UNT's schedule is out... We will not rest

UNT90 · February 2, 2015

Contracted home openers with Tulsa were lost in 2013 and 2015? So this wasn't going to be a home and home? I have a hard time believing both those games were going to be at home for us.
Unless we truly got Tulsa to agree for a 2 for none, then we would've traveled to Tulsa in 2013 instead of played Idaho at home, and had a 5-game home schedule in 2013. Or that still would've been a road game this year, and we could've had all 4 non-conference games be on the road. Because I'm pretty sure Tennessee, Iowa, and SMU were already in place back then.
I'm still having a hard time buying that excuse.

They were home and homes. And Tulsa magically managed to fill their 2014 home game in which we were the scheduled opponent.

Tennessee was a contract which we had already pushed back once. They either refused to allow or (more likely) we were too cheap to buy out of that game, so it went on the 2015 schedule. From that moment forward, 2015 was always going to be a 5 home game year.

The AD simply refused to tell the consumers this info, even though he was asked point blank on numerous occasions.

ChristopherRyanWilkes · February 2, 2015

I'm no athletic scheduling expert, but it seems like other teams figure out how to have an equal amount of home and away games despite tricky contract situations. This is your job, RV. I guess having 6 home games and 6 away games every season may be too much to ask for...

Also: how could we fill a 2013 home game on such short notice and yet couldn't do the same in 2015 with 2 years to do so...?

Edited February 2, 2015 by ChristopherRyanWilkes

UNT90 · February 2, 2015

Wasn't disagreeing with you - just hoping the question gets asked.

I know. Just filling in for those reading along that the opportunity to address this has been ignored by the AD on multiple occasions.

forevereagle · February 2, 2015

Always the defender. God love ya. ;-)

Not saying that I am happy about the schedule, but I am just looking for a little honesty about the whole thing. You are prejudiced against RV without all of the facts. You make a series of assumptions even though you are not present for any of the discussions. Do you know how the decision was made about which game went where?

He hasn't shown to be the best scheduler, but you always make the assumption that he has failed horribly. We don't even know the time of the game yet. It may be a 2pm kickoff and everyone can attend and still have their trick or treat time. There is not a lot to be excited about, but it is probably a bit early to get too hot about the Halloween game (that could still even end up on Thursday).

oldguystudent · February 2, 2015

Knowing your posts historically, I'm going to guess he wasn't?

Facts:

Beyond strolling by for a couple of Tony's balls and the odd bottle of water, I haven't tailgated at Apogee since 2011.

In that time, I've missed one game because the firm I was working for wouldn't let me go.

I've left early twice. Once because it was a weeknight game, I'd been up since 3 in the morning, and I was falling asleep, the other, because someone else in my party enjoyed the bar a little too much.

I had to purchase extra tickets three times in 2014, including the last game of the season.

While many have erroneously believed otherwise, I've never had a free ride. I've always paid for my tickets, even during my last year in school (2011), although those were admittedly subsidized.

Number one goal in our household right now is getting the kid into TAMS. She works tirelessly to exceed admission standards. She wants it, I want, we will have it. Oh yes. We will have it.

I tire of having my fan dick measured on a constant basis. I will continue to enjoy this thing in whatever dafuq way I want. And the way I choose to enjoy it is for entertainment purposes, not something where I need an eagle icon ensconced in stained glass under which people baptize their infants in green holy water.

In the off season, I enjoy going to see lots of live music. Here, check out this awesome band I'm going to see at Gas Monkey on Saturday night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ9YVF-wyho

Harry · February 2, 2015

ODU will have seven home games this season, a rarity for a mid-major football program. After opening at Eastern Michigan (Sept. 5), the Monarchs host Norfolk State (Sept. 12), North Carolina State (Sept. 19) and Appalachian State (Sept. 26).

http://hamptonroads.com/2015/02/odu-draws-favorable-cusa-schedule-including-unc-charlotte#

ChristopherRyanWilkes · February 2, 2015

ODU will have seven home games this season, a rarity for a mid-major football program. After opening at Eastern Michigan (Sept. 5), the Monarchs host Norfolk State (Sept. 12), North Carolina State (Sept. 19) and Appalachian State (Sept. 26).
http://hamptonroads.com/2015/02/odu-draws-favorable-cusa-schedule-including-unc-charlotte#

Lucky... Can they give us one if we ask really nicely?

Harry · February 2, 2015

I really like what Marshall did with their

Schedule as they have 6 home games and Purdue at home.

"The fact that we will host a Big Ten team for the first time in our history speaks volumes about our approach to scheduling, Marshall Director of Athletics Mike Hamrick said. Five of our six road games are very drivable for our fan base, which -- given our support -- is a plus. We also host three games in October, something that hasnt happened around here since 1998."

UNT90 · February 2, 2015

Not saying that I am happy about the schedule, but I am just looking for a little honesty about the whole thing. You are prejudiced against RV without all of the facts. You make a series of assumptions even though you are not present for any of the discussions. Do you know how the decision was made about which game went where?

