untjim1995

I think it's ok to recognize a few advantages that UTSA has on a lot of teams in CUSA, including us, when it comes to recruiting. First of all, they are in a tourist destination--whether we like the town or not, lots of people love to go there. And it's location attracts strong OOC opponents, including lots of P5s. Kids can be sold on playing at UTSA when they visit the Alamodome and see UTSA hanging with teams like Arizona, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State. That's a huge advantage that we don't get to offer--our big games are SMU and Army for OOC home opponents--it's not even close. Second, they do have strong support from the city of San Antonio and it's media. The SA Express News, as well as their TV stations cover them closely and don't consider them as laughingstocks or as not worth mentioning. DFW media is almost the complete opposite toward us. All I'm saying is that it's an easier job to recruit there than it is here. And every year, we go over the same argument about why we should be so much better in recruiting rankings and how is it that other G5s in the state and region are doing so much better. But it's basically been a couple of Dickey stealth years that got us the talent for our SBC run and the early Dodge years when his HS reputation was getting us some solid skill players for offense, otherwise it's been mediocre to dead-ass last in these recruiting rankings. Again, it hasn't mattered what coach, what conference, or what stadium we have played in, the recruiting doesn't really improve. The reality is that our best teams we have fielded since we moved back up to FBS were in 2002-2004 and in 2013, all of which benefited from the three or four better rated classes we recruited. That's why recruiting records matter. And if Seth Littrell and company cannot change this course, it's likely that we won't see much difference between him and his predecessors in the standings. I still think his best course to follow was the one Johnny Jones took with the basketball program, which was to build it up and get transfers from P5s that could play here, and then eventually convince TX HS coaches and parents that we were a solid program to have their sons attend and play. If Seth can do that, I think he'll break the curse here and actually get hired away soon by a swooning P5 school.

The biggest problem we always see with these bowl turnouts and NCAA tournament turnouts for our teams is that these crowds are full of people who couldn't locate Appgee or the Super Pit ok campus but show up when we are in one of these big games. With the very rare exception of playing a name program in Denton over the years, our attendance never includes these extra fans. Don't understand why, but it's the reality of our disconnect with our alumni, students, and local citizenry.

I'll make the prediction now that La Texh will give us a gift by killing us in Ruston, La, which will be Benford's last game to coach here. He will be terminated before the next game after Saturday. Let the healing begin... We got RV'd so hard by Benford...

To me, the best here with Seth Littrell is that he follows the Johnny Jones plan--get quality FBS transfers from power schools that can play at our level, coach up kids with little or no ratings, and become a winner that eventually gains attention around the area and state that entices HS kids with talent to look at us. JJ did that and he got some solid kids into the program by the time he left for LSU. Until we see something different, and it is now even harder because we have UTSA and Texas State to recruit against in football, unlike when DD was here and recruited some great talent for about two years, it will remain the reality that our reputation as a loser and being apathetic (or worse) when looking at athletics will continue to haunt us on the recruiting front.

Very good post. For too long, the reality was that we were a program at the Division 1 FBS level for one reason--to get more money from being a whored out victim to the Power Leagues. RV really didn't fix it much, but it was better than before he got here. The biggest problem we have had was that we wouldn't buyout bad contracts. Finally, though, in 2015, we bought out the terrible contract for Petersen and the terrible extension McCarney got, all because of RV. And then, in 2016, the university bought out RV as the AD, which is why we have to endure Bumford. But if Bumford confirming to the leaders and big donors here that he sucks as a coach and cannot turn this around, no matter how dumbed down we make a schedule for him, then it was TOTALLY worth it to get rid of RV. His laziness, lack of vision, and inability to find a winner in revenue sports will forever be his legacy here to all of us who weren't in the UNT 17. That those 17 donors bought everything that RV told them for so long still remains one of life's great mysteries. Eventually, though, reality prevailed--it was just waaayyy past when we could have salvaged the basketball program being a mid-major team that was becoming someone relevant on the national scene. We moved quickly enough on McCarney to keep us from completely dying off in football, but basketball was the unlucky victim to poor hires and leadership. The only silver lining now is that it doesn't have to take years to build a winner in hoops. A new coach, with the right mindset, could turn this thing into a .500 team very quickly and then go from there. Jankovich did it when he was here, as did Johnny Jones. It could happen here, too, but it will take Wren finding the right guy. Until he proves otherwise, we have to believe Baker will do just that.

