MeanGreen61

Post from the Sun Belt board. Blakeney Selects Franklin, Moore To Fill Coaching Vacancies TROY, Ala. – Troy University head football coach Larry Blakeney moved quickly to fill a pair of vacancies on his coaching staff by naming former University of Kentucky offensive coordinator Tony Franklin to the same position on his staff and Matt Moore to coach the Trojans offensive line. Both coaches will begin working in their new positions immediately. "I tried to hire Tony three years ago in an effort to employ his system to move the football," Blakeney said. "Things didn’t work out then, but they did this time. I think Tony understands what he wants to do and what he can do. He wants to get back to coaching and I am glad that we could put this together." Blakeney said the new offensive system the Trojans will employ next year will be exciting to watch. "The system is just a way to move the football and score points that has proven to work around the country," Blakeney said. "Kentucky was one of the first schools to use it and Mike Leach at Texas Tech is using it with great success. It is not a miracle. We still have to recruit the players to put this approach to work. Hoover is the most prolific offensive team in this state and runs this system. Russellville is another successful school in this state that is using this system." Since guiding one of the top passing offenses in college football at Kentucky from 1998-2000 Franklin has primarily worked as a offensive consultant for numerous high school programs in both Kentucky and Alabama. He also served as head coach and general manager of the National Indoor Football League team in Lexington, Ky., during the 2003 season. "I am very proud to be at Troy University and to have this opportunity to work with Larry Blakeney," Franklin said. "I have heard about what a great person he is for years, both at Kentucky and while working with high schools here in Alabama. He has a great reputation, as does the program here at Troy." While coaching at Kentucky, Franklin tutored former Wildcats All-American quarterback Tim Couch, who went on to be a No. 1 draft choice in the NFL. Franklin described the style of offense the Trojans will run as "fast paced". "We will be a no-huddle team that will throw first and run second," Franklin said. "We will spread the ball around to everyone on the field. It is a very fan-friendly offense and one that if you are a quarterback, receiver or running back, is like waking up in a dream." Franklin said he will employ an offensive style very similar to the what is being run at Texas Tech. Over the last three seasons, Texas Tech has led all of Division I in passing offense every year, and has also ranked in the top 10 nationally in total offense and scoring each season. Over the last three seasons, the Red Raiders have averaged 428.2 yards passing per game, 530.5 yards of total offense per game and 40.25 points per game. Prior to his time at the University of Kentucky, Franklin spent 15 seasons as an assistant or head coach at various high schools in Kentucky. Franklin has also authored two best-selling books in recent years. His 2001 book "Fourth Down and Life to Go" was an inside account of the University of Kentucky football program under former head coach Hal Mumme. His second book, "Victor’s Victory" was published in August 2005 and tells the story of Victor Hill, a 15-year-old football player at Hoover High School who died on the practice field in 2002. Moore joins the Trojans coaching staff after serving as head football coach at North Gwinnett (Ga.) High School this past season, where he led the team to a 7-4 record in his first year while running a version of Franklin’s offense. Prior to his position at North Gwinnett, Moore served as an assistant coach at Hoover High under Rush Propst for six seasons, helping the Buccaneers to three consecutive Class 6A state titles and a 77-7 record. "Matt Moore played under Mumme at Valdosta State and he was at Hoover for six years running the same system," Blakeney said. "He has coached offensive line, has coordinated and has been a head coach. I feel good about these two guys and their roles here." Moore is a Canton, Georgia, native who played collegiately at Valdosta State University where he was a three-year starter on the offensive line from 1991-94. He started 34 consecutive games at left guard and was a first team All-Gulf South Conference selection as a senior. "I am excited about this opportunity to coach at Troy University," Moore said. "The offense that Coach Franklin will put in is the same as what I ran while playing at Valdosta State, and is what we ran with such success at Hoover. We put it in at North Gwinnett this past year and took the team to the playoffs for just the third time in school history."

