GreenFlag

And don't forget SJSU. You never know if schools that were previously interested would still be interested if like you say the SBC got gutted and was down to 6 teams. Schools might then think it would be too risky of a move. You also cannot underestimate how things may change for the worse with the economy which would also change the mind of a particular school. Please see California and Montana FCS schools. It was a smart move. Doing what the WAC wouldn't will make the SBC viable. It's not sexy but it was absolutely the right move.

Gross

UTSA

Probably greenjoe wanted to know if she had made a committment to Denton, rented or bought. Stalking? Really?

The only thing I ever heard or personally witnessed was the athletic department bending over backwards to try to accomodate her - because they knew she was a quality coach and didn't want to lose her. If you have something to share I would certainly like to hear what you have to say.

Marble Falls is one nice area, I would love to retire to Horseshoe Bay. I think he will be happy there. Fran and Dykes both have places there.

Just the tip.

Who said anything about being afraid? FIU's 44 3 stars and 1 4 star trumps our 21 3 stars over the last 4 years. They are a more talented team than us right now and you don't need rivals to prove it - last years game was some pretty good evidence. I'm not saying we couldn't beat them although I don't like our chances. I'll say it again, playing South Alabama instead of FIU is huge for us next year. We have a VERY favorable schedule next year from a win/loss standpoint.

Great post. Rick and staff have made things happen. Anyone can say "we need to do this and we need to do that" like you just snap your fingers. Making things a reality is a completely different story considering the size and nature of the organization they work within.

Because they have been recruiting fantastically for 4 years now and are deep. I think they underachieved last season. After watching the FIU and Ark St games last year I knew we had a ways to go.

I see us having 5 to 7 wins next year. Anything over/under would be over/under achieving in year 2 of the McCarney era. Not having FIU is huge.

I voted for both. Both have demonstrated they will step up to the pump financially which is the most important factor. There are good candidates in the southeast that could make the move successfully but as we know this doesn't resonate with our fans. It's not like either blow my skirt up but it's better than taking institutions with the same warts - but from the southeast. I'm tired of being on an island. UTSA positives - Market, football attendance, financial committment (student fees) UTSA negatives - Can the support for the Roadrunners in San Antonio sustain when the fans realize they really don't matter in the big scheme of college football? Poor support and success for anything other than football, current facilities, academics (hey, if Texas can co-exist with Kansas State, we can co-exist with UTSA) Since football is King and they are in Texas, they get my support. Texas State positives - You know exactly what you are getting. They too passed student fees which will give them the financial foundation to be competitive. Facilities are already at Sun Belt level. Academics are a smidge behind UNT which would make them upper tier Sun Belt (take out the privates in CUSA and they would be upper tier there as well). Texas State negatives - As a whole, their sports programs are pretty mediocre. I think the financial component should help in this regard. Since they are basically a Sun Belt school in Texas, they get my support. We aren't reinventing the wheel here folks. The Sun Belt is what it is. An individual institution can make it a great thing for themselves by improving themselves enough to get out.

I went to collegesearch.com and it was an advertising ass whipping. I couldn't get any info. Maybe you meant collegesearch.collegeboard.com? Collegeboard.com is a non-profit where you can find college search. That is where I got my info. The one that didn't fit was FIU, I checked and I did make a mistake. Their avg ACT should have been 25.5 - pretty damn stout. They have us 10 whopping points higher than Houston and New Mexico considerably lower.

Bob, could you elaborate or provide a source? If not please don't post stuff like this.

