2centsworth

I've been a long time lurker and just feel the need to chime in here. I've followed North Texas from afar since they gave UT and Eric Metcalf all they could handle and beat Texas Tech that same year. My good friend played CB for the MG in the late 80s, and I've wished the team nothing but the best since. With that said, there is a small contingent of the MG fans that get under my skin and may explain some of the differences in recruiting between UTSA and North Texas. It's not as simple as Frank Wilson is a great recruiter, because he's winning with Larry Coker players, who I argue was a better recruiter and evaluator of talent. UTSA has 2 playerss on active NFL rosters , 2 guys on practice squads, at least 2 more who will get drafted and a few more who will wind up on practice squads over the next couple of years. All Larry Coker guys, who btw make up about 90% of the two-deep roster. So if Larry Coker recruited just or nearly as well, with way less to offer than Frank Wilson, there has to be something else. Hence, my theory below. First, understand that San Antonio considers itself a new and growing city. Not to say Denton is not, as there are some new housing and shopping areas in Denton that are beautiful. However, lets put Denton aside simply to understand the "enemy", San Antonio. San Antonio is a majority minority city, but not in the stereotypical sense. For example, the Castro twins, for those who follow politics know they are political heavyweights and are San Antonio natives, but don't speak a lick of Spanish. That's very typical of the Hispanics in town except for the large contingent of wealthy Mexican nationals who consider San Antonio a second home. This is important to understand, because though Hispanics in San Antonio enjoy the culture and food from their countries of descent (btw, I'm Puerto Rican), the American dream is what we want most. One thing you need to understand about minorities, is that many of us feel rejected by the broader culture, which may explain San Antonio's "chip". We believe we do things extremely well in this city. Our city has a AAA bond rating (one of like 5 cities), we celebrate sports championships with class (no burning of cars or violence relative to others) , we serve our country and support our troops(military USA and the existence of USAA), and we're investing millions in our main public university, UTSA, to educate and graduate more of our minority students. I'm not a graduate of UTSA (SWT & KState), but as a resident of San Antonio can see all the great things they're doing educationally, #1 cyber security program (remember, military USA), partnership with UT-Health Sciences Center, etc... This does not mean UNT doesn't have great programs, because I'm fully aware they do, as I wanted my daughter to go there at one time for their fashion and merchandising school, which is the best in the state and one of the best in the country. UNT offers a lot more than just that, but I digress because I'm trying to provide some insight as to why UTSA has been winning recruiting battles even when Coker was coach. UTSA's football program was started by a Hispanic school president and woman AD, who convinced Larry Coker of The University of Miami (experienced recruiting minority kids) to be the first coach, and then followed up with Frank Wilson. The city has invested $60 million in renovations to the Alamo Dome the past few months for the Runners and to prepare for the Final Four in '18. The city also granted the runners $10million to help fund a new practice facility. Not to mention literally over $2 trillion has been invested where UTSA is located. The story we're conveying to recruits is that San Antonio is rapidly growing in a fiscally responsible way, and that we're a close knit community who will help each other to combat the prejudice and discrimination many of these players will face. Though the prejudice may be debatable, UNT fans calling people from San Antonio "dirty", or radio talk show host referring to us as "beaners", is enough anecdotal evidence for recruits to view San Antonio as the future and UNT embracing beliefs of the past. This is not an indictment of the entire UNT family, but a small but noticeable few. Lastly, I watched the game vs Iowa and you looked pretty good in my eyes. Good Luck the rest of the way.

It's being reported in San Antonio papers that if Tulane beats Rice and UTSA beats LA tech, UTSA plays for the conference championship. Would be the biggest football accomplishment in the history San Antonio Sports. Sad that the 7th largest city has only UTSA football, but good for an upstart program to be the only team in town. As far as C-USA, would bring national attention, and I'm not saying all positive, to a conference that's ignored. btw, been a fan of the MG since they beat spike dykes in the early 90s and took the eric metcalf led horns to the limit, so no offense.