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The NIL payday is not going away and the cost of doing business will increase. Also, all our new facilities did was level the playing field, which certainly was a big step forward. At present the FBS has a limit of 85 scholarships but that could change for both the G4 and G6 programs when they spin off. The P4 schools could stay at 85, G6 drop to 75 ,and 1AA remain at 65. The money for NIL has to come from somewhere and for those of us with limited resources must look at reducing expenses anywhere they can. I certainly don't like it but amateur college sports is dead.

I understand what you are saying but it's what we have to work with. I never understood why the Dallas programs were set up separate.

The UNT system has a law school in Dallas, medial school in Ft. Worth, engineering and business in Denton. While I am not comparing us to U.T. we do have graduates in the professions you mentioned that can but don't financially support Mean Green athletics.

So was Arkansas/ Fayetteville,Baylor/Waco, and others. If we really had a chance to get in the SWC these numbers would be much higher as there were still a large number of grads in DFW. Basketball also seemed to have larger attendance during this time than now. The harsh reality is that we have had a mediocre athletic program at best . The few exceptions were during the time when both the SWC and SEC did not take black athletics and early 2000's when we dominated the Sun Belt. Other than that we have had an underfunded athletic program with little financial support from both alumni and the university. Granted there have been exceptions but they have been few and far between. Even when our basketball program beat Purdue in the NCAA's and won the NIT the following year our home attendance was a mere 4,000 with enrollment 10 times that and Denton population around 100,000 or so. The students just don't seem to care and our alumni generally throw quarters around like manhole covers, yours truly included. I'd say we are lucky to be a G6 program instead of back in 1AA.

Well,I don't see any on the field performance against Bama between the Green Apple or Plum. Both are basically Rotten Apples but I get your point, Now Portland State, that's a different kind of fruit.

I was a freshman in 61' when we were in the MVC, where we stayed until Hayden Fry took us independent 50 years ago. Your reference to North Texas being is the Valley is way past ancient history as is dropping down to 1AA as a excuse for lack of alumni and student support for our athletic programs. Everyone refers to Fry's coaching tenure as the golden age of Eagle football forgetting that our average home attendance in his 6 years here was only 13,300.

PS: I would like to add that I have NEVER been correct in predicting how conference will realign. I thought that a movement towards regional conferences in an effort to curb rising travel expenses and increase gate attendance would be the way to go. Silly me . Stanford and Cal joined the ACC , UNT added a polo team,and here we sit. Oh well!

Private schools may be caught in the middle, unless you are USC. My best guess is that if you are in an existing P4 school you will have the option of playing with the big boys or dropping down.The Big 10 and SEC are driving this realignment along with television and streaming services. For the sake of argument lets say it is decided by the decision makers to take 50 high profile football programs and spin them off from the NCAA. With the Big 10 and SEC accounting for at least 30 schools that leaves 20 to be added from the ACC and Big 12 conferences plus Notre Dame . I don't know if the SEC will kick Vanderbilt to the curb but I doubt P4 private schools such as SMU,TCU, and Baylor will be invited to the party as this new conglomerate is looking for programs that have somewhat of a national presence. But what about schools like Mississippi State for example.Well, they are already in the fraternity, sort of like a legacy. You may not want them in but you can't kick them out. Any G6 program that anticipates a "bid" is "whistling Dixie" , as we old timers used to say. I wish the the existing P6 conferences would make the first move and leave the NCAA in football and establish their own playoff system extending an open invitation to the P4 programs who will be left behind .However since I have no idea what television and streaming services stances are its hard for me to fault them for not going all in.

The P4 programs would just replace us with 1AA school. I would like to see the G6 programs separate from the P4's and set up their own football playoff system . Regarding UNT's position in the pecking order, the only school keeping us from moving up is UNT. With a few exception, we have poor alumni financial support. That, coupled with poor attendance in our football and men's basketball programs , puts us where we are. It's way past time to keep making excuses and blaming others for our lot in life.

Probably not. I doubt there are guaranteed contracts in the CFL.

