Eagle1855

Let's go ahead and get the annual Ark State and UNT game moved to the last game of the season. That way, when it's played for a BCS spot in 2014, we'll garner maximum exposure. #drinkingbefore5pmdontjudgeme

I can't think of a bigger whore in college football than Todd Graham, over the past 5 years.

This Pitt WR clearly doesn't appreciate it: http://twitter.com/#!/D_Street_15

Glad for A-S-U, Still happy with our hire, too His wife's a nutter.

Too bad about the UH game, as I think that's a 100% winnable game, in 2012. It's hard to explain in words how completely irrelevant we are in the landscape of Texas college football. But we are. And it sucks. I don't even know how you fix it. New conference? Winning games? All the above?

I remember a few months ago when SMU made a big stink about going to a BCS conference and everyone called it absurd, little more than their own pathetic hopes and dreams.

The only people that think that are fans of programs that are stuck in the Sunbelt.

Yes.

Did something happen with UT refs against North Texas in the past? Anyone have the back-story on this?

Good thoughts, guys.

Yes. Without question. And Tulsa did draw better than most other teams those years.

I'm trying to think of a year where I was less interested in the season's bowl matchups. Coming up with nothing. Pretty uninspiring post-season, this year.

Further proof that when we do something worth noting, the media notes it. Great game by Dunbar and the team. Proud to see the score and stats scroll across the ticker. Great way to end the season with momentum going into recruiting.

Dear This Thread, Wow.

The fact is, we're an afterthought in an afterthought conference, and none of that is going to change until we start producing results.

In summation, human nature still influences decisions humans make.

I predict that after this loss we will have to win the conference to make it to the tournament. Bummer.

I'd think Mike Leach to UCLA makes the most sense...

Again, I hate the current state of college football.

The more I thought about this conversation, the more inclined to agree with you I am. I think it did provide us the foothold back into the relevant college football world. And I think we lost that momentum with a few disappointing hires. Ultimately, I think the upside to the Sun Belt is much smaller than any other conference, but I do agree that we need to get back to winning it... and we're definitely not there yet. Good thoughts.

That's really great, Rick. I was referring to the casual fan. But you're never one to miss a chance to pat yourself on the back, are you?

Just a dramatic comparison to what I would deem a peer University that had that very thing happening at the same time as our game. I've traveled all over this country to see UNT play. So no, I'm not a bad fan; I'm an awesome fan who currently hasn't the money to spend on a bad team in a worse conference. And I've already traveled to Denton twice this year. But if I lived in DFW, I'd have been there. Point is, attendance is related to the teams we play but it's even more strongly-related to winning games. Beating teams that matter is a recipe for sell-outs. I don't think the SunBelt will kill our program. I also don't think it does much to help it, either. Especially when we don't win the games against the teams in this conference.

The choice of words and the method of conveying his position left much to be desired, but regardless of what everyone on here thinks, Sun Belt fans and otherwise, we're always going to have a tough time going where we want to go just beating up on Sun Belt teams. It did very little for us during our bowl runs. We won 26 straight conference games and no one even flinched. It didn't improve our recruits. It didn't improve national perception. We plateaued. Then we hired Todd Dodge. With respect to attendance, it DOES matter what teams we play. Some of you are missing the point. It isn't about other teams bringing their fans, it's about our fans showing up to see our team take on a team that MATTERS in the landscape of college football. It costs me $150 in gas round trip to go to Denton from Houston. That doesn't include a hotel at $100, tickets to the game at $40 or so for a pair, any concessions, dinner, etc... You're looking at a $400 trip. At present time, I don't have $400 to spend on a 4-6 team playing a terrible team from Kentucky that just got housed by LSU the weekend before. I have virtually no incentive to spending that kind of coin on that game. Now you tell me college gameday is in town, that UNT is undefeated, and we're taking on an in-state rival, I'll find the money. If that makes me a bad fan, a bad fan I am. But there are thousands of other bad fans out there that think just like me.

None of this is really very difficult to understand. It's all simple economics and opportunity cost. Most people don't want to work their schedule and empty their wallets to watch a bad team play a bunch of never-heard-ofs. We play a bunch of teams that casual college football fans have either never heard or are certain they are Div II schools. Figure out how to build a winning program, then the rest follows. UH was winless 10 years ago, no one showed up to games. This weekend, I attended a game vs SMU that was the largest crowd in Robertson history. It was awesome. Winning brings supporters, casual and die-hards alike. And maybe the former later become the latter.

Our problem is losing, and then doing so in the worst conference in D1 football.