stebo

I have DISH and they seem to be competitive. I get America's top 200 channels with a Dual Tuner DVR (one box works on two tv's - can record and watch both tuners on both tv's). The whole thing with tax and local channels is $58/month. I don't have the HD hooked up yet and I am an idiot with flat screens that should but I can't see myself paying an extra $20 bucks a month for HD television. I can watch my HD with the BluRay and upconvert stuff just fine and not get charged extra for it. Eventually it will all be HD and standard digital won't exist. Why does it keep going up? Because Broadcast Networks aren't making any money and can't get sponsors. With DVR's in most homes, smart people don't really watch commercials anymore. Every show in my house is watched about a half hour after it starts specifically to skip the commercials. The best programming is on cable now so stations like Bravo, VH1, and TNT are able to get more per subscriber than in the past. Not sure how DISH has kept their prices so low - but they seem to be the best deal out there. Plus - if you agree to autopay they give you all the Cinemax Movie Channels (5 of them) for free. About every 6 months I get a subriber loyalty coupon from them in the mail that offers me two choices - I can upgrade to a new HD DVR (Dual Tuner) Box - thus re-upping my 2 year contract... OR I can take advantage of a "Programming reward" which requires zero commitment whatsoever yet I get 3 free months of all the HBO's and Showtimes. I have had Showtime and HBO for 6 months out of the last 12 for free. I don't know why they do it - maybe so that I will rave about them on a message board like this. So if you are cheap, like me - and could care less about the NFL Ticket - go with DISH. It beats the crap out of cable, is less than FIOS and Direct TV, and I think that you will find the majority of the programs on the channels that they do offer... and you will save 50%... about. Anyone else happy with DISH?

I believe that the rule stems from funding. Since North Texas coaches are paid by the University, maybe the state law needs to be observed just like a teaching position? Other schools that have large foundations set up to pay their coaches might not have to abide by such a rule. And I think that a hire can be announced before that 30 days is up but the contract cannot start until the 30 days is up. These are all guesses but they seem to be logical enough... What do y'all think?

Also... I am a little curious how Tub hiring Tony Franklin away from Troy for one season and then firing him as a scapegoat is getting "burned" by a Troy coach? It worked out pretty good for the MUTS as TF ended up there but how do you feel that Tub was wronged by TF? (Honestly, I don't know the whole story - just what has been written on the Belt board)

Troy offensive coordinator talking to Texas Tech By Drew Champlin Published: January 11, 2010 Updated: January 11, 2010 Troy offensive coordinator Neal Brown is in talks with Texas Tech about becoming its new offensive coordinator, Trojans head coach Larry Blakeney confirmed Monday. Brown is scheduled to talk to new Tech head coach Tommy Tuberville today at the American Football Coaches Association coaches’ convention in Orlando Monday. “Neal called and told me he had been contacted by a representative of Texas Tech and they wanted to talk to him,“ Blakeney said. “That’s all I know at this point. There’s certainly issues Neal will have to sort through. Other than that, I’m sorta helpless.“ [...] -> http://www2.dothaneagle.com/dea/sports/c...ch/121651/

Evidently Tub is looking at the OC from Troy... if that hire goes down, I would expect him to bring some assistants with him.

Completely agree. I had people asking me all day if I was going to watch this game - my answer was that I don't follow professional football, only college. At the very most, a school should spend $50 million on their athletic program. We have scholarship limits at 85, why isn't there a budget limit? Texas has bought their way into this game and that is ok - because it doesn't break any rules... but that is not college football. It is professional.

NT has been playing FCS schools for years. Troy was an FBS/FCS transitional when we first played them in 2001... I don't think that they were really certified as full Div I until they joined the Belt. FAU and FIU were transitional FCS schools for 2 years and we played both of them during that time. Western Kentucky has been transitional until this year, they just finished their first season as a Div I FBS school. We have South Alabama lined up for 2012 and 2013 for their transitional years to FBS as well. So we have been playing FCS/Div IAA schools pretty much on a regular basis since 2001 but they have all been transitioning to FBS in one way or another.

This might be a question for Silver - but maybe you know. In the past 10 years, have we ever had an entire recruiting class show up? How many guys end of going to JUCO's or don't make their grades or quit? Troy does have an advantage - they don't have to worry about APR crap. NT can't even offer the full ship level yet because we are still dealing with poor APR scores (essentially from all the kids quitting). Troy is classified (along with ULM) as a lower economic status school and does not have to obey the APR rules.

Sorry, I was referring to Troy in the Belt. in 03-04, they were still independent... so let me rephrase that, North Texas has never beat Troy since they became a member of the Sun Belt conference.

