Now we are laughing stock

letsgiveacheer · October 16, 2015

Last night's CBS commentators were laughing it up about the "worse loss in major college football history", or words to that effect. We were called North Dallas. Our beautiful stadium was about empty. We were the butt of jokes at a press conference in Philadelphia.

I suffered through the disastrous 1972 season when we went 1-10. The only win being a squeaker over Cincinnati with blow-outs from Drake and Louisville. Even West Texas State beat us that year. At least we had exciting MVC basketball to look forward to. What do we have to look forward to this season?

Our athletics program is in shambles. Something needs to be done quickly, but I'm preaching to the choir.

Edited October 16, 2015 by letsgiveacheer

DeepGreen · October 16, 2015

We have replaced Akron and Idaho at the bottom of the barrel.

Eagle-96 · October 16, 2015

Now? We have been the laughing stock for a while.

keith · October 16, 2015

No such thing as bad publicity? Not so sure.

It is truly amazing the shambles our athletics program (and football in particular) is currently in. For all the positive things Mac brought when he first rode into town with his public speaking and engaging the students, we have nothing to show for it (well, there is that HOD bowl, but I digress). I mean who didn't get swept up in his infectious "coach speak" and positive outlook....at least initially. Then it became apparent that it was all a facade with nothing behind it.

If they gave out an award for Opportunities Wasted, North Texas would be #1 and everyone else a distant 2nd.

Green Jackal · October 16, 2015

Yes, this is a problem. I believe someone was fired recently because of the state of the team. I think others may also be fired before it is all said and done.

untjim1995 · October 16, 2015

The bit from Chip Kelly, in my opinion, is much worse. We got called North Texas State, basically, by a media member yesterday--about 27 years after State got dropped from our name. Then to be called the Armadillos by a former FBS coach, who was in the college football coaching landscape for deacdes before going to the NFL, just reflects perfectly how little we have moved the needle on a national basis. We are better known as being the Texas State Armadillos nationally than we are as the North Texas Mean Green. For a university with the enrollment and alumni that we have, much less the location that we are in, to have people connected to the sport of football bring this up as a punchline is just galling...but I don't blame them, I blame us.

This is what happens when you decide to make your football team a cost-based program at your school, like you are some ISD that has to offer the sport, and place other priorities ahead of the athletic program as your primary window to the university. Being the Wal-Mart of universities from a "value" basis for all these years just perpetuates the fact that the students and alumni almost universally don't care about any of this. And for the few of us that do, it is the most embarrassing time I can ever remember to be a UNT Football fan. Even I-aa didn't embarrass this bad, since the media barely even covered us (compared to today, anyway).

VideoEagle · October 16, 2015

I'm still stunned that Chip Kelly with all he's dealing with in Philly even knew we had an opening. How does he have time to notice?

SilverEagle · October 16, 2015

Last night's CBS commentators were laughing it up about the "worse loss in major college football history", or words to that effect. We were called North Dallas. Our beautiful stadium was about empty. We were the butt of jokes at a press conference in Philadelphia.
I suffered through the disastrous 1972 season when we went 1-10. The only win being a squeakier over Cincinnati with blows-out from Drake and Louisville. Even West Texas State beat us that year. At least we had exciting MVC basketball to look forward to. What do we have to look forward to this season?
Our athletics program is in shambles. Something needs to be done quickly, but I'm preaching to the choir.

And right after that there was a non-binding student referendum vote about keeping or dropping football. Football barely squeaked by. And right after that they hired Hayden Fry.

DeepGreen · October 16, 2015

untjim1995 said, "This is what happens when you decide to make your football team a cost-based program at your school, like you are some ISD that has to offer the sport, and place other priorities ahead of the athletic program....."

This is what I have been saying for years. We offer sports just like high schools offer them, not as an opportunity to place UNT on a national scale. Athletics is nothing more than a cost to UNT. Nothing more.

ChristopherRyanWilkes · October 16, 2015

I'm still stunned that Chip Kelly with all he's dealing with in Philly even knew we had an opening. How does he have time to notice?

I think many former/current coaches know coach Mac through the years and saw or heard about the embarrassing loss/firing. It may have even been circulated as a cautionary tale about not taking FCS teams for granted or something like that or a joke among college coaches.

untjim1995 · October 16, 2015

And right after that there was a non-binding student referendum vote about keeping or dropping football. Football barely squeaked by. And right after that they hired Hayden Fry.

Maybe we should hire June Jones, then, since Hayden came here after SMU fired him...

I kid, I kid...couldn't even post this with a straight face!!

Harry · October 16, 2015

Just like Southern Miss who had much higher highs than we experienced was a laughing stock for a couple of years... it happens, look at SMU last year. The key is quickly fixing the issue (which we did firing Mac) and bringing in a coach and staff that can turn the situation around. It's all about recruiting and having a winning game plan. We can do this.

