs from the group. He is set to visit Arizona this weekend, which doesn't bode well for the Mean Green. I also received a few questions in e-mail about recruiting today, including one that ties in with Gumm. A fan named Eric is concerned that UNT has not landed enough linemen in this class thus far. I think those concerns are justified. UNT has two good tackle recruits in Celina's Troy Franklin and Austin Anderson's Coleman Feeley, a center recruit in Southlake Carroll's Nick Leppo and a big nada on the defensive side of the ball. UNT is losing two of its best defensive linemen in end Jeremiah Chapman and tackle Montey Stevenson and struggled on defense last year. Backup Blake Burruss is also gone. UNT has some good players returning on both its offensive and defensive lines, including center Kelvin Drake and defensive end Eddrick Gilmore, but I think UNT needs some help. Some of UNT's top targets, including tackle Trevor Marrongelli (Kansas), guard Eloy Atkinson (UTEP), tackle Phillip Freeman (Mississippi State), guard Sam Schwartzstein (Stanford) and defensive end Eric Mebane (Purdue) have decided to go elsewhere. The loss of those players make those remaining targets like Bishop Lynch center Evan Epstein and Gumm all the more important for UNT. The Mean Green needs quality linemen and those two would help fill the void in its recruiting class. One other question came in from John, who wanted to know when the signing period is for junior college players. The period opens on Dec. 19 and runs through Jan. 15 for players who transfer at the midterm break.

A post by Stallion from a thread, Dodge gets 2nd 3-star in 2 days, on their Recruiting board. For those of you who were so impressed by DMN Area Top 100 Recruits-North Texas State and their high school Coach now has 7 commitments on that list. BTW 71 of the Area Top 100 have already committed-some of the remaining players are likely academic risks. This ain't 1980 Dodge gets 2nd 3-star in 2 days http://www.ponyfans.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=28633

Yea, you're right, but we do have a quantity of quality VERBAL COMMITTMENTS and that's somethin' we ain't had in the past.

Careful you'll have those poor folks over here loading the board up with a bunch of useless $#$%. They don't have a board of their own so they lurk around here for any opportunity to post.

3 3-star and 4 5.4 2-star (5.5 is 3-star). 7 committments 5.4 or above UNT COMMITTMENTS http://rivals100.rivals.com/commitlist.asp...&School=163

