NorthTexasWeLove

Yeah, this is not good. But one can assume after our best season in school history, we are not going to strike when the iron is hot. Are we still 156th in the nation in basketball budgeting? Probably. Did we push more money into recruiting? Probably not. Coaching pool? Probably not. Any plans to break ground on a new arena this decade? Probably not. Football will continue to consume egregious amounts of resources to maintain their mediocrity. Basketball can't punch above their funding level forever.

I would love to get in on that sentiment at the end there. I can't. It comes off as blindly getting in line and hoping for the best. That's the vision that has led us to this very point of middling, under-supported and under-funded athletics. We are who we are, that isn't changing. Sure, good will come and bad will reappear. But middling will always be the mean. We are the epitome of average. We compensate our 9-3 (our ceiling btw) seasons with 3-9 seasons and 4-8 to our 8-4 and so forth and so on. I would gladly trade our 9-3 ceiling in football for a 6-6 ceiling if we had a dominant ever-improving basketball program. It's fiscally realistic if the vision is seen and a plan is put in place. What we cannot afford to do is continue being very average in football while letting our basketball slip back into mediocrity. Make no mistake, if measures aren't implemented yesterday to prevent it, it's exactly what's about to happen. And I don't mean to rant on this. But the inevitable is easy to see for me. We are a lowly funded football program and a lowly funded basketball program. Dollars drive success and the settling point will be at our funding level, always is. The simple math says we can't build and then sustain in football. The smart money is in basketball.

Just caught this little nugget... Players that are legitimately playing at their dream school don't leave, period. I'm not sure how one would be so gullible to take that at face value then repeat it.

Tylor? Is that you?

Only a handful or 2 of programs offer 4-year scholarships. So, most programs offer 1- year rides that are renewed. Sometimes they are not. Cuts have been built-in for years. Schools don't always use that tool to their advantage, but given the climate in collegiate athletics I suspect programs to start exercising that right as it will no longer reallt impact future recruiting.

I really hope we're not selling our program as a JUCO 2-year type product. But I would rather have a bunch of salty 4-year kids ready to knock heads. The reason is simple, sustainability. It's great to land those type of players, but building a program off the back of known future transfers implies that the progran will ALWAYS land that quality every recruiting cycle. That's not sustainable or realistic, and that sets up the program for mass turnover year over year in an era of already turnover.

I think it's all BS. Transfer then you sit. It needs to be dramatically cleaned up. I think the dust settles with this rule being full back, and settles quickly.

I think HS players might actually be a gold mine for the time being. Everyone is so enamored with the portal, HS kids are just getting turned into spectators. I'm in favor of 1 rule being reinstated, 1 year sit rule. Some regulation on NIL would be great, but that ship has failed I'm afraid.

1. I don't care what king is. We, at UNT, do not generate revenue with our king, queen, pawn, rook, bishop, etc. That means nothing to me. Athletics mission is to provide a POSITIVE alignment to our university while creating a bond between students. There isn't much positive going on given the rules. We could bring in STUDS in this '24 recruiting class. If they get enough tape, they'll be plucked away to the highest bidder as soon as possible. We don't have the means to keep a core group of 30 players financially satisfied to stick their commitment out here at UNT. That's, generally speaking, the root of the problem. We, like almost if not all 'G5' programs, are now feeder programs into 'P5' programs. They pluck all the top g5 players while the fallouts fall into the g5. 2. Type of mindset? I'm not asking or advocating for a drop in divisions. Not in the least. 3. There is no form of adaptation that is going to muscle UNT into collegiate football relevance. None. Due to these rules, the gap is visibly widening and nutless cosches say nothing because they hope they are one day holding ______ job at _______ school. We do not have the city, student, alum, faculty support to be a powerhouse in football. It takes ALL hands on deck to climb that mountain and maintain. There are multiple handfuls of g5 programs with all that support, today. 4. You're right, therr is no reason to be a top 5 G5 conference school. But that bar is set so low. We're #5! We're #5! We're #5! I mean, that's quality... I guess. Look man, I appreciate you doing what you're doing. I really do. I follow you on twitter and read your tidbits. But football ain't it anymore. And the longer these rules stay in place the further away fans will get pushed. Like, why would I give a dime to the Light The Tower Collective? I want to give money. I really do. It's burning a hole in my pocket and me and mine are great and don't need it. But with the current philosphy of spreading out the money and not knowing who's dealing it and most importantly giving my money to a kid that's going to jump ship next year for a bigger cut elsewhere. I don't see the incentive in it, as there is none. But if a collective group of people formed together and dumped money, significant amounts, into a slush for the basketball program then I'm interested. Play the game within the set of rules and get a couple studs in here that will stay here because they're being comoensated. Then surround them with lightly lower level players and compensate them well, too. And boom, you have another 25+ win team for consecutive years all the while having a positive platform for our university. I will attend football games when I'm able, but I will not give. The upside is zero. Let's go dictate 'P5' programs to magically call us a stand-alone 'P5' program by beating their lips off, a la Gonzaga. Otherwise, there's no vision here. Just a bunch of non-alum working in our AD collecting paychecks until their big payday comes, a la Wren Baker. And damn, I didn't mean for this post to carry on so long.

No pity routine. Football is a clear waste of money. That's really basically it. I don't care so much for wasting money.

Oh, you read me right. Given the rules, why even drop a dime into football? I would legitimately be for bringing in a triple option staff and be a thorn in people's side and do it on a scalped budget. Then, dump as much money as possible into basketball. I know that's not going to be a popular opinion around here. But there is no way to consistently field a quality team. No shot. Basketball is a different opportunity.

Ok, cool. What if you don't? What if you bounce after a year or 2 and that becomes the norm as it's trending that way. What is going to be the 'come and play your butt off and get a degree' type of excuse for that? Better get them excuses ready and primed. My thoughts, i don't know how we choose to give a single dime to a single kid/player. If we're paying X football player that means there's a market out there for that kid. And given the rules, he's going to explore that market. Put. Money. Into. Basketball. You cannot justify putting, as a have not financially insecure university, putting money into football. There is never going to be a consistent ROI. It's a waste. Again... Basketball is the way.

Offers early is code. Code: Tampering Where is the accountability?

This been happenin, years and years. Coaches try to be slick rick about. Deion don't. That's the only difference.

In order: 1. Win 2. Win 3. Win 4. Win 5. Win

This. Students always have to be prioritized at the top. Always.

FIFY

That fateful night vs LaTech had fans. Plenty of them. Laid an egg. Proceeded to lay a few more. The era was basically winding down there and then.

Uhhh.. this dude really just go to McNeese?

Lol... get out.

Not sure that's such a hot take. I'd call it an accurate take.

Observing this team as they progressed through the season, Kai's maturity visibly jumped off the court with frequency. I'm glad he came to UNT. I'm glad he found success and purpose. I'm proud to call him a fellow alum.