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Budget Council recommends athletics budget cut of over $1.3 million link: http://wkuherald.com/news/budget_cuts_2018/budget-council-recommends-athletics-budget-cut-of-over-million/article_73c0886c-18bb-11e8-a2ef-b3534f1b49c3.html

Heading into a critical game against Western Kentucky Thursday night in Denton. North Texas is currently ranked 55th while WKU is ranked 32. If North Texas beats WKU this team should shoot up in the rankings, but my question is this. Is wining the conference tournament North Texas’ only path into the NCAA Tournament? Or could North Texas still get in based on strength of schedule or rankings? Excited to see how this unfolds as I can’t remember when the last time the volleyball team was in a position to make the NCAA tournament. -GMG! http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/volleyball-women/d1

Looks like a home and home for basketball and paycheck for fb. Football: 2018 at Wisconsin (for $1.35 million) Basketball: 2017 at Wisconsin 2018 at Diddle http://www.bgdailynews.com/sports/wku/wk...43cce.html

I posted this on the C-USA message board, but wanted to share here. I think UNT will play much closer against WKU than some think. I compare your situation to WKU basketball in 2012. The players did not want to play for Ken McDonald. Our record was 5-11 when he was fired mid-season. We ended up 17-19 with a win in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. This could be a defining moment for UNT. I hope it is. I am sure the team will have some player-only meetings and this season will have some highlights still.

NORTH TEXAS Mean Green coach Dan McCarney and his players were adamant at media day that greater leadership is what could make the difference for UNT this season. “I like the development of this team since last January,” McCarney said. “I think we’re ahead of last year at this time – believe we are, hope we are, think we are. I think leadership-wise and the chemistry of the team, the seniors have done a really good job so far.” North Texas will need that leadership for the long haul. The Mean Green have a bye the first week of the season before beginning a run of 12 straight games that includes nonconference games against Iowa and Tennessee. “When you go 12 games without an open week – five home games, eight bowl-eligible teams – the challenges are many,” McCarney said. “But we’ve known about this schedule for a long time, so we’ve got to get ready for it. It’s not getting ready for us.” read more: www.bgdailynews.com/sports/wku/taking-a-look-at-the-toppers-opponents/article_d1d55661-7a0d-5611-9576-5bd27091ccd4.html

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Western Kentucky sixth-year senior quarterback Brandon Doughty said he's "Grandpa Brandon" around the program. Senior linebacker Nick Holt joked that Doughty has been in college for 20 years. Doughty said it feels more "like 36 years." But this year is Doughty's final go-around – for real this time. "WKU is on the up and coming right now, and I'm really excited to see where our program goes after I leave this place," Doughty said Wednesday at Conference USA Football Media Day at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. "Hopefully I leave. I promise this is the last one." Opposing coaches and players are glad this is truly the last year for Doughty, too. Last season's league MVP and this season's preseason offensive player of the year is back for one more run after receiving a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA in December, stemming from two season-ending knee injuries earlier in his career. After leading the nation in passing yards and touchdowns last year, Doughty figures to be a nightmare for the competition again. "They've got a quarterback who could play for the majority of the teams in the country, if not all of them," North Texas coach Dan McCarney said. "He's that good. I've been on teams with Heisman Trophy winners. I've coached against Heisman Trophy winners. You know when really outstanding, special guys are there." read more: http://www.bgdailynews.com/sports/wku/c-usa-coaches-heap-praise-on-doughty-wku-offense/article_e4bf632e-e928-51fd-b9d7-fd47abf798f2.html

Western Kentucky quarterback Brandon Doughty was named Conference USA’s preseason offensive player of the year Tuesday. Doughty led the nation with 4,830 passing yards and 49 touchdowns in 2014. The 2014 Conference USA Most Valuable Player was named to the Maxwell Award watch list July 7 and was selected as a counselor for last week’s Manning Passing Academy in Thibodeaux, La. read more: http://www.wbko.com/sports/headlines/Doughty-named-CUSA-preseason-player-of-the-year-314950461.html

Conventional powerhouse programs are casually uprooting, formats are being rearranged like kitchen tile, and dual-threat quarterbacks act as a quintessential for the modern era. It goes without saying that college football has nonchalantly flipped the switch, and the latest rendition of alchemy comes with the preview of Western Kentucky, a Conference USA bunch that catapulted its way up to 4th in the nation with 536.9 total yards per game in 2014. Can the ‘Toppers build off last season and be even better this year? 2014 Record: 7-5 Key Wins: at Navy, at Marshall, Bowling Green Players to Watch: QB Brandon Doughty, WR Taywan Taylor, WR Kylen Towner, DB Wonderful Terry read more: http://www.todaysu.com/between-the-lines/western-kentucky-football-preview-breaking-through-c-usa/

North Texas Western Kentucky’s third and final Thursday night contest comes at the fancy Apogee Stadium in Denton. North isn’t expected to challenge for a West Division title or even make a bowl game in 2015. The only thing that should peak WKU’s interest in the possibility of facing former quarterback DaMarcus Smith. The main concern here for the Tops is that the trip to UNT comes on a short week after playing Middle Tennessee. read more: http://www.wbko.com/SportsInsider/headlines/BISHOP--Ranking-WKUs-football-opponents-by-matter-of-importance-311677731.html

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Western Kentucky University football coach Jeff Brohm is happily wearing a black Conference-USA shirt. The logo for the new home of WKU athletics is already on the Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium field and will be placed on the basketball court floor at Diddle Arena soon. There will be a party in the (Conference) USA on July 1 — the day the Hilltoppers officially join the league. The university is hosting a celebration with its coaches and the public at 643 Sports Bar. All the paperwork has been signed. C-USA is a go. Speculation about WKU making a move from the Sun Belt Conference to C-USA existed for years prior to the official press conference in April 2013. WKU is taking over the spot vacated by Tulsa, which is joining the Big East. Though WKU’s move might have seemed inevitable to some as the conference realignment changed the face of the college athletics, don’t tell that to WKU athletic director Todd Stewart. Speaking recently to The Courier-Journal, Stewart said he didn’t assume anything. “There were some nervous moments,” Stewart said. “There was so much movement. Then it started to settle down. It was like a game of musical chairs. You didn’t want to be the one left standing when the music stopped.” Read more: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentuckiana/2014/06/23/wku-athletics-ready-embrace-move-conference-usa/11260299/