Off the Sun Belt board. Where were coaches ?? Arkansas State linebacker arrested Incident began when bus driver stopped officers. Jason Brown jbrown@theadvertiser.com A starting linebacker for the Arkansas State University football team, who is in town to play in Tuesday's New Orleans Bowl, was arrested Saturday night on charges of battery of a police officer and resisting arrest, officials said Sunday. Lafayette City Marshal Nickey Picard said Chris Littleton, 22, of Osceola, Ark., was arrested after he allegedly assaulted a deputy on the football team's tour bus late Saturday night. Littleton, a 5-foot-11-inch, 205-pound weakside linebacker, has started ASU's last five games and was set to play against Southern Mississippi on Tuesday. Gina Bowman, spokeswoman for the team, would not say whether Littleton will be allowed to play in Tuesday's game and declined to comment on Littleton's arrest. Picard said the incident began when the team's bus driver stopped officers on the corner of Jefferson and Cypress streets and reported a fight breaking out on the bus. When a Lafayette City Police officer and a Lafayette city marshal entered the bus and tried to break up the disturbance, Littleton, a junior at the university, allegedly pushed Chief Deputy Calvin Francis Jr. and then walked away while Francis was attempting to calm him down, Picard said. Francis detected alcohol on Littleton's breath, Picard said. Francis, who had unholstered his Taser gun, dropped the device. When he attempted to pick it up, Littleton allegedly pushed him on the elbow, Picard said. Littleton was arrested and booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center shortly after midnight Sunday. He bonded out the same day. No one else was arrested in the incident, Picard said.

Just the facts about the basketball season thus far. Sun Belt teams vs CUSA teams Men Sun Belt 5 wins, CUSA 2 wins Houston 0-1 UAB 0-1 UTEP 0-1 S. Miss. 1-2 Tulane 1-0 Ladys Sun Belt 6 wins, CUSA 1 win UTEP 0-2 SMU 1-1 Houston 0-1 UCF 0-1 S. Miss 0-1 And it gets WORSE. Add games vs incoming ULM & FAU ULM vs CUSA - Men 1-0, Ladys 2-1 FAU vs CUSA - Men 1-0 Total for all games played Sun Belt 11 wins, CUSA 3 wins Add ULM & FAU...Sun Belt 15 wins, CUSA 4 wins

Post by Littlebittyschool on the Sun Belt board in response to the article. "Sweet. Looks like Coach Cal already sees the writing on the wall that many others saw much earlier. It's interesting that he's already concocting "doomsday" scenerios. C-USA is well on the way to becoming C-DOA if they don't get those basketball $$$ units from the tourney. It's not SUCH a big surprise though. Last year, they got 5 teams into the tourney (correct me if I'm wrong). Of those 5, only UAB is still in the conference. UTEP did make the dance last year, but it looks like they may be going in the tank. Memphis has surged back up, but who's going to stand with them? It looks like there's a real possibility that C-USA will drop to a two-bid or maybe even a single bid conference. So here's the 64 thousand dollar question (or more like the several hundred thousand dollar question)... where are the bids that CUSA will no longer get going to go? Do they go to the Big East with all of those teams? The question then arises on just how many bids you can give out to one conference. Does the 7th best team in the Big East deserve to go to the dance? How about the 8th, 9th, and 10th ones? They'll all be jawing and say they deserved more, no matter how many bids they get. What if the committee keeps the status quo and only sends 5 or 6 Big East teams to the dance? The talk of splitting the conference will REALLY heat up then. An equally chaotic scenerio (but a better and more fair one) is if some of the other "mid-major" conferences go from single bid confernces to multiple bid ones. That'd be great for the Belt if we could get two teams to stand out above the rest. But you KNOW the powers that be wouldn't like this at all. When the money gets spread out more, then things get evened out more and they lose their advantage and consequently lose more money. So what's going to happen? I'm hoping that the bids will get spread around through the other "mid-majors". I'm guessing that the Big East may get 8 or 9 teams into the dance. I'm betting that the majority of those extra bids will just go to the "bubble" teams of the Big XII, ACC, SEC, etc..."