It sounds like we actually agree. I don't have an extra 3 grand sitting around, putting up the 1 would be pushing it for me and I don't welch on bets (ask the crow that I ate in New Orleans). I don't mean to be a crotchety old man... I just have a boiling point for incorrect statements because with our fans, once they are posted on the internet - even on GMG, they somehow become "fact" from there on out. I think that you might have gotten some of the bitterness that was directed at the entire thread, not you personally. I apologize if I hurt your feelings wardly.

I guess that UCF and UCLA are cupcakes (better not tell them that) - they both just played in bowl games. You are correct that he would like to play all non conference at home but they were held out of the bowl season this year by cancelling with a Div I FBS to schedule a second FCS, ending their season at 6-6 with only 4 FBS wins and only 1 FCS able to count toward bowl eligibility. You are absolutely correct that K State wants to level the playing field by moving this game to later in the year. We can either complain about it or show up and cheer for the men in Green, you know? I hope that you are all there!

I love FFRICK and he and i are friends - that being said, 2 of the 5 games were in other cities against teams with even worse records than ours, we had nothing to play for whatsoever, and they were a mixture of Div I transitionals and Sun Belt teams. I agree with you about a lot of things that you post (such as Mike Leach being a great coach and the kid being a little puss) but I just don't agree with this defeatist, complain about everything attitude. There is a lack of pride that North Texas fans have where we create excuses (in this case we are creating excuses for a game to be played 11 months from now). I don't think that K-State will travel 13K fans - I think that they have a large alumni group in the DFW area that will show up - maybe 5K? I am NOT a superfan, in fact - I didn't even make it to every home game this year and made ZERO raod trips. I used to be able to do stuff like that before I became a working stiff but the man wears me down. In fact, until this Christmas break - I could count on two hands the amount of conversations that I took part in on this board over the last season. As for the bet - that is just me showing my blind confidence in the North Texas fans. Maybe that is blind confidence, but I believe that a Big 12 school coming to town in Denton is a big deal. When Troy had a Big 12 school coming to town, they didn't complain that their student body only consisted of 9K students and that the entire city had less than 20K in it - they pumped up their chests and said that they would pack their house and win the game. The game got moved to a freaking Tuesday, yet they still went forward with that pride and #18 Missouri went down in Troy. Where is our pride that we have to be such wimps about everything? I guess that I am more embarrased than angry. I get these beat downs at work about NT and to see our own fans beat down the program makes me start to think that everyone else is right and I am the stupid one. As for the bet - I am sure that you give what you can. Just as I give what I can. But I am that confident that a Big 12 will draw over 18K in Denton. In fact, I think that it will be over 22K, despite the day. Adler thinks we will sell out and I am not sure about that- I guess that depends on how both teams are doing when the weekend rolls around. But really, and I am being serious- what is the excuse? What are families doing two days after Thanksgiving that would keep them away? Is my family dysfunctional because we all hug each other after dinner and head back home? Should we be staying in the same house that entire weekend and enjoying each other's company? Or perhaps all of my friends have weird families, too? Because I don't know a single person that celebrates Thanksgiving after the day has ended. We have had bad attendance because our team was terrible, the teams we were playing were having bad seasons, and the names were less than recognizable (in my humble opinion). I believe that a Kansas State coming to town will be different. Maybe I am crazy. Finally - Emmitt has it DEAD ON. K-State is only obligated to provide a game for us. They have been vocal that they want out of the game. If this date is correct, which it might not even be - than it is is their attempt at leveling the playing field. Of course Snyder wants to play us later in the season, his team will have shaken off the cobwebs by that point. And of course they want NT to cancel the game - they want another home game - as quoted in the article. Ok, I have to get off this stupid computer - I am still celebrating Christmas because it was last week. Next week I will celebrate New Years.

Did anyone actually read this article or just assume that CUSA asked UTEP to cut their budget? CUSA has tried to trim costs at the CONFERENCE OFFICE level - not at the institutional level. In fact, UTEP is having money problems and this article is all about maximizing their $20 million dollar budget because it is so low compared to other CUSA schools. Click on the link and actually read the article. And I never said that CUSA had a $25 million dollar budget bylaw, I said that they had a $20 million dollar bylaw - and that UTEP's budget exceeded that. I estimated that their budget was about $25 million when expansion took place because those were the numbers being thrown around in the papers. This article says that the budget is $20 million. Either way - it is 6th or 7th in CUSA - and with the new student fee, we should pass that up by 2011 or 2012.

http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml Still looking - but I think that I found some of the basis for the article. Oh, and here you go: Now explain to me where baseball is mentioned? By the way - I am still looking for even more links. I want you to understand that I do not just post stuff without having facts behind my words.

