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Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2021/07/30/our-conference-realignment-wish-list/

DENTON -- Seth Littrell came to North Texas a year ago with a national reputation as an offensive guru and vowed to "tee it high and let it fly." The path UNT's head coach took to reach that goal seemed a little unconventional, to say the least. Littrell had been on the job just a few days when he handed his offense over to Graham Harrell, a Texas high school and college football legend with a short coaching résumé. Littrell's decision to hire an old friend as his offensive coordinator and play-caller resulted in a few bumpy moments, but it paid dividends overall. UNT will head into the second year of the Littrell era off a turnaround season that came largely out of the chemistry the pair have developed together -- and with their players. "Those two guys have a great relationship," UNT quarterback Mason Fine said. "Coach Littrell respects what Coach Harrell is trying to do. And Coach Harrell will bounce ideas off Littrell. Their attitudes complement each other. Coach Littrell is more laid-back, while Coach Harrell is always yelling. I am very comfortable with both those guys." read more: https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/collegesports/2017/08/22/tandem-seth-littrell-graham-harrell-getting-unt-football-back-track

Over the past two seasons, Will Reed passed for more than 5,000 yards, along with 61 touchdowns, while playing at the highest level of Texas high school football. But although Reed's numbers helped Rockwall light up the scoreboard, his number of note right now is zero. Zero Division I scholarship offers. Nothing in Division II, either, for a three-year starter who was an all-district selection as a junior and senior. Reed knows the reason, or at least part of it. At 6-1, he's considered too small for a pro-style quarterback. "I don't see the difference in two inches," he said, "but college coaches know what they want." Reed said what a lot of former high school football players are thinking this week, as the Feb. 3 national signing day approaches. Why does an inch or two of height make such a big difference? How can a couple tenths of a second in the 40-yard dash determine whether a recruit is elite or waiting by the phone? Well, more than a million kids played high school football last year. Recruiters at the power programs can be choosy, and the result is the same thing each year: Players who put up big numbers on the field can get stuffed in the recruiting game. Denton's Xavier Scott, Frisco Idrees Ali and Terrell's Dawonya Tucker were offensive centerpieces last season, each rushing for more than 2,000 yards. But Tucker is 5-7, Ali is 5-9 and Scott is 5-10, and without head-turning speed, attracting scholarships has become a headache. "I was thinking they were going to come in real hard after the year I had," Tucker said. "But it didn't happen." It didn't happen for Arlington linebacker Matthew Anunda, either. The senior had 169 tackles and was named the Class 6A Defensive Player of the Year. But he's 5-9, and although solidly built at 195 pounds, he doesn't fit the "measurables." read more: http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/high-school/high-schools/2016/01/26/notable-high-school-football-players-getting-lot-recruiting-attention

Kendal Briles -- Would run wide-open offense, Big 12 Recruiter of Year in 2013-14Doug Meacham -- Veteran coordinator, Texas native helps guide powerful TCU offenseMario Cristobal -- Turned around a terrible Florida Int'l team, has won at a mid-majorMajor Applewhite -- A celebrity across Texas who has worked at Rice, Texas, HoustonJake Spavital -- Worked at Oklahoma State, Houston, coached Johnny ManzielBrad Smiley -- 2014 Nat'l Junior College Coach of Year has Texas ties, is Baylor gradread more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/headlines/20151011-a-look-at-6-potential-candidates-for-unt-s-vacancy-lone-star-state-coordinators-aplenty.ece

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/headlines/20150920-best-in-texas-921-smu-gets-fewer-votes-after-close-game-against-tcu.ece It's official, we've hit rock bottom.

read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/columnists/bill-nichols/20150908-nichols-how-smu-s-chad-morris-plans-to-prevent-repeat-of-embarrassment-vs.-north-texas.ece