Tiger RPI No. 2, but conference play may hurt Some C-USA additions not much help for rating By Gary Parrish Contact December 16, 2005 First, the good news. As of Thursday, the University of Memphis' CollegeRPI.com ranking was No. 2, behind only Duke. Now, the bad news. It's difficult to imagine it staying there through March, not with the way the majority of the rest of Conference USA is performing this season. "We're only playing 14 league games instead of 16," said Tiger coach John Calipari. "You're seeing how big that is." It was supposed to be bad. But not this bad. It was supposed to drop off. But not this far. Still, the reality of the newly shaped C-USA is that it was, as of Thursday, ranked 19th out of 31 Division 1 conferences behind such leagues as the Mid-American, Sun Belt, Horizon, Patriot and Southern. To put this into perspective, just two years ago C-USA was ranked as the fifth-best conference. But that was with Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette and Charlotte, all of which are now gone and replaced by the likes of SMU (295 RPI), Rice (247 RPI), Tulsa (227 RPI), Marshall (272 RPI) and UTEP (300 RPI). More telling, Memphis and Houston (14 RPI) are the only C-USA memberswith Top 100 RPI rankings, and eight of the 12 league schools have RPI rankings worse than 225, an inordinate ratio considering there are only 333 Division 1 schools. Eight of C-USA's 12 members are in the bottom third of the nation. And though Calipari realizes what that means, he's not panicking. In fact, he's already developed a plan to help going forward, and intends to formally pitch it after this season. Calipari's proposal would ensure protection of C-USA's top-flight schools by forcing them to play each other twice and everybody else once. Call it a mini-division at the top. For argument's sake, assume Memphis, Houston, UAB and UTEP are considered the top four schools. Under Calipari's plan, Memphis would then play UAB, Houston and UTEP twice, and everybody else once. Likewise, UAB would play Memphis, Houston and UTEP twice and everybody once. And so on and so forth. "Then six of your 14 league games are against top 40 or top 50 (RPI) teams," Calipari said. "So that's one possibility." Any others? "Maybe 12 league games," Calipari answered. "Play everybody once, and have one mirror game, then you can build whatever kind of schedule you want. "Why couldn't we do that?"

Good win for the conference !

The pot & the kettle ?

Looking for fresh start, Buffs hire Hawkins By EDDIE PELLS, AP Sports Writer December 16, 2005 BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- Colorado hired Dan Hawkins as its head coach Friday, giving him responsibility for restoring the flagging reputation of a program hammered by problems on and off the field. The university's governing Board of Regents voted unanimously to hire Hawkins and give him a five-year contract worth $900,000 a year, which includes $50,000 to run the school's summer football camps. "This is a very good hire for this university," Chancellor Phil DiStefano said. "It's another sign that the athletic program is moving in the right direction." Hawkins went 53-10 over the past five years at Boise State, winning the Western Athletic Conference four times -- including a tie for first with Nevada this season -- and building a reputation as someone who runs a clean-cut, forward-thinking program. Hawkins replaces Gary Barnett, who was forced out last week after a troubled tenure that included a sordid recruiting scandal and allegations of financial mismanagement brought to light in a state audit released Monday. Barnett's team also lost 70-3 to Texas in the Big 12 title game, a loss that accentuated how far CU has fallen from the elite program it once was in the early 1990s under Bill McCartney. Many think the 45-year-old Hawkins would have been in line for some of the big openings last year -- like at Notre Dame or Florida -- had another up-and-comer, Urban Meyer, not shined so brightly at Utah during the same season. At the beginning of this season, Boise State was viewed by many as this season's Utah, a non-BCS team that might inject itself into the national title picture. Back-to-back losses to open the season, including a nationally televised 48-13 thumping by Georgia, sullied those hopes but didn't taint Hawkins' reputation. He recruits well in California, which is one place CU must do better. Last week, the Buffs' 2006 recruiting class was ranked 74th in the nation and last in the Big 12 by Rivals.com. Hawkins is also expected to play well with finicky boosters in Boulder -- he has, after all, been known to ride his mountain bike to work -- who are known to want a top-notch program but have been unwilling to accept the inevitable warts that come with it or shell out the big money to finance it. "I thrive on proving myself," Hawkins said Thursday during a news conference in Boise. "I think there is a certain side in all of us that wants to get comfortable, and not that there is anything wrong with that. What I think it really gets down to is challenge and opportunity versus doing what you have been doing." He plans on coaching Boise State Dec. 28 against Boston College in the MPC Computers Bowl. The Buffs are playing Dec. 27 in the Champs Sports Bowl and will be led by interim coach Mike Hankwitz. Associated Press Writer Christopher Smith in Boise contributed to this story.