He hasn't shown to be the best scheduler, but you always make the assumption that he has failed horribly. We don't even know the time of the game yet. It may be a 2pm kickoff and everyone can attend and still have their trick or treat time. There is not a lot to be excited about, but it is probably a bit early to get too hot about the Halloween game (that could still even end up on Thursday).

I don't make assumptions. I have been following scheduling very closely since 2012, when we had yet another 5 home game season. You clearly have not as evidenced by numerous previous statements.

When we added the Tennessee game (a game that contractually clearly had to be played in 2015), we had away OOC games against SMU (a series, so had to be played) and Iowa (we would have to pay them to move to 2016,, and then 2016 would be a 5 home game season).

So, there WAS NO OTHER OPTION LEFT. 2015 HAD to be a 5 home game season.

There is nothing prejudiced about those facts. my friend.

And you still aren't concerned that the first statement made about the 5 home game schedule comes from a guy that isn't responsible for making said schedule?

Who really is the prejudiced person here?

Edited February 2, 2015 by UNT90

gradumacated · February 2, 2015

2015 was always going to be a clusterf***.

But now that we have Tennessee out of the way, what does 2016, 2017, and 2018 look like? I have a feeling we'll see 5 home games again and again and again and that's only because 80% are conference games that are handed to the AD. I have yet to see anything from RV to suggest that he'll bring exciting, watchable teams to Apogee. He couldn't sell a bucket of water to a guy with a house on fire. -_-

This season has 3-9 written all over it, and that's if we're lucky. SMU under Chad Morris will be tougher than people think, especially at home, WKU and Marshall are flat-loaded, MTSU are dangerous, LaTech will have an SEC-quality QB replacing a guy who torched us up and down the field, Iowa and Tennessee paid for us to come to their place for a reason, and UTSA seems to have our number. And Rice will dominate us like they did last season. Portland State should be a gimme. UTEP is a toss-up as they're coming to Apogee and SoMiss are a team we should beat.

This is going to be an ugly season unless the JUCO class are above-expectation hits.

UNT90 · February 2, 2015

ODU will have seven home games this season, a rarity for a mid-major football program. After opening at Eastern Michigan (Sept. 5), the Monarchs host Norfolk State (Sept. 12), North Carolina State (Sept. 19) and Appalachian State (Sept. 26).
http://hamptonroads.com/2015/02/odu-draws-favorable-cusa-schedule-including-unc-charlotte#

Some ADs are just better at AD things than other ADs.

untjim1995 · February 2, 2015

The schedule is what it is. RV is the AD the BOR is fine with, so its not changing here anytime soon. Its beyond terrible to have three of your five home dates to be on Texas/OU weekend, Halloween, and after Thanksgiving, but its par for the course around here--we almost always play a home game on the worst weekend possible to host a game in Denton, but nothing really changes there, either, so...

So the question is how do you make the best of this? Well, besides winning bigtime, which doesn't look that possible to me, beat the teams you can beat. The first is to beat SMU in Dallas. They are terrible--don't care if they overpaid Clemson's OC to come here and he knows every single Texas HS coach like they are family. They are really, really bad. If we don't beat them, we have two other 50/50 opponents besides SMU (@USM, and UTSA), other than the obvious Portland State game. So secondly, you win those games, that gets you to 4 wins. Maybe steal a win over one of these teams (WKU or UTEP) and that gets you to 5 wins. I don't see us beating Rice, Marshall, La Tech, or MUTS in CUSA play, just from a talent standpoint. Lastly, make sure the check doesn't bounce from Iowa or Tennessee. I really hoped that we could compete at iowa this year, but now my only hope is that we can in 2017. McNulty isn't going to be able to lift a team like this to victory against anyone who has talent--he's just not that kind of QB. And the talent on this team, especially on defense and on the OL, isn't developed anywhere close to being ready to compete with the CUSA bullies or the P5 giants.

I look at this schedule and realize that there is a real chance we go 2-10, but probably more like 3-9 or 4-8. I just cannot see anything at 6 wins or higher out of this bunch right now. The developed talent isn't there, the gameplan isn't there, nor is the QB play there. To get back to a 2013 type season, you're gonna need two of those three to be there, at least. Derek Thompson had a great defense, special teams, and running game to lean on, so even if he wasn't sharp, the team could still have a chance (Ohio or UTSA in 2013). At least from my view, as a simpleton fan, I don't see it being that good. I'd take a 5-7 season right now, just for improvement sake--but I really don't see that as anything more than a dream right now.

Edited February 2, 2015 by untjim1995

meangreenbob · February 2, 2015

Unacceptable.

After 15 years it's way past the time for change!!

untjim1995 · February 2, 2015

Unacceptable.

After 15 years it's way past the time for change!!

No offense, but if you've followed UNT athletics for anywhere close to 15 years or more, you should know that a change isn't happening--not at AD, not at head coach, nor from the BOR.

