Green Dozer

1855, I went back, and unscrambled it as best I could. Thanks for the pointers We have had two presidents in a row (Pohl and Bataille) who have been on the athletic band wagon since they arrived. We suffered miserably as an athletic program under Hurley. But, the invitation to participate has been there for a long time. No, it has not been gold embossed invitations, we both know. But RV has beat the drum, donors are invited to the athletic director's box, we have tailgating, etc. No, it is not like the Longhorn Foundation, or the 12th man, but it is better today than it has been since Hayden Fry was athletic director. Ask FFR about the telethon he participated in, and what the results are. This athletic donor base, being apathetic, is nothing new to you all I know. 4 conference championships, a coaching change, new athletic village, a stadium on the way with an increase in the athletic fee and all. And it really has not changed the attitude of the alumnae stepping up to the plate. Yet, many will stand in the parking lot with a beer, and in between ribs, b*&tch why we cannot keep up with the OU and TX. Yet, their opinion is all they give, and I know some can afford to give some $$$. RV has brought this entire program up with little resources, and you can see the improvements. We are talking in the past 7 years or so. Not mere months. You say the university has not shown commitment until recently, then what is the time frame for the alumnae to show their commitment? How big of letters does the invitation need on it?

Shaft, Not hung up, that popularity is wearing off and I know that. My point is he brought us a lot of bang for our buck when he was hired. His hiring helped us get down the road toward getting the stadium fee passed a little faster, that is what I am trying to say. I know you adamantly disagree with that, so I won't go any further. I thought his recruiting would be a little stronger, but we have only seen one class from a full year of recruiting. I am trying to withhold judgment on that part until February, when we will see the results from a second full year of recruiting. You keep alluding to no experience as a recruiter. Well, as a pretty sought after athlete in high school, he did go through the recruiting process himself. He also saw how the recruiting program was handled while at Texas. He has been involved as a coach having his players recruited, and also involved in the recruiting process as a parent. Furthermore, he was an assistant here at North Texas and though I know none personally, I understand that many of those players who played here then have spoken very highly of him as a coach. Mitch Mahr, the quarterback, for one. We have also benefited from him holding camps here on our campus the past two summers, and it is my understanding that some of the best skill players in the state attended them. And again, there is absolutely no way another coach could have done better unless he had the name recognition that Dodge did within our recruiting area. We do not exactly recruit real heavy outside our own state. So, a few players did not pan out, and neither did all of Dickey's nor do all of Stoop's pan out. If it were easy, everybody would have a top notch program. As for Riley, he had a shoulder injury last year, and I am sure that had to have some effect on his arm. Many say that it takes a lot longer to gain strength back from a shoulder injury than any other part of the body. I, for one, think it would have been a mistake to play Riley at qb this year for a lot of reasons. Again, it would not have made any difference who behind this line, even if we had a healthy Tom Brady. Again, Shaft, Dodge has brought some credibility to this program. Even the New York Times wrote a positive article the way he handled the drug issue. We are not the laughing stock of the DFW media, and we sure have never been on the national stage even when we won the four conference championships. Again, why is it all Dickey, Dodge's, Simon's, and all the other coaches fault that the star recruits do not come here? Simon pointed out that with the facilities he had, it was very hard to sell the program. A university this size, that has been playing ball as long as we have, located in the State of Texas and we have one player whose name most people can recognize. He last played here nearly forty years ago, and I would venture not many recruits really know who he is, and soon the parents of the recruits won't either unless they happen to be football historians as a many on this board are. Yes, we have had a few others in the pros, but unless you are a hardcore fan, you could not name them. I think we as alumnae, and the alumnae over the years who have done NOTHING to support this program need to bear a lot of the responsibility where this program is today. Yea, Dodge has more resources than his predecessors, but the cost of doing business in every endeavor has skyrocketed to. Maybe donations are up, but so are costs. All of these factors have lead to the problems that Dodge is facing here, and any other coach might have won a few more games, but he would still face the problems and challenges of building a strong, significantly competitive program.

Dodge did indeed have a family emergency last night, I have learned. His father in law, who has been sick, took a turn for the worse yesterday. Lets change our tune here, and quit bashing him for not being at the show or calling for RV to withhold part of his salary (that was the most ridiculous post ever & i have posted some doozies!). I would call upon the Mean Green Nation to pray for Coach Dodge, and most especially his wife Elizabeth, as this has been a hardship for this family since the gentleman's stroke shortly before Coach Dodge arrived at UNT. Thank You! *Note: It was not owed to any of us for that to have been announced last evening. I think we can respect the family's privacy.

