Danny Mac curse continues

Ben Gooding · October 25, 2015

I stated some time ago that if I was athletic director, the first time Mac said this about how hard it was to recruit to North Texas I would have fired him on the spot.

+1000

He shit on UNT with his words, actions, coaching, and recruiting. We were literally a retirement home for old man Mccarney. In my best Tosh.O sarcasm voice, "but...but...Dan Mccarney was a good hire."

SilverEagle · October 25, 2015

So at the tail end of the Marshall broadcast, which was a technical nitemare btw, the broadcaster says "...it's tough to recruit to North Texas." Or something to that effect. I was like - are you kidding me?!!
Thanks Dan. Thanks Darrell. I don't think Todd ever said it to his credit. But we know this announcer got that from Dano's more recent quote to be sure. If not, it was probably from reading our beat writer who to his credit is not a paid employee of the athletic department either.
Can we put a clause in the new coaches contract that you will be fined if you ever make that type of quote? How can a guy being paid millions of dollars say something like that when places with less resources prove it clearly isn't true??
And for once I wish people would give our fan base more credit. To endure the constant criticism from the program's futility itself (1 winning season in 10), not to mention the highest paid employee in the entire system it's a wonder we have any fans at all.
Ugh...sorry just had to vent!

Harry, at the risk of annoying you (and others) I have to agree with the statement. It is tough to recruit here. And it's not only about our win/loss record.....but that does play a big part in it.....but not the biggest.

I've been telling you people for years.......IT'S OUR CULTURE. We do not have a true football culture at North Texas. Hayden Fry recognized it and went about trying to change it. But changing Iowa's losing ways proved to be easier, because they ALWAYS had their B-10 football culture in place. All he had to do was teach them how to win.

I've told this story many times. When I was asked in 1990 to participate in a focus group (led by Dr. Lane) I took the opportunity to give him (and others) my assessment of the North Texas football program from a cultural point of view.

I told them that (to me) what North Texas does is contract to put on a football game. They contract with a coach and football team, a band, and cheerleaders and spirit(?) groups to show up at a designated time and put on a football game......which they do. But I said NONE OF THOSE GROUPS APPEAR TO BE CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER......SPIRIT/FAMILY WISE. They all show up, do what they are contracted to do, and then leave and go their separate ways. There's no depth to it. There's no celebration of our history to it. And there was no organized North Texas yell that everyone participate in.

I told the group that I had been thinking about this since I attended the 1986 TCU game (which we won). During a time out in the game I was looking around at their facilities when I noticed written in big letters on what I think was their basketball facility "Riff Ram Bah Zoo". I immediately assumed (and correctly so) that it was their school yell, probably from the 20's, that they preserved and maintained as part of their football culture. I said that it sounded like a stupid yell, but it was THEIR stupid yell and their common thread through generations of TCU students and alumni. I then asked the group if any of them knew our version of Riff Ram Bah Zoo? No one did, because there wasn't one. And I told the focus group that I admired TCU for it, because they at least had one, and they believed in keeping at least one of their traditions alive. It's one of the things that FAMILIES do. Besides facilities etc, a strong sense of family is one of the big things that attracts recruits. They want to feel like they belong....and will always belong,

And finally, how many alumni/students of other legitimate D-1 schools have to go around the square in their home town and beg the merchants to put up their football schedules?

Here's how TCU celebrates their culture.

I look forward to us one day actually getting a culture.

.

Edited October 25, 2015 by SilverEagle

rcade · October 25, 2015

I lived close to TCU's stadium in 1994. I don't remember a football culture like the one that video depicts. Instead, the place was cavernously empty on game days and the team had two winning seasons out of the last 10 under Jim Wacker. Media attention was sparse and general fan interest in DFW was low.

While I agree with you that UNT should have developed a better football culture, a lot of TCU's came about because of winning. We have to win to see those kinds of changes.

