untjim1995

Similarly, before the 2005 season got up and running, SI had their complete FBS rankings for the upcoming year. In the mid 50s, you would have found TCU and UNT back-to-back in rankings, somewhere around 55 and 56. We lose to unranked Tulsa at home by only 52 points, while unranked TCU goes into Norman and beats Top 5 ranked OU. We finish 2-9, they finish 12-1, and neither school has ever looked back...TCU has finished in the top 10 several times since then. We have finished in the bottom 10 several times since then, including this past season where we finished as the worst FBS team in America. Two cars passing in the night...one went north to College Football Heaven, one went south (as in College Football Hell).

You run an awesome website...and I love reading and posting on it. And everything you just posted is dead-on... All I want is for the university to show us that they will commit to winning--an investment into personnel by US, not by a few moneyed alums, but by US. I get it that Benford is here because we bought off Mac's extended contract. But you can send a very solid message by reassigning RV to fundraising only for the university, not leading the entire athletic department or by allowing him to lead in hiring our revenue coaches AFTER his previous hires have completely tanked. Nobody else does that in college athletics--except us. To me, getting an ass-raping against a team from the SEC or the Big XII is better than paying FCS Podunk State to come here and take away precious dollars from a budget that could have been used to pay for buyouts that are literally killing our program. I damn sure know that the $425k we paid to Portland State would have been better used somewhere else...

I think we should just play at name-your-P5-giant this upcoming year or next if it means that we would be able to get rid of Benford and RV now. Besides, you all can enjoy Apogee with hundreds of other people when Butt Cookman, Incarnate Word, Lamar, and Abilene Christian come to town, taking dollars away from us that could be used better if we are just so poor that paying off Tony Benford's last year of a contract worth $325k is not deemed "feasible". Trust me, we would be better off taking an extra whore payment if it improved our personnel. Paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to Portland State, who then ripped us a new one to the point of costing somebody $2.1 million dollars, was not a good use of our funds, to put it mildly. And our awesome AD gave us that PSU debacle as THE ONLY OOC GAME IN A BRAND NEW STADIUM THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BRING IN BETTER OPPONENTS... Not a dime, not another second until RV is gone...and we are totally prepared for that day to be a loooooonnnnnnnggggg time from now.

I totally agree...and we are clearly in the minority on this. Look at the posters here who want nothing to do with the MWC--they like CUSA, they like being able to travel to games, and they like the time zone. Even if the MWC wanted us, I'm not sure that our leadership or our fans would want it, which sucks mightily. I can sell people on coming to Apogee to watch Boise State, AFA, Fresno State, or Colorado State play us. I can sell people on coming to the Super Pit to see us play UNLV, New Mexico, or San Diego State. But its a moot point--we aren't even on the MWC's radar for Texas schools.

He was the Nick Saban of the league from 2001-2004. It just fell apart for him and for us when he didn't parlay his SBC success into another job, while his assistants got hired away, and recruiting to a toilet bowl went back to what it normally was. Dickey--and UNT--had perfect timing to get into a league with other teams that were also in a bad way...Idaho, NMSU, Utah State, Arkansas State, ULM, and ULL were all pretty bad teams, while MUTS was also a program that was ready to play at this level from the get go and Troy was just moving up to FBS in 2003 as a full member.

UNTADforlife

That's not hard to fix--at all. If the Big XII wants BYU, that won't be a problem. Neither us, nor Arkansas State will ever get into the AAC...but they do run a solid athletic department up in Jonesboro.

Texas avoids any lawsuits and or political baggage by doing one of two things: 1.) They take tech with them to the Pac or 2.) They go independent until the LHN money runs out. The B1G won't take Tech, no matter what. Hence the "Tech " problem email that the B1G commissioner sent to UT's leadership back in 2010. But the Pac will, if it means getting UT. However, if the B1G is what UT wants, they can decide to BYU-it, going independent for a few years, until a slot opens up where they want to go, which would be the B1G. Tech better hope that those Texas coattails are strong...otherwise, they are gonna enjoy playing conference games in the MWC with Baylor and TCU.

Southern Miss did what almost every single athletic department does when they have failure in a revenue sport--they fixed it as soon as possible by firing the coach and letting go of the AD as soon as it was also feasible to do so. I think there are a lot of people on this site that are gonna be sorely disappointed and shocked when RV is still the AD here beyond 2018, when his current contract expires. He's gonna figure out a way to extend Benford, Jalie, or Littrell and get an extension of his own. And the BOR will be just fine with it, as long as the UNT 17 keep paying the bills above the budgeted allotment that the athletic fee provides.