Amen! Without you veterans, we would not have the opportunity to have voted last Tuesday. We would not be able to debate whether the winners in any of the races are the right choices. We also would not have a board like to this to post our opinions no matter how insane they may seem God Bless You and Thank You from the bottom of my heart for your sacrifices.

Shaft, The kids that come to the games and cheer the loudest, I would say, are the freshman and sophmores. (My opinion from observation). Juniors and Seniors are staying in the parking lot to drink. Dodge has had a lunch gathering with students, or at least he did at the beginning of the season, with students in the union. He has been vocal about the stadium since the start of the school year. He talked about the need for a stadium on his radio show. Many letters from students that I read in The Daily from students in support of stadium almost most always referenced Todd Dodge, and what we have to look forward to with his teams. No, it has not been much so far, and I would be lying if I told you that I am as strong a believer this week as last. At least in the circles I have run in, I heard more about the stadium from Dodge than RV. And his reputation from high school sure helped with the student vote because many of our students know Southlake's history. No other high school coach ever got so much media attention from the DFW media as Dodge did, and there have been some great high school coaches in this area. Initially, we had an increase in donors and MGC members with his hiring. Remember, we were told we were losing them in Dickey's last year. Now, he supposedly has more resources to work with than any other coach in our history, so there must have been an increase in donations. It would have been harder to get the support for the stadium if we had some coach that nobody knew locally except the hard core fans like on this board. And if he had a record similar to Dodge's, it would have been an even bigger challenge. Yes, he should be held responsible for whats on the field, but to give him no credit on the stadium is wrong. Again, we do not know what another coach could have done, it is all speculation. It is obvious he can do nothing right in your eyes, but give him some credit for the stadium. I will say your argument that he should go is a helluva a lot stronger than the argument that he should stay given what has happened so far. I am just not on that side of the fence right now. I still think he deserves a couple of more years, as I do not think all the problems and challenges are all his fault. The way the university has tightened the money belt for far to many years bear some role in the shape this program was in when he got here. It is not like we were 2 years removed from 4 conference championships in the Big 12 or SEC. He has hit what I call "the wall" at UNT just like all past coaches, only faster and a lot harder. I do agree that all coaches, including Deloach, should be held responsible for the product on the field. Shaft, you have been around long enough to remember Simon. He and Dickey had the exact same concerns about them being able to build a viable program. Neither were wrong. I do agree that all coaches, including Deloach, should be held responsible for the product on the field. What happens off of the field is not all their fault, and that does effect the on the field performance.

See, this is how opinions like mine get formed. I have not received a brochure, and don't know why. I am a season tix holder, NT Exes Member, and MGC member. Seems they would make a concerted effort to communicate with everybody, after all we are the donors, both financially and other supportive ways. It just amazes me how information is put out so hap-hazardly, which leads to opinions like mine. And you will see examples of a lack of communication in everything the athletic department does. Some get the message and some do not. Man, when will they learn about customer service? Thanks for the update, honestly, I did not know about a brochure being mailed.

Don't know about the stadium................that issue on the part of the administration has sure gone quiet since the vote.

A lot of these questionable kids are simply products of their environment, and for every bad story you here, there are many success stories because they were given a chance. Some kids can't help their circumstances. All of that said, you are on Green Mean, until the TX's, ND, and all these other programs are willing to live with 6-5 at best, then you have to recruit the guys with some baggage. You, sir, are right on.

I don't think Dodge is focused on the entire team now nor was he last year. Does the name Mendoza ring a bell? No, typical of an offensive minded coach, the other phases of the game are afterthoughts.

Green Mean, Let me throw this wrinkle in, and it is just my thoughts (I know nooooothing, as Shultz used to say). What if RV really did hire Deloach, and the under the table the deal was that if Dodge did not work out, then Deloach would be promoted to head coach. Just wondering? Which brings up another question, why wasn't Deloach considered for the head coaching position? Everybody knew the coach at UCLA was in trouble, so Deloach surely did. He also did not know that Neuheisel would be the new coach and keep him. These are just my thoughts and opinion, that is it.

I think we had a shot at Harbaugh, my understanding is that he really wanted to come here. I don't think we were on Jimbo Fisher's radar.

NFL did try the spread. It was the called the fun n gun, run n shoot, etc. A few offenses in the NFL mix in some of the spread. Phoenix did it tonight a couple of times in a hurry up offense. I think there is to much speed in NFL defenses for it to work on a consistent basis.

