GrayEagle

I agree with you in principle but I believe that the FCS route is acceptable until we become a better than average G5 team. If we don't schedule a FCS team at home then we are all but guaranteeing two losses in one of the years...the FCS game that we should win and the away game with a better/equal FBS opponent. I will say this. I believe that we will get better soon and I don't like the FCS game if we get to the upper echelon of the G5s. For that reason I hate to see us schedule a FCS more than two years out. And, when we do, make it a Texas team. SFA and Sam Houston State have drawn well in the past and ACU would also draw a decent crowd now.

The West could just add New Mexico State and voila!...12 in each conference. Having said that, I'm not sure how much longer ULM can hang in there if the stakes keep getting raised. They have the lowest revenue (by far) of the FBS and, I believe, the lowest enrollment of public FBS institutions. Louisiana has even talked about merging institutions. If that happened they'd likely become part of Louisiana Tech. Unless concessions or adjustments can be obtained from the NCAA, I believe that the two conferences are stuck where they are.

The Super Pit is average or mediocre? There are some improvements to be made but it's the third largest in CUSA and among the best in appointments. The only thing mediocre about our revenue venues is attendance.

Not at this time but it would be easy to do using the same divisions as in football. It could also alter the schedule somewhat and reduce travel expenses buy having only three away games in the other division each year (as well as three home games).

Here's some food for thought... The Eastern and Western Division leaders with the best record host the other teams in their division. The leader (one) plays the winner of four vs five in the second round. The winner of 2 vs 7 plays the winner of 3 vs 6. The two winners in each division advance to the final four championship. Eastern highest rated vs Western lowest rated in game one. The second game is Western highest rated vs Eastern lowest rated. The two winners play for the championship. The location of the championship would be a central location (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana or Tennessee). An alternative would be to have the championship at the university with the best season attendance of the four finalists but that would require a lot of pre-planning by schools that would not be the selected site, since the final four would not be known until days before the championship. Note: If the division leaders are tied in conference wins and losses then the university with the best season attendance hosts the division playoffs.

Hopefully, this arrangement is the basis for our being able to offer a degree in sports administration. There is a demand and we have lost several athletes because we didn't have that degree path. Being able to look inside arguably the most successful sports franchise would attract some top candidates and eventually be a boon to North Texas athletics.

Do you know someone who would be better as the interim AD?

Harry, I can't plus you but I couldn't agree more. Just criticize the post and not the person. While I'm at it, I hate to see vulgar profanity used on this board. I was in the Navy for four years and have heard and probably used about every known cuss words and a few that were made up. But, we don't know who reads this board and it wouldn't surprise me if young kids were not viewers. I hope that you can find a more refined way of expressing yourselves in future postings. Thanks for any effort.

Man, that would really put the new AD in a hole if you completely gutted the department. Besides, some areas are functioning quite well, such as academics and compliance. I'm most displeased with marketing and promotion. Not far behind is the information area. Some of the other areas I know very little about but I'd hope that the new AD would change them one by one as he sees fit. I expect Hank Dickinson to be named the interim AD and would be disappointed if it's anyone else. Hank is more familiar with the department than any other. One of our strong factors has been advertising revenue and Hank has had a huge hand in securing that. He is likely the best liason between the university and the Denton community. He has the seniority and IMO is the best man for the job.

The $20 million shortfall is a total crock of crap. In the first place the 2015 athletic year isn't even over. Since we don't have baseball, only coaches' salaries and recruiting expenses remain for the most part. Usually, at least the amounts of revenue and expenses reported to the U S Department of Education, the year runs from September 1 thru August 31 of the following year. Thus, 2015 won't be complete until August 31, 2016. Then, it will take several months until that figure is known. Mike Ashbaugh is responsible for that reporting. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2015 (the last complete report) we show that we had total revenues of $28,894,552 and total expenses of $24,226,523 which gave us a surplus of $4,668,029. There was an unallocated revenue figure of a little more than $9 million dollars which I assume was student fees. So, even if we had ZERO revenue the maximum loss there could have been would have been around $15 million when student fees are deducted.

No, I'm still showing 13 on scholarship for next season. They are... 1. Brice 2. Brown 3. Combs 4. Frazier 5. Fuller 6. Green 7. Holston 8. Johnson 9. Lawson 10. Reese 11. Temara 12. White-Pittman 13. Woolridge. So, if Isom does accept our offer someone has to leave (or stay as a walk-on). I believe that he failed to mention only three in his rundown tonight. Those are Fuller, Holston and White-Pittman.

I'd heard that the buyout was to be paid in contract year segments. In other words if there were three years left to go on his contract that there would be three separate payments in each of the three years. I believe that the total buyout was 2.1 million dollars. I don't know if any or part of the 17 are paying (or merely guaranteeing) the buyout amount.

True, and their revenue is the highest in CUSA by more than $10 million. But, if they can't win consistently in their new conference then look for their 20,000 season ticket sales to diminish substantially.

More than that, the AD that hired Johnson retired soon after his hiring. His successor, Jeff Hammond, was not rehired after firing Coach Johnson. So who was the "real AD" that UNT90 was referring to?