SilverEagle · October 25, 2015

I lived close to TCU's stadium in 1994. I don't remember a football culture like the one that video depicts. Instead, the place was cavernously empty on game days and the team had two winning seasons out of the last 10 under Jim Wacker. Media attention was sparse and general fan interest in DFW was low.
While I agree with you that UNT should have developed a better football culture, a lot of TCU's came about because of winning. We have to win to see those kinds of changes.

Their culture was always there. Winning gave it a transfusion.

Ben Gooding · October 25, 2015

Winning cures all. It truly does. We can argue every angle, but at the end it boils down to winning. If we ever get a coach that consistently wins vs everyone (unlike Dickey) and puts up sellouts, increases enrollment, applications to the school, excitement around Denton, creates a true atmosphere, doubles up on MGC membership and ticket sales, we have to break the bank and do everything in our power to keep him home.

Mike Jackson · October 25, 2015

I lived close to TCU's stadium in 1994. I don't remember a football culture like the one that video depicts. Instead, the place was cavernously empty on game days and the team had two winning seasons out of the last 10 under Jim Wacker. Media attention was sparse and general fan interest in DFW was low.
While I agree with you that UNT should have developed a better football culture, a lot of TCU's came about because of winning. We have to win to see those kinds of changes.

TCU is a relatively small private college. Alumni of that school made a bigger financial commitment to choose that school and same could be said of SMU. So it reasonable to assume that for most TCU and SMU alumni their school was their first choice. That is not the case with UNT. I say fewer than half of all student at UNT would be at UNT if they had the money or academic record to get into their first choice school. Efforts have been made on campus to indoctrinate students into a UNT community. It has been a long hard process but winning in one of the revenue sports consistently would do wonders to speed up the process.

Ben Gooding · October 25, 2015

TCU is a relatively small private college. Alumni of that school made a bigger financial commitment to choose that school and same could be said of SMU. So it reasonable to assume that for most TCU and SMU alumni their school was their first choice. That is not the case with UNT. I say fewer than half of all student at UNT would be at UNT if they had the money or academic record to get into their first choice school. Efforts have been made on campus to indoctrinate students into a UNT community. It has been a long hard process but winning in one of the revenue sports consistently would do wonders to speed up the process.

Bingo. But, somehow, our president is failing to see this by allowing RV to linger.

UNTpolitico · October 25, 2015

We don't have a winning program because the expectation and accountability aren't put in place. We were told in the early 2000's we needed new athletic facilities to recruit and win. We built them, then we were told we needed a new stadium to recruit and win. We built it, we just had the worst attended game since that facility opened and our 9-4 season of a few years ago is a distant memory. Accountability is what we now need, we need to demand and expect winning and we vote with our feet and our dollars, as much as it pains me to think we are setting a program we all care about very much if we don't our voices will not be heard. If we don't hold the program accountable as alumni and students the administration will not hold the AD and the athletics programs accountable. We need to stop kicking the can down the road and settling for a mediocre program and no culture of winning.

foutsrouts · October 25, 2015

TCU is a relatively small private college. Alumni of that school made a bigger financial commitment to choose that school and same could be said of SMU. So it reasonable to assume that for most TCU and SMU alumni their school was their first choice. That is not the case with UNT. I say fewer than half of all student at UNT would be at UNT if they had the money or academic record to get into their first choice school. Efforts have been made on campus to indoctrinate students into a UNT community. It has been a long hard process but winning in one of the revenue sports consistently would do wonders to speed up the process.

That's kind of where a generational difference kicks in among Mean Green fans. I'm generalizing of course, but most of us born before say '75 - '80 could find a way to attend pretty much any school we wanted in this part of the country with the possible exception of Rice.

Younger people have faced a much more competitive college entrance environment, and the lack of satisfaction with their "second choice" is a hurdle that must be overcome. Winning on the athletic field/court is the only answer to that. Winning brings pride and loyalty, and we need people at the top who care about and recognize this obvious fact.

