SMU2006

We have absolutely not turned the corner but if you can't see the arrow pointed straight up on SMU then you're divorced from reality. We are recruiting better than every G5 program in the country outside of Houston. SMU 2015 offense improved more in points/game than any program in the country. If we were a 2-10 team full of upperclassmen up and down the depth chart I'd be worried. We're playing more freshmen than just about every program in America. That experience and infusion of better talent will pay off big time in the next few years.

I think that you've pretty well summed it up. SMU simply has more explosive playmakers. Courtland Sutton will be playing on Sundays. I just hope we can get him to stay for his junior year. Xavier Jones is as dynamic a running game as I've seen at SMU and he's just a sophomore. James Proche was a four star talent that had a dozen P5 offers (a redshirt freshman). If you look up and down the SMU participation chart from last night we had 20 true or redshirt freshmen get on the field (the most in a single game since 1979). SMU signed one of the best G5 recruiting classes in the country last year with a 2-10 team. You have to sell the vision and get the recruits to buy in. This will be the formula for UNT. Go out and recruit better athletes and just let them play. It will take a year or two but you have to trust the talent evaluation of the coaching staff to go identify, recruit, and sign the kids to run the Littrell offense. If UNT can do that they will be in good shape.

A few observations from an SMU fan perspective: I was pleasantly surprised by the number of folks we brought up to Denton considering you'd be giving up watching the best opening weekend of college football in recent history to watch two of the worst teams in the nation. Until one or both of these teams can start winning its going to be tough to convince folks to give up watching marquee games on TV. SMU has a total of 40,000 living alumni in the DFW area and we do not have a throng of t-shirt fans to supplement our fan base. That's just reality. I had a good fan experience at UNT last night. Most of the folks I encountered were friendly outside of a couple of frat clowns that yelled obscenities at my wife and asked me how it feels to have $150K in college loan debt (Pro Tip: I graduated debt free from SMU a decade ago) but outside of that it was great. Cool stadium! Several fans came up to our group after the game and said they love what Chad Morris is building at SMU. We played 20 true and redshirt freshmen last night (most since 1979) so I think we're headed in the right direction. Baylor is going to work us but I'd like to see us be competitive for a half. I think we actually stand a decent shot of upsetting TCU in Dallas. We were down 5 in the fourth quarter against the Frogs in the fourth quarter last year and we are way more athletic and skilled on defense in 2016. Ceiling is 6-6 but probably 4-8. If Morris keeps recruiting the way he is now (all but two commits for '17 have multiple P5 offers) then we should have the depth and experience in 2017 to make a serious run at a bowl game and 8 wins. Hopefully Morris sticks around b/c I think he is a tremendous coach. The good news is that as long as we are willing to pay 2-3M/year for a coach we will be able to attract quality candidates. Once the $65M indoor practice facility breaks ground in spring of 2017 and the $50M in renovations to Ford the following year, I can see SMU building the foundations for the program to sustain itself if/when Morris leaves. These upgrades are essential. North Texas has the right guy for the job. Year one is never pretty. Littrell is a proven commodity and has the kind of youthful exuberance needed to turn it around. Being patient sucks but you have to keep perspective on the bigger picture. There is no reason that UNT can't be a top tier C-USA program with its location and resources. Best of the luck the rest of the season! See you at Ford next fall.

Fight through as in sit through some drunk clown throw out stereotypes to make himself feel better.

Very sad. I certainly didn't enjoy getting told that all I got with my SMU degree was $250K in debt and daddy's approval but some things you just have to fight through. Class warfare abounds :)

