Side Show Joe

Houston isn't going anywhere. You have a $10 million athletic budget advantage over North Texas, and 10,000 more seats in your new stadium. Not exactly Big 12 numbers. That doesn't make you a power 5 caliber program. The Big12 doesn't need Houston. Houston hasn't even come clese to what TCU did. Even if Houston were to some how earn a top 5 ranking and win a Rose Bowl, the Big 12 would still not add you. No way Texas, OU, Texas Tech, or Baylor would allow a very large public university from one of the states best recruiting markets into the conference. They don't want those recruits staying home to play for Houston. Denton Guyer's QB, the #1 ranked duel threat QB in the 2017 class committed to TCU the other day. This kid had offer from Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, and Southern Cal, just to name a few. If TCU wasn't in the Big 12, he probably would have committed to Texas. I'm fairly sure Houston doesn't have as high of an academic standard as TCU, which would allow Houston to target many of the same Houston area recruits many Big 12 programs are after. Just don't see the Texas Big 12 schools, or OU/Oklahoma State wanting to compete with Houston for the top Houston area recruits. Enjoy the AAC.

I stopped by the stadium store this afternoon to renew my season tickets and Mean Green Club membership. While there I noticed several new items on their shelves, including quite a few under $10. Also the large schedule posters were out. If you haven't been there lately, you should swing by and check the place out. In a related topic... RV should consider assigning someone to announce updates regarding their inventory. Also, that place is like a morgue. They really need to think about playing some episodes of Beyond the Green on their T.V.s, and playing some up beat music.

If our QB can keep defenses honest, I think Jeffery Wilson will emerge from our pack of running backs and become one of the dominate backs in the conference. I believe he has that kind of talent.

Isn't the Southland already in the "third best" group in a scenario? Behind the P5 and G5 conferences. I assume the G5 conferences already occupy the "second best " catagory. I don't see that changing should there be an official split.

I can't say for certain that the split will happen. I believe you could be right. The P5s sure appear to be moving toward a professional model. I hope the new arms race of funding "cost of attendance" will wake some of those P5 university presidents up, and make them rethink their approach to athletics. Alabama just announced they were increasing their stipends (can't have Auburn paying their players more). The current system will become an unsustainable. Let's hope that happens before a split occurs. Even if there is a split, there will be media contracts for the G5 conferences. Just like the saturated bowl season still commands strong ratings, the G5s will still draw eyeballs. America loves football. We need to focus on building our program and becoming a consistent winner. That will help elevate C-USA and position the conference for the best possible payout we can get.

Very sad news. My prayers are with the Greene family.

I don't think the P5s can officially separate from the G5s until the new playoff contract expires. We have several years until that comes about. I have no desire to see C-USA split and watch the western division add ULL, Arkansas State, or Texas State under a new conference name. I think a conference like that would be too regional, and could limit our value to networks. The MAC is very regional and play most of their games on ESPN3, unless they are willing to suit up for Tuesday nights. No thank you. C-USA West is nice and regional. Having the eastern division gives us broader appeal. We just need either FAU or FIU to step up their game. Before the new playoff contract expires, I believe C-USA will develop into a stronger conference, and these reports of upheaval from Southern Miss or another old guard program will fade into obscurity. Yes C-USA and the other G5 conferences will probably still get separated from the P5s, but we can't control that. I'd rather focus on trying to support North Texas in hope of us becoming a consistent winner. As fans, most issues are beyond our control, even within our own program.

If Morris is the coach they believe him to be, then he can improve SMU enough to make them competitive with us. We could find our team in a dog fight. I don't believe Mac did enough to address our QB issues in the off season. Yes Smith is coming in, but not having him for spring ball really hurts. To be honest, aside from the Portland State game, I don't see another sure win on the schedule. Not trying to be negative. I love North Texas. But right now, I just don't know if we will get the production out of our QB that we need to win consistently. We didn't get enough out of that position last season, and not much has changed going into fall camp. SMU has made a complete coaching staff change. We don't really know what that team can do under Morris and his staff. I believe we will win, but not by a score of 43-6.

Love the 6pm kickoff. Hate it being on ESPN3. I will be at the game, but I would love for more people to watch SMU struggle with the Mean Green. This is a game I believe we can win.