I guess at some point, schools just need to ask themselves if these costs are worth it to win at football. I mean, sure, the top level 20 power teams can pay whatever they want, then the next 45 can pay a lot, even if its significantly less than the college football royalty at the top does. Then, you get into the various levels of G5s. It won't bother me a second when the Power Conference teams pull away. Its a completely stacked deck for those schools in the top 20 or so. Texas, Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, etc...those schools are nothing but pro-lite programs. North Texas, Ohio, South Alabama, Rice, and Western Michigan will NEVER be like them---and I'm ok with that.

Thanks, Oldguy!!

What is our rank among G5s? That's what really matters for comparative reasons in polls like this.

This face on an albino squirrel would cause heads to explode...

After next season, they would only have two season to buy out f the worst contract that Tech has ever written...

Sonny Dykes and Berkeley were always an odd pairing from the start. But I bet our friends in Lubbock are interested if KK falls apart again this season ahead.

What is the back story?

Benford has really shown us some great results by being cheap and allowing this fraud to coach in the last year of his contract. Not to mention the fact that recruiting anyone with a brain to come here and commit to play is nil. The next coach will have some talent on the roster but he won't have any help coming from the HS ranks. RV'd

I still don't see how the P5s lose any lawsuit with G5s or FCS. I'm not saying you can't try, nor am I saying any G5 should voluntarily stop playing at the highest level they can. But I'm just seeing a scenario where the power teams and their networks break away for good from the rest of us. And then any lawsuit is going to be looked at as free markets speaking for larger budgets playing each other. Any lawyer worth their salt is going to say that Wisconsin spending $28 million on football and playing in a conference with other schools with similar funding should be able to determine who they play against and that a team with $8 million in funding because of limited resources and smaller fan bases. Id love for UNT to play in a conference with other power schools, but there hasn't been one time that another power league would consider inviting us, in part because of our woeful support and losing. Texas, A&M, Tech, and others built up what they have today, Why should they be compelled to be in a system that requires a team like ours to play in a playoff if they decide they don't want teams that are basically have-nots of our own efforts? I get the AAC and MWC having schools that are on par with several bad P5 teams and that they deserve a chance to earn a playoff spot, but I'm sorry, CUSA, SBC, and MAC schools don't have the budgets, following, or resources to make those higher up the food chain see how they bring any value to the system. And as much as I hate that, it's the reality that the money of these NFL-life programs carry with their fans and media.

Part of it, I think, is linked to lots of losing since the early 80s, the drop down to I-AA for 12 years with a very lowly funded program, and a half-ass effort when we moved up to I-A in 1995. The other part, I believe, is connected to a city that loves music and arts, but has either loathed or acted apathetic toward UNT athletics. TX HS coaches and parents have long memories--and that has pushed us super low on the recruiting front in the region.

I think this is the absolute perfect outcome for the G5s, but I doubt it ever happens. The Power Leagues know that the Big XII falling apart is inevitable and will open up four conference champions becoming the playoff teams each year. I actually think rankings will be moot as the regular season ends and teams make their conference championship games, with winners getting the playoff spots.