Here you go: Kansas State Trying To Get Out Of Game In Denton: http://www.gomeangreen.com/forums/index.ph...hl=kansas+state http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/1605677.html Notice that it says "HAD PREVIOUSLY planned to play North Texas" - this article tells me that K State (at the time it was written) had every intention of cancelling this game. We were originally scheduled to play them on 9/25. Maybe that date will remain. It really doesn't matter - the point is that with 11 months notice, we should be capable of planning accordingly for this game, no?

You see - we can agree on something! Good post

Are you joking? Did you just start following North Texas? During the last round of expansion, CUSA visited three schools - La Tech, North Texas, and UTEP. UTEP was chosen. Google it. I guess that I was just assuming that you had been following the program for awhile. And I am not trying to be a jerk - it just bothers me when people make statements as facts when they simply aren't. There are countless articles and interviews with RV with a simple Google search about the last expansion of CUSA when they chose UTEP as the 12th and final school. I don't need to prove it, it is fact - just like the sky is blue and the world is round. You are correct - a baseball program shows the sign of a well rounded athletic program. The problem is that we cannot just add a baseball program. Due to Title IX, we have to add equal funding to a women's sport as well. So it is not just adding baseball, it is adding baseball and another women's sport to boot. All that being said, it will happen once the stadium is built. No worries, our administration has been very clear that baseball is next. The Belt has great baseball so we will have a nice home right off the bat. As for the CUSA budget bylaws, I will try to find a link to make sure that I am correct. It was in an article written by Brett Vito during the last expansion cycle so there is no telling if it is correct or not. Good question - and a VALID one. The article stated that CUSA bylaws required that all CUSA athletic departments have a budget of $20 million a year. Maybe that was the maximum, maybe it was the minimum. The article went on to explain that the privates have an easy time of showing a $20 million dollar athletic budget without actually "spending" $20 million a year - simply because their tuition is much higher and that is a part of their "budget" even though the school simply writes that tuition off. At a public school, our athletic department has to literally cut a check to the registrar for the tuition of our scholarship athletes. Got it smarty pants?

First off, K State only beat 4 Div I teams this year. And they got beat by the Louisiana Cajuns - so I think that a win is very attainable. Secondly, I will bet you $1,000 right now - without knowing a thing about next season's record when we play K-State - they we will draw more than 18K. In fact, I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you were trying to make some point and say that we have over 22K. North Texas fans have no pride. They do not believe in their own fan base. They bitch and moan and complain about even the GOOD things that happen. We get a Big 12 team to come and you complain about the day that the other school most likely demanded. You get a new stadium and you complain about the design. I am seriously sick of it. So put your money where your mouth is - we will give the grand to the athletic department as part of the stadium campaign - and you will have to admit to this board that you were talking out of your ass because you like to complain like a little girl about everything that is North Texas. Either you don't follow North Texas or you don't read threads thoroughly. K State tried to BACK OUT OF THIS GAME. It was either - we cancel the game - or we accept the date that they provided for us. What would you have North Texas do, cancel the freaking game? If you believe that is the right decision - than YOU are fooling yourself.

Let's compare apples to giraffes! Troy has never, not once - had to turn a kid away. Recruits that are right on the border of getting a ship - they are just straight with them and tell them that they are on a waiting list. Then they grey shirt them if needed. The article that I read last year stated that that had happened a whopping one time over the last 5 years, one grey shirt over 5 years due to "oversigning". Guess what? Kids don't make their grades, or they quit, or they change their minds. Look at our past 5 signing classes and tell me that 100% of those kids showed up and stuck around. Troy is being smart. If the athlete bails, we are supposed to wish them well but our depth goes down. Why do we lose to the big boys - lack of depth. Troy has figured out a way to hedge their bets and we should be doing the same damn thing. Kids these days are finicky. Who knows, myabe we would if we could but there aren't more than 25 quality players that want to come here anymore.

Fair enough - I say that it sells out. And a sell out before Turkey Day or after Turkey Day looks the same on paper to me. Let's say that it doesn't sell out - let's say that we get - gulp - 25,000 people there for it. K-State wanted to CANCEL this game. I would bet ANY amount of money that this was their way of screwing us when we HELD OUR GROUND. Look at their schedule, they have an OPEN spot the second week of the season. But when do we have a better chance of winning the game? In week 2 or week 11 or 12? Something to think about. We should be praising our AD for holding this game together, not complaining about the date in my opinion.

