UNT is a Premier University in Texas

Mike Jackson · September 27, 2015

The University of North Texas is the 3rd largest university in the state of Texas. We are in one the largest metro areas in the USA. Denton is in the middle one of the richest high school recruiting areas in the country. Why don't we act like it? Why do I ever have to explain where I went to school when I within the state of Texas? Partially because the alumni don't act like it because we get humiliated on national TV almost every time we get the opportunity. Why can't I give my second season ticket away for most home games even if I offer to pick people up? Because they play like crap every time they get the opportunity to change the perception of this team when playing a power 5 conference school. We need an AD that dreams big. We need an AD and administration with balls enough to conduct business like this is the 4th largest university in the state of Texas on par with Texas A&M and University of Houston. And really only the University of Texas is significantly bigger than UNT. Texas A&M and Houston only have about 3,000 more students which means they are less than 10% bigger than UNT. if TCU cn be in the national championship level there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON the Mean Green should not dominate the west division of CUSA. No offense to those other west CUSA schools but go look them up on paper, remove the names and the biases from your mind and pick a better place to coach or recruit. So I am ready for this FBS program to make the next big step. How do we do that? And stop thinking about what we "cannot" do but what we should do based on the demographics and the advantages of our school. I am anxiously awaiting feedback

Edited September 27, 2015 by Mike Jackson

KingDL1 · September 27, 2015

No no no, we are a small pond school where it is the hardest to recruit for and win at of anywhere.

Green Mean · September 27, 2015

Not that it matters much but I believe we're the 4th largest as UH is 3rd tho I may be wrong.

KingDL1 · September 27, 2015

Not that it matters much but I believe we're the 4th largest as UH is 3rd tho I may be wrong.

I believe you are correct I think they are at 40k and we are 37k

James · September 27, 2015

Preach.

Mike Jackson · September 27, 2015

Not that it matters much but I believe we're the 4th largest as UH is 3rd tho I may be wrong.

You guys are both right. And you also right that it it doesn't matter. The only school in the state of Texas bigger than UNT is University of Texas.

But let us widen the net and compare UNT to the "big dawg" schools in border states. Bigger than OU, (yes that is right the mighty Sooners). Bigger than the University of Arkansas and bigger than all the universities in LA not named LSU. So again my fellow UNT fan why are we looked as a "small pond" school? Not enough room in alumni hearts or wallets to support the Dallas Cowboys and the Mean Green? Well let us compare the Dallas Cowboys to the Mean Green. I contend that bowl games are equal to playoff games. Guess how many playoff games the Cowboys have won since 2000? That would be 2. Guess how many bowl games the Mean Green have won? That would be 2 also. And both programs have about the same number of appearances in bowl games vs playoff also.

Aigle Vert · September 27, 2015

Iowa had players from Denton County (practically in the shadow of Apogee) that UNT could not bother to recruit. What a joke.

Mike Jackson · September 27, 2015

Iowa had players from Denton County (practically in the shadow of Apogee) that UNT could not bother to recruit. What a joke.

It isn't only Iowa. And that isn't going to change. Good coaches know where the talent is and how to get it. We may not be on the radar for 5 star recruits with letters from "Big Dawg" power 5 conference schools but we sure hell should have deeper talent on our team than any other west CUSA team with the advantages the university has. We should dominate west division CUSA and I am dead serious about that. And I want anyone to offer any an excuse that doesn't have to do with alumni attitude. Alumni attitude would change if you go to back to back bowl games and win. Alumni attitude would change if you name a coach with FBS skins on the wall and local connections.

untjim1995 · September 28, 2015

The University of North Texas is the 3rd largest university in the state of Texas. We are in one the largest metro areas in the USA. Denton is in the middle one of the richest high school recruiting areas in the country. Why don't we act like it? Why do I ever have to explain where I went to school when I within the state of Texas? Partially because the alumni don't act like it because we get humiliated on national TV almost every time we get the opportunity. Why can't I give my second season ticket away for most home games even if I offer to pick people up? Because they play like crap every time they get the opportunity to change the perception of this team when playing a power 5 conference school. We need an AD that dreams big. We need an AD and administration with balls enough to conduct business like this is the 4th largest university in the state of Texas on par with Texas A&M and University of Houston. And really only the University of Texas is significantly bigger than UNT. Texas A&M and Houston only have about 3,000 more students which means they are less than 10% bigger than UNT. if TCU cn be in the national championship level there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON the Mean Green should not dominate the west division of CUSA. No offense to those other west CUSA schools but go look them up on paper, remove the names and the biases from your mind and pick a better place to coach or recruit. So I am ready for this FBS program to make the next big step. How do we do that? And stop thinking about what we "cannot" do but what we should do based on the demographics and the advantages of our school. I am anxiously awaiting feedback

The university's leadership and the mindset of the city of Denton did this to us. Football and athletics at UNT are viewed as a detriment to the institution by the clear majority. The citizens don't want to pay for anything UNT related, nor support it in anyway beyond a minimal level of support. The administration and faculty don't help with any of this, either, so you have a strong majority of students who have absolutely no interest in following UNT Athletics, while in many cases, they absolutely loathe it. This kids graduate, never to come back again. Then, you have the biggest issue of all that comes from the university's pathetic view of athletics, particularly in football. All that Texas HS coaches and parents know about UNT is that we let our program drop down to 1-aa for 12 years and never had anything close to the success at that level that Sam Houston or SFA have had, so we weren't even winners at that level. Then, they watched us move up 20 years ago but see that we are bought by the teams they follow as a guinea pig for games like this past Saturday.

Sure, we get the occasional recruit that was highly sought from somewhere else higher on the FBS totem pole or we get the occasional player that becomes a free agent success in the NFL, but by and large, we don't make any in-roads at all to get a decent recruiting class here. The coaches here have to sell recruits' harder about what we can do than other schools in the state and region, but when the losing sets in, that sell becomes damn near impossible, especially when you run an offense that the parents and coaches of recruits thought was boring in the 80's and 90's. So then we get to keep the same losing coaches and ADs on staff for years beyond their usefulness, all because we won't try to f-ing reset the whole thing. Right now, today, it would take at least $1 million to buy out RV, $2 million to buy out McCarney, and $325k to buy out Benford. Them, you've got to pay for a new AD, new head football coach, and a new mens basketball coach, which even at a typical UNT-cheap rate, will still cost you $1 million to start over, but in reality needs to cost closer to $2 million to get the right leadership in here. That's what Smatresk needs if he really isn't just giving lip service to this mess--$5 million dollars to reset and start over. At almost every other university that is above a SBC or MAC school, its my belief that would be done. But I don't believe that there is a prayer of this happening. I truly believe that Chico will get fired in 2015, Benford will get fired in 2016, and Mac will get replaced in after/during the 2017 season--and that RV will still be here as the AD to replace them. He has too many friends in high places at UNT and with the dozen big money donors here. Its the MO of this place--always has been, always will be. And we will continue to send our alumni off to be t-shirt fans of college programs that don't need any extra support, but will gladly take it (see Texas, A&M, Tech, OU, etc..)--and the BOR won't care one bit...