I have some concern but somehow I believe that while we may not be as deep as we'd like, we'll have decent starters. Fifteen practices don't seem enough to master a new blocking scheme. I think that if you have fairly quick feet that pass blocking is easier than run blocking. I watched the agility drills at one of the practices and most of the linemen seemed to move reasonably well except for Rice and Barr. But, since they are the two centers they don't need as much quickness in the middle. Rice is such a competitor that he'll be ready by the beginning of the season. I'm a little disappointed in Barr and concerned that there could be a significant dropoff when Rice needs to come out. He does seem to have the physical tools and may just need a little mental adjustment. I also believe that we'll be fine at the tackles. I expect Trey Keenan and Cody Hayes, both former Tech signees, to be the starters. Keenan was almost 4-star out of high school and seems to have settled in. Hayes picked up honors at Navarro last year and is another 3-star athlete. Elex Woodworth should be a capable backup but what happens to Jordan Murray will determine the other number two. I realize that he awfully tall but I'd like to see them try Murray at guard. Quickness should be a smaller problem by having to fill less gap space. I would expect T J Henson to be the other starter at guard. Chris Miles could be a candidate to start and if he doesn't he will provide solid backup. Rentfro and Gunter should battle for playing time. Somehow, I think that Coach Davis will have this group ready to start the season and that they will keep improving as the become comfortable with his system.

Another North Texas player that both played football and ran track was North Texas Hall of Famer Ray Renfro. He was an All-American running back and briefly .1 off of the world record in the 100 yard dash at 9.5. Cleveland made him a wide receiver and he was selected to three pro bowls and was voted the 33rd best all-time Brown. There's a little irony in that 33 was the number that he wore at North Texas. I hope that Griffin has a similar success.

Not sure where you wanted to go with this but since she's Tyler's mom that seems in pretty bad taste. Also, it would be hard to fault the AD for hiring the son of the greatest women's college basketball coach.

Did McCarney and the coaching staff go to any of the camps? Couldn't he or any of the staff find anyone worthy of a visit? Except for Perry and Patrick there was little effort to improve the squad IMO.

We did have a player drafted in the first round in three successive years...Joe Greene (1969), Len Dunlap (1970), and Cedric Hardman (1971). Mean Joe is tied with receiver J.T. Smith for UNT pro longevity, with each playing 13 years. Abner Haynes would have been a first round pick in the NFL but he signed with the AFL Dallas Texans (Kansas City Chiefs) before the two leagues merged.

True for now but if all 25 stayed each year you could only sign 10 in the 4th year to reach the maximum 85.

Attrition happens constantly. Seniors graduate and a few leave the program with eligibility left. While we hate to see good players leave, they leave a scholarship available for a new recruit that might be even better. I agree with Vito that Kaydon Kirby was a true loss. A three-year starter who had a chance to be at the all-conference level is seldom easy to replace. We have no direct replacement at center from the incoming group that was a late addition so that is truly a loss. But, look at the others. Admittedly, there may be no direct correlation and we have yet to see any production from the new players but maybe some of these players had a scholarship available because of a departure. DeMarcus Smith's departure changed Mason Fine's PWO status to scholarship. I predict that Fine will be more productive than Smith although he will have twice the time available to succeed. Sir Calvin Wallace's departure could have made a scholarship available for Bryce English. Wallace did improve once he set his mind to it but I'd take English any day. Darvin Kidsy is paying dearly for a foolish mistake but what if his scholarship opened the way for Rico Bussey, who I believe will be one of our top receivers (maybe as early as next year). Vito also mentioned DeAundrey Bradley. We were only familiar with Bradley as a kick returner and while his numbers were good for us they weren't near the top of CUSA. Enter his replacement this fall...likely Tyler Wilson, who seems capable of returning both kickoffs and punts, and I see improvement at return specialist. Both had/have potential at receiver. The list could go on and on but in most cases it's a two-star athlete being replaced by a three-star athlete. In addition to the above we have Kevin Dillman, LaDarius Hamilton, Cody Hayes, Will Johnson, Trey Keenan, Alec Morris, Nic Smith, and Josh Wheeler, 3-star athletes all, who could not be here were it not for the attrition of others.

I'm a little baffled about this also. However, I thought that Willy Ivery didn't participate in spring practice but if you'll review the Graham Harrell Mic'd Up video you'll see #29 in full pads kneeling and batting tennis balls with one hand. My thought was that they're converting him to wide receiver where his size is less a detriment and his speed and open-field moves are a real plus. In addition, there is a lot less blocking big defensive linemen or blitzing linebackers. Defensive backs are much nearer his size. I could easily be wrong but in many ways he reminds me of a Brelan Chancellor/Carlos Harris clone.

I have to agree with Silver. His passing was sharp; he made quick decisions; and he's a threat to run if his receivers are covered. BTW, where was Willy Ivery?

I'm a little surprised that Kaydon Kirby won't be back because he was at the first scrimmage on April 2; sitting in front of where the linemen were doing their agility drills. But, I certainly don't know his personal situation. All I know is that he has been a surprise and a blessing for the years that he has participated. My prayers are with Kaydon and his family. I lost my dad when I was 21. I was in the service at the time and regretted that I didn't have the time to spend with my mom during her grief.

Also, UTEP will draw around 50,000 for the Tech game. If we could somehow get them scheduled home and home we might draw half of that. For the really old, they have a long history which goes back to their Border Conference days.