Quotable“We have a team right now that is motivated for a lot of reasons. We have young guys who didn’t experience the record-breaking season we experienced a few years ago and some older guys who were a part of history. What do you like better? Let’s get back to winning.” — Dan McCarney Awards watchThree UNT players were named to the preseason All-Conference USA team: wide receiver Carlos Harris, center Kaydon Kirby and kicker Trevor Moore. All three were also named to watch lists for major college football awards. Moore is on the watch list for the Lou Groza award for the top kicker in the country and probably has the best shot among UNT’s players to be a serious contender. The sophomore made all 37 of his extra-point attempts and 15 of his 17 field-goal attempts last season. Harris was named to the watch list for the Biletnikoff and Hornung awards, while Kirby was named to the watch lists for the Rimington and Lombardi awards. Depth-chart busterUNT came up with one of its biggest recruiting wins of the last several years just before the beginning of fall camp when Darrien McNair, a highly regarded linebacker from Trinity Catholic in Ocala, Fla., enrolled. McNair originally committed to Mississippi State, but didn’t meet NCAA qualifying standards until late. By that point, MSU, Louisville and a host of other national powers that recruited him had long since moved on. McNair is rated No. 51 among outside linebackers in the Class of 2015 by 247Sports and could be an immediate impact player at UNT. read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/unt-mean-green/20150812-2015-unt-preview-settling-on-starting-qb-is-priority-for-mean-green.ece

Last year’s bowl season was one of the high points in Conference USA’s recent history. The league picked up its first postseason win of the year when Marshall beat Northern Illinois in the Boca Raton Bowl and kept right on rolling. By the time the dust settled, C-USA had posted an .800 winning percentage (4-1) in bowl games that ranked No. 1 among FBS conferences. Add in a few impressive wins from 2013, including North Texas’ win over UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, and league officials believe they can make a good case that C-USA is a conference on the rise heading into the 2015 season. “We are probably underappreciated and maybe under-respected some around the country, but not by those of us who play and coach in this league,” UNT coach Dan McCarney said. “This is a tremendous conference.” The challenge for C-USA is to continue building on that reputation this fall. Louisiana Tech and Marshall both received votes in the preseason coaches’ poll. C-USA’s best hope for a breakout team this fall, though, could be Western Kentucky. The balance of power in the league shifted when the NCAA granted quarterback Brandon Doughty a sixth year of eligibility in December. Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/unt-mean-green/20150812-conference-usa-bowled-em-over-in-2014.ece

DENTON — Let me take you back to 1999. The Boise State football program wasn’t much different from the North Texas program back then. Both schools were in the Big West Conference and both had small fan bases. Boise averaged 20,107 fans for its home schedule that season and North Texas 13,752. Only 11,648 showed up in Denton on Oct. 16 of that year to see North Texas defeat Boise State, 17-10. That dropped the Broncos to 4-3. But Boise State has not been the same program since then. The Broncos won their final five games of the regular season to capture the Big West, then upset Louisville in the Humanitarian Bowl. Since its last visit to Denton, Boise State has become a brand name in college football. The Broncos have posted a 173-28 record with victories over Arizona State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, TCU and Virginia Tech. Boise has won 11 championships in three different conferences, participated in 14 bowls and finished seasons with a top-20 ranking nine times. If Boise State can do it, why can’t North Texas? If one underdog can do it, why can’t another, especially one that calls Texas its home recruiting base? Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/columnists/rick-gosselin/20150726-gosselin-how-can-north-texas-football-emerge-from-obscurity-boise-state-provides-a-blueprint.ece

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/headlines/20150510-best-in-texas-ranking-the-top-college-quarterback-units-in-the-state.ece We got ranked 10 of 12, only ahead of UTSA and UTEP.

3. Eight head coaches have a maximum potential bonus of $1 million or more, including North Texas' Dan McCarney. Of course, McCarney would have to take the Mean Green to the national championship to earn the his full $1,010,000 potential bonus. Steve Spurrier has the highest potential bonus among head coaches at $1.7 million. 5. Alabama administrative assistant Linda Leoni ($101,160) makes more than an assistant football coach. North Texas safeties coach Perry Carter makes $100,000. Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/headlines/20150417-10-interesting-things-regarding-college-salaries-in-the-big-12-and-sec-from-ticket-allotments-to-laundry-attendants.ece

