MeanGreen61

UCF counts on big investment in pigskin to pay off Published May 26, 2006 Don't know whether to commend them or commit them. Don't know whether to call them dedicated or delusional. Aggressive or obsessive. Then again, it doesn't matter how we perceive them because the leaders at UCF don't care. They don't care if we believe in what they're doing because they have that glazed glow in their eyes that tells you they're consumed by the power of the pigskin, willing to sacrifice everything at the altar of the almighty football. If there were ever any doubts about UCF's intention to become a football school, they were answered Thursday when the school did what all big-time football schools do: It paid its coach a million bucks a year and essentially told him to go out and win a national title. "We look forward to building a championship program that one day will be in a BCS bowl game," new UCF Athletics Director Keith Tribble said upon the school's announcement that Coach George O'Leary has signed a 10-year contract that will pay him at least a million per season. "At some point," UCF President John Hitt declared, "the sleeping giant has to wake up. We want to be a nationally competitive top-10 program." So does everybody else. So does USF and Florida Atlantic, UTEP and UNLV, Memphis and Marshall. But UCF is convinced it is different, and this is where you have to admire the school's confidence and commitment. UCF leaders are not just talking about becoming big time, they're acting as if they already are. They've already built an indoor practice facility -- something Florida and Florida State don't have. They're building an on-campus stadium -- something Miami has been talking about for decades. Many schools might have delayed signing O'Leary to such a megadeal. Although O'Leary took UCF to the school's first bowl game last season, he is 8-16 in two seasons. Why not wait another year just to make sure he's the right guy? At UCF, wait has become the most profane four-letter word imaginable. These people aren't dreamers, they're doers. UCF -- University Committed to Football. "It's one thing to pay lip service and say you want to build an elite program, but this administration is willing to go out and do the things necessary to make it happen," O'Leary said. "There's a big difference between a wish and a plan," Hitt said. "A lot of people wish for good results, but the ones who get results are the ones who have a sound plan and work like heck to make that plan a reality." It's difficult for even us professional cynics to doubt Hitt. If he can complete the near-impossible task of bringing a medical school to UCF, why not a top-shelf football program? Let's face it: There are many more potential nose tackles in this state than neurosurgeons. What I love about Hitt is his vision. He doesn't see UCF as a directional school in a non-BCS league. He sees it as the seventh-largest university in the country located directly in the middle of the most football-fanatical state in the union. "If you were to draw up a set of specs for an emerging program, it would describe UCF," Hitt said. "But at some point, you have to have the will and the guts to go for it. "Every now and then, I feel like the guy who just jumped off the diving board and then says to himself, 'Gee, I sure hope there's some water in that pool.'" Here's hoping Hitt makes a huge splash instead of a resounding thud. Here's hoping O'Leary earns every penny of that monstrous salary. It's time for the sleeping giant to wake up and smell the money. Mike Bianchi can be reached at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. _________________

The final figures on the 2005-06 season are in, and the NCAA's bowl financial review has C-USA alone among the 11 Division I-A conferences in losing money on the bowl season. Gee, even the Sun Belt, regarded as the bottom rung in I-A, made a reported profit of $790,106. Full Article http://www.dailymail.com/news/Sports/200605258/

After last season, especially the OC performance, being considered as just a fluffy opponent is kinda generous

