MeanGreen61

DRC article. Football: Meager set to begin fall workouts Shoulder surgery forced freshman QB to miss spring practice 08:44 AM CDT on Friday, June 17, 2005 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer There should be a full complement of players ready to compete for the starting quarterback position at North Texas this fall. Daniel Meager, a highly touted redshirt freshman who missed the majority of spring practice with a shoulder injury, has resumed throwing and should be ready for the beginning of two-a-day practices in the fall. Meager underwent surgery on his shoulder in March. “Daniel is throwing,” UNT coach Darrell Dickey said. “He is not 100 percent, but our players have 7-on-7 sessions they run by themselves, and he has been out there participating. His surgery went fine and everything else is going well.” Sophomore Joey Byerly is also working out. Dickey said he expects Byerly to be ready to compete for the starting job in the fall after serving as Scott Hall’s primary backup last season. Junior Cullen Mills also could return to the team and compete for a spot on the Mean Green’s depth chart. Mills left the team during spring practice in February to consider if he wanted to continue his career. “Cullen has inquired about the possibility of returning to the team, but we have not made a final decision yet,” Dickey said. Meager’s recovery and the potential return of Mills will give the Mean Green several options at quarterback heading into the 2005 season when Kellen Haynes is also expected to compete for playing time. Several other UNT players have remained on campus this summer and are taking classes to maintain their eligibility for the 2005 season. “We have a number of kids who still have some work to do to become eligible,” Dickey said. “We won’t know until the end of the summer who will be with us. Some kids have dug themselves pretty deep holes, but for the most part we are in decent shape. We are a little better off at this time than last season.” UNT finished 7-5 last year when the Mean Green won the Sun Belt Conference title and played in the New Orleans Bowl for the fourth consecutive season. UNT is slated to have 10 returning starters next season, not to mention the last two national rushing champions. Patrick Cobbs won the title in 2003 with an average of 152.7 yards a game before missing last season with a knee injury. The senior will return this year to team with 2004 national rushing champion Jamario Thomas, who posted an average of 180.1 yards a game after stepping in for Cobbs.

BRP in his little bonnet suckin' away on his pacifier.

Brief discussion is at the end of this thread. Acknowledged that he felt UNM fans would be for it. http://www.mwcboard.com/www/forums/index.p...p?showtopic=629

Was ask this question by Loboval on the MWC board. Replied that IMHO a home/home with the Lobos would be welcomed by NT fans. What's your opinion? "No SMACK intended. Do you think N. Texas would be interested in home/home with UNM? I would like to see it, with the 12 games we need a good team and N. Texas would be a good travel with TCU".