That is the understatement of the year

Still early, but here's the Sagarin Rankings going into this weekend's games. Rankings are thru Thursday, November 15th games. MEN - Conference Rank #16 (Schedule ranking in parenthesis) 66 Middle Tennessee (25) 88 Western Kentucky (138) 119 South Alabama (297) 147 Troy (150) 148 Denver (260) 159 North Texas (54) 162 Ark.-Little Rock (196) 206 Louisiana-Lafayette (87) 208 Fla. International (52) 217 Arkansas State (145) 324 New Orleans (129) WOMEN -Conference Rank #11 (Schedule ranking in parenthesis) 12 Western Kentucky (38) 77 Arkansas St. (29) 78 North Texas (200) 91 Middle Tennessee (125) 96 Florida Int. (105) 158 Denver (153) 159 Ark.-Little Rock (314) 171 La.-Lafayette (332) 175 South Alabama (253) 201 Troy (322) 323 New Orleans (272)

Last year on the Appy board, many were wanting to say bye-bye to Moore. He certainly wasn't very popular there.

Courtesy of ESPN http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/powerranking...d=3&season=2006

Updated: Dec. 15, 2005, 11:32 AM ET Sources: Buffs tab Boise State's HawkinsESPN.com news services Boise State coach Dan Hawkins has accepted the head coaching job at the University of Colorado, sources told ESPN. Hawkins will be introduced at a news conference on Friday. Hawkins had been rumored as a potential replacement since former coach Gary Barnett's dismissal last Thursday. Reached Wednesday night, Hawkins said, "the process is not complete." "The only thing I know for sure is that I'm going to be in the theater tonight with my boys watching 'King Kong,' " he said. Hawkins interviewed with CU athletic director Mike Bohn on Saturday, the first interview he conducted. Hawkins, former Colorado player and current UCLA assistant Jon Embree, and Denver Mullen High School's Dave Logan were the three candidates that spoke with Colorado officials, according to a person familiar with the search. The governing board of the University of Colorado said Thursday it would hold a special meeting Friday to consider a job hire. The Board of Regents did not provide details of Friday's meeting but scheduled it at the school's athletics complex. "Dan Hawkins is the type of coach who represents virtually every expectation that I outlined," Bohn told Denver station KUSA-TV on Wednesday before the agreement was finalized. "We will be well on our way to restoring a sense of pride in the Golden Buffaloes." Boise State won a share of its fourth straight Western Athletic Conference title this season and is 53-9 under Hawkins. He's been a hot name on the job market for the past couple years, and Boise has enhanced his contract and the football facilities to keep him. However, Hawkins could just about double his $525,000 annual salary at Colorado. His contract calls for an $850,000 buyout, but that will be reduced to $700,000 after this season. At this point, it is unclear whether Hawkins will coach Boise State in the MPC Computers Bowl against Boston College. ESPN has also learned that offensive coordinator Chris Petersen will remain at Boise State and replace Hawkins as head coach. Hawkins, however, is expected to take several of his assistants from Boise State with him to Colordao. The Broncos play Boston College on Dec. 28 in the MPC Computers Bowl. CU came to a $3 million settlement with Barnett last week. He was forced out with a year left on his contract after two years of off-field turmoil and blowout losses to Nebraska and Texas in the final two games of this season. The university loaned the athletic department the money to pay Barnett. The department will use revenue from the 12th game on upcoming schedules to repay the loan, and may have to pay for Hawkins' buyout in the same manner.

