Greendylan

vs. Sul Ross State Wat Texas Tech Lvs. Drexel Wat Rutgers Lvs. Niagara Wvs. Hartford Wvs. Texas College Wvs. UT Arlington Lvs. Delaware State Wat Sam Houston State Wvs. Southeastern Louisiana Wvs. San Diego W 9-3, but I have a couple questions: Is the Sull Ross game legit or an exhibition? Also, because the Sam Houston State game is 12/17 (2 days after finals end), I'm assuming that Frazier will be eligible? I have that matchup as kind of a toss up even with him, so if he isn't slated to play I'll change that to a loss.

20,171

It might be a nice gesture for our fans to display some form of public support for Wheeler at the next home game. . . . as long as it doesn't in any way glorify the injuries. (I think that goes without saying)

UNT - 28 BC - 27

18,323

It's almost like all the preseason prognosticators who called us the worst team in the nation were right.

You're not wrong. But, we should also consider that non-season-ticket-holding North Texas fans have almost no incentive to buy tickets in advance: Manageable game day lines + zero chance of a sellout = better to check the weather the day of before paying. I think your attendance estimate, while far more realistic than some dreamers' numbers, is still a little low. Last year we had 19,602 for an anticlimactic third week home opener after a massive letdown against SMU. I would expect to at least slightly eclipse that number and get into 20,000+.

This prediction business is hard. Here's the conundrum as I see it: the easiest patch of the schedule is the first two games. They are both at home with one being a true tossup (rivalry game between two familiar and similarly situated foes) and the other being against the only opponent that, as of now, we will be favored against. And here's the rub--I don't know if the team will be ready by game one, which could set things in motion for disaster as the schedule reaches the unforgiving stretches and when the team knows they have nothing to play for. So, I would say that if we win the first two, then I'd predict we cobble together 5-6 wins overall forged out of momentum and hope. If we lose one or both of the first two, then we are looking at 1-3 wins total. If I absolutely HAVE to get on record with a prediction, I'll say 3-9, but I think this could be a really fun season one way or another.

I wonder what North Texas's plan B is if our Big 12 bid doesn't work out? Oh wait . . .

Vito just can't win with some of you.

JUCOs are loaded with programs to assist students from diverse educational backgrounds. In many cases they have more resources dedicated to at-risk students than universities (though not necessarily solely designed for athletes). Having said that, there are many students at JUCOs who simply are so unprepared for college level work that no matter how hard they try, it's an uphill battle.

Keep in mind that the Athletic Department may have been understaffed (I'm fairly certain this is the case) and ill-equipped to deal with the growth (albeit modest) that occurred during RV's tenure. The next AD may have to first persuade the president and BOR to add a few new hiring lines to ease the strain on everyone else. Sure, gut some corners of the department and bring in some fresh faces, but we might be surprised by how much better many of the current staff can perform in their current jobs with some additional help.

I'll be at the Fort Worth Caravan tonight. Hope to see some of you there!

I wish this were irrelevant to North Texas football, but . . . Sadly, Eastern Michigan has always been one of the few buffer zones between our football program and Division I FBS oblivion. If they drop down, then we become about a half step (if even that) from being THE example of major football futility and financial waste. I tend to believe we're still several years out from facing the conversation that EMU is currently having, but if we don't get the ship pointed in the right direction (and yes, leadership is paramount in this) quickly, the challenges to our program's very existence will be here sooner than some may realize.

Fixed

Exactly, but we have to ask why that is. Here's my fear: What if Benford's retention (with only a platitudinous explanation) was effectively our university's administration declaring that UNT will no longer concern itself with progress in basketball? In other words, no inessential expense (such as a modest one-year buyout) will be committed to our basketball program. I'm sure the powers that be recognize that Benford is not magically going to turn this team into a deep NCAA tournament team after 4 underperforming seasons. But, they probably assume that there will be enough talent next year to get to 1 or 2 games over .500. 1 winning record every 5 years may just be considered our new standard, as we continue to hide behind the false rhetoric of "this is a tough place to win" that was spewed all over the football program the last couple of years. I really hope I'm wrong.

Say what you want about these lower-tier postseason tournaments, but in the end ODU finished with at least some sort of championship that they can tout, 25 wins overall, and 3 more games against solid opponents to help prepare their returning players for next season. So sure, the tournament carries no real prestige (understandably), but overall it seems like it was a positive experience for their program.

Didn't Shanbour have an injury last year that contributed to his lack of practice reps?

First of all, I can't believe we are really debating which is worse: our AD's terrible hires or the terrible performance at everything else the AD does. Having said that, I'll jump in here and say that I tend to agree that coaches primarily win or lose of their own accord. It's not like RV is in the stands jumping up and down and flailing his arms about while tossing popcorn to distract our players at the free throw line. Perhaps some of the bad coaching hires have become epically bad because of a lack of institutional support, but I doubt any of them would have left UNT with impressive records had they only worked under a different AD. They simply were bad hires. I think the real test will be how the AD handles it if we find success with someone like Littrell or Jalie. Does our AD have the strategic thinking to capitalize on some modicum of success and catapult that forward to something sustainable? That remains to be seen since we've sadly had scant few past examples to consider, but I'm skeptical to say the least. Personally, my biggest concern is not actually the initial hiring of coaches (though that's a close second). I think the more disturbing trend is the poor judgment regarding retention of coaches. All ADs make mistakes with hiring (some way, way more than others), but it's our AD's reticence to take action that has caused some historic embarrassments to our most prominent athletic programs. Meanwhile, we are offered next to no rationale for seemingly counterintuitive decisions.

I don't spend that much, but when I think about how much I spend per win, it feels absurdly expensive.

Still waiting for that official statement from the AD that fully explains/justifies this decision. . .

3/18/16 . . . The day standards died at the University of North Texas.

I wonder how many pages this thread will span before our AD actually begins considering new coaching candidates. My guess is 16. That should take us through next season and then the ensuing extension years.

Welp, sounds like business as usual.

IF Benford is coming back, that suggests one of two scenarios: A. The school just doesn't have the money for a buyout. Having to only eat the final year of a contract is the ideal situation for a buyout, so if we have been left so financially insolvent by previous missteps that we can't even buyout a mediocre salary (relatively speaking) at the cheapest time, then that is a reflection of TERRIBLE financial planning by the AD. For the record, I don't think that this is the case. B. The AD truly believes that Benford, despite all evidence to the contrary, is going to be awesome next year with a loaded roster and then miraculously reload that roster for the start of his new extension years. If this is the belief, then it is a reflection of TERRIBLE judgment by the AD. All I want is for a decision to be made by the end of the day today and for a thorough explanation via press conference. Despite being wrong about this the last couple years, I do still believe that this time they will get it right and see that there isn't much of a path forward with Benford (to borrow an expression from the presidential primaries).