Big 12 scheduling needs a makeover By BERRY TRAMEL The Oklahoman 13-JUN-05 Harry Birdwell will leave a void in Oklahoma State athletics. He has done a fine job as OSU's athletic director and won't easily be replaced. But there could be a benefit to Birdwell's departure. OSU's football schedule could stage a revival. Birdwell and ex-coach Les Miles stated their intention of dumbing down the Cowboys' nonconference opponents. And then did what they said. OSU this season plays the embarrassing trio of Montana State, Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State. The Cowboys' only salvation is that some Big 12 foes play an even more disgraceful threesome. Texas Tech hosts Sam Houston State, Florida International and Indiana State. Baylor plays SMU, Samford and Army, a decent slate if it's 1946. Sad truth is, virtually all the Big 12 has given up pretense and has resorted to scheduling automatic victories. Schools like Texas, OU, Texas A&M and Colorado continue to play one marquee non-conference game a year but don't want to tread too far from shore. This is a far cry from 1976, when Missouri's non-league foes included USC, Ohio State, Illinois and North Carolina. Or 1978, when Baylor played Georgia, Ohio State and Kentucky. Or 1974, when Texas A&M played Clemson, LSU, Washington and Kansas. Or 1970, when Texas played UCLA, Oklahoma and California. Or 1971, when the Sooners played USC, Pitt, SMU and Texas. Football was different in the '70s. Less posturing. More good games. Less artificial success. The current scheduling wave is fueled in part by economics. More home games are needed to fund ever-expanding budgets, so fewer home-and-home series are scheduled. Schools from the cartel conferences buy smaller opponents and thus victories. But don't blame it all on money. Missouri played at Troy last season. Texas has played at Rice; Iowa State went to Ohio U. OSU is playing at Florida Atlantic this year and Arkansas State in a season to come. Texas A&M went to Louisiana-Lafayette. Big-time college football has lost its zest for weekly competition. Under the guise that leagues are tougher now, schedule-makers have softened September. Are conferences more rugged? Perhaps. The Big 12 in the 21st century is better than either the Big Eight or Southwest conferences of the 1970s and '80s. But not way better. Big Eight teams ranked 1-2-3 in the final AP poll of 1971. The SWC had four teams ranked in the top 14 in 1978. The Big Eight had five teams in the final top 20 of 1976. Yet those teams did not go looking to bully smaller foes outside the conference. They had too much pride. Shame is in short supply in college football these days. How else to explain the frequent arrangements of Big 12 teams playing Division I-AA squads? At best, they are scrimmages; at worst, scripted exhibitions, not far removed from pro wrestling or Globetrotters-Washington Generals epics. Birdwell's explanation always was that if OSU beats three rum-dums in September, Cowboy fans won't care in December, if they're vacationing in an exotic bowl locale. Perhaps fans don't clue in to such soft success. But the players do. Players know that beating Montana State or Sam Houston is not an honest day's work. They do know when they've played a worthy foe. Which is why even nonconference losses to Louisiana Tech and UCLA didn't wreck OSU's 2002 season; the Cowboys still came within three points of winning the Big 12 South. Which is why OSU's victory at UCLA last September was the best Cowboy feat of 2004. Do not be deceived by the much-embraced Bill Snyder theory, that scheduling victories leads to much-needed confidence so that programs can be built. Yes, Kansas State rode the scalps of yahoos to precious victories in the 1990s. But KState tried the same thing in the 1970s, and it didn't work. In the 1970s, while most schools would have been mortified to play a steady diet of overmatched foes, KSU tried that very tact. In the '70s, out of 40 non-league games total, Kansas played 37 against teams from the elite conferences or elite independents. OU played 36 and Missouri 35. But Kansas State played just 14. And it didn't do the Wildcats any good. They stunk most of the '70s. So while yes, scheduling light worked for Iowa State in the '70s (four bowl games, in years in which the Cyclones went 14-1 vs. teams outside the elite leagues), scheduling tough worked for Baylor. The Bears under Grant Teaff became a SWC force in the '70s and annually played solid non-conference foes. Missouri in the '70s played all comers - Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, USC, Notre Dame, Stanford, Mississippi, North Carolina, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Cal and Air Force. Missouri in the Big 12 era prefers Eastern Illinois and Ball State. Yet Mizzou was much more competitive in the '70s. Kansas in the '70s played Michigan, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, UCLA, Miami, Washington, Syracuse, Texas Tech and Florida State. KU in the Big 12 era prefers Jacksonville State and Cal State-Northridge. Yet Kansas was much more competitive in the '70s. The correlation between easy schedules building into conference success is not apparent. As much evidence suggests, the tougher the schedule, the better your building. Perhaps the next Oklahoma State athletic director will see the light.

Your new mission, if you accept it........Wake up Section E

Beleive he's referring to someone posting that his shoulder wouldn't be healed by start of the season.

Emmitt you're BAD Now BlueRaiderPride will be back with a vengence using that stupid blue type.