SMU vs. North Texas (Football) — Simply put, SMU and North Texas do not like each other. The schools have played 33 times dating back to 1922 — SMU won the first game, 66-0. In fact, SMU has been pretty dominant, leading the series, 28-5-1. The rivalry is often referred to as the “Safeway Bowl.” Its name is derived from a challenge from former UNT head coach Matt Simon, who said his team would play on a Safeway parking lot during a break in the series. SMU and North Texas took a break after the 2006 season, but renewed their rivalry this past season. Read more: http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2015/03/battle-for-the-iron-skillet-headlines-smus-top-five-rivalries.html/

2. Greer connection- SMU has had trouble landing quarterbacks from its own backyard. But did you know Greer was almost a Mustang? Here is what he had to say about SMU during the recruiting process: “SMU is a great school, and they run the exact same offense we run at Arlington. I’d fit in well at SMU. Coach (June) Jones and Coach (Dan) Morrison have a great resume when it comes to teaching quarterbacks. SMU has an up and coming program.” After landing Neal Burcham, SMU decided not to offer Greer. 5. Rivalry- SMU’s big rival is obviously TCU. But North Texas apparently considers SMU its biggest rival. In case you missed it, you should really check out George Dunham’s epic rant on the subject. But the fact of the matter is SMU has dominated the all-time series, 28-4-1. To be considered a rivalry game, both sides must be competitive. The “Safeway Bowl” has been anything but. EJ Holland is the Associate Editor at Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. You can follow him on Twitter @EJSports4.

http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/08/best-in-texas-breakdown-preseason-baylor-unanimous-no-1-voters-mixed-on-tcu-houston-chances.html/

DENTON – North Texas is in unfamiliar territory heading into the fourth season of Dan McCarney’s tenure with the Mean Green. UNT spent the first two years of McCarney’s time in Denton trying to break out of a funk that had seen the Mean Green fail to post a winning season since 2004. A breakout 9-4 campaign that included a win over UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl has UNT aiming to maintain its momentum instead of trying to get its program on track. UNT has some key pieces in place among nine returning starters, including five on the offensive side of the ball, but must replace starting quarterback Derek Thompson and several other key players. How a few inexperienced backups and newcomers fill the voids left by those starters will go a long way toward determining if UNT can post a second straight winning season under McCarney, who is 74-104 in 15 seasons at UNT and Iowa State. Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/unt-mean-green/20140821-college-football-preview-north-texas-faces-new-task-after-breakout-season.ece

North Texas is in unfamiliar territory, no longer trying to right the ship but instead build on momentum. Best-case scenario: UNT finds a quarterback to adequately replace Derek Thompson and enough playmakers emerge on both sides of the ball for the Mean Green to continue its upward trend. UNT posts its second straight winning season and heads to another bowl game, giving the Mean Green consecutive postseason berths for the first time since its four-year run as Sun Belt Conference champions from 2001-04. Read more: http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/08/step-forward-or-step-back-best-caseworst-case-scenarios-for-north-texas-in-2014.html/

Question: There's some scuttlebutt that North Texas is going to beat Texas in their first game of the football season. What say you? Also, how disastrous would that be for Charlie Strong? Gosselin: I doubt that's the scuttlebutt in Austin. Maybe in Denton. I'll be attending and columnizing from that game, by the way. I think North Texas will be competitive with Texas. We saw how competitive the Mean Green could be a year ago at Georgia. But the schools from the power conferences tend to wear down the smaller schools with their depth in the second half of games. Texas has better players than North Texas, and the better players win most games. But Dan McCarney has it up and running at North Texas. Charlie Strong is trying to get the program up and running again at Texas. A loss to North Texas would rankle the Orangebloods to no end. But I'll go with the Longhorns in a closer-than-you'd-expect game. Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/headlines/20140811-gosselin-why-unt-texas-in-week-1-will-be-closer-than-you-expect.ece

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas quarterback David Ash settled in to his seat and was quickly surrounded by a throng of reporters that included nine television cameras and even more microphones pushing toward his face. “It’s good to be back,” Ash said as if he loved the attention. “Did you miss me?” Ash never used to look comfortable facing all the cameras and the questions that come with them, but the relief that comes with knowing that he will be playing football again was clear Monday, even if he still had to talk about his head and whether he should have quit the game after concussion symptoms wiped out most of his 2013 season. Ash hadn’t spoken publicly since before Texas lost at BYU in the second game last season when he suffered concussion in the second half. He tried to return two weeks later against Kansas State but lasted only one half before he was sidelined again. He spent much of the rest of the season watching from afar. Sometimes, Texas officials wouldn’t even let him stand under the bright lights of the stadium. Now Ash has been cleared by team doctors for full participation — hits and all — in training camp. “I’m so thankful I get to do this. Nothing’s guaranteed and I for sure learned that. I feel so blessed that I get another opportunity to play this game,” Ash said. read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/texas-longhorns/20140804-texas-qb-david-ash-giving-up-football-was-suggested-but-i-didn-t-consider-it.ece

