Eagle1855

I'll give you Alabama and LSU. But Ole Miss and Arkansas are largely regional, second-tier programs, related to prestige. And entirely up and down, year to year, with respects to winning. I don't expect A&M to come back either. But I think it's kind of a myopic look at the current state of things and project it as a forecast for the way things will always be. Not long ago Ok State, Tech, OU, Texas were all winning 10+ games a year. Before that, Alabama was floundering in a wasteland of mediocrity (hard to believe it, but they didn't begin their rise back to prominence until ~2007). Before that, LSU also went through a pre-Saban dark ages, of sorts. It's just the cyclical nature of the sport. I don't buy the idea that UT doesn't want schools around them to be "good." TCU was added because they were good. Period. UT's arrogance is largely based on a shared forgone conclusion that they just expect to be better. If UT wanted a replacement program located in the Metroplex that they could beat up on year in and year, they could have just added us.

I mean, whether or not his approach is the best way to go about things, it's still nice to see someone gives enough of a damn to do something. I'd love to have to reel in one of our BOR members for getting mad about our place in the college football world. Regarding the topic at hand, UH is little threat to UT and A&M (even its close proximity to College Station won't trump the A&M brand vs decades of UH's less-than-desirable image). But if I'm Texas Tech, I am adamantly opposed to this addition, because Tech stands to lose more than anyone. I think -- and have thought -- that adding BYU and UH makes a lot of sense for the Big XII. The latter, because it allows the Big XII to permanently retain a foot-hold in Houston, a market that has recently been encroached upon by the SEC (with LSU and now, as a new member, A&M). I also think bringing A&M and Mizzou back into the fold makes even more sense, now that there is a playoff (remind me again why we need 14-team conferences?), but that's a ship that's long-since sailed.

My "scapegoat number" is based on the fact that only ~4% of the school's population is a member of a fraternity or a sorority -- and that includes ALL Greek letter organizations, not just the ones who bother to rent space, bring out their groups, and set up tailgates. If that's who people want to blame for a 36,168-student university with 237,000+ area alums averaging 19,271 fans at home games, have at it. It just seems like the very definition of missing the forest for the trees.

I hope so too. Baseball is tops. But if we are to start paying student-athletes, I have concerns about the university's willingness to add more to the payroll. There are currently six -- SIX -- Texas universities in the Top 25 of NCAA baseball (seven in the Top 27, if you want to include Baylor). If we're not going into this thing with winning -- and winning often -- in mind, I'd just as soon forget about it.

They make up a completely insignificant percentage of the University's total admission and can hardly be blamed for the the overall student participation, which as a percentage of student population, is sad. They're an easy scapegoat, but hardly the problem. Let's say we get the 500 fraternity members + friends standing around outside the stadium to go in. Now the average attendance has gone all the way up to "sad + 500." What are we going to get the other 10k-15k to care?

so we doing baseball still, or nah?

Conroe is over 60 miles from College Station. Katy is over 80. Houston, more than 90. That's a horribly lengthy commute to make to go to college -- especially since none of them would be considered an "easy" drive. I could understand some adult/non-trad students or graduate students commuting for specific programs, but I don't know why any traditional undergrad would want to make that drive several times a week. Especially since UH is closer to all of them, caters to non-traditional students, and offers a solid education in its own right. Additionally, A&M has an MBA campus in The Woodlands, so there's no reason to go to the main campus for post-grad business programs. All that said, I can certainly appreciate the desire to spend as little time as possible in College Station.

It doesn't.

Depends on when they went to A&M. I think the younger (more recent) grads are as sharp as anywhere you'll find.

I knew I liked this guy from the first time I met him. Makes sense, too. He's an alum of a public institution that's about as good as anywhere in the country, in most areas (if you believe the ratings). I'd love to see UNT move into the top 100. I agree with him 100% on the quality of professors. I had some fantastic professors in the economics department who were not only good at what they did, but they gave a damn about how the rest of us were doing. That's the key distinction -- one which he effectively drives home.

That's one of the better ads I've ever seen for a church.

Not related to the topic at hand, but I completely agree with whoever said Arkansas has a good chance of winning the SEC West, next year. I think they're in line for a turnaround, much like TCU did between 2013 and 2014.

People have been dying to have a regional rival on the schedule for decades. RV went out and locked SMU into a long-term series. He should receive absolutely nothing but praise for that one. It's a win-win for both universities for the foreseeable future. If you'd have told us in 1999 that we'd someday be in a position to play Rice, La Tech, and UTEP every season, with SMU on the non-conference slate, long-term, I think most people would have been thrilled. I know I would have. And I am now. If I was making my dream schedule, I'd add Texas State or UH to a long-term deal (or both, alternating) and call it a DAY for the next however many years of scheduling. One money game, two regional opponents, one service academy, then a respectable conference slate. Not much to complain about, there.

That's what we do. Want to win a national title? Schedule UNT. For a while, seemed like all we did was play teams that had just won or were about to win a championship. In light of that, I feel we should be getting paid more for the magic our mere presence on the schedule brings to the table.

It doesn't make you a bad fan. Many of us feel the same way. I can count few wins that I've cared less about than that over Nicholls State. Glorified scrimmages do little to sate competitive interests. But you know what everyone likes watching more than a good opponent? A good home team. Winning is still #1. Especially related to filling the stands. And so all of this debate is a side-show to the main act, issue at hand. We need a good football team. It makes the rest of this feel a lot less significant.

Gross times 100.

I honestly didn't know Liberty University was an accredited college.

The case for his dismissal could start and end with the firing of Mario Cristobal.

That's basically the bulk of the story of UNT, right there, with subsequent chapters spent trying to clean up the aftermath.

Ditto. Love Cane's. It was initially a Southern Louisiana thing. If you're not into that, you're probably not going to like it.

I don't see the value in flatly stating "we don’t angle or aspire to be a statewide or even regional law school." Again, why wouldn't the goal to be to have a competitive, well-respected public law school?

You're absolutely right. My frustration is an apparent unwillingness to commit to excellence in any of these endeavors and to instead give off a "hey, this is going to be an adequate municipal university." Again, maybe I expect too much. I just don't know why you'd want to do anything if the goal wasn't to be the best. Even if you fall short, you're still pretty damned good.

Unfortunately, that they've seemingly thrown together an unaccredited community law school without ambitions of being competitive on a regional or *gasp* national level reflects poorly on UNT as a whole.

The move to OT + abysmal offensive performance/record likely sank Lemon's chances at getting an invite -- none of which was within his control. The good news is, NFL teams are always on the hunt for linemen. He'll get some workouts and he'll have a chance to show them what those that follow NT football have known.

Exactly how I read it. "If we don't win next year, I'm going to be looking for another job." QB's make or break coaches.