I don't think having the tournament in the city where you have your conference headquarters makes any difference. Several conferences have their tournament in Las Vegas but don't headquarter there. While it nice to have non stops to DFW it would be even nicer if that was important to AAC fans in March, which based upon attendance it isn't. I think other venues such as those located in New Orleans,Nashville,and Orlando just to name a few would increase attendance . However since the AAC just renewed their contract with Dickies proves that attendance is not important.

The venue and tournament are well done,and Dickies Arena is a good venue. However attendance sucks, and will continue to do so until the tournament moves to a more geographically centered location.

Legally I don't think the NCAA can dictate NIL payments but I am not an attorney. I think the programs you listed can be part of the Power 50 programs if they choose except for UNT. I also think that not all of existing Power 50 will buy in but just a guess as everything is at present.

With the price of pay to play in college now a reality I don't see G6 programs having the financial resources to support 16 varsity sports nor to add an expensive non revenue sport such as baseball. In fact I might put college baseball on the endangered list for G6 programs. The truth of the matter is that we are entering uncharted waters and if I was an AD or university President I would be very reluctant to spend monies until the smoke clears. [ Note: I refer to D1 conferences as P4 and G6 as the PAC 2 + MWC will not be included with the Big 12, ACC,Big 10, or SEC in the future.]

As of now, yes. However the future seems unclear. I can see UNT with men's basketball and football, women's basketball, softball, volleyball, and soccer with everything else eliminated including track and field. In fact , some of the women's programs mentioned could be eliminated as well with just enough programs to satisfy Title IX. I think that when the G5 programs go their separate way that the NCAA will be unable to impose program requirements on its members. This is just a guess and by golly of an old man [81] who has seen many changes in college athletics when players were amateurs. This is no longer the case in a "pay for play" environment where the rules are being decided in the courtroom instead of the boardroom. The new financial requirements are overwhelming to programs like North Texas as where does the money to compete come from? It's no longer bricks and sticks which we have invested in just to level the playing field. It's the same question; what do we want, what do we need, and what are we willing to pay for? The next few years are going to be very challenging and some schools may remember that their mission is academics, not athletics, and decide to drop out of the race , similar to the decision UTA made decades ago.

I can't imagine UNT adding another non revenue sport that would require at least $10 million+ just to construct a venue. What I can imagine is North Texas dropping as many sports as possible in order to keep those remaining financially viable. We are headed into a financial abyss that is unprecedented in amateur sports. Historically our athletic department has been underfunded and while I hate to yell that the sky is falling it well may be. I just don't see a silver lining for G5 athletic programs.

There is a lot of information yet to be processed. Is the NCAA going to require a certain number of sports? How will woman's sports be affected? Where is the money going to come from on a go forward basis? What will be the value of AAC t.v contract once the P4 conferences spin off? Would the G6 schools be better off by being pro active , leave the NCAA, and develop their own rules for membership? We will need to do it sooner or later when the P4 conferences move on. Also, the legal rights of college athletes is driving this and the NCAA is powerless to prevent change .

Thanks!

What happened to our undersized receiver/punt returner drafted in 5th round a few years ago by Tampa Bay? I know he got cut in 2nd or 3rd year bur lost track of him.

I don't think we really know how this is going to play out. At first blush it appears that the G5 schools will be a farm club for the P5's in football and men's basketball Also, I assume there will no longer be a requirement to fund a specified number of sports, but just a guess. If not, where is the money coming from? I doubt UNT students will vote to increase their athletic fee., and our alumni have historically [with a few exceptions] provided little in the way of a financial commitment to our Athletic Department.

Just asking, but will UNT even be able to afford a football program?

This

It's because they are. Deal with it.

Chuck Curtis, 1956 TCU Horned Frogs. Curtis was coaching at UTA when they dropped football.He was a good coach but pushed the boundaries when it came to NCAA rules. All the players were immediately eligible to play so Curtis could have taken the whole team, which was pretty good, with him to his next stop. However there was no next stop as he received no coaching offers.

What about academic scholarships?