From the muts board. Expenses to eat up FAU bowl money By MARCUS NELSON Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 09, 2007 BOCA RATON — By MARCUS NELSON Palm Beach Post Staff Writer BOCA RATON - When Florida Atlantic players were asked about the significance of making it to the school's first bowl game, many touted the financial windfall for the program. "We get a fat check and that's good for the university and for the program," FAU quarterback Rusty Smith said. "We can get some new stuff and be able to put that money into the program ... .It would help us in so many ways." Unfortunately for the Owls, making it to the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 21 doesn't guarantee a big payday for the school. Both FAU and Memphis will receive a payout of $350,000 per team from the New Orleans Bowl. But that is almost entirely spent on team expenses incurred by playing in the game, said FAU Athletic Director Craig Angelos. "These bowl games are not like BCS bowl games," Angelos said. "Expenses mount up very quickly. Everyone wants to make this a successful experience, but it can be financially challenging." Angelos expects the team's air transportation to New Orleans to cost at least $115,000 out of the $150,000 set aside for team travel while busses to practice and the Superdome will take most of the rest of the travel budget. $200,000 is allotted for expenses once in New Orleans such as housing the team at the official team hotel. For the Dec. 21 game, the Owls are required to stay at the Sheraton Hotel from Dec. 17 through the day after the game. While a team could save money by reducing its expenses with a smaller traveling party, FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger said the magnitude of the game makes him want to bring the entire team. That's 113 players - far more than the 66 players allowed for Sun Belt Conference road games. "We're taking all of them," Schnellenberger said. "We're not going to make money and we're going to lose money because we are going to spend more than they give us. If you just took 60, it would destroy your program in a heartbeat." Where the Owls could bring in money is through ticket sales for the game. Some bowls have included tickets as part of the payout, but the school is on the hook for any unsold tickets, which can be expensive. The New Orleans Bowl allots around 5,100 tickets to each team participating, but unsold tickets can be returned to the bowl without any penalty. "We don't want making it to the New Orleans Bowl to be a negative experience for any of our schools," said Sun Belt Conference Associate Commissioner Todd Stewart. The New Orleans Bowl is essentially a break-even proposition for the Sun Belt Conference, and any money generated by the bowl itself is put into a fund along with other money earned by the conference such as revenue from the NCAA men's basketball tournament. That fund is used to run the conference office and whatever is left at the end of the year is split among all 13 Sun Belt Conference members. Each school in the Sun Belt - including the four that don't sponsor football - share in the pool. FAU won't receive any more from the Sun Belt than any other school, even though it was a co-champion along with Troy. Last year FAU received $40,500 from the Sun Belt Conference, according to school records. Last season, attendance at the New Orleans Bowl between Troy and Rice was announced at 24,791. It may be difficult to top last year's attendance since both Rice and Troy are a few hours drive from New Orleans. Bowl executives are hoping FAU fans will be excited about the Owls making their first bowl appearance. "The fans that are here are very enthusiastic and I hope that enthusiasm will carry over to our bowl game," New Orleans Bowl chairman Paul Valteau said last week after the Owls defeated Troy to clinch the berth in the game. FAU is pushing New Orleans Bowl tickets and packages which include travel and hotel arrangements. If FAU could sell most of the 5,100 tickets priced at $40 it is allotted, it could mean an extra $200,000. "It's very important for us to sell tickets to this event," Angelos said. "It's the very first one and I think it's realistic we could sell all 5,100. It's a challenge, but we think it can work." ~marcus-nelson@pbpost.com

Navy promotes longtime assistant to head football coach From HometownAnnapolis OnLine: Published December 08, 2007 Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk has acted swiftly to fill the void left by the departure of head coach Paul Johnson to Georgia Tech. Gladchuk promoted assistant Ken Niumatalolo to head coach on a permanent basis this morning. Navy will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. Saturday to formally introduce Niumatalolo. Gladchuk told The Capital this morning his decision was based on maintaining the continuity of a successful program, which includes continuing to run the triple-option offense. Niumatalolo is a disciple of Johnson's, having played quarterback for him at Hawaii. He served as offensive line coach under Johnson while the latter was offensive coordinator at both Hawaii and Navy. Of course, Niumatalolo has been assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Navy during Johnson's six-year tenure as head coach. "There was no reason to go through a national coaching search that led to all sorts of speculation and uneasiness among the Navy fan base when the best man for the job was here already," Gladchuk said.

COACHES SALARIES http://www.usatoday.com/sports/graphics/co...cts07/flash.htm

Not counting Hill, North Texas is now showing 14 committments on Rivals. Hill makes 15. The 14th that has been added is Coleman Feeley, 6'4, 287 lb, OL. A 5.4 2- star (5.5 is 3-star) RIVALS NORTH TEXAS COMMITTMENTS http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/commi...&School=163

Thus far 6,793 Oklahoma State 3,136 Cameron 2,531 Indiana State 2,157 Hartford 3,654 PG average

Average was 20,911 'til the wku game with the smallest crowd being over 18,000. 26,012 Navy 20,479 FAU 18,973 ULM 18,181 Muts

Reamember Rutgers is in JERSEY so $100 million will probably be earmarked for kickbacks, payoffs and greasing of the politicos.