From what this thread states - Briles specifically had his contract built with one "out" - that is with one school that Leach could take the job without having a big payoff (Tech). Also, since Leach was fired for conduct, Tech will most likely try to not pay anything. Even Coach Dodge has a clause in his contract that states he has to be a good representative for North Texas or he could get let go. It's a normal clause in any contract. Was it Price that sued over his "verbal" contract when he went to the strip club? That was conduct that did not represent the University in a positive manner. I think that he lost the case against the school but won a settlement against a newspaper because they had stated he was sleeping with one of the strippers (and getting breakfast room service for her on the University expense account). When that could not be backed up, the paper had to pay damages - but it wasn't the school. The school was in their right to let him go for conduct. I believe that the same situation will happen with Leach - and why Tech moved fast to fire him before the New Year. It saved them some retention money that would kick in after January 1 and from what I have read, they will simply have to pay him one or two years of the 400K. So, not saying the theory is correct - just saying that Tech will likely not pay out much on this and IF Baylor's coach wants to go there (and is offered the job) - it sounds like that is the one place he can break his contract to go to (again, according to Harry, whom I would trust with any important factoid).

I give up - we should just cancel the game. The K-State coach was very vocal in several newspapers that he wanted to cancel this game. I am going to bet that they did everything that they could to try and get out of it. Showing our attendance from the last 5 losing seasons is not a good barometer Rick - because we were playing for nothing but pride and the teams were non-marquee schools. K State... on any day... in Denton (at Fouts), is a good thing. Since the Big 12 was formed, we have only been able to talk one other school to play AT Fouts and that was lowly Baylor. Do you remember how fun that was? Why would we just cancel the game because of the weekend? Make the best of it and start planning now! Can't wait to see big time football in what might be Fouts' last football game! By the way - HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope that everyone is being safe tonight out in Mean Green land!

How has Troy signed over 25 when National Signing Day hasn't even happened yet? All that I see in that link is a bunch of verbals and those things can change. Plus, these sites are updated by outside sources - the kids report their own verbals. It is very possible that not every kid has an offer or that this has not been updated... or that some of the offers are for preferred walk ons, etc. Just trying to give them the benefit of the doubt - but whatever it is, we need to watch and learn because Troy has been to 5 bowls over the last 7 years... 4 straight bowls... 4 straight Sun Belt championships, have had 2 first round draft picks, 2 second round draft picks, they have beat teams from the MAC, CUSA, and Big 12, have a win over a top 25 team, and most importantly - they have never lost to North Texas. So why aren't we paying attention?

I am going to guess that K State tried to get out of this game and this is what happened. Notice that they still have a spot available at the beggining of the year? That whole To Be Decided stuff? Well, K State learned its lesson this year with playing a Belt team too early in the season when UL-Lafayette beat them. The good thing is that K State also learned the hard way that scheduling two IAA's will keep you out of a bowl - despite being 6-6, they could not get a bowl invite due to two IAA wins and only one can count. So they probably told us to take it or leave it. Of course we are going to take it - we are North Texas and this will be the 2nd Big 12 school to EVER visit Fouts (Baylor being the first since the Big 12 formed). Thanksgiving is THURSDAY. How long do you guys celebrate? I am done with it by the time I hit the turkey the third time. I might hit up Black Friday for a couple of sales but other than that, Turkey day is done by Saturday. What is the problem? The students? The K-State fans will more than make up for those students that go home... and they have to be back by Monday for school anyway - its not like they are off for a full week or anything. I can't wait for this game and I predict - WE WIN!

Again, where in the world are you getting your information? Almost 90% of what you just both posted is incorrect. There is no conference bylaw for CUSA regarding baseball. SMU is not "grandfathered" into anything. I am not trying to be a jerk, but you guys seem to be just making stuff up. We were passed over for UTEP. UTEP does not have baseball. Come on guys - try to be somewhat honest with your posts. Maybe these are items that are important to you? They certainly are not deal breakers for CUSA (or any other conference) and expansion. Obviously, a well rounded school is what all conferences seek - but that could be accomplished with higher academics just as easily as baseball. We all would love baseball - and that is next on the list after the stadium - but it has absolutely nothing to do with CUSA, their rules, or why we were passed over for UTEP last time. UTEP got the invite because they average 40K people a football game, have great basketball with great attendance, and have made a commitment to their athletic program - primarily, they have an athletic budget exceeding $25 million a year (per CUSA bylaws). They do not have baseball and baseball had nothing to do with the last expansion slot that we did not get.