You're gonna have to change to accomodate them--its either accept this as is or leave. That's why we have about 15k as an average at a university with 36k students, 200k in local alumni, and millions in the DFW area to pull from. It is never going to be the priority you want it to be. You either accept that they are yours and follow them or you accept that we don't care about sports like other places do and you leave here. There literally is no "in between" here--at least it hasn't been since 1990, when I started following the program. And from what the old timers around here post, it doesn't sound as if it was much different before then, either, from a leadership standpoint.

flyonthewall · February 2, 2015

This type of stuff is what RV needs to see to get the message. When MGC membership is hurt maybe he will finally listen. I honestly would be less angry if we got a "Hey guys, I screwed up. I wanted to set us up for a favorable schedule down the road and this year I just dropped the ball," or something along those lines. Saying SMU is a home game so stop your wining is a slap in the face.

Or we could all up our donation levels so that we don't have to play the likes of Georgia, LSU, texas,......you see how this works? By cutting your donation level you are actually hurting the process. And he has said that, we have to quit kicking the can down the road on the games that we owe people, and this is the year.

Yeah, let's cut mean green club membership which DIRECTLY FUNDS STUDENT ATHLETE SCHOLARSHIPS.

But go ahead, pound away.

UNTFan23 · February 2, 2015

I'm no athletic scheduling expert, but it seems like other teams figure out how to have an equal amount of home and away games despite tricky contract situations. This is your job, RV. I guess having 6 home games and 6 away games every season may be too much to ask for...
Also: how could we fill a 2013 home game on such short notice and yet couldn't do the same in 2015 with 2 years to do so...?

A school (ULM) that has been held up as a champion for scheduling teams we seem to fail at getting is slated to only have five home games this upcoming football season.

Nicholls State

Appalachian State *

Arkansas State *

Georgia Southern *

New Mexico State *

CUSA teams with only five home games:

FIU

UTEP

Western Kentucky

North Texas

It also appears many CUSA schools play at least one FCS opponent:

Rice - Wagner

UTEP - Incarnate Word

Old Dominion - Norfolk State

Southern Miss - Austin Peay

North Texas - Portland State

Middle Tennessee - Jackson State

FIU - N C Central

Marshall - Norfolk State

Louisiana Tech - Southern

Charlotte - Presyterian

Edited February 2, 2015 by UNTFan23

GRN-WHT · February 2, 2015

Or we could all up our donation levels so that we don't have to play the likes of Georgia, LSU, texas,......you see how this works? By cutting your donation level you are actually hurting the process. And he has said that, we have to quit kicking the can down the road on the games that we owe people, and this is the year.

Yeah, let's cut mean green club membership which DIRECTLY FUNDS STUDENT ATHLETE SCHOLARSHIPS.

But go ahead, pound away.

The RV formula of shaming people into donating and buying season tickets clearly isn't working.

The day you guys finally come around and realize that we need some new blood around here will be a good day for the athletic department.

ColoradoEagle · February 3, 2015

Maybe they'll give a discount on season tickets for the missing game...

Eagle1855 · February 3, 2015

After 15 years it's way past the time for change!!

I've been disappointed with several things over the past decade, but let's not forget the man has overseen a period of change that has completely altered the face of UNT athletics, allowing it to be on-par with many of our Texas "peer institutions" in almost every measurable category.

Where we trail the rest of the state's Div-1 programs (specifically the Big 12 schools + SMU and to a lesser degree, UH) is *ahem* alumni donations and fan support/attendance.

Green P1 · February 3, 2015

Or we could all up our donation levels so that we don't have to play the likes of Georgia, LSU, texas,......you see how this works? By cutting your donation level you are actually hurting the process. And he has said that, we have to quit kicking the can down the road on the games that we owe people, and this is the year.

Yeah, let's cut mean green club membership which DIRECTLY FUNDS STUDENT ATHLETE SCHOLARSHIPS.

But go ahead, pound away.

I don't know what you do or how you make/maintain your monies... but I want to work for you.

emmitt01 · February 3, 2015

Kenny Buyers with an HSO
https://twitter.com/kennybuyers/status/562327820035047424

The starting corner gets it, but our biggest donors don't.

#itsallajoke

GRN-WHT · February 3, 2015

I've been disappointed with several things over the past decade, but let's not forget the man has overseen a period of change that has completely altered the face of UNT athletics, allowing it to be on-par with many of our Texas "peer institutions" in almost every measurable category.

Except for wins...

meangreenbob · February 3, 2015

So Coach Mac will talk about it, but not one word from the AD, who is responsible for football scheduling?
Amazing.
And let me get this straight. We knew we were entering CUSA in 2012 and couldn't find a home game replacement for the 2015 opener? Hogwash, Coach Mac.
Did Tulsa find a replacement on 2014 for UNT? The answer, of course, is yes.
This schedule was done the moment Tennessee was added, and everyone at the AD knew as much at that time. Iowa and SMU were already signed away OOC games, so adding Portland St. simply got us to 5 home games.
Everything else anyone from the AD or UNT tells you is untrue.

Absolutely correct.

Also concerning mac's comment; remember this is coming from an individual who specializes in excuses. How can any loyal UNT fan ever forget the time mac publicly labeled North Texas as a difficult place to recruit to in order to cover his failure at recruiting. What a guy!

This is just another example of the "good ole boys" covering each others ass. It's an insult to all who care about and love UNT.

Edited February 3, 2015 by meangreenbob