Mean Green DRC Blog. December 7, 2007 Thoughts on Evans landing in the Lone Star Conference I talked to Kenny Evans this morning, a day after it was announced that he would take over as the head coach at Northeastern State in Oklahoma. Evans was thrilled to get his chance to become a head coach after stints as an assistant at various schools, including North Texas and Louisiana Tech. Evans said former UNT head coach Darrell Dickey played a key role in helping him land the job. It should be a good move for Northeastern, a member of the Division II Lone Star Conference. Evans is a graduate of the school, has always been a great recruiter and knows the Lone Star well. Evans said he would use his contacts to recruit the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where he should be able to land several impact players on the Division II level. Don't be surprised if a few former UNT student assistants or players end up on his staff. Evans said he couldn't talk about who might end up following him to Northeastern yet. This is just a random guess, but former UNT great Chris Hurd seems like he would be a great fit as a linebackers coach. Seeing Evans land in the Lone Star is also interesting because it added another coach to the rapidly growing contingent of former UNT assistants who have become head coaches in the league. Former UNT defensive backs coach Sam McElroy is the head coach at Tarleton State, while former UNT assistant basketball coach Fred Rike is now the head coach at Angelo State. McElroy was just named the Lone Star Conference South Division Co-Coach of the Year, while Rike appears to be turning around a program that was in shambles when he arrived at ASU. McElroy's Texans finished 9-2 this season with its only losses coming against nationally ranked Abilene Christian and West Texas A&M. Rike's Rams improved to 4-2 on the season last night with its first-ever win over Southeastern Oklahoma State at Bloomer Sullivan Gym, the Savage Storm's home court. The Rams only won eight games and went 0-12 in league play two years ago before Rike took over. The Rams won nine games, including four in league play, last season. It was a modest jump for Rike, who appears as if he might have ASU headed for a breakout season this year. I never dealt with McElroy much, but Rike and Evans are two of the best people to come through UNT in the last couple of years. It's nice to see Evans get his shot to be a head coach. I would be surprised if he didn't have Northeastern rolling in a couple of years. The following is a link to NSU's press release on Evans: http://www.nsuoksports.com/ViewArticle.dbm...;ATCLID=1349270

Pomeroy predicts we will win by 24 (87-63). http://www.kenpom.com/sked.php?team=North%20Texas&t=p

Vegas had the Aggies favored to win the game.

Posted on the Sun Belt board. MOBILE, Ala. -- The University of South Alabama Board of Trustees unanimously approved the addition of football to the intercollegiate athletic program at its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday. The decision came after a recommendation from President Gordon Moulton based on input from student, faculty, alumni and community groups. The intention is that the Jaguars will field a team in 2009 with a full transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision by 2013. USA is a charter member of the Sun Belt Conference. In conjunction with the football announcement, the Board also approved the addition of a 200-member marching band program for the Department of Music. The University of South Alabama over the past four decades has grown from a startup urban institution to a comprehensive university with an ever-increasing traditional and residential student body. Throughout the maturing of the institution to its present status as one of Alabama’s fastest growing universities, the issue of NCAA-sanctioned intercollegiate football has arisen at numerous junctures. In 1999, not long after the current administration began, the University responded to requests from some of its constituencies and conducted a formal analysis of the football issue. USA, with the assistance of external consultants, undertook a comprehensive review of the costs and benefits of such a program and gauged community interest through various means, including a season ticket drive. At the time, the University and its board of trustees determined the timing was not right for the addition of NCAA-sanctioned football. As an offshoot of the 1999 process, a club football program was developed at the University. The football issue again arose this summer and was independently fueled by the Student Government Association, The Vanguard student newspaper and a group named “Students who Stand.” During the fall semester, a petition was arranged and over 2,500 signatures were presented to Moulton at the basketball home opener on Nov. 11. “This is an historic day for the University of South Alabama and our athletics department,” Director of Athletics Joe Gottfried said. “With the future of intercollegiate athletics driven by football, we are excited as we enter a new era. College football will have a major impact on our athletics program, our university, Mobile and the surrounding communities. “I want to thank President Moulton and Board of Trustees for their vision to establish football at our institution.” “This is a good day for the Sun Belt Conference,” Commissioner Wright Waters said. “We are prepared to do whatever we can to help South Alabama, including with scheduling. As soon as they get their Division I-A certification, they will walk in automatically as our 10th football member.” The Jaguars will begin their schedule at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in downtown Mobile in the fall of 2009. The 40,000-seat facility is home to the GMAC Bowl and the Senior Bowl, plus numerous high school football games each year.