Certainly peer pressure from fellow fans can play a role in limiting some of the knuckleheads at games. I'm all for some back and forth but we all know there is a line. I don't think I'll ever understand the human being who goes to sporting events hoping to instigate trouble with opposing fans. I guess some people crave altercation. Go the game, root like hell for your team, and win/lose walk away with a bit of dignity. You'll feel better in the morning :) BTW, I think this Chad Morris guy is gonna be alright. After seeing what was, in my mind, the worst SMU team ever assembled (and I'm including the 1989 all walk-on team and a winless team in 2004) to have played Baylor really tough for three quarters and then dig deep and have a great fourth quarter against UNT for an 18 point win is remarkable. It is even more remarkable considering we've played as many freshmen in these first two games as any school in the country. With the way we are recruiting and up tempo style of play, I think we can scratch out 5 or 6 wins this year. The AAC isn't exactly murderers row so hopefully we can continue to improve as the season goes on. I saw some good things from the UNT defense. Very active. Defensive line is athletic and has the size to hold up against CUSA teams. The QB McNulty just never got into any groove. SMU started to get decent pressure but there were some open throws that just didn't give his receivers a chance. All in all, it is game one. I think the team that has already played a game has a huge advantage in these situations. Even an incredibly young team like SMU was able to watch film, get things corrected in practice, and play against an elite opponent like Baylor. This was UNT's first real game action and at times it showed. The defense was gassed in the fourth quarter and Matt Davis will make you pay if you aren't disciplined in your rush lanes.

The vast majority of UNT folks that I interacted with at my Boulevard tent were very friendly and cordial. My wife is a UNT alum so we had a couple of her former classmates at our tent. Great people. The only two negative things that I saw was 1)a group of about five drunk UNT guys that thought it was cool to yell "43-6" as our team was doing the team walk down The Boulevard to the stadium and 2) Three UNT frat guys harassing me and my wife asking us how much debt our dad was in so that I could afford to go to college and if I enjoyed paying $250K for a quote "shitty degree". Honestly I just laughed but after about ten minutes of it my wife suggested we move. The other UNT folks around them were obviously embarrassed. All in all, a great game and cool atmosphere on The Hilltop. Can't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch.

Why so salty? I really don't understand some of the vitriolic garbage that is directed at SMU on this forum. I'm married to a UNT alum and thankfully the UNT alumni I know aren't as perpetually obsessed with SMU like some of the crazies on here. Granted I don't come here often but good grief. And guys, we (SMU) aren't going anywhere but up at the moment. Right now we have the #44 recruiting class for 2016 with 8 of our 11 commitments holding Power 5 conference offers. We are breaking ground of a $50M indoor practice facility in December. We have the highest paid G5 head coach in the country in Chad Morris who is making $2.25M/year.. We have a Hall of Fame basketball coach who also makes over $2M a season. We play in a conference that yields nearly three times the TV revenue of C-USA and a basketball conference that grants us exposure with strong programs like UCONN, Memphis, Cincinnati, Temple, Tulsa, etc. We raised more money through the Mustang Club this past year than in any previous year and double the amount of 2011 (Raised roughly $14M through donations). SMU is wrapping up a $1 billion dollar fundraising campaign that will ensure it continues moving up in the US News & World Report rankings into the Top 50. The average SAT of the incoming class at SMU is 1315. Second only in the state to Rice. Honestly, there hasn't been a better time to be associated with SMU academically or athletically in the past 30 years. Yeah that isn't saying a ton as it has mostly been dreadful on the athletic side, but there is no question which way the winds are blowing. Why the need to throw out hyperbole and insults?

Are you serious? The one thing you took from my original post was me flaunting what SMU can pay? That's a special kind of stupid. What I'm saying is that all of us in the G5 are in the same boat given the tremendous financial gap that will only continue to grow between P5 and G5. Trust me there is no flaunting on SMU's behalf. These are issues we all face.

Hey guys. Hope things are well and that you've had a productive and injury-free spring. Also I'm looking forward to seeing a strong UNT contingent at Ford in the fall. My wife and some friends have a tent on The Boulevard and anyone is always welcome to a beer and some friendly conversation. Had a quick question for you guys considering we are all living in this brave new P5 world of stipends, cost of living, etc. I know some schools have publicly maintained that they will match what the P5 schools offer while others have kicked the can down the road or flat out ignored answering. Recently ECU came out and released that they'd be matching at 4,025 for football and basketball (mens and womens) and then $2,025 for all other athletes. A few other schools have released their figures as well (I believe Tulsa is at $2,500) but for the vast majority of G5 programs have not released their estimates yet. My question is will UNT take this step financially? I would imagine you would considering that you've already invested a good chunk of change with the new football stadium. I do think there will be many G5 schools who just won't be able to do this. The kicker in this whole deal is relative to where you live though. For example Baylor is paying $3,700 b/c its far cheaper to live in Waco as opposed to Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas, etc. I know SMU has floated the figure of $5,400 for football and basketball and $3,200 for all others but that is not a definitive number. Anyway, it should be interesting to see how those of us in the G5 manage our finances in order to keep afloat. Have a great end to the spring and see you next fall in Dallas!