A caller on a local sports-talk radio show this week lamented the fact that the Louisiana Ragin' Cajun football team didn't get a deserved spot in the relocated New Orleans Bowl. He went on to say he wasn't attending Tuesday's clash at UL's Cajun Field, since he was a long-time Cajun backer and didn't want to support either Arkansas State or Southern Mississippi. ARTICLE http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll.../512150340/1006

Here's several sites with rankings/RPI ratings Sagarin (Men's) http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin.htm Sagarin Women's http://www.rpiratings.com/womrate.htm RealTime RPI http://www.realtimerpi.com/ Pomeroy Ratings & RPI's http://www.kenpom.com/rate.php Massey Ratings http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb

“I would hope that we would have in the neighborhood of 6,000 fans total down there for it when everything is said and done.” http://www.jonesborosun.com/story.asp?ID=13418 Arkansas State has sold roughly half of its ticket allotment for the New Orleans Bowl, according to Director of Athletics Dean Lee. Lee said ASU has sold about 2,800 tickets, a figure that includes player complimentary tickets and tickets in the Tickets for Kids program. The university was given an allotment of 5,625 tickets for the game.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13393521.htm BOCA RATON FAU opts to build dorms now, fund stadium later Instead of picking a developer for a stadium complex to include shops, dormitories and other uses, FAU decided to go it alone for now, building dorms while raising money for a stadium. BY KIMBERLY MILLER Palm Beach Post A six-month sale of box seats and stadium suites could decide the future of FAU's proposed football stadium, after officials decided Monday to try to raise money on their own for the 40,000-seat dome. A committee looking at whether Florida Atlantic University could support and afford a stadium at its main Boca Raton campus along with retail shops, dormitories and restaurants had planned to pick a developer for the project Monday. Three companies presented plans for the ''athletic village'' last month. Instead, FAU Athletic Director Craig Angelos said the university will go forward with the construction of needed dormitories, while at the same time spending six months raising money for the stadium. ''Maybe we come back with the whole $100 million, and we say we can do it on our own,'' Angelos said. ``We're broadening our approach.'' The original idea was to have a developer pay for the construction of the dorms, stadium and shops. In return, the developer would keep the profits from ticket sales and rentals. That could still be an option, Angelos said. But first the school will ask one of the three developers to work with them on building dorms and retail space -- which will be revenue sources -- and then consider doing the stadium. By then, the university will know how much can be raised by selling things such as naming rights and suites. Stadiums typically cannot sustain themselves and are being built now with other money-makers such as restaurants and shops that can supplement stadium costs. Just one developer came up with a plan that would be financially risk-free for the university, but it would also require FAU to give up control of the stadium for up to 30 years. The other two companies said the school would have to come up with some money on its own. Some committee members were concerned Monday that without a promise of a stadium, developers would be less interested in working with FAU. 'We can't just say, `We'll go ahead and do the housing and if the stars are in alignment and everything falls into place, you can build a stadium,' '' said Ken Jessell, FAU's vice president for finance. ``Clearly we'll have to sit down and do significant negotiations.'' Angelos said he's already been working to sell naming rights, suites, and box seats for the stadium, but he didn't have estimates yet on what each of those will cost. At the University of Central Florida, which is also trying to build a stadium, large suites sell for $40,000 a year and require a five-year commitment. Regular suites cost $30,000 a year, also with a five-year commitment. Club seats cost $2,500 for a pair and can be bought annually. Stadium naming rights at UCF have not been negotiated. FAU's committee will meet again in early January to pick a developer begin building dorms and shops. ''Every project takes on a life of its own,'' Angelos said. ``We're just trying to keep the train moving.''

