akriesman

I hope they find the cause of the stroke and it is easy to prevent in the future. As much as I would like to see Coach McCarney be our head FB coach for a good while, I don't want the stress of running a D1 football program to cause him any major health concerns. With today's "win at all costs" mentality in college football, I can only imagine the stress that comes with the job.

Maybe things will change in the future between UNT and SMU as the younger grads move forward and propagate. But, for now, it is still a combative subject for sure. I am sure that a lot of people, not just UNT grads, also see SMU personified in some of their former, high profile graduates. In particular, the recent activities of a Mr Craig James would be a perfect example. In the public eye, CJ not only helped destroy one university (SMU) by accepting inappropriate gifts. But, he severely crippled another university (Tech) by trying to force his will on them (allegedly). Of course, we really don't know the true facts regarding the Tech incidence. But, the media commentaries regarding the incidence are not flattering and further portrays the typical SMU grad as being rich, spoiled and one who values themselves above the rest of the population. I am not trying to bash SMU further. Instead, I am just trying to give another reason for the animosity.

I have a feeling that those rankings were based on how well the school did this year, versus previous years recruiting and expectations for the conference affiliation. For example, SMU's class is down from last year, so they underachieved a bit. If all things were equal and all the schools compared were in the same conference, those rankings would be different.

P.S.-Compare the Belt to the Mid-America conference. Times are changing.

Our coaches did a fine job of recruiting. But WOW, the Sun Belt as a whole has really stepped it up. Anything can happen. But, you have to give credit to our mates in Jonesboro. What a haul for them. I am anxious to see where their class ranks nationally. It has to be in the 55 to 70 range at least. P.S.-Ditto for FIU.

I enjoyed the first 3 1/2 quarters. The last 10 minutes nearly gave me a heart attack. We were in total control of that game and we almost had a complete meltdown. In the end, we held on for a huge win and that is what this program needed.

Oh Man. First, the A&M troubles. Now, the car accident that took his cousin's life (nothing good happens at 3:45am). I hope this man gets his life together, no matter what his decision is.

I remember that season. It was the lure of moving up to 1-A that put a lot of butts in the seats that year. At the time, I actually preferred 1-AA because of the fact they had a REAL playoff system. I realize that for the university to really improve its athletic prestige, we have to stay 1-A. But, I enjoyed the 1-AA playoff format much more than any bowl game we have been in. I hope that in my lifetime we will get to see a real 1-A champion crowned on the field, not just the polls. P.S.-I was in Austin in '88 also. My brother and I had planned on hitting 6th street that night. But, the way we lost that game made us sick to our stomach. It was a long and quiet drive home from Austin.

Excellent post Flyer !

I agree with everything you said. My interest in college football is at an all time low right now because of the greed. To see this happen to Penn State (my #2 school behind UNT), one of the few universities that seems to put ethics above winning, just makes my interest wane even further. I wish JoePa would have retired after last season.

Guys. I grew up a huge Penn State fan, before I went to UNT. This whole event just makes me sick, because I once idolozed Jerry Sandusky as a defensive coordinator. JoePa to me is still everything that college football coach should be. Jerry Sandusky is a horrible man that has ruined so many peoples lives. As a parent myself, I can't imagine the negative impact that his actions have had on those innocent kids. The man should burn in hell for what he did. The AD and VP also deserve whatever punishment is given them by the grand jury. However, I am sad that so many people are quick to judge JoePa's actions. I know that Joe regrets not doing more, now that all the facts are out about Sandusky. However, Joe did not actually witness the event himself. So, we really don't know what the graduate assistant told him exactly. I don't know too many people that would go to the police, based on 2nd hand information about things. Nobody really knows what the graduate assistant told JoePa. Joe insists that the assistant did not actually tell him that he witnessed sexual acts, only something disturbing that took place in the showers. As more information comes out, maybe Joe will be deserving of the criticism that he gets. But, after following the man for all these years and seeing him give his life to his university (plus 4 million dollars) and doing everything he can to see his players achieve success on and off the field, I would have hoped that the media would not be so quick to judge. But, that is the way things are today. Very sad.