Going into the last game vs WKU, NT had an attendance average of 20,911 for the first four games with the LOWEST game attendance being over 18,000.

Mean Green were a miserable 32% from the field in the 1st half, but hit a sizzling 58% in the 2nd. Also had 1 more rebound than the Horns.

The very last sentence is the most interesting part of the article. The schools won't play next season, but I'm told that a long-term home-and-home deal that would begin in 2009 is in the works. (referring to UNT & Smoo).

North Texas (5-1) at (4) Texas (7-0) Wednesday, December 5th, 8:00 p.m. (et). The Sports Network By Pat Taggart, Associate College Basketball Editor FACTS & STATS: Site: Frank Erwin Center (16,496) -- Austin, Texas. Television: Local. Home Record: North Texas 3-0, Texas 4-0. Away Record: North Texas 1-1, Texas 1-0. Neutral Record: North Texas 1-0, Texas 2-0. Conference Record: North Texas 0-0, Texas 0-0. Series Record: Texas leads, 28-5. GAME NOTES: The fourth-ranked Texas Longhorns are clearly favored in tonight's non-conference contest against the North Texas Mean Green. Still, don't expect North Texas to go down without a fight, as the team owns an impressive 5-1 record that includes victories in two straight games. They are coming off a 75-72 decision over New Mexico State on the road, and they also beat Oklahoma State a few weeks ago by nine points. Texas remained undefeated and sent a message to the college basketball world with Sunday's 63-61 victory over fellow powerhouse UCLA in Los Angeles. The Longhorns have recorded seven consecutive victories to open the season, and the first six were all double-digit wins, including a 19-point romp over SEC power Tennessee just two weeks ago. Texas owns a commanding 28-5 lead in the all-time series with North Texas, and has won the last six meetings. The Mean Green have won just once in Austin, doing so in a 29-26 final way back in 1930. North Texas is racking up 81.5 ppg this season while limiting opponents to 70.2 ppg on 40.2 percent shooting from the floor, including 28.4 percent accuracy from three-point range. Strong rebounding has been key to the success of the Mean Green, as they are pulling down 9.3 rpg more than the opposition. The top offensive performer for UNT is Josh White, as he is netting 16.2 ppg on 52.7 percent shooting from the field, including 52.4 percent from behind the arc. Collin Dennis checks in with 14.8 ppg, and Keith Wooden adds 12.0 ppg to the mix. Dennis was outstanding in the win over New Mexico State on Saturday, as he poured in 21 points in only 16 minutes of action off the bench. White tallied 15 points for the Mean Green, who won despite shooting a lowly 36.5 percent from the floor. They managed to force the Aggies into 19 turnovers, key to the victory. Texas shot 53.1 percent from the floor in the first half against UCLA and led 37-25 at intermission. Although the Longhorns weren't nearly as efficient at the offensive end in the second half, they were able to hold off the surging Bruins and score the narrow victory. Texas only turned the ball over nine times in the clash, helping to make up for a lackluster 2-of-5 effort from the foul line. A 34-28 rebounding edge helped the cause as well. D.J. Augustin and Damion James scored 19 points apiece for the Longhorns, and James pulled down 10 rebounds as well. A.J. Abrams, who was quiet against UCLA, continues to lead Texas with 18.7 ppg on the strength of his 47.5 percent shooting from three- point range. Augustin is close behind with 17.7 ppg, and he has dished out 46 assists through seven games. Three other players, including James, are averaging double figures in scoring for Texas, which is posting 84.4 ppg as a team while limiting foes to just 59.7 ppg. Expect the home team to win this one rather easily, as Texas is on a whole different level than North Texas. Keep an eye on Augustin, as he is one of the nation's premier point guards. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Texas 84, North Texas 68