It was also the time that Blakeley's team were tearing up old SWC teams. A good time to be GREEN

We know. the MUTS are the Sun Belt's "sexy team"

Article also cites two other Sun Belt players QB -- Clint Marks, Middle Tennessee: The quarterback guided the Blue Raiders to the 15th-rated passing attack in the nation last season and first in the Sun Belt. He enters this season as a junior, but has already set a few school records. He threw for 2,749 yards and a whopping 70.4 completion percentage in 2004. Only two players had a higher percentage -- Louisville's Stefan Lefors and Toledo's Bruce Gradkowski. DL -- Brandon Guillory, Louisiana-Monroe: You might not know him, but I'll bet all the Sun Belt teams do. He is the leader of the Indians defense and had 47 tackles last season -- 18 of them for a loss (5.5 sacks). CB -- Willie Hughley, Florida Atlantic: With FAU joining Division I-A this season, Hughley is ready to reign terror on the Sun Belt Conference. The cornerback led the Owls with six picks and 11 broken passes. He has 14 career interceptions and this year will get a chance to play against some high-profile teams (Oklahoma State, Minnesota and Louisville).

http://preseason.stassen.com/consensus/200...5.html#sun-belt 1 North Texas 2 Middle Tennessee 3 Troy 4 Louisiana-Monroe 5 Louisiana-Lafay. 6t Arkansas State 6t Florida Atlantic 8 Florida Intl

San Diego State has been in the end of season Top 20 four times http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/mo...n_the_polls.php

1977 UPI Final Poll 1. Notre Dame 2. Alabama 3. Arkansas 4. Penn State 5. Texas 6. Oklahoma 7. Pittsburgh 8. Michigan 9. Washington 10. Nebraska 11. Florida State 12. Ohio State (tie) Southern Cal 14. North Carolina 15. Stanford 16. North Texas St. (tie) Brigham Young 18. Arizona State 19. San Diego State (tie) N. C. State Scroll down http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/polls_1..._1936_2000.html

The old OwlZone WAC forum is history. FWIW here's some new WAC forum sites. Similar to the MWC site http://www.westsports.com/forums/index.php?showforum=6 Part of SJSU board. http://mb8.scout.com/fsanjosestatefrm13 ncaaBBS site. http://www.ncaabbs.com/forums/wac/invision...php?act=SF&f=18

Off the MUTS board. http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/NEWSV5...516conferwj.htm Conferences start tackling major changes By Tom Ensey Montgomery Advertiser The Southwestern Athletic Conference has a new television package. The Southeastern Conference bowl contracts are up at the end of this year. The Sun Belt Conference has finished expanding for the time being. The Ohio Valley Conference is looking to market itself on the Web. The topics covered a broad spectrum of college sports when four league commissioners gathered in Tuscaloosa on Monday and met the press. Mike Slive of the SEC, Jon Steinbrecher of the OVC, Wright Waters of the Sun Belt and Robert Vowells of the SWAC participated in a roundtable discussion and answered questions from members of the Alabama Sports Writers Association at the organization's annual convention. Vowells announced that as part of the SWAC's new TV deal with ESPN, the league's football champion will meet the winner of the MEAC in a mini bowl game on Dec. 3 at Birmingham's Legion Field. The game will be broadcast on ESPN as part of the programming package that will include a minimum of 24 telecasts on various ESPN networks. "We hope it will increase our exposure and enrollments at our schools," Vowells said. "That is vital to us. It's been a long time coming." The bowl tie-ins for the SEC are up this year, and the league is in discussion with current bowl partners and others to determine what the league will do, Slive said. The SEC has already announced that it will use instant replay in football for the first time next fall. Waters said the Sun Belt will experiment with the process as well, but the reviews of the plays in the booth will not affect the game. The statistics and reviews from the study will be compiled and studied, he said. Waters also said the expansions and contractions the league has experienced in recent years have stabilized. Idaho, Utah State and New Mexico State are out; Troy, Florida International and Florida Atlantic are officially in. "We're a 13-team league now and have gotten our geography back where it needs to be," he said. "With the exception of the University of Denver, we stretch from Denton, Texas to Miami and from Bowling Green (Ky.) to Mobile." Violence by fans and athletes is an issue that never seems to go away, and all conferences are dealing with it in different ways. Slive said the SEC will sponsor a mentoring program to prevent violence by athletes on and off the field. The SEC was embarrassed last year when a brawl erupted between league member South Carolina and rival Clemson. "It's a national issue and we want to make a contribution as a conference," he said. "We want to take a leadership role in that area." Progressive fines of $5,000, $25,000 and $50,000 will be imposed on SEC schools where fan violence erupts, Slive said. Steinbrecher said the Ohio Valley Conference is looking into a Web-based technology that could make telecasts of league sports events available on the Internet. It's a solution to the fact that smaller schools have a hard time attracting television contracts from networks. Steinbrecher also said that because OVC schools play football at the NCAA Division I-AA level, league schools will not add a 12th football game in the immediate future. Though Division I-A approved expansion of the schedule, Division I-AA did not. "A majority of I-AA schools favor adding the 12th game," Steinbrecher said. "It's a flaw in our governance that we didn't get it." He said the OVC and other schools at the I-AA level are working toward adding a 12th game. While the issues facing big schools and smaller schools vary widely, schools at all levels are coping with the Academic Progress Rate, a new NCAA rule stipulating that athletes must complete specific percentages of their degree requirements or their school could face penalties that can include scholarship reductions and bans on post-season play. All commissioners agreed that they favored the legislation in principle, but that the rules would need adjusting. "I think we all acknowledge that there are some issues in (APR)," Waters said. "But at the same time we had to do something."