MTSU football loses eight scholarships By ADAM SPARKS sparks@dnj.com New MTSU football coach Rick Stockstill will have eight fewer scholarships to use in his upcoming signing class. Due to failing APR (Academic Progress Rate) scores, the Blue Raiders have been penalized the maximum of eight scholarships, which will be temporarily lost over the next year-and-a-half. However, eight scholarships will not be available in the upcoming class alone because of three factors — including three for APR penalties, four for so-called "grayshirt athletes" and one for a previous NCAA violation. Grayshirt athletes pay their own tuition for their first semester with the promise of being put on scholarship in the second semester. Stockstill will honor pledges of former coach Andy McCollum to all four grayshirt athletes on the MTSU roster. So with the loss of eight scholarships, MTSU can only sign 17 players in its upcoming signing class rather than the maximum of 25. Of the eight scholarships cut solely by a failed APR score, five must still be cut beyond the upcoming signing class. "Looking at it right now, I think we can wipe the slate clean after next season so that coach Stockstill can have a full class of 25 initials (recruits) in (the 2007 signing class)," said MTSU compliance director Mike Moleta. A top-notch recruiter, Stockstill said he will focus on filling his coaching staff and setting the organization of his new football program before diving head-long into recruiting. "The big thing for me is getting started right now. I'm not worried about recruiting," Stockstill said. "We'll pick up in January and hit the ground running. I met with the team (Sunday) night, and I want to get to know these guys on a personal level." Stockstill's hiring as MTSU's 14th head coach was announced Monday. He has a five-year contract with an annual base salary of $175,000. His total package, including incentives, is approximately $250,000 annually. Stockstill said academics will be a priority in his recruiting. "To me, as a football coach, the worst thing you can do is be worrying about if this guy is eligible or not for next year. So we've got some issues there we have to get corrected," Stockstill said. "We're going to go to class. We're going to be discipline off the field. And I told (the players) that if you walk out of here in four years or five years without your degree, then shame on you." Under McCollum, MTSU football scored 812 (preliminary) and 892 in its two APR reports, respectively, with the scale based on a possible maximum score of 1,000 and a passing grade of 925. Failure results in the loss of scholarships, and MTSU was penalized the maximum of 10 percent of its previously available scholarships. "Middle Tennessee is a wonderful academic institution. They ought to be honored and proud of the opportunity here that they have to be students first," Stockstill said. "That's going to be my job as head coach and our staff's job to make sure we're doing things right academically. "I need to get a staff hired and get the organization in place. We need to see how many we can sign and where we're going. Believe me that I'm not talking about the previous staff or anything, but we've got to bring in guys who are going to be here for four or five years and graduate. "We're going to represent the term student-athlete to the utmost degree." As an institution, MTSU athletics scored 918 overall in the previous annual APR report. Moleta said MTSU will score a passing grade in the next report. "It will be a 926, maybe a 925 or 927. But I've got my own database of how the NCAA does the figures, and so we know what it will be," Moleta said. "But we're making some good progress, and that is a result of a three-year academic game plan that Dr. (Sidney) McPhee put in place. We've increased our (academic staff) by 150 percent, from two people to five. So everything is working itself out. For example, with the plan we've had in place, we can know that a student-athlete is struggling in Algebra in the second week rather than the 15th week. "I like the direction we're headed." WHAT IS APR? The Academic Progress Rate ties graduation and retention rates to allotted athletic scholarships. It's based on a possible maximum score of 1,000 and passing grade of 925. LINK TO ARTICLE http://dnj.midsouthnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../512140315/1006

