galojah

I posted this on the C-USA message board, but wanted to share here. I think UNT will play much closer against WKU than some think. I compare your situation to WKU basketball in 2012. The players did not want to play for Ken McDonald. Our record was 5-11 when he was fired mid-season. We ended up 17-19 with a win in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. This could be a defining moment for UNT. I hope it is. I am sure the team will have some player-only meetings and this season will have some highlights still.

Good luck, guys!

So true.

I could. Long term, we cannot continue to have uneven divisions. It is such a hassle. It would not make sense to have ONE non-football school.

Denver is on its way out anyway. So was UNO. Neither play the require number of sports in the SBC according to the new conference rules. So in a few years they were going to be going anyway. The question now is do you keep UALR? They would be the only non-football team left in the conference. If we go to 10 teams, we could go to a round-robin 18-game basketball schedule with no divisions (or still keep divisions if it helps the egos of the 5th place team in the west or east not being called the 10th place team in the SBC.) That, to me, would be awesome.

There is a choir of teams saying the same thing!

It was a great atmosphere! I am sure had to look good on the tube. Great game! OMV is the man!

Absolutely-- that is what I do from Bowling Green. Fly Nashville to New Orleans. Then, of course, you can stop and get some great New Orleans cuisine before you hit the road. God Bless Southwest Airlines! If SWA doesn't fly there, it's not a destination!

Let me just say as an alumnus and a donor, I was greatly disappointed in the behavior of our guys down there and hope to never see something like that again, and I told Coach Elson the same thing. It was definitely a learning experience for our guys and young staff.

Nope. Their is an equation... something like the cheapest ticket cannot be more than 1/3 of the most expensive ticket or something like that--- to avoid that very thing, handing out free tickets to get your attendance.

So if you refund the ticket--- can you count their attendance in the NCAA figures? I doubt so.

I've not read anything about Missouri State being interested in I-A. In fact, I know someone who works over there and they are not discussing it. They have a pretty good deal in the Missouri Valley Conference. So instead of Missouri State, say maybe Georgia Southern. I'd want the program to be good at ALL revenue sports. Our basketball has to improve. Although, I am apposed to a 12-team conference. We cannot support a conference championship game and it would only likely knock someone of out a bowl anyway. Also, you're looking at 2014 at the earliest. You have to look two years beyond the end of the moratorium.

I don't think we need 12. I'd rather see us actually drop down to nine for all sports, through I am not in favor of kicking any teams out (including Denver, we invited them, we owe them a home), but if it happened that would be best. Then we could play single division, round-robin, basketball-- which is the best basketball their is. I smaller, tighter, conference is where we need to head. Expansion-- no.

They may be able to raise the one-time monies to pay for the stadium, but they didn't tell how they intend to raise $10-$15 Million annually that they say they need above the $10M student fee income. That is no easy chunk to raise ANNUALLY. To give some perspective on Texas State: Their endowment balance: $42.3 Million; WKU's endowment balance, $102 Million Their annual fundraising total for FY 2007: $14.3 Million; WKU's total, $17.6 Million So not sure how they can expect to raise $10-$15 Million just for athletics when the entire University only raised $14 million. Obviously they can expect a little more in axillary services, suite contracts, increased ticket sales, etc., but not anywhere close to the numbers they need. Their plan is suspect.

I don't see what is so funny about it. Every team sets goals before the start of the season. They usually are something like, 1) conference championship, 2) bowl game. For this season and next season, WKU cannot have those goals. So, to motivate your team you have to create other goals. At seven wins, (granted not the seven wins we had) a team becomes bowl eligible. So since we could not win a conference, could not go to a bowl game, we played for rings to celebrate a successful first year of transition. For seniors who won't have an opportunity to ever compete for a championship but sacrifice their senior year for the good of the program, I think it is a noble gesture by the athletic department. Sorry you disagree.

I skimmed the report and while it all looks good, they don't really tell HOW they will accomplish their goals. $10M in student fees is a lot. They contradict themselves when they say they don't want to be dependent on student fee because their study says that schools that are supported on student fees tend to be destined for the bottom tier of FBS, but yet $10M would be up to half half of their proposed budget. And they don't account for their other $15M, as you mentioned. I think they are in for a reality check. It did mention a stadium renovation/expansion with 25,000 seats and club level seating, which is very close to what WKU is doing. 2014 is a long way off, to predict any conference affiliation would be guessing. A lot can change and probably will by then. By then C-USA may finally be seen by all for what it is becoming, just another non-BCS conference like the WAC, MAC, and SBC. Take Memphis away from basketball and C-USA has no competitive advantage. Their bowl ties will start to drift away as contracts expire.