From a June 3rd DRC article. The addition of Auten is just one of several last-minute maneuvers the Outlaws are trying to complete in time for their first season. The team is also in the process of completing renovations on Coldwell Banker New Century Solutions Ballpark. The field was home to the Liberty Christian baseball team through the high school season. Outlaws officials have been rushing to move the fence back and complete a series of other upgrades in time for the team's home opener against Graham on Thursday. "We still have a whole lot of work to do," Hampton said. "We are doing about $110,000 worth of renovations to our field and are about 80-90 percent done. We won't finish until Wednesday." Hampton and TCL commissioner John Blake both said they were confident that the Outlaws would complete renovations to the field in time for the first TCL game in Denton. "We are pretty happy with what they were able to do," Blake said. "It was a little nerve racking when we went through that time wondering if they were going to have a stadium built or not, but they were able to get a corporate partner and put significant money into renovating their field."

Here's Voertman's link. http://www.voertmans.com/

Off the Muts board. All the Sun Belt basketball signees by alphabetical order. Can also seperate by school. Click on name for bio. http://interact.fansonly.com/recruiting/se...ruitusa_flag=N#

Thread on the Mustang board. Someone taking a shot at the Muts coach http://www.ponyfans.com/msgboard/index3.asp

Smoooooooo loses to the Muts La Vergne's Hudson signs with MTSU BY STEVE HEATH dnj.com La Vergne all-state center Theryn Hudson signed a national letter-of-intent to play basketball at MTSU for the 2005-06 season. Hudson, a 6-foot, 10-inch standout that led the Wolverines to the District 9-AAA tournament title and Region 5-AAA semifinals, chose MTSU over South Carolina and SMU. MTSU coach Kermit Davis said he was excited to get a local player with Hudson's talent. "We told Theryn, during the process of recruiting, wherever he had been we would have recruited him, being only 20 minutes away, he'll bring more interest from (La Vergne) fans and be able to bring more family to games." After averaging five points and six rebounds as a junior, Hudson blossomed in his senior season. He scored 19.2 points per game, averaged 10 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots. He scored a career-high 31 points in a Region 5-AAA quarterfinal win over Clarksville and recorded one of his four triple-doubles (points, rebounds and blocks) on the season. "I'm glad it's all over with," said Hudson of the recruiting process. He had visited SMU last weekend. Hudson was named to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Class AAA All-State team and will play in the Tennessee Athletics Coaches Association East-West All-Star game in June at Franklin¹s Centennial High School. He was a first--team selection for both District 9-AAA and the Daily News Journal All-Area squad. He was also named all-Region 5-AAA. "Now, I can focus on playing basketball at MTSU," Hudson said. Originally published April 15, 2005