Harry · October 25, 2015

That's kind of where a generational difference kicks in among Mean Green fans. I'm generalizing of course, but most of us born before say '75 - '80 could find a way to attend pretty much any school we wanted in this part of the country with the possible exception of Rice.
Younger people have faced a much more competitive college entrance environment, and the lack of satisfaction with their "second choice" is a hurdle that must be overcome. Winning on the athletic field/court is the only answer to that. Winning brings pride and loyalty, and we need people at the top who care about and recognize this obvious fact.

excellent post. And very true.

Rudy · October 25, 2015

I want everyone associated with UNT athletics, the school president and the Board of Regents to sign a pledge:
"If I ever say it is tough to recruit at North Texas, that comment can be taken as my immediate resignation."

*Hands a note to Lee Jackson* "Excuse me, would you mind reading this, please?"

DallasGreen · October 25, 2015

Harry, at the risk of annoying you (and others) I have to agree with the statement. It is tough to recruit here. And it's not only about our win/loss record.....but that does play a big part in it.....but not the biggest.
I've been telling you people for years.......IT'S OUR CULTURE. We do not have a true football culture at North Texas. Hayden Fry recognized it and went about trying to change it. But changing Iowa's losing ways proved to be easier, because they ALWAYS had their B-10 football culture in place. All he had to do was teach them how to win.
I've told this story many times. When I was asked in 1990 to participate in a focus group (led by Dr. Lane) I took the opportunity to give him (and others) my assessment of the North Texas football program from a cultural point of view.
I told them that (to me) what North Texas does is contract to put on a football game. They contract with a coach and football team, a band, and cheerleaders and spirit(?) groups to show up at a designated time and put on a football game......which they do. But I said NONE OF THOSE GROUPS APPEAR TO BE CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER......SPIRIT/FAMILY WISE. They all show up, do what they are contracted to do, and then leave and go their separate ways. There's no depth to it. There's no celebration of our history to it. And there was no organized North Texas yell that everyone participate in.
I told the group that I had been thinking about this since I attended the 1986 TCU game (which we won). During a time out in the game I was looking around at their facilities when I noticed written in big letters on what I think was their basketball facility "Riff Ram Bah Zoo". I immediately assumed (and correctly so) that it was their school yell, probably from the 20's, that they preserved and maintained as part of their football culture. I said that it sounded like a stupid yell, but it was THEIR stupid yell and their common thread through generations of TCU students and alumni. I then asked the group if any of them knew our version of Riff Ram Bah Zoo? No one did, because there wasn't one. And I told the focus group that I admired TCU for it, because they at least had one, and they believed in keeping at least one of their traditions alive. It's one of the things that FAMILIES do. Besides facilities etc, a strong sense of family is one of the big things that attracts recruits. They want to feel like they belong....and will always belong,
And finally, how many alumni/students of other legitimate D-1 schools have to go around the square in their home town and beg the merchants to put up their football schedules?
Here's how TCU celebrates their culture.

I look forward to us one day actually getting a culture.
.

Sad to say Bill but I don't feel we will ever see this change to a football culture here in our lifetime, and I think it is truly a shock to both players and students who come here from Texas high schools that have those bonds of comrades that were a part of the football culture from where they came. Finally after a year or so they too submit to the apathy that thrives here to avoid the shame that comes with being the worst program in the FBS if not all division I football .

FirefightnRick · October 25, 2015

Sad to say Bill but I don't feel we will ever see this change to a football culture here in our lifetime, and I think it is truly a shock to both players and students who come here from Texas high schools that have those bonds of comrades that were a part of the football culture from where they came. Finally after a year or so they too submit to the apathy that thrives here to avoid the shame that comes with being the worst program in the FBS if not all division I football .

This will surely be the case as long as everyone interested continues to sit on their hands and wait for it to happen.

Ruck