Texas will always have consideration for the playoffs, whether in a conference or not. Their name is too big within the college football world to be excluded. Just like Notre dame, they will always have a chance because of their name. The biggest question they will have is keeping the LHN money for as long as possible worth staying out of a better conference setup that you won't have control over...the LHN is an ender for every other power conference as it currently stands. ESPN is on the hook until 2031 for this calamity at $15 million per season. Texas isn't giving that up anytime soon. The only way that they can keep the LHN money train rolling as it stands as the Big XII GOR agreement approaches expiration in the next 10 years or so is to keep the Big XII intact somehow or to go independent until the agreement is not renewed by ESPN and then they go to the Power Conference that will take them without the LHN. If they join another conference, I'll peg odds as this: Pac--60%, B1G --20%, ACC--20%, SEC--0% The Pac needs them the most, the other two would like to have them for the eyeballs and cachet of the name, while the SEC already has the TV sets of the state for their revenues that A&M has given them. The SEC has made it clear that they will no longer go after multiple teams within a member's state, so no more Ole Miss and MSU type situations again. Teams like Florida State, Clemson, Louisville, and Georgia Tech have no chance of ever gaining SEC membership with the way that revenues are set from their SEC network, getting more for in-state subscribers of their network from the various providers. If/when that changes, then something else could come into play, but for now, the TV sets and new markets will drive that bus. The SEC's next move will be to gain a foothold in NC and VA, most likely. They'd love to add Va Tech and NC State to their leagues, schools that fit their model really well and would culturally fit with the members in that league rather effortlessly, like A&M has so far.

They will if it means that OU can continue to be a huge giant of the sport. Same with KU and UT. None of those schools are going to get held back because their in-state brethren aren't as attractive as they are to these other conferences.

Absolutely. I've posted this same thing a number of times. USM is our blueprint. TBH, SMU is following their pattern, too. USM--In 2013, one of the worst teams in the country, wins one game, wins three in 2014, wins 9 games, the CUSA West, and a HoD Bowl berth in 2015, program on solid footing and coach gets hired away SMU--In 2014,worst team in the country, coach leaves, they win 1 game, hire new offensive minded coach, win 2 games, ready to see what happens in Morris' 2nd season, if successful, will get a huge raise at SMU and will get hired away by the end of season 3 on the Hilltop. UNT--worst team in the country in 2015, fires coach, wins 1 game, hire new offensive minded coach, hope to win a game or two this season and show progress on field and in the locker room

BTW, I meant to congratulate on this...if ever there were a snowflake on this board, here he is in all of his Safe Space glory.. Ryan Munthe 447 Mean Green Eagle Members 447 1,247 posts Home:H-Town, TX Posted Friday at 5:26 PM (edited) · Report post I'll be straight up honest. I went full troll because UNT90 made this board unreadable. My goal became to push him and the mods who wouldn't do anything to the point of losing their marbles in anger at me. 90 is legitimately the reason I have a low interest in UNT athletics in 2016. Because I realized that a majority of the fans were like him. Love this school and the teams of UNT. But I can't even enjoy them anymore. My life has literally been less depressing since I stopped posting here and reading 90's misery. UNT sports were an escape. This board was how I indulged in my escape. The attitude made it tedious. Chalk the ghost town that GMG is up to poor play all you want, the reality is that 90 has ruined Harry's forum. And for some freaking reason beyond my belief, they won't ban him. Stunning. Guess they want to go down with the ship. Edited Friday at 6:08 PM by Ryan Munthe