BTW, UNT is joining a conference with a couple of schools who are currently evaluating the landscape of continuing football at the D1A level. Rice, Tulane, and UAB have all had informal discussions on whether or not they will keep it up. Rice I believe is VERY close to coming to the conclusion that football just doesn't make sense for them anymore. They now are in a conference with none of their traditional rivals and other than Tulane have no school that comes anywhere near them academically. Tulane, on the other hand, can't get the $$$ together to build their own stadium. Combined with the lingering effects of Katrina and the school's horrid record in football over the last several years and they're in the same boat. In 5-7 years it wouldn't shock me in the least to see Rice, Tulane, and UAB out of the football racket.

1.4 billion endowment, top fifty national ranking, an athletic budget that dwarfs anything UNT can muster up, an additional 750M in fundraising efforts in the past four years alone, incoming freshmen SAT average of 1300, acceptance rate below 40%, three straight bowl games, half of student body from out of state, a presidential library, and entrance into a BCS conference (for now). Don't make me flick another booger on you by suggesting SMU should quit football. UNT hired a high school coaching staff that managed to run the program into the ground. I like McCarney and I think he'll succeed, but the Mean Green are just potential right now. And in the realm of academia UNT is light years behind SMU. It doesn't mean that UNT is a piss poor university in any way. But in terms of university rankings just in the state of Texas UNT is behind every other major Texas university aside from possibility UT-San Antonio and UT-El Paso. Calling those schools "major" is really a stretch also. So take it easy on the giving up football talk.

LOL. That is fuzzy math if there ever was such a thing.

I absolutely think CUSA could negotiate a better TV deal. Maybe 3-5M per school.

SDSU and Boise are not throwing their other sports under the bus in any way. They are members of the Big East in football only. If the presidents of those schools turned down 15M a year in TV revenue just so their women's volleyball team could play Wyoming instead of Gonzaga they should be strung up on the highest tree on their campus. This is a really stupid argument anyway. The Big East will have a replacement for Marinatto that is a much better salesman and frontman for the conference. This was unanimously approved by all Big East presidents (including the new additions). The real issue here for UNT is the stability of the Big East. Again, should anything unexpected happen (i.e. Louisville, Cincinatti, Rutgers, and UConn leaving the conference) then you can be rest assured that East Carolina, Southern Miss, and Tulsa will be first in line and believe me they will leave CUSA in a heartbeat. Then you are left with the Sun Belt 2.0 and a few schools who have absolutely no interest in competing in D1A football (Rice, Tulane, UAB). UNT should be hoping and praying for a stabilized Big East.

NBC is willing to overpay and with the backing of Notre Dame you can be certain the TV dollars will AT THE VERY LEAST double per school. This is not even questionable. As far as SMU having the money, while that is certainly true as an institution, the athletic department has been running in the red for a looooooong time now. Big East TV revenues will allow the athletic department to operate independently of the university fiscal budget. This was always the play for SMU. As far as AQ goes I don't think any of us have that answer yet. It appears the Big East will be on the outside looking in with regards to AQ status after 2014 but a lot can happen between now and then. That said, aligning ourselves with schools in the Big East and that are set to join the Big East with us was a no-brainer for SMU. The alternative was to be left in a watered down CUSA and watch as the gap grows wider between us and schools we aspire to compete against. Rice, Tulane, UAB have zero commitment or interest in competing in D1A football. Their actions over the past several years have proven that to be true. SMU wants to associate itself with schools that have the same vision. So as far as it making sense for SMU to join the Big East I can candidly say it was the only choice given the alternative.