I am no fan of this cost of attendance arms race. I too think it is terrible for college sports. But if we are planning on competing in this new era of college football, I think it is smart to wait and announce our price last. We need to be certain our price is competitive with the other Texas universities we recruit against. I want to know what UTSA and Texas State are going to offer before we decide.

http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2015/06/a-look-at-the-financial-impact-of-additional-benefits-texas-colleges-will-be-able-to-provide-scholarship-athletes/#33649101=11 Baylor $3,882 TCU $4,700 Texas $4,310 Texas Tech $5,100 Texas A&M $2,706 Houston $2,994 SMU $2,700 UTEP $3,100 UTSA $2,500 (Projected) Rice (TBD) North Texas (Unavailable)

We are 0-2 versus an upstart UTSA program built with some FCS level talent. No North Texas jobs should be safe. Just my opinion.

Find every friend I can find and help North Texas outnumber the SMU fans at Ford Stadium.

​Lol! I like Rice. I hope they come to view us as their primary rival in C-USA West. I think we are well on our way after the great Halloween game and last seasons Sun Burn Bowl.

​Oh yes, back in the Andre Ware days. Saw several "Run n Shoot" Houston games at the Dome, back near the end of the SWC. As for their move back on campus... I like their new stadium, but they really need to cover the walls bordering the field. The unfinished concrete looks terrible.

​I have to agree. My parents and brother live in Houston, and U of H gets no support down there. Not that we get it in DFW either. I think it is safe to say that for the most part the Houston and Dallas markets only pay attention to the pro sports and P5 conferences.

​I can't speak to U of H's history with the other teams in the AAC West, but... Houston only has one other Texas program in the AAC West, and 3 of the 5 other members of the division are small private universities. Those sounds more like disadvantages to me. The AAC is not the Big East and on the field offers no advantage over C-USA. I just don't see where Houston or SMU have advantages in the age of the P5s and G5s.

​In one sentence you state attendance must come from your fan base, and then in another sentence you claim you couldn't get your fans to the Tulsa game. Just saying... I didn't mention last season's Tulane game, but I didn't bring up the 15,000 (reported) that watched Houston play at SMU either. I think you misunderstand what I'm arguing. I believe playing games against Rice, UTEP, and UTSA will interest the UNT fan base more, and result in more of our fans attending home games in larger numbers. I wasn't counting on visiting fans to drive attendance, though I do think those programs travel well. The AAC West is saddled with 3 small private schools. I just don't see that as an advantage. Again, as a fan, I prefer the line-up of C-USA West better. It is just my opinion.

1. North Texas- My blood is green... Mean Green. 2. Midwestern State- I refuse to call them Mustangs 3. Rice- brother is a season ticket holder. I'm from Houston and I love their campus 4. Liberty- Hope they get an invite to the FBS

I don't think Houston or SMU will see any advantage to playing football in the AAC. Their new division is not really Texas friendly. Aside from Houston and SMU the rest of the new AAC Western division is made up of out of state programs (Memphis, Tulsa, Tulane, and Navy- they have no business in the AAC West). With the exception of Navy, I don't see those teams doing much to excite fans or help improve attendance numbers. Personally, with 4 major Texas markets in C-USA West, I like our division better, and believe our programs will develop stronger and more exciting divisional rivalries, with overall better attendance then SMU's and Houston's divisional home games. I just don't see Houston and SMU improving their attendance numbers when Tulsa or Tulane visit Houston or SMU. Last season Houston drew 23,500 for their game against Tulsa. Respectable but not outstanding. I also think you can expect those types of numbers in a normal year. SMU reported 19,400 last season for their game against Memphis, and we all know that's probably twice the number that actually went to the game. We just need to focus on recruiting, developing players, and winning games. If we do that, everything else will take care of itself.

​It is hard to argue against your opinion when we are 0-2 against upstart UTSA.

Fun Site. But in regard to the topic, I believe Rice needs to be our main conference rival. In sports, opposites seem to make good match-ups. We are a large public university, and they are a small private. Together, we represent the two largest cities in Texas. Houston and SMU make it happen in the AAC. We just need to make sure that we are better then SMU and Rice is better then Houston in most seasons. I'd like to name UTSA as our second most important rival in the conference, but we are 0-2 against them, so it isn't a rivalry. For this reason I believe LA Tech is our second best rivalry in C-USA. Out of conference, we need to get Texas Tech back on the schedule. It is hard for me to get excited about a road game with A&M when UTEP is signing a home and home with Texas Tech.

Have not seen this posted... http://interactives.dallasnews.com/2015/uniforms-college/

I'd buy them... then I could free up some space on my DVR.

Announcing a road game with A&M isn't really news. It's a scheduling update. News would be landing a home and home series with A&M. We have to move beyond these road games, and schedule P5s that will play us in home and home series. We were scheduling road games with A&M when we played at Fouts too. I believe there are P5 programs out there that will play us in Apogee. And, I believe we should focus on scheduling those teams. Just my opinion.