http://www.al.com/sports/mobileregister/in...47063022080.xml LeFlore celebrates scholarship signings Starting lineup for Rattlers boys' basketball team signs college scholarships Thursday, April 14, 2005 By MIKE HERNDON Sports Reporter The gym was full, the cheerleaders standing with pompons on hips, the pep band in formation with instruments at the ready. As has been the case so many times in the past four years, all eyes in the building were on Brandon Hollinger, Harold Edwards, Andrew Hayles, Bry an Campbell and Stephon Grove. But LeFlore's starting five were not wearing their basketball uniforms Wednesday. They were not standing at center court, waiting for the jump ball. They wore khakis, button-down shirts, ties and warm-up pullovers, sat behind a table at one end of the court and, one by one, stood to announce which college they plan to attend next year. Seated in a gym where they didn't get to play a single game this season, the Rattlers then signed their college scholarships as they had played during their four years in green and orange -- together. Hollinger signed with Alabama, Edwards with North Texas, Hayles and Campbell with Alabama State and Grove with Cumberland (Ky.) College. The Rattlers' other two seniors, Jeremy Browder and Sam Conner, joined their teammates at the signing table but are still mulling offers from Tuskegee, Faulkner University, Johnson C. Smith and Bethune-Cookman. "That's 14 kids in two years, potentially 16," said LeFlore coach Otis Hughley, who watched all nine of last year's seniors sign college scholarships. "That's what it's all about. I'd trade 36-0 for that any day." While most signings are relatively quiet affairs punctuated by polite applause in school libraries and foyers, this one had a game-day atmosphere. Students crammed into the gym, which has been closed since last basketball season while undergoing repairs to the roof and air conditioning system. The ceremony opened with the school's seniors expelling a junior from their section with a popular basketball cheer, often heard toward the end of Rattler blowouts: "Get your hat, your coat, and leave!" Also included were a rousing performance by the school's pep band and a highlight video that featured a montage of dunks, fast breaks and slick ball-handling. "I'm going to really, really miss you," Hughley told his seniors, who led the Rattlers to a 35-1 record and, at one point, a No. 2 national ranking. "You mean a lot to what we've tried to accomplish here. You can tell by the yelling and the cheering, these kids are not just happy to be out of class. They're proud you represented them well. You transformed all the haters to celebrators." Hollinger, the 6A player of the year, joins an Alabama recruiting class that already includes the state's Mr. Basketball, 6-foot-9 Athens forward Richard Hendrix, along with 6-6 swingman Alonzo Gee of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; 6-3 combo guard Ray George of Georgia Perimeter College; and 6-10 center Yamene Coleman of Wilcox Central. Crimson Tide coach Mark Gottfried said the 5-11 Hollinger, who averaged 19 points and eight assists per game, reminds him of former UCLA point guard Tyus Edney. "Brandon is an excellent player and a fierce competitor," Gottfried said. "He knows how to win and has been very well coached. We have done well with guys in our state that may not have been ranked by the experts that high but develop into very good SEC players. He is a very good ball-handler and shooter and is extremely quick. He will add depth in our backcourt and won't back down from anyone." Even with Alabama's starting point guard Ronald Steele returning for his sophomore season, Hughley said he expects Hollinger to contribute early. "There's no doubt in my mind," he said, "Brandon's going to find a way on the floor." Edwards, a 6A all-stater who averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds per game, said he chose North Texas over Georgia Tech because he wanted to make an early im pact. "Next year, y'all will be able to cut the TV on and see me playing," he told the crowd, "instead of cutting the TV on and saying, 'Harold looks real good on the bench.'" Hughley said Georgia Tech coaches had asked the 6-6 Edwards, who is qualified academically, to wait a few days while they made sure his grades met the school's higher academic standards. But to do so he would have risked losing the North Texas offer. "Harold's best basketball is ahead of him," Hughley said. "North Texas has got a dream come true in that kid." Hayles and Campbell chose Alabama State over Louisiana-Monroe, where former Alabama assistant Orlando Early -- who had been recruiting Hollinger for the Tide -- is now the head coach. Both players said they wanted to go to the same school. "We wanted to go already knowing somebody," said Hayles, the younger brother of Auburn forward Daniel Hayles. "Plus, we knew each other on the court already, too." Hughley called the 6-5 Hayles "the best-kept secret in Alabama" and said Campbell would be the answer to the ball-handling problems that haunted the Hornets in their SWAC championship game loss to Alabama A&M. Edwards said it was special to sign his scholarship alongside his teammates, all of whom came to LeFlore together as freshmen. "These are the people I came here with," he said. "It's good to see everybody going on and doing something with their lives that's positive."