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/sion...ents/index.html

Soccer: UNT’s Hedlund agrees to extension to 2010 Mean Green to face top teams in ’06 08:33 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer North Texas coach John Hedlund received a welcome surprise recently in the form of a second contract extension in less than a year. Hedlund said Monday that he has signed a deal that will keep him with the Mean Green until 2010, an additional two years on top of the deal he signed that took effect on Sept. 1, 2005. Hedlund’s first extension would have kept him with the Mean Green through Dec. 31, 2007, and increased his yearly salary to $44,000. Hedlund said his new deal also included a raise. “Rick [Villarreal] came in one day, added two more years to my contract and gave me a bit of a raise,” Hedlund said. “I felt like it was a vote of confidence for our program. The administration likes the fact that we are getting good players from in state.” Hedlund has developed the UNT soccer program into one of the athletic department’s premier teams. The Mean Green have won 16 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons. UNT releases 2006 schedule Hedlund will enter the first year of his new contract facing the challenge of guiding perhaps his best team ever through what could be the Mean Green’s toughest schedule during his 12-year tenure. UNT released its slate of games for the fall on Monday. The schedule includes five games against teams that advanced to 2005 NCAA Tournament and 10 home games at the new Mean Green Village Soccer Stadium. UNT will face Nebraska and Southern California on the road in addition to in-state rivals SMU and Houston at home. “This is the toughest schedule we have had,” Hedlund said. “We are coming off our best two seasons when we got to the NCAA Tournament, have all of our starters back and some nice recruits coming in, so hopefully we are ready.” UNT finished with a 16-4-2 record last season after winning its second straight Sun Belt Conference Tournament title. The Mean Green return all 11 starters from last season’s team. UNT’s veteran squad will open the regular season on Aug. 27 at Texas State before heading home for perhaps its two biggest non-conference games of the year. The Mean Green will take on Houston on Aug. 31, before facing SMU on Sept. 3. Since the 2000 season, UNT has been nearly unbeatable at home, compiling record of 46-2-4, which includes an unbeaten streak of 14 games heading into this year. UNT had struggled to find top opponents to play at home, before moving into its new facility. “The fact that we have a bigger field now that is closer to what the NCAA standard is helped us to get teams like SMU and OU to play us here,” Hedlund said. UNT’s toughest road games will take place early in the year when the Mean Green travel to Lincoln, Neb., to face the Cornhuskers on Sept. 8 and USC two days later. Both Nebraska and USC were nationally ranked last season. The Mean Green will also host cross-town rival Texas Woman’s University before beginning defense of their Sun Belt title on Sept. 22 with a road game against league newcomer Louisiana-Monroe. UNT will host league newcomer Florida Atlantic on Oct. 1

From CBS Sportsline. http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/9433107

Here's the post/thread from the WAC board. Blog or premium content not mentioned. http://www.ncaabbs.com/forums/wac/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2072