UNT ready for Texas Challenge 12:17 AM CST on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer North Texas freshman guard Josh White will have a little inside information when the Mean Green takes on Texas tonight. White grew up in New Orleans, where he was a summer league teammate and high school rival of Texas guard D.J. Augustin. The two will face off for the first time in their college careers when the Mean Green travels to Austin for a 7:05 p.m. game at the Erwin Center. "It will be fun to play against him again," White said. "He is a very talented player. I will have to do a good job on him defensively. Hopefully we can come out with a win." Reaching that goal will be a challenge for UNT largely because of Augustin. The sophomore guard ranks second among Longhorns players with an average of 17.7 points a game and is coming off a 19-point outing in a 63-61 win over second-ranked UCLA. The Bruins are the highest-ranked team Texas has upset on the road in its history. The Longhorns come into tonight's game ranked fourth nationally. UNT enters tonight's game off a key win of its own, a 75-72 victory over longtime rival New Mexico State. The Mean Green trailed by 21 points before posting the biggest come-from-behind win in school history. "It's another challenge for us," UNT head coach Johnny Jones said of facing Texas. "That is the reason we scheduled New Mexico State, for the challenge and to see where we are. It's a good challenge for us to face a top-five team in the country." White is looking forward to the opportunity in what has been a tremendous freshman season. The 5-10 guard has started every game for UNT and leads the Mean Green with an average of 16.2 points a game. White scored 25 points and hit a critical 3-pointer late in the Mean Green's win over Oklahoma State, which ranks as UNT's most important victory thus far this season. White and Augustin share more than just a common background in Louisiana. They are also similar players. White has shown the ability to shoot from 3-point range and score points in bunches. He is shooting 52.4 percent from beyond the arc, just slightly better than Augustin's average of 50.0 percent. Both White and Augustin developed their shooting touch while traveling the country with their Louisiana-based AAU team when they were about 10 years old. "We are still friends, even though we don't talk as much," White said. These days both are playing for college teams that are thriving. Augustin and Texas are unbeaten at 7-0, while a loss to UT-Arlington is the only blemish on UNT's 5-1 record. "This is a big opportunity for us to shock the world," UNT guard Ben Bell said. "No one believes we can do it but us. This is a big opportunity to test ourselves against a team like Texas." Jones and UNT's players know just how big the challenge will be. The Mean Green last faced Texas in the 2004-05 season, when the Longhorns rolled to an 86-57 win. "When you start talking about tradition, Texas is always right there in the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight," Jones said. "You can look at a list of guys they have had who are in the NBA now. And they have guys on that team now who will be first-round picks." UNT's players believe they will be more prepared to face Texas than the last time they visited Austin. "We are bigger and more physical," Jones said. "We are also deeper, which is what you worry about. We are big enough to play a team like Texas now." Men's basketball UNT comeback one for the record book The Mean Green's comeback from 21 points down on the road Saturday against New Mexico State was one for the ages, according to research conducted by the UNT athletic department. The Mean Green trailed for nearly the entire game before going on a tear in the second half, outscoring the Aggies 52-31 after the break and hanging on for a 75-72 win. It was the biggest come-from-behind win ever for UNT. "We started to pressure them and extend our defense," Jones said. "We created some turnovers, forced them to play faster and started shooting the ball better." UNT shot 48.5 percent from the field in the second half. UNT-Texas game to be shown on tape delay UNT's game against Texas will be shown on tape delay at 10:30 p.m. tonight on FSN Southwest. The game was scheduled to be shown live, but was pushed back due to a conflict with a Dallas Stars game. Player of the week Collin Dennis continued to cement his status as one of the best players off the bench in the Sun Belt Conference last week. The junior guard scored all but two of his 21 points in the second half of UNT's game against New Mexico State, when the Mean Green rallied for a 75-72 win. Dennis hit eight of 13 shots and went 3-of-5 from 3-point range in just 16 minutes of action. Dennis also scored six points for UNT in its win over Western New Mexico in the first round of the tournament. The Mean Green's sixth man is averaging 14.8 points a game, despite a lingering ankle injury. For his performance in the Lou Henson Classic, Dennis is the Denton Record-Chronicle UNT Player of the Week. BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

WAC not MAC.

Aggies beat a pretty good New Mexico team (7-1) making our win look even better.

Just short of a CALENDAR year, but they have been together for a football year.

Texas favored by 20.5 Vegas Insider http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-basket...s-vegas/?s=2040