I agree on KU--they are appealing to all four conferences because of academic standing within the AAU, good TV market in KC, great basketball, and in an ironic way, just putrid football, which could appeal to leagues that don't want another football behemoth like OU to join in and make their league even harder (see the SEC West). The B1G makes sense, the Pac makes sense, the SEC makes sense, and the ACC makes sense. Not even Texas can say that, due to the LHN and A&M being in the SEC. I figure that KU ends up in the B1G with OU, in the Pac with some combo of UT, OU, OSU, Tech, and KSU, in the ACC if the Big XII breaks apart and the B1G/SEC take pieces from the current ACC, or if the SEC adds an Eastern team, such as Va Tech, but cannot get a school in North Carolina to break away from the ACC and they add KU to the west to get to 16 and to join UK as a conference with two giants of the sport. The ironic part of this all was that in 2010, when the Big XII almost dissolved, KU was about to be left out and forced to join the Big East. But after Colorado and Utah joined the Pac and Nebraska joined the B1G, these conferences figured out real quick that TV markets mattered ALOT more. And that any major sports revenue and strong academics would play in realignment's favor for your conference membership going forward. Now, KU will get a spot at the table, ironically, easier than when realignment first started. The SEC added A&M for the Texas TV sets and Mizzou for the TV sets that St.Louis and KC provide. The B1G adds Maryland and Rutgers, just to get Baltimore, DC, and NYC TV markets. The ACC adds Pitt, Syracuse, and eventually Louisville to get solid teams and markets. Meanwhile, the dumbass Big XII adds West Virginia, who collectively have about 4 TVs in the state, and TCU, a small private school already in their TV market, choosing them over both over BYU, Louisville, Cincinnati, Memphis, Houston, UCF, or USF. No wonder the conference is about to crash and burn...

Ryan Munthe hates Frisco people, too...

OSU's only hope is that the Pac takes the Texoma Four. OU already got sent packing when they went to the Pac with OSU and said they were interested in joining their league, only to hear the Pac Leadership that they were interested in OU with UT, not without them and certainly not with OSU as the add-on. T. Boone's cash can only carry itself so far...OSU, KSU, ISU, and Tech have the same problem--big brother(s) that make them worthless unless big brother's coattails can get them into the party. Right now, the Pac is the only place that looks like they would take Tech and/or OSU if it go them UT and OU. The only other possible way I could see OSU going out west is if UT goes independent, the Pac still wants to expand to the CST to get to 16 and they invited some combo of KU, KSU, OU, OSU, Tech and UH, but even that seems incredibly remote as a possibility.

It really is. If gaining no new members causes OU and KU to jump ship, UT can easily go independent, which they may do just to keep the LHN. If UT does go independent, Tech will be just as screwed as Baylor and TCU are. Those three schools will be future members of the MWC or AAC. UT could easily join another conference and play its other sports there, such as the AAC. Its not scheduling would be hard for the to setup--they can easily set up annual games with OU in Dallas, Baylor, TCU, and Tech, then sprinkle in ongoing series with ND and BYU. Then play three bought G5/FCS games, as well as three other P5 games each year and you will see them having 7-8 home games every year.

Out of curiosity, why do "we" feel that CUSA has more upside than the AAC? UH just beat FSU in a BCS bowl. UConn's womens goes undefeated just about every year. They get multiple bids every year to the Mens Tournament. Three years ago, UCF beat Baylor in a BCS Bowl Game and UConn's mens team won the NCAA Title in hoops. Maybe I'm missing it, but I don't see where CUSA will have that same upside...

Giving the AD anything but an F is being too generous. You cannot have a non-revenue sport be your best achievement with your big two being absolute embarrassments that fewer people will go watch. I do think Jalie will continue to get improvements out of the women, though. I do think she will get the team near or above .500 this next season.

To even be considered as causing enough damage to challenge the carnage that the 1-aa drop in 1983 caused is really saying something...but I agree, RV hasn't caused this...he's merely a symptom to the bigger issue that can't get cured here--apathy and loathing of football.

They will until the Big XII's GOR runs out...besides, Cincny is a great academic school, has a very solid basketball program, and its location would help WVU have a travel partner, as well as the conference gaining a foothold in a talent-rich state in Ohio, where Cincy is easily the 2nd school to tOSU. Cincy and BYU might be the only chances that the league could stay together long enough to see the ACC schools fall apart before the Big XII does...

This is the biggest concern we have. Whatever you think about Dan McCarney's coaching, its impossible not to recognize his motivational and positive mindset he came here with in 2011. I truly believe he had no idea that getting kids here would be a hard sell. And by the time he got fired, we had beaten him down so bad that Darrell Dickey's attitude started to show up in his words and actions. Maybe he and his staff didn't recruit hard because they didn't think it would be a tough thing to do, but it was fairly obvious that they had no idea how much baggage our reputation has hurt us in recruiting. Except for Dickey's one or two classes that had some strongly-rated kids in it, our classes have generally been subpar for where we are located. I still think that its this reputation for apathy and losing that keeps TX HS kids, coaches, and parents from looking at us as anything but a safety net. Its this--and really only this--that will determine if Littrell can fix things around here. He has to get kids here that have talent coming in and that they need that talent to get developed. Right now, we just don't have much a lot of that kind of talent here on this roster, at least yet. I have a feeling its gonna start getting better and in more numbers in the next few years ahead, if Littrell's pedigree means anything--and I believe it just might...