This is a post by Cooley on the Mean & Green board. Didn't know that Edwards was also offered by WKU. January 26, 2005 Unsigned Edwards leads No. 4 team in the nation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jerry Meyer RivalsHoops.com Although LeFlore High School in Mobile, Ala., has to play all of their games on the road with their gym undergoing construction, they have a 25-0 record and a No. 4 national ranking. Leading the way for LeFlore is 6-foot-6, 215-pound combo forward Harold Edwards. Although Edwards has only been playing basketball for a couple years, the unsigned senior has several offers, including one from a Big Ten school. "Harold has offers from North Texas, Penn State, Lipscomb, Alabama State, Western Kentucky, South Alabama and Jacksonville State," said LeFlore head coach Otis Hughley, who played high school ball for Bobby Hurley, Sr., at St. Anthony's High School and coached NBA star Ben Wallace in the juco ranks. "He is also getting interest from Georgetown and Florida State." Edwards, who is averaging 19 points and 12 rebounds per game, primarily plays the post for LeFlore but projects as a combo forward. Even though he spends most of his time around the basket for LeFlore, he is shooting 43 percent from the three-point line. "Harold's greatest strength is that he competes so hard," said Hughley. "This is only his second year to play ball, so his better basketball is ahead of him. "He'll dunk on you without a step. He's tough inside. He can also step out and hit the three. If you put some weight on him, he will be special." Coach Hughley noted that Edwards has some work to do on his left hand but further experience and his strong work ethic should take care of that aspect of his game.

From BlueRaiders.com http://goblueraiders.com/?go=story&doc=3934

Off the Muts board. Success=bigger $$$ Smith, UA reach agreement By Tommy Deas Sports Writer April 11, 2005 TUSCALOOSA | The Tuscaloosa News has learned that Stephany Smith has reached an agreement in principle to become the next head women’s basketball coach at the University of Alabama. Smith met with her team at Middle Tennessee State University, where she has been head coach for the last eight seasons, on Sunday night to tell the players she is leaving for Alabama. Alabama Athletics Director Mal Moore is out of town and was not available for comment. Smith was also unavailable for comment. Smith may not be introduced at Alabama until later in the week after Moore returns from an outing with the UA football coaching staff. Marie Robbins, associate athletics director and senior women’s administrator at Alabama, would not comment on the situation. “I can neither confirm nor deny," said Robbins, a member of the search committee tasked to find a replacement for Rick Moody, who resigned at the end of the 2004-05 season after 16 years as head coach at Alabama. Smith, who interviewed on the UA campus last Thursday, has not worked out all of the final details of her deal with Alabama, but has discussed specifics about her compensation package. The amount of the package offered to her is not known. Smith was also a finalist for the vacant women’s basketball head coaching position at Clemson, according to published reports. She interviewed for the job at Clemson before interviewing with Alabama. Smith has guided Middle Tennessee State to a 153-88 record in eight seasons, including 48 victories in the last two seasons. The Blue Raiders have made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament’s second round. Middle Tennessee State upset North Carolina State in this year’s tournament after knocking off North Carolina last year. Middle Tennessee State offered Smith a contract extension through the 2010 season that would have made her the highest paid head women’s basketball coach in the Sun Belt Conference, raising her salary somewhere above $125,000, but she did not sign the deal. Smith, a native of Brookhaven, Miss., was an assistant coach at UAB before being hired at Middle Tennessee State.