A more detailed article from Wednesday's paper. Football: Coffeyville QB orally commits to UNT Wilson hopes to add leadership, talent to Mean Green offense 09:00 AM CST on Wednesday, December 14, 2005 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer Woody Wilson viewed film of a few of North Texas games this season and decided the Mean Green had just one major void in their offense during a 2-9 season. It’s a hole the Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College quarterback hopes to fill next year. Wilson confirmed late Monday night that he made a non-binding oral commitment to play for the Mean Green beginning in 2006 and will transfer to UNT at the semester break. Kilgore College tight end Brian Carlson also said he has committed to play for the Mean Green. “I feel like I will be a good fit at North Texas at quarterback,” Wilson said. “I watched a couple of their games this year and it looked like they needed a quarterback and a leader. I think I can be that guy.” Wilson, 6-1, 185, played quarterback at Coffeyville, where he threw for 910 yards and rushed for 214, despite playing in just six games before breaking his collarbone early on in a loss to Garden City in the Red Ravens’ seventh game of the season. The injury kept him out the remainder of the season. Wilson’s speed and athleticism made him a Division I prospect not only as a quarterback, but a defensive back as well. Wilson said Nebraska, Kansas State and Kansas all recruited him as a defensive back. Wilson, who hails from Fayetteville, Ark., signed with Arkansas, but didn’t post a standardized test score that would allow him to compete as a freshman at a Division I college. Arkansas placed Wilson at Coffeyville, where he spent his freshman year as a redshirt. Wilson started at quarterback in his second year at Coffeyville until he broke his collarbone. He could have returned at the end of the season for the Ravens’ game against Georgia Military in the Golden Isle Bowl Classic on Dec. 3, but could have risked further injury. “I will be ready for spring practice,” Wilson said. “I could have come back for the bowl game, but I didn’t want to take the risk.” Wilson will join what is expected to be a heated quarterback battle in spring practice, when the Mean Green will look to spark an offense that struggled last season. Redshirt freshman Daniel Meager started every game last season for UNT and threw for 941 yards. Freshman Matt Phillips also saw extensive action and threw for 448. Joey Byerly, who was academically ineligible this season, could also return in time for spring practice. UNT finished last in the Sun Belt Conference in passing yards and passing efficiency in 2005 with an average of 129.3 yards a game on a 92.9 efficiency rating. The Mean Green averaged just 14.3 points per game last season, but have a few key players back, including 2004 national rushing champion Jamario Thomas, first team all-conference offensive lineman Dylan Lineberry and second-team all-conference wide receiver Johnny Quinn. Carlson, 6-5, 271, believes he could add to that core by providing a physical presence as a blocking at tight end while continuing the Mean Green’s tradition of featuring all-conference players at the position. Jeff Muenchow was an All-Sun Belt Conference pick in 2001 and 2002, while Andy Blount received the same honor in 2004. UNT did not have an all-conference tight end last season. “They have a good program and I can fill a spot for them,” Carlson said. “At Kilgore, they used me as a blocking tight end about 90 percent of the time.” Carlson was also recruited by New Mexico and cancelled a visit to the Albuquerque school after committing to UNT. Carlson only began playing football during his senior year at Klein Oak High School in Spring after concentrating on basketball early on in his high school career. “I was real impressed with the facilities at UNT and the academic program,” Carlson said. “I like the offense they run because it’s similar to the system we run here. They guys also seemed to get along really well. It seemed like a family.”

Our Ladys last opponent, UTEP, demolished a 4-4 (Sagarin #125) Northern Colorado team on their our count tonight (Tuesday). Score was 85-57.