As a dickhead I'm not sure I'm qualified to respond.

Yeah I agree. The more likely scenario is raiding CUSA for schools that are literally begging to get out of the conference like Southern Miss, ECU, and Tulsa. Should Louisville or Cincy leave for the Big 12 these programs will be first in line to replace them. Also, each would leave CUSA today if they could. There have been serious discussions at Rice about the ability to sustain D1A football given their current situation. Its truly sad. Same can be said for Tulane who had their new stadium voted down yet again. These two schools bring maybe 200 fans to Ford when we play them. So like I said UNT should hope that the Big East remains strong b/c if anything does happen (unlikely) then the Big East will swoop down and take two or three of the programs mentioned above. Then you're left with the Sun Belt 2.0

SMU and Houston wouldn't be the deciding factor in any new conference formation, but they would certainly have a voice. Its stupid to even be talking about this b/c the Big East is not going to fold. Anyone thinking that John Marinatto's "FORCED" resignation is the death knell is either uninformed or just plain stupid.

Not a snowball's chance in hell the CUSA/MWC TV package will get anywhere near the Big East. You know better than that.

Also, I don't think its healthy for any school to ever feel that is has "arrived" or to be satisfied with the status quo. To the guy that feels that SMU can feel UNT creeping up behind them I say that EVERY school should have a healthy dose of respect and fear for its opponents (regardless of conference affiliation or stature). UNT can flourish in CUSA and I would be greatly disappointed if they continued to lose and didn't make the most of the opportunity CUSA presents to the university. That said, I don't think any of the powerbrokers at SMU are overly concerned with what is going on at UNT. SMU has a 1.4 billion endowment, a tier one ranking, entering a BCS conference (for now anywayI), a 750M fundraising effort, a presidential library, former NFL head coach, and an NBA Hall of Fame basketball coach. I think its clear that SMU has made the financial and administrative commitment to being competitive at the highest levels.

Wow. Really? So bringing facts to the table makes me a "dickhead". Aren't you sweet. I'm really happy for UNT being in CUSA. I'd said on numerous occasions I felt that the Sun Belt was beneath UNT now that they've committed to great facilities and using their built-in resources to get to the next level. But if you want to label me a dickhead that's certainly your right to do so. And yes, I'm sorry to burst anyone's bubble on this issue. But this was expected for months. Marinatto was treading water well before the league decided to expand last year. The decision to go with a new commissioner has everything to do with positioning the league in 2014. I'm not one of the idiots who think AQ status is a given or even likely for the Big East. However, to say that it won't be worth SMU or Houston's time to distance themselves from schools that have zero interest in competing in D1A football like Rice, Tulane, and UAB is beyond stupid. Should the Big East hit an iceberg and go down like the Titanic, you can be rest assured an entirely new league will be the result. Even this entirely new league will be far more beneficial to SMU than the CUSA we are leaving behind. I know some of you are capable of seeing things clearly. To say this is the beginning of the end for the Big East is laughably stupid. Don't be that guy

LOL. This was expected for months. Every indication coming out of Big East schools is that they expect anywhere from 10-18M per school. To put this in perspective SMU made roughly 1.75M from their CUSA deal this past year. This move is entirely about preparing for 2014 and covering all possible bases. Any speculation that this is a bad thing is flat out wrong. BTW, look at the list of potential commissioners posted by CBS Sports. Any of them would be an upgrade over Marinatto. Also, UNT should be hoping and praying that the Big East remains viable and intact. If it all falls apart (and it won't), then you can be certain a new league will form out of its ashes that will not include UNT.

That's a pretty myopic viewpoint. So you think a quarter of a billion dollars raised in five years in "par for the course" at SMU? Its the largest and most ambitious fundraising and capital improvement effort in the history of the university. But I get it. Haters gotta hate.

"SMU jerk" Classy. I've posted on here maybe a handful of times and I've always been complimentary of UNT. My wife is a UNT alum. Have a better life. No need to call me a jerk.