One reason is that both La Tech and UNT were reported to be on CUSA's short list the last time they expanded. If CUSA was expanding again with SMU already on board, then I would not like our chances. But, SMU is gone and CUSA is going to continue to want the DFW market. The last time CUSA expanded, I definately thought La Tech had an advantage over us. But, SMU is gone, leaving the hole in the DFW market. And, we have better facilities, a new stadium, an athletic budge that has probably doubled since then (I believe). This time, I really like our chances.

I agree. CUSA would most definately an upgrade right now. I was basically alluding to the slight possiblity that either CUSA will be downgrading due to more defections (hopefully not) and/or the Sun Belt would be upgrading with additions (very unlikely).

I normally find myself taking a more pessimistic role when it comes to my sports teams. But, I really believe that we are more than likely CUSA bound, unless OUR AD and Pres have other plans. I do believe that the potential TV markets are driving a lot of these changes. And, I think that CUSA is going to prefer adding schools that already have top notch stadiums and facilities in place or in progress. There are no guarantees when a school says they are expecting to upgrade their facilities soon. Look how long it took us. I don't believe that our recent downturn in FB is going to cause a problem. Our athletic budget is up and potential is going to factor in large when it comes to CUSA additions (if any). Even though I consider myself a pessimist, I think there is a 50% chance we get into CUSA if they only add 1 team. If they add 3 teams, I bet our changes are better than 80%. However, there is always a slight chance that our leaders now see the CUSA as potentially not being much of an upgrade and they may have their sights set on staying in a strengthened Sun Belt or perhaps even the MWC. My money is on us getting an invite to CUSA. It just makes to much sense all the way around.

LOL.....nice

On several occassions I had almost talked friends and family into attending a game at the new stadium. Even though they were not UNT fans, they expected a football environment similar to an NFL game, only less expensive. When they found out you could not buy beer during the game, their motivation for attending completely changed. It is the same comment every time "What? No Beer?". Not selling beer at the games definately hurts attendance at least a little. The diehard fans will be there. But, the casual fans might take their saturday night fun elsewhere. I realize that not everyone consumes alcohol. But, a large majority of Americans do (82% of households whose income is over $75,000 combined). FWIW, I don't expect to see beer sold at Apogee any time soon. But, it would be a nice enhancement. And, it would pull in a few more fans that are on the fence.

Rick, For all you do, this birthday is for you. It's time to sit back and watch this university take off, because of your efforts.

I am shocked that Indiana is not in the bottom 10. If we didn't melt down in the last 11 minutes of the game, they surely would have been (and we would not be on the waiting list). Oh well, a win is a win. And yes, WKU should be on the list instead of MUTS.

With Indiana coming to town, I think we would surpass 20k even in Fouts. I think the students had a pretty good time in the opener, despite the loss. They will show up this weekend. I say 26,420 this weekend. A little less than the opener.

Yes. I remember seeing that also.

Alabama 49 UNT 3 It is going to be tough going on both sides of the ball. That said, Alabama is not a school that typically runs up the score. So, they stop at 49

Thanks for the info. I'll call tomorrow and let them know.

I am in 206, near 205. But, I actually heard somebody all the way on the other side of 206 (near 207 ?). And yes, our guy took some abuse also.

OK. Calling them seat Nazi's is really not true. They were very friendly, helpful and supportive of our program. I'll just call them seat security from now on. Here is the problem though. A lot of us have seats in the first several rows in the upper deck. For most of the game, the seat security guys and ladies stand at the top of the stairs leading to the upper deck. When they do this, it really blocks the view for many of us along the isles in the first few rows. A couple of times, I saw the head of the seat security mention to them to stand a few steps down during the action. This is a fantastic idea and is really helpful to us fans. However, it was not enforced on a consistent basis. Does anybody know who I can talk, so that we can have the seat security people not stand on the top platform and block the view during the game (on a regular basis) ? I know there are some kinks to work out with the new stadium. But, I heard several impatient fans yelling at the seat security folks to get out of the way (not very politely). I would rather go about this in a nicer manner if possible, to avoid the verbal abuse that the security folks will get if this policy is not changed. I was a little worried about the railings on the top of the stairs blocking the views. But, I never expected the security folks to camp out there (which is much worse). Thanks for any advice you can give. I felt kind of bad for the security guy in our section as he had several nasty comments thrown at him.

Good call !