My alma mater, the University of North Texas, has a healthy pattern of growth and a solid financial base, although you’ve seen some alarming revelations in recent months. I want the community to understand that our future is bright and our enrollment generates revenue that will allow us to continue to grow and excel. But we’re learning a hard lesson about the importance of solid and honest accounting, something my UNT professors taught me years ago. The old Russian proverb of “trust but verify,” appropriated by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, has new meaning and significance for the administrative leadership and regents of the University of North Texas System. The current board, our predecessors and system leaders have trusted that the individuals at UNT responsible for the basic tasks of managing the university’s funds were doing so accurately and professionally. But in recent years we began demanding technology upgrades and enhanced reporting to verify that the highest standards of accounting principles were being followed. As a result, we and our auditors have discovered and disclosed some significant errors and inaccurate reports. We have now documented a series of ingrained and improper financial practices that simply should never have happened. Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20140714-lesson-from-unt-funds-mess-trust-but-verify.ece

Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/lewisville-flower-mound/headlines/20140427-sounding-off-flower-mound-readers-tell-us-how-they-think-unt-should-react-to-misreported-funds.ece

Question: Ironic that Larry Brown credits June Jones for helping him get the job at SMU, and LB's success points out that the football team has plateaued. How much longer before June's seat starts getting hot? Cowlishaw: I've felt (and I'm hardly alone on this) that rebuilding SMU's basketball team would be much easier than getting football back to where it once was. I think June needs to do better, no doubt about that, but I don't think there's a real dissatisfaction. Yet. Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/headlines/20140221-cowlishaw-no-real-dissatisfaction-with-june-jones-performance-at-smu-yet.ece

Biggest Potential Sleeper Game- In somewhat of a rivalry game, SMU and North Texas will clash in what should be a dandy. North Texas was a surprise this season, going 9-4 and winning the Heart of Dallas Bowl. UNT does lose a lot of experience from that team, but head coach Dan McCarney has recruited well and has the program on the upswing. Bragging rights will be on the line in this one. Read more: http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/02/the-toughest-the-most-boring-and-the-best-analyzing-smus-2014-football-schedule.html/

Lincoln alumnus Alzee Williams, a senior guard for the Mean Green, scored 18 points in the win. Jordan Williams, a junior guard who helped Kimball to a 4A state title a few years ago, added 16 points. And junior point guard Chris Jones, who drove the offensive machine that took Garland Lakeview to the 5A title game twice, had six rebounds and seven assists for UNT. Read more: http://highschoolsportsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/former-basketball-stars-from-lincoln-kimball-garland-lakeview-and-mesquite-helping-unt-win.html/

Here’s a local connection to root for in the Winter Olympics: Former McKinney and UNT wide receiver Johnny Quinn. Last weekend he was selected for the U.S. Bobsled team. Quinn, UNT career’s receiving leader with 2,718 receiving yards, made the U.S. Olympic team as one of three push athletes for driver Nick Cunningham. Read more: http://highschoolsportsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/johnny-quinn-star-receiver-at-mckinney-and-unt-is-again-a-late-bloomer-in-a-sport-this-time-bobsledding.html/ PS how cool would it be for Johnny to get a gold medal!

Re: “UNT joins the big boys with a bowl win in Dallas,” Saturday Hits and Misses. I agree with your view that there should have been a larger crowd at the Heart of Dallas Bowl, but I believe The Dallas Morning News is partly to blame. There was very little coverage leading up to the game so the average fan knew little about it. This is typical of The News’ policy of downplaying anything pertaining to the University of North Texas. read more: http://letterstotheeditorblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/wheres-the-unt-coverage.html/