Post from the WAC board. 1. SEC (Team Rating Average: 4.17): Four heavyweights (LSU, Auburn, Georgia and Florida), and that doesn't account for Tennessee, which I have as a cruiserweight, along with Alabama -- although I have a hard time believing the Vols still don't have the stuff of a heavyweight. (Note to my legion of Anti-Fulmer readers: That was not an invitation for you to chime in to the mailbag with your best one-liner. Honest.) Anyhow, I also bumped Arkansas up to a light heavyweight thanks to all the young talent that started to emerge late last season. Sidney Rice's presence notwithstanding, I'm not totally sold on South Carolina this season and decided against putting it as a cruiserweight. The good: The league is loaded with a handful of tailbacks with first-round talent, led by Auburn's Kenny Irons. The bad: The SEC still gets dogged for soft out-of-conference scheduling, but the league does have games against Michigan, Cal, USC, WV and FSU. Also, anyone who's critical of the scheduling needs to look at what the Gators have ahead of them. They play Tennessee, Auburn and Florida State on the road, Georgia in Jacksonville, and Alabama, LSU and South Carolina in Gainesville. I don't care if they also had games against Brown and Marist worked in there, that's a brutal slate. 2. Big Ten (Team Rating Average: 4.09): The resurgence of Penn State gives the league four bona fide powerhouses (with OSU, Michigan and Iowa). I think Wisconsin might take a little step back this season, and Purdue should be a little better. Michigan State (I'm giving the Spartans light heavyweight status this season primarily because Drew Stanton is so tough) might be the only program more inconsistent than NC State. The good: Forget the 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust. This is a quarterbacks league now. The Big Ten returns five QBs among the nation's top 22 in passing efficiency: OSU's Troy Smith (fourth); MSU's Stanton (10th); Wisky's John Stocco (14th); Iowa's Drew Tate (21st) and Minnesota's Bryan Cupito (22nd). And don't forget Michigan's Chad Henne, a guy who started the '05 season touted as an eventual No. 1 pick. I'm expecting Henne to shine in '06. QBs who are that good in their first year as starters, especially as true freshmen, don't stink. The bad: Expect even more points because the league lost a ton of stars on defense. Ron Zook and Terry Hoeppner are just beginning to wrestle with major rebuilding projects. 3. ACC (Team Rating Average: 4.00): Yes, the league cranked out way more first-rounders than any other league -- and that's emblematic of the ACC's profile right now: More potential than production. NC State had three first-rounders and won six games. FSU had four (although CB Antonio Cromartie didn't play in '05), and the Noles lost five games. The perception is that most people just don't fear the league's heavyweights (Miami, FSU and Virginia Tech) anymore, and there's some merit to that. All three are still very dangerous and, when they get motivated, could thump anyone, but all of them -- especially Miami and FSU -- have gotten pretty used to losing to average teams. Georgia Tech's blistering at the hands of the Mountain West's Utah, by four TDs in the bowl game, wasn't a great thing for the league, either. The good: Led by Clemson's Gaines Adams, the ACC still has a lot of defenders who have NFL scouts salivating. The bad: Maybe all the stud defenders have scared off all the big-play guys because once again, the league has very little star power on offense. The closest to established top quarterbacks are Miami's Kyle Wright and FSU's Drew Weatherford, both of whom are looking for breakout years, and the league's marquee guy is Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson, who is coming off a disastrous bowl loss in which he was completely stifled by Utah's Eric Weddle, the MWC's best defender. Maybe that's why the league's heavyweights don't seem that, well, heavy anymore. 4. Big 12 (Team Rating Average: 3.83): The Big 12 is coming off a great bowl season. Texas knocked off USC. Young OU beat a one-loss Oregon team, and Nebraska beat Michigan. All good stuff. I think OU is poised for a big bounce-back, and Texas, even without Vince Young, is still loaded. If A&M hadn't taken two steps back last season, I think you would've been able to make a case for the Big 12 as the second-best league, but the Aggies' D was a complete mess. Maybe the 4-2-5 will be the answer. I have them as a light heavyweight -- the same as Iowa State, which I hear many people are high on. I don't feel that way because the Cyclones' road schedule is nasty. I wouldn't be shocked if they went 0-for-5, losing at Texas, OU, Iowa, K-State and Colorado. At best, I think they will come out of that at 2-3. The good: Looking for big, athletic receivers? Try this conference. The Big 12 has five supersized wideouts who could be first-day picks: Iowa State's Todd Blythe; Texas Tech's Jarrett Hicks and Joel Filani; Texas' Limas Sweed; and OU's rising star Malcolm Kelly. Also, the Mike Leach offense is coming to Baylor. That should be interesting to watch, although I still have the Bears as a lightweight. The bad: Almost everywhere you look, you have teams breaking in new starting QBs. Most notably: Texas; plus A&M, Tech, Mizzou and CU. 5. Pac-10 (Team Rating Average: 3.80): Turbulence or not, USC still has enough All-American talent to consistently be a top-five program. I'm high on ASU and bumped the Sun Devils up to heavyweight status. It came down to either them or Cal, and I like the ASU QB