Now if we can just get more of the fans involved in tailgating into the stadium, then we would have even more vocal support for the team.

At least we will be able to hear a different inside perspective on the program. Deloach has a lot of credibility, and rightfully so, with many on this board.

Man guys, I was just pointing out that there were no comments to Vito's story, that's it. By the way, all good points, but I was just pointing out that there were NO COMMENTS.

109 views, and not one criticizing Vito for not being positive. Must be a good report, or we are all so depressed over it all we just do not care what he writes.

Shaft, Do you think that maybe Dickey had ran out of "magic bullets" in the recruiting area? I mean, it seems we took some players with some issues that may have precluded them from being signed some place else. And, he also promised some recruits at the time that they would be playing in a new stadium. Sound familiar? He had no facilities to really bring recruits to, and the players without some of the questionable issues played at high schools with better facilities. I am just saying he ran out of gas because one thing he was right about was that this place is hard to recruit to. The 4 conference championships were great, but we did not exactly get a lot of great publicity out of it like schools in other conferences. That is just the result of being in the Sunbelt. I have babbled, and not been real clear, but perhaps you can see my viewpoint. I just would like for somebody to say the University needs to re-evaluate its commitment to Div. 1 football and quit expecting these coaches to perform like that have unlimited resources when nothing in the way of real resources is still nothing. Dodge may have access to more resources than any previous coach, but it still is not enough.

Maybe the 3 non schollies are better. Are you saying they should start just because they have scholarships? I would hope that the coaches would put the best players on the field. Heck, Tech got their kicker from a tuition/textbook competition at a football game. If a walk on is better, play them. Fitz was a walk on. Whatever it takes.

Smitty, Can't argue with anything you say. And I will say, that North Texas needs to evaluate its committment to Div. 1 football, and I mean take a realistic hard look.

I know you cannot name names, etc but any real, first hand knowledge of this. Have you really talked to somebody or are you just guessing? I mean, ever since the student vote their has not been one quote that I know of that any of them have stated how excited they are that a new stadium is going up to enhance our athletic program. I am sure Dr. B has made a few statements at the out of town tailgates, but nothing in print of any real substance. I have seen her at the coach's show since the vote, and no comments there either. I see a few of them at the games, but just going to the box. Not questioning you or being a smart ass, but I just do not get the impression they are really very concerned.

Smitty, Didn't we consult Gene Stallings a few years ago? Anybody recall what he said and what if any we have applied? There are good models of smaller schools who have built successful program.

Smitty, You make good points. I want to be the Conference USA Champion, play and beat people that others in our area know about. Yes, it was a good team, but about the only ones that really appreciated it were you, me, and about >20,000 others who attended the games on a regular basis. Nobody else really noticed, and we certainly got no due in the DFW media.. The New Orleans Bowl, did we send more than 10,000 fans every year? We get notoriety for being the first team with a losing record to gain a bowl appearance. I want better, that is what I am saying. I don't want to sit around for another forty years of futility and frustration before we win again. Multiple players to the NFL? OK. but what about a player or two every year that hangs. This was not a lame excuse of defending Dodge, I am simply saying we have to give any coach 3 to 5 years. With your view, we have 36 years or so until the next championship. It would not make any difference who the coach was with this team right now, we might have 2 to 3 wins more at best the past two years, and we still would have not been competitive in the OOC games. Don't mean to make you mad, and I certainly see your point, but take a closer look at mine before you say I am disrespecting anybody. The championships were still in DIV I football, and that is admirable to have anything at that level, but they were still in the lowest rated conference that most college football fans and media do not care about.

I know your son did not test positive, otherwise you would not be so quick to make light of the others. I am disappointed, I would expect something like you posted from a number of people including myself. Have any of the kids you coached over the years made mistakes, either at the same time or at different times? As somebody told me the other day, people are not as bad as their dumbest moment. You know, Coach Dodge did not roll the joints or open the pill bottles, these men of legal adult age made their choices. They have to take responsibility for their decisions, blame themselves and it is nobody's fault but their own. Still, mistake does not automatically reflect on their character. How they react to the adversity is more of an indication to their character.

Why would you write a post like this? It makes sense. Seriously, good post and thank you for having the courage to post it.

Excuse me, but the question was not whether the money is there or not. Do you have real, indisputable knowledge or are you just guessing? I know we both went to UNT, but it is a real simple question.