Just a bit of advice here, but I would recommend preparing yourself for the worst and seeing if we can do anything better. Our schedule is brutal for our current program. We have one team, Butt Cookman, on our schedule that we should win. If we played Army, UTSA, or UTEP here, maybe we could figure on winning two or three of them, since they are probably our closest competition on the schedule right now. But they are all on the road, so maybe winning one game is reasonable to guess with this roster and brand new staff. SMU, Marshall, La Tech, USM, and MUTS are all home games, but they are all better than us to varying degrees, just like road opponents in Rice and WKU currently are as well. Florida pays the bills, obviously, so that one doesn't really count from a competitive standpoint right now. I'd take 2 wins, with only a blowout to Florida and maybe one other opponent and feel like we have made SIGNIFICANT progress from where we were when Littrell took over. We have earned this ranking, I'm sad to admit. Its pretty obvious that we are almost completely void of developed talent on offense, no size or speed on defense, and a brand new coaching staff led by a head coach and OC that have never been in these positions before. If you judge this season solely on wins and losses, this year will be brutal to you. but if you can look past this and see the recruiting pick up and see the offense get better as it gets used to the Air Raid, as well as development on the defense and ST, this year will be very entertaining to see how the seeds of growth for the future get planted.

Oh, I agree, Cerebus. I just think both ODU and Charlotte, along with UTSA, were a strange add to a FBS league that had been around for a while. Seems like the SBC would have been suitable starting points for the eastern two, but ODU does have a lot of potential. They show you that having a solid basketball program can open up doors to fan interest and support for your school--IOW, its not all about football, as so many idiots on conference realignment have missed on so badly over the years. It may have started off that way, but TV market and revenue sports in total became the true drivers. I will say that I worry MUCH more about our students and leadership figuring out a way to torpedo our existence at the FBS level than I do about CUSA drop-kicking us out, like the SBC did to NMSU and Idaho. UNT will always give CUSA leadership the ability to include DFW's population and TV market into their advertising pitches, even if we keep going in the direction we are currently. But if that fee ever gets rescinded, we are done as a FBS program. This is where the horrible hires and terrible AD leadership will doom us, IMO.

Yeah, the only chance we ever have with this would be the MWC to look at us as a way to get back into DFW and to just look past our warts and see the potential for what we could bring if we ever got things going in the right direction. But they can easily look at a very real probability that they will get back into Texas with schools like TCU and Baylor in the years ahead when the big XII falls apart, as well as schools like UTEP or Rice, as well. Sadly, when you factor in UTSA being in San Antonio and playing in the Alamodome, we are probably behind 5 schools before even getting any look from the MWC. The AAC is a non-starter solely because of SMU, case closed. I suspect that only one AAC school will get poached if the Big XII comes calling, which would be Cincy, since BYU would be the other school to move. Assuming this played out, I just don't see a CUSA team replacing them in the AAC, as they would probably go after NIU first, then Ohio next to replace Cincy. If a southern AAC member got replaced, like Memphis, Houston, UCF or USF, the replacements would depend on the market being replaced. If it were Memphis, MUTS would probably go to the AAC, If UH left, Rice would immediately be the replacement. If one of the Florida schools, Temple, or UConn got poached, I suspect that the AAC would probably look at replacing them with just the best name programs in the Eastern Time Zone to replace them Only then could I see Marshall or USM getting some possible interest, even though they provide no TV market at all. The only possible CUSA defection I could see is if the MAC, assuming it has a TV deal that is better than the new CUSA deal, which I don't know if it does, is if Marshall decided to go back to the MAC to replace NIU or Ohio. I have no idea if Marshall or the MAC would have any interest in each other again, but that's about it. I truly doubt any AAC schools other than Cincy will get invited to the Big XII and I just don't see any CUSA components adding as much value to the AAC as NIU or Ohio would to replace them.