Just an observation, but another QB recruit that other schools want to play another position? Not a knock, but it would be refreshing if we get a QB that several other 1A schools want as a QB.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Superdome, heavily damaged when Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug. 29, can be repaired and ready to re-open for major football events by Nov. 1, a consultant's report released Tuesday said. FULL ARTICLE http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louisiana/in...ylist=louisiana

Brett Vito: On the rise 08:59 AM CST on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 North Texas coach Tina Slinker walked off the floor at the Super Pit with a smile on her face on Thursday after a win over UT-Pan American and talked about a belief that this could be a special year for the Mean Green women. “Winning builds confidence and that is what is starting to happen with this team,” Slinker said. Three nights later that confidence only grew after UNT knocked off UTEP for its second win of the season over a Conference USA opponent and completed a solid week in Mean Green basketball. The UNT women are 7-1; the men are 3-3 and were one shot away from upsetting Texas A&M on the road. Is it just me or is anyone else wondering if this could be the turnaround season the Mean Green have been seeking in basketball for the last few years? For the sake of the UNT athletic department, this had better be it because the Mean Green have waited long enough to break through in basketball. And lets face it; at this point UNT needs some good news. A second straight NCAA berth in women’s soccer was a boost for the program, but that has been one of the few highlights for the Mean Green in the major team sports this year. UNT finally had a down year in football, where the Mean Green went 2-9 to end a streak of four straight Sun Belt titles. UNT’s basketball teams often flew under the radar until the fallout from the New Orleans Bowl had been hashed and rehashed. That won’t be the case this year when the Mean Green’s basketball teams will have the spotlight early on. Depending on its basketball teams to carry to the banner was a bad idea at times in the past for UNT. Anyone remember the Vic Trilli era? So far this season it doesn’t appear like UNT will drop the ball in basketball, at least if we can believe the early returns. The Mean Green women are off to the second best start through eight games in school history and appear to have their best team since Slinker led UNT to the WNIT in back-to-back years in 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons. The Mean Green have already beaten CUSA members UTEP and SMU. In the UNT athletic department beating the Mustangs doesn’t quite qualify you for sainthood, but it’s pretty close. The UNT men haven’t proven as much as their counterparts on the women’s team yet, but coming one shot away from upsetting Texas A&M in College Station can’t be ignored. Head coach Johnny Jones would have had perhaps his biggest win at UNT if Kendrick Davis’ buzzer-beating three had fallen at the end of a 72-70 loss. What UNT has to hope is this start isn’t just a tease like last season proved to be for the Mean Green men. UNT started off 9-5 and looked like a team about to turn the corner before falling apart and bowing out in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Super Pit. A short time later, eventual conference champion Middle Tennessee bounced the UNT women in overtime in the second round. Maybe UNT was a year early in hosting the tournament. The Mean Green now appear to have the players necessary to break out of a funk that has seen both teams fail to finish above .500 since the 2001-02 season. Both teams could to be on course for a big season, but breaking through will be a challenge in the Sun Belt Conference. The Western Kentucky women are receiving votes in both the major national polls. The Lady Toppers, Arkansas-Little Rock and Louisiana-Lafayette women all have at least six wins. The South Alabama and Denver men are 5-1 and 5-2, respectively, and are both planted in the Sun Belt’s West Division along with the Mean Green. Only time will tell if the UNT men and women can make a run at the Sun Belt West Division championship, but the stage certainly seems set. The UNT women were picked to win the title and the men have a chip on their shoulder after being picked fifth. Maybe this is the year to believe in the Mean Green. One fact is clear; the attention of UNT fans is on basketball earlier than usual. It’s an opportunity the Mean Green must capitalize on. BRETT VITO can be reached at 904-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

Posted on the Sun belt board. Due to Katrina, the bowl game has been moved to scenic Lafayette, the gateway to Cajun country and home to the unfortunately monkiered University of Lousiana-Lafayette. We say unfortunately monikered since every dedicated NCAA 2006 viewer knows that as you’re beating them 325-0, their team’s name appears as “UL-LAF,” which sounds a lot like “you’ll laugh,” which we usually do as we loft a HB pass for the sixteenth score of the day against them. THE WHOLE STORY http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/?p=1479#more-1479