MeanGreenTexan · October 16, 2015

Just like Southern Miss who had much higher highs than we experienced was a laughing stock for a couple of years... it happens, look at SMU last year. The key is quickly fixing the issue (which we did firing Mac) and bringing in a coach and staff that can turn the situation around. It's all about recruiting and having a winning game plan. We can do this.

This, apparently, is VERY debatable.

ColoradoEagle · October 16, 2015

Just like Southern Miss who had much higher highs than we experienced was a laughing stock for a couple of years... it happens, look at SMU last year. The key is quickly fixing the issue (which we did firing Mac) and bringing in a coach and staff that can turn the situation around. It's all about recruiting and having a winning game plan. We can do this.

Firing Mac isn't quickly fixing the issue. He had obviously checked out for whatever reason (couldn't cut it, health, interest, etc), but Mac himself was not and is not the problem with UNT. The problem with UNT is that we have the bare minimum support from the administration. At any real school that cared about athletics, RV would've been gone a couple years into the Dodge hire. At the very least he would've been gone after the Benford hire.

At UNT, short of RV burning the school to the ground, it's becoming very apparent there's nothing he can do to get fired. So if you don't expect results in athletics from the guy who is responsible for results in athletics...you obviously don't care. We don't get made fun of because we made the wrong hires, we get made fun of because we don't care enough to fix what's really wrong with how this school treats athletics.

casual fan · October 16, 2015

I have a feeling that this thing gets turned around in a big way.

Two or three years down the road the loss to Portland State may be seen as our moment of clarity.

Call it karma. but we are due.

greenjoe · October 16, 2015

In 2 or 3 years I'll be 68. How much longer do I have to wait for a winning tradition at North Texas ?

untjim1995 · October 16, 2015

Really glad that the guys on BaD Radio on the Ticket are playing the Chip Kelly audio right now...just hilarious to get laughed at locally, too.

Withers940 · October 16, 2015

Chip Kelley is a fat slob that is the Todd Dodge of the NFL. He wont be in Philly long because he wont be able to win with that bat shit crazy offense he runs. I dont care what he has to say. Anyone that trades for Sam Bradford to lead your team has a screw loose. Change one of the NFL's most explosive running backs for a LB?

GreenTexan13 · October 16, 2015

Really glad that the guys on BaD Radio on the Ticket are playing the Chip Kelly audio right now...just hilarious to get laughed at locally, too.

Seriously? I (used to) listen to them all the time too... This sucks...

untjim1995 · October 16, 2015

Chip Kelley is a fat slob that is the Todd Dodge of the NFL. He wont be in Philly long because he wont be able to win with that bat shit crazy offense he runs. I dont care what he has to say. Anyone that trades for Sam Bradford to lead your team has a screw loose. Change one of the NFL's most explosive running backs for a LB?

You're burying the lead here. A top college coach that can name his job when he wants to go back there, he represents the national view of this place. To us on gmg.com, we are the North Texas Mean Green. To the giant majority of the UNT students and alumni, we are simply just North Texas, where I got my degree and got the hell out of town, never to go back. And to those outside of the state and region, we are better known as the North Texas State Armadillos because of a movie filmed here in 1991.

It gets old caring about something that so very few care about anywhere close to what we do on here, especially on campus or to those with degrees from here. When you let the program get so bad that this can happen, you really have to give yourself a moment to think about whether everyone else is just wrong or if we are the ones that have been conned over all these years (for me, 25 now).

UNT90 · October 17, 2015

I have a feeling that this thing gets turned around in a big way.
Two or three years down the road the loss to Portland State may be seen as our moment of clarity.
Call it karma. but we are due.

We were due 20 years ago. That theory really sucks.

It looks like the 17 will get there way and RV will survive a hugely embarrassing moment for this university.

I guess that's ok. With him at the helm, there are bound to be many more.

man-up UNT · October 17, 2015

RV needs to go!

KingDL1 · October 17, 2015

For RV to let the cat out of the bag that Mac would be fired hours before we had the game against Portland. He created a situation that would completely deflate our football players and coaches. This action alone should have RV freak'n fired. Basically creating a funeral atmosphere for our players took them out of a game day mind set, and set North Texas up as a Lauaghing stock and set this dubious record. This is on RV period and he needs to resign or be helped out the door whatever.

casual fan · October 17, 2015

We were due 20 years ago. That theory really sucks.
It looks like the 17 will get there way and RV will survive a hugely embarrassing moment for this university.
I guess that's ok. With him at the helm, there are bound to be many more.

I have a second theory that may apply.

The Blind Hog Theory: It states that even a blind hog eventually finds an acorn.

In our case the Blind Hog Theory and the Overdue Theory are both in play.

UNT90 · October 17, 2015

I have a second theory that may apply.
The Blind Hog Theory: It states that even a blind hog eventually finds an acorn.
In our case the Blind Hog Theory and the Overdue Theory are both in play.

The problem is our blind hog also is deaf, has no sense of smell, and can't feel objects against his skin.