situation much better. I like 'Zona too, but there are too many lightweights in the mix right now with Washington, Washington State, Oregon State and Stanford all struggling. The biggest thing hurting the perception of the Pac-10 nationally is that the top dog, USC, always seems to be flying solo. A couple of years ago, Cal was a very good one-loss team. People out west felt as though Cal got screwed when Texas got the BCS bid over the Bears, who promptly went out and gave up a ton of points to Texas Tech and lost. A similar situation happened last season to one-loss Oregon, which lost to Oklahoma in a low-scoring game. It almost invalidates those teams the next year -- and the conference to a certain extent --because most people need to see it to believe it. The thinking is "Oh, that's just another puffed-up Pac-10 team." I'm not sure it's fair, but it is what it is. The Ducks do get another big shot to give the conference a major boost if they can beat OU at Autzen Stadium on Sept. 16. The good: The Pac-10 teams have no qualms about playing anyone, it seems. Also, the league has a ton of talented young defensive players who played a lot last year. The bad: The two most polished QBs in the league play for the same team (ASU). Everywhere else, except perhaps Arizona and Washington State, has pretty big questions at QB. (And I know guys such as Oregon's Dennis Dixon, USC's J.D. Booty and a handful of others are considered elite prospects, but if you haven't established yourself as a starter and won consistently, you can be considered an issue.) 6. Big East (Team Rating Average: 3.38): Thanks to the rapid rise of West Virginia and Louisville, you can't call this league a laughingstock. Those two are legit heavyweights right now. The feisty Mountaineers got everyone's attention when they slammed UGA in the Sugar Bowl. Louisville is likely to be favored when the Cards host former Big East icon Miami in September. How ironic is that? Plus, Rutgers added some respectability, hanging with ASU in the Sun Devils' backyard in a shootout, and South Florida continues to get better. The good: Laugh all you want, but only the Big Ten might have as good a top trio of quarterbacks as this supposed basketball conference, with WVU's Pat White, Louisville's Brian Brohm and Pitt's Tyler Palko all deserving praise. The bad: Syracuse and Pitt, two programs that had been very good in recent years, are mediocre right now. And that's actually being kind. Truth be told, at this juncture, 'Cuse can't see mediocre with a telescope. 7. MWC (Team Rating Average: 3.22): I think this is the most underrated league in the country. TCU added a lot to the conference, and my hunch is that BYU is starting to come back. If Chuck Long can awaken SD State (lightweight) and all those transfers can boost UNLV (flyweight), then those two programs should be much better. The good: The upstart Horned Frogs (11-1 in 2005) are not only talented but young and experienced and talented. They can make a big statement for the league early when they go to Baylor and get Texas Tech in Fort Worth in September. The bad: Two of the league's top coaches, Colorado State's Sonny Lubick and Air Force's Fisher DeBerry are getting up in age. 8. WAC (Team Rating Average: 2.89): I have Fresno as a cruiserweight, with Boise, Nevada and Hawaii as light heavies. The league's top half has reshuffled nicely, but ? the bottom of the league is downright Sun Belt-esque, though. The good: With the recent additions of Dennis Erickson and Hal Mumme, even the bad WAC teams will be entertaining. The bad: Boise's horrible start and Fresno's horrible finish last season torpedoed a lot of the credibility the league's top teams had built up. 9. MAC (Team Rating Average: 2.67): I gave Miami (Ohio), NIU and Toledo light heavyweight tags, but overall, it seemed like a lot of flyweights and lightweights. The good: Northern Illinois' Garrett Wolfe is as good as it gets pound-for-pound and will have a shot to prove it when NIU opens at Ohio State. Last year, he dazzled in road games at Michigan and Northwestern by rushing for 393 yards while averaging 8 yards per rush. The bad: The league's run of stud QBs appears to have hit a bit of a dry spell this year. 10. Conference USA (Team Rating Average: 2.50): Central Florida is a rising star, and gritty George O'Leary is a great fit there and can make this program the league's centerpiece. The departure of DeAngelo Williams drops Memphis from light heavyweight to lightweight. The good: Old hands O'Leary and Mike Price infused the league with some big-time style points. The bad: The league's best offensive talent, Marshall TB Ahmad Bradshaw, is coming off a rocky offseason. 11. Sun Belt (Team Rating Average: 1.38): With the smallest budgets and the toughest recruiting situations, the Sun Belt probably doesn't have one team that would be considered among the top 100 in I-A. To be fair, there is some talent in the league, it's just that there is such a dramatic drop-off in the depth at each program, compared with the other conferences, that it's virtually impossible for these guys to compete with the rest of major college football on even a semiconsistent basis. The good: It's the most unpredictable league race in I-A college football, and North Texas RB Jamario Thomas, the 2004 rushing king, is back and healthy. The bad: The league might be an underdog in every out-of-conference game its teams have against I-A competition. Best shot to avoid the 0-for-the-season: East Michigan at UL-Lafayette, SMU at North Texas or Army at Arkansas State.