Then why can't we recruit better? Change coaches, stadiums, and conferences and nothing changes in our recruiting rankings against our peers while sitting in this "hot bed" of recruiting. Ive said it before, but until someone shows us something different, recruiting here is a hard sell. Except for Dickey's one stealth class that became the heart of those SBC Champions, as well as Dodge's first class full of offensive skill players, the other classes here since 1995 have been rated very low. To me, that's about being a loser, as well as being in a town that is well-known for not supporting the program, sometimes even showing that it loathes having football at UNT. That's pretty tough to overcome, until someone prices otherwise.

Ok--so this is all about money. The networks pay a lot to cover these schools and conferences that make many millions from their programs. Notre Dame hasn't joined a conference in full for football because networks give them enough $$ to keep them from doing it. Like it or not, the P5s have the money because they have the following, which leads to the media coverage and bowl tie-ins. At some point, Western Michigan can have a great season and spend $8 million on their program, but they know that a reward of playing P5s who spend tens of millions more on their program won't ever add up to getting invited to the club. When you host teams that bring in attendance of 15k to 30k, it's not gonna add up to being included in the club that has games attended by 40k or more in paid attendance at a high price compared to what we charge. Some schools in the MWC and AAC can make this argument, but the majority of G5s cannot. It's just hard to see how we, at a school that cannot average 20k in attendance for a season, deserve a spot in the same level as the P5s. We haven't done the job to cultivate the following that they have done--it's just the truth, which is hard to swallow. Again, if the system lets us compete for a national championship, we should thank our lucky stars, but that doesn't add up to the reality that is coming. Those Power Leagues know who is getting paid by networks and who isn't, as well as who is being sought after by big bowls and who isn't. The NCAA isn't going to let those schools go away, so they will let them play by their own rules. And the G5s will let them do it if they can still play them or if it means the NCAA tournament and College World Series won't go away from them. Follow the money and you can see where the trail ends. It's still the ONLY thing that truly matters in this argument.

This post, right here, is how you troll a message board...bravo!!

I am hopeful that we will finish in the top seven in recruiting in the league this year. I think the only way recruiting improves here is if Littrell can follow the path that Johnny Jones did, which was to show HS coaches around here that he was building something. Otherwise, those HS coaches just go back to looking at us as a fallback at best for their recruits. Until someone can do this here, this job will continue to be viewed as a tough place to recruit to.

Why hasn't this happened yet? Because the G5s have some great law schools...something tells me that they know the outcome and the lost money from no longer getting those P5 dollars.

P5 conference will be a dead term when the Big XII dies off by 2025. Then the G5s will get some additions. It's why I wanted in the MWC so badly--that league will always get a chance to play OOC games and have its champion play for a BCS bowl game, at the very least. Ditto for the AAC, which SMU blocks us from ever joining. Ill be the first to admit that I just don't see us ever getting admitted to the MWC or any other conference above us. They can get bigger and better names than UNT when the Big XII folds, both in Texas and outside of the state. We let ourselves fall to i-aa at the absolute wrong time in history, when it was basically decided to stay down there for 12 years, then move up to continue playing in a toilet bowl facility while scheduling every bodybag game we could get. That philosophy allowed us to have an AD for 15 years, who watched over a destruction of any potential move upward. Today, unlike 1982, we may get officially punted downward for good, and not of our choice or volition. Maybe a lawsuit works and the have-nots get to stay included as bodybag opponents for the power conference giants--but I know that the media, major conferences, and the NCAA don't want that to occur. As always, follow that money trail to where things end up--and this one won't end up as us being peers in any way, shape, or form, with Texas, OU, Arkansas, A&M, etc...

Scott Cross isn't coming here. If he leaves his alma mater, it will be for a much higher profile job than us.

If you want to think of how much worse it could be around here, imagine if RV was still the AD here while this mess was still going...

I'll tell you who would dream for North Texas to have a season like Western Michigan, Houston, or Northern Illinois has had in recent seasons...the Cotton Bowl in the year that the G5 has to play in its game. Could you imagine what it would be like around here if we were undefeated and playing Wisconsin on New Years Day in Arlington?