The rings were simply a motivational tool for the seniors who were robbed of a chance to compete for a championship. These kids came to WKU expecting to be able to compete for a I-AA Championship each year. They have sacrificed their senior year for the good of the program. Our kids opened the season with no chance for a post season. I think it was great of the coaches and athletic staff to give these kids something to work toward when the situation we are in did not allow for any post-season success. It won't be a normal occurrence.

Interesting: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...7.41cb00c5.html Like I said, no one should be naive enough to think they are exempt from kids acting like kids. It was just an unfortunate game where emotions ran wild on both sides.

I certainly understand your frustration, and if I ran a message board, I would allow other fans to post. But try not to hold it against all the fans because the owner of a message board chooses to run his board his way. Obviously, you are certainly in your right to ban us. In fact, if that is your desire, I can certainly just not post. I don't want to cause conflict or post where I am not wanted.

Nope, and as a diehard Eagles fan, props to you all! The new CD is on my Christmas list! Since you know Eagles, some advice -- "Get Over It, Get Over it!" "Take it easy..."

If those two silly things caused your players to start a fight after the game, then your players emotions are just as erratic and undisciplined. You all won the game, nothing else needed to be said or done. The grenade thing was just stupid and embarrassing for WKU; you all should just laughed at it. Their were no similar incidents this season. Their was a Florida coach fussing to his old buddies at BGSU because we played their quarterback (the legendary Tebo) rough. But lets not get into all this.

I am not in favor of a sledgehammer on the sideline of a game. It serves no purpose. However, from what I am told, it is actually a very common symbolic tool used by many teams and is on the sidelines of other teams. Don't let one bad incident in 2002 give the indication that our team is out of control or dangerous. Every school has unfortunate incidents at some point. Anytime you have 100 kids on the sideline, full of emotion, something is bound to happen at some point. Doesn't excuse it, but it happens.

I share the potential other side, not to push blame.... because our guys did some stupid stuff. But, to just show that both sides have some blame to share on this. The sledgehammer incident in 2002 was embarrassing and I was disappointed. I am probably more conservative than most fans today, but I believe in keeping your mouth shut and just play tough. I am not in favor of smack talk between players or fans. It accomplishes nothing. The grenade celebration, unfortunately, was planned by the players (I don't believe the coaches were aware). That was stupid on their part.

Hilltopper "Haven" is designed by its own to be just that, a Haven for WKU fans. It is nothing personal against UNT fans. The owner of the site does not allow any fans of other schools to register. The scout message board site is open to all. As to the "Hilltoppers". WKU's campus is on top of the tallest point in Warren County, so once you visit WKU's campus, it will make more sense. As to the picture of the singing group, the Hilltoppers (below),.... The Hilltoppers were a 1950s musical quartet that achieved status as the number one musical group during 1953-54. The group was the number one vocal combination by Billboard and Cash Box magazines in 1953 and consistently remained one of America's Top Ten through 1960. The quartet originated when three Western students, Don McGuire ('54), Jimmy Sacca ('53) and Seymore Spiegelman ('53), joined a former Westerner, Billy Vaughn. Their first hit was "Trying." Twenty-one Hilltopper recordings made Billboard Magazine's Top 40 Hit List. The group had record sales in excess of 8 million copies. They appeared on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town and also on American Bandstand.

Yes, this is exactly the situation. And, be careful what you wish for, you might get it--- the investigation. Their are two sides to every situation guys.... and having talked to a few people, UNT is not innocent in all this. Apparently after the game a football was thrown by a UNT player at our coaches and several UNT players were disrespectful to our coaches and players after the game. Also, from what I am told, UNT player threw the first punch and a video may show this. So, like I said, be careful, you might find you have a little more fault. Usually in these situtations, you will find both schools did some things wrong. Fights are not generally one-sided. Having said that, I apologize for anything my school did. As a ticket holder, booster, and alumnus, I want my team to represent the school with class. We did not do this.