Article off the MUTS board. 5-year football eligibility possible Coaches group kicks idea around http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/14580670.htm

From the MUTS board. Only 4 Mean Green players picked. Following is the 2006 TSN Preseason All-SBC Team: OFFENSE Pos. Name, school Ht. Wt. Cl. WR Chandler Williams, Fla. International 5-11 190 Sr. WR Johnny Quinn, North Texas 6-0 199 Sr. TE Samuel Smith, Fla. International 6-3 248 Sr. T Kyle Cunningham, La.-Monroe 6-4 285 Jr. T Jesse Newman, La.-Lafayette 6-4 305 Jr. G Aaron Schutz, La.-Monroe 6-3 310 So. G Dylan Lineberry, North Texas 6-3 310 Sr. C Tanner Jenkins, Arkansas State 6-1 279 Sr. QB Josh Padrick, Fla. International 6-3 207 Sr. RB Eugene Gross, Middle Tennessee 5-9 208 Sr. RB Tyrell Fenroy, La.-Lafayette 5-10 185 So. DEFENSE E Antwan Barnes, Fla. International 6-1 230 Sr. E Jeremiah Chapman, North Texas 6-4 245 Jr. T Ricky Williams, La.-Monroe 6-2 275 Jr. T Jervonte Jackson, Florida Atlantic 6-3 280 So. LB Keyonvis Bouie, Fla. International 6-0 225 Sr. LB J.K. Sabb, Middle Tennessee 5-11 230 Sr. LB Maurice Holman, North Texas 6-1 225 Jr. CB Chaz Williams, La.-Monroe 6-0 185 Jr. CB Bradley Robinson, Middle Tennessee 5-10 170 Jr. S Kevin Payne, La.-Monroe 6-1 212 Sr. S Tyrell Johnson, Arkansas State 6-1 197 Jr. SPECIALISTS K Greg Whibbs, Troy 5-10 166 Jr. P Colby Smith, Middle Tennessee 5-9 181 Sr. KR Leodis McKelvin, Troy 5-11 187 Jr. PLAYERS OF THE YEAR Offense: Eugene Gross, RB, Middle Tennessee Defense: Tyrell Johnson, SS, Arkansas State NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR Offense: Omar Haugabook, QB, Troy Defense: Chris Bradwell, E, Troy

A big game in 2006, but certainly not the biggest game in UNT's history.

Because it could be a hefty lawsuit, it's doubtful that a security gate guarantee would be mentioned in the lease agreement.

The only team that Notre Dame has ever played during the regular season in Dallas is SMU. They've played the Ponies 5 times with their other Dallas visits being as a participant in Cotton Bowl games. Saw the l949 game when SMU gave them a fit before losing by a TD. Kyle Rote scored 2 or 3 TD's that day for the Ponies. ND finished the season undefeated & ranked #1.

How is this "another lost recruit"?

Sun Belt sponsored sports MEN'S SPORTS Baseball Basketball Cross Country Football Golf Swimming & Diving Tennis Track (Indoor) Track (Outdoor) WOMEN'S SPORTS Basketball Cross Country Golf Soccer Softball Swimming & Diving Tennis Track (Indoor) Track (Outdoor) Volleyball

I beleive that FIU & maybe Denver are the only Sun belt schools that sponsor men's soccer teams. FIU's men's team plays in CUSA.

Sun Belt doesn't sponsor men's soccer.

Oops, should read Bubas Cup not Burbas Cup.Up-to-date Bubas Cup standings. http://www.sunbeltsports.org/pdf7/37583.pd...100&SPSID=22245

Fox Sports Mean Green Preview PREVIEW http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/5601764

Take a look at what questions were answered in the Sun Belt this spring and what problems linger heading into the fall. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2440549&num=0

Oops

Thread off the MWC board. http://www.mwcboard.com/www/forums/index.php?showtopic=3663 My druthers as the #1 team I'd like for the Mean Green to play from each conference are: Big 10 - Iowa (Fry connection) Big XII - Texas Tech (because of past results - 4 wins in 8 games) Big East - Louisville ACC - North Carolina SEC - Georgia (Changed from Georgia Tech ) PAC 10 - California WAC - Louisiana Tech CUSA - SMU MWC - TCU MAC - Toledo Indy - Navy

May 6th Mean Green Report. http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/teams/page/NTX

UTEP and University of Texas athletic department officials have reached agreement on a two-year football contract for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The Longhorns are scheduled to face the Miners in El Paso on Sept. 6, 2008. UTEP will play the return game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin on Sept. 26, 2009. http://www.utepathletics.com/ViewArticle.d...0&ATCLID=275098