Here is where we stand. Please excuse the abbreviations but I think you can figure it out. This is ranked from highest to lowest by adding the composite ACT scores from the 25% and the 75% and then dividing by 2. This is a "snapshop" of the student bodies attending these schools. I starting looking at thses scores when my daughter took her PSAT. I chose ACT instead of SAT because it was easier. UNT is tied for 14th on this list of 55. It is what it is. Rice 32 CUSA AFA 30.5 MWC Tulane 29.5 CUSA Tulsa 28 CUSA SMU 27.5 Big East Denver 26.5 Sun Belt Miami 26 MAC TCU 26 Big 12 Buffalo 25 MAC UCF 25 Big East CSU 24.5 MWC UAB 24 CUSA Wyom 24 MWC FIU 23.5 Sun Belt UNT 23.5 Sun Belt Ohio U 23.5 MAC Temple 23.5 MAC Utah St 23.5 WAC Hawaii 23 MWC Idaho 23 WAC La Tech 23 WAC Tex St 23 WAC Nevada 22.5 MWC W. Mich 22.5 MAC C. Mich 22 MAC Marsh 22 CUSA Memphis 22 Big East N Mex 22 MWC SDSU 22 Big East ULL 22 Sun Belt Boise 21.5 Big East Bowl Gr 21.5 MAC FAU 21.5 Sun Belt Houston 21.5 Big East Kent St 21.5 MAC MUTS 21.5 Sun Belt N. Ill. 21.5 MAC S. Ala 21.5 Sun Belt S. Miss 21.5 CUSA Toledo 21.5 MAC UNLV 21.5 MWC UTSA 21.5 WAC Akron 21 MAC Ark St. 21 Sun Belt Ball 21 MAC ECU 21 CUSA E.Mich 21 MAC NMSU 21 WAC ULM 21 Sun Belt WKU 21 Sun Belt SJSU 20.5 WAC UALR 20.5 Sun Belt Troy 19.5 Sun Belt Fresno 19 MWC UTEP 18.5 CUSA

The progress this athletic department has made in the last decade has been remarkable. We now have the facilities and the funding to compete at this level. We have done so much more right than we have done wrong. We don't have a BS plan to "sell" anymore - we have facilities (not just the App) and $$$ and are lucky enough to have a great market on our side. The difficult part is that we haven't been doing what we currently are doing near long enough. RV has not been perfect but he sure as hell has been the savior of UNT athletics. He has addressed and solved the biggest issue UNT has had - committment from our institution. The great part is we are never going back to the days of doing it on the cheap.

CUSA offices are less than a mile from my house. You bring the beer.

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/mountain-west-conference-usa-to-discuss-merger-139035019.html

Anything besides that? Anything???

Great post TFLF. I would like to see some opinions on who folks think will be all-SBC caliber players by the end of their career. I'll start with the easy/obvious one - Cyril Lemon.

Jeremy Phillips (LB) HS QB

21. La'Jaylin Smith DE from La. 22. Jamracus Jarvis RB from La.

Good points but... AQ teams with a 7-5 record will NEVER get left out. Less bowls = greater chance of a WKU scenario happening in the future. The system isn't perfect and we agree WKU got the shaft this year but let's not encourage an environment that 10 such teams get the shaft. Those shafted teams WONT come from the AQ ranks, they will come from the Non-AQ ranks. Also, the current system benefits both AQ's and Non-AQ's. We are in the BCS.

I agree the free market cannot solve every issue. I just don't see the need for a governor here. Every team is NOT going to a bowl. Are you saying without a governor we would truly have a toilet bowl? Last year that would have pitted FAU vs. Akron. We both know that "bowl" is never going to happen. Even if it did happen who the hell cares. I see the issue as more of an attack against Non AQ's. The deck is already stacked against us with less home games etc. The end result is they (AQ's) get more and we (Non AQ's) get less. I want to watch the New Orleans Bowl and the GoDaddy.com Bowl. I enjoy them, I watch them, I care about them. Limiting games for the sake of players health is a different issue ala NFL.

I don't think there should be a restriction on the number of bowl games - let the free market sort it out. This year it appears the number of bowls is a bit bloated and I suspect we will lose a few in the next couple of years. If a bowl can be certified then so be it. No one is holding a gun to anyones head to watch a couple of 6-6 teams go at it. If the institutions want to play in the game and the alumni want to travel to watch it or view it on TV then great - let'em do it. It's no suprise to me that some BCS officials have a problem with it because it is hurting their pocketbook. I don't care about that - I want to watch the games I want to watch. More than any other bowl, I watch the New Orleans Bowl every year. This is all about consolidating power and money to the few.