Billboard anyone?

[Silent Eagle]

The level of arrogance I have read from the "pipe hitters" is ridiculous. I get it, the 17 managed to pony up multi-million dollars. You vote with your dollars. Good on you. However, as far as I'm concerned, until you and your cronies make a T. Boone Pickens or Red McCombs level donation and get the stadium named after you, you don't run shop. If the fat man were truly concerned about getting the financial side of support taken care of, he'd realize that it's just as effective to employ 20k donations of $5,000 as 17 people donating however much you decide to donate. However, he doesn't care. He's satisfied with the minimal effort. This is why he needs to go.

And, as far as your argument of supporters typing whatever they want because they're not having to say it face to face, I'll be glad to link up with anyone at the next sporting event I'm at discuss my concerns with the wine and cheese crowd. Perhaps then we can go over basic arithmetic and I can explain that $3 million from 17 people is not nearly as powerful as the potential of mid level donations from 20,000 untapped and under pursued alumni throughout the area.

I'm not trying to be a d!ck, but if there's one thing I can't stand, it's a lack of common sense combined with a holier than thou attitude that truly boils the blood.

 

While ultimately responsible, RV should not be spending his time on $2k and under donors. He has a senior associate AD whose job it is to run the MGC as well as ticketing as well as generating new donors.

His name is John Nittardy. He has done nothing but seemingly go backwards since he got here.  I hope someone is reviewing his track record  since he arrived. His seat should be extremely warm imo.

He is ultimately responsible, regardless as to whom has the authority to handle those issues. He does not hold those persons accountable. If he is not capable of overseeing this operation, he needs to be fired. Ensure those trusted agents overseeing smaller matters do their jobs, and the big things take care of themselves. He is not capable of overseeing the personnel tasked with smaller donations. He has failed in his mission. Bye bye.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Silent Eagle
Grammer

[UNT90]

I was at my brother's house last night when I saw a call from Texas Tech athletics come upon his TV screen. I asked him what that was about. He said that during my niece's first year of college at Texas Tech, he had purchased season tickets for football (mainly for my niece). He said he now gets at least one call a week from Texas Tech athletics soliciting donations or ticket sales.

My niece has been at UNT for 3 years and he has not received one call from UNT. Granted he has never purchased season tickets, but he still has never been contacted by the AD at UNT to gauge his interest. I cancelled basketball season tickets after Benford's first year. I have never been contacted in an attempt to get me to re-purchase tickets. Not once. Of course, the stellar ticket office did send me season tickets which I had not ordered the year I cancelled, and I had to spend 20 minutes on the phone to make sure my credit card had not been charged without my permission.

It just shows the difference between a real athletic department and the circus RV runs in Denton.

Edited November 17, 2015 by UNT90

[Silent Eagle]

I was ay my brother's house last night when I saw a call from Texas Tech athletics come upon his TV screen. I asked him what that was about. He said that during my niece's first year of college at Texas Tech, he had purchased season tickets for football (mainly for my niece). He said he now gets at least one call a week from Texas Tech athletics soliciting donations or ticket sales.

My niece has been at UNT for 3 years and he has not received one call. Granted he has never purchased season tickets, but he still has never been contacted by the AD at UNT to gauge his interest. I cancelled basketball season tickets after Benford's first year. I have never been contacted in an attempt to get me to re=purchase tickets. Not once. Of course, the stellar ticket office did send me season tickets which I had not ordered the year I cancelled, and I had to spend 20 minutes on the phone to make sure my credit card had not been charged without my permission.

It just shows the difference between a real athletic department and the circus RV runs in Denton.

That's the difference between a varsity level Athletic Department and ours-aggressive solicitation of donations. The fact that most of us have to reach out to the athletic department to inquire as to how to support vice them calling and asking for it is absolutely ridiculous. It's ok, though. The wine and cheese crowd are apparently all that the fat man needs. Forget what he could do with even half the alumni contributing money. I mean, the body bag games wouldn't be necessary. But, this is what we get when we're willing to settle for a garbage athletic director.

[greenit]

The level of arrogance I have read from the "pipe hitters" is ridiculous. I get it, the 17 managed to pony up multi-million dollars. You vote with your dollars. Good on you. However, as far as I'm concerned, until you and your cronies make a T. Boone Pickens or Red McCombs level donation and get the stadium named after you, you don't run shop. If the fat man were truly concerned about getting the financial side of support taken care of, he'd realize that it's just as effective to employ 20k donations of $5,000 as 17 people donating however much you decide to donate. However, he doesn't care. He's satisfied with the minimal effort. This is why he needs to go.

And, as far as your argument of supporters typing whatever they want because they're not having to say it face to face, I'll be glad to link up with anyone at the next sporting event I'm at discuss my concerns with the wine and cheese crowd. Perhaps then we can go over basic arithmetic and I can explain that $3 million from 17 people is not nearly as powerful as the potential of mid level donations from 20,000 untapped and under pursued alumni throughout the area.

I'm not trying to be a d!ck, but if there's one thing I can't stand, it's a lack of common sense combined with a holier than thou attitude that truly boils the blood.

 

He is ultimately responsible, regardless as to whom has the authority to handle those issues. He does not hold those persons accountable. If he is not capable of overseeing this operation, he needs to be fired. Ensure those trusted agents overseeing smaller matters do their jobs, and the big things take care of themselves. He is not capable of overseeing the personnel tasked with smaller donations. He has failed in his mission. Bye bye.

I think this is a short sighted view.  You could make the same argument that it is Smatresk's ultimate responsibility, or Jackson's ultimate responsibility, etc...

I don't disagree that RV should hold Nittardy accountable, just like ultimately McCarney was held accountable. 

If the entire program continues to perform badly, I would expect Smatresk to hold RV accountable.  There are many people in the athletic department that draw a paycheck.  There are many people not performing up to expectations.

[Silent Eagle]

I think this is a short sighted view.  You could make the same argument that it is Smatresk's ultimate responsibility, or Jackson's ultimate responsibility, etc...

I don't disagree that RV should hold Nittardy accountable, just like ultimately McCarney was held accountable. 

If the entire program continues to perform badly, I would expect Smatresk to hold RV accountable.  There are many people in the athletic department that draw a paycheck.  There are many people not performing up to expectations.

Smatresk hasn't had the opportunity to fix the problem and bring his guy in. He is getting his chance. RV has had his chance. For 15 years we have seen what RV can do. I think that the pathetic record in revenue earning sports, no upward mobility, garbage scheduling, and never taking responsibility for failure is more than enough to terminate his employment. He hasn't increased the donors. More specifically, he hasn't even attempted to increase the donors. I don't want to hear the 17 donors. I want to see results. I want to see a competitive program that isn't the laughing stock of college football.

Its not shortsighted to see someone who has taken an athletic department and, outside of a new conference and a new stadium, sent it subterranean over the course of 15 years. I don't care about his feelings, I don't care about the 17 members of the UNT wine and cheese club, I don't care about him running an efficient budget friendly program. I care about wins. He is not part of the future. He is part of a pathetic past that needs to be purged.

[EagleMBA]

I think this is a short sighted view.  You could make the same argument that it is Smatresk's ultimate responsibility, or Jackson's ultimate responsibility, etc...

I don't disagree that RV should hold Nittardy accountable, just like ultimately McCarney was held accountable. 

If the entire program continues to perform badly, I would expect Smatresk to hold RV accountable.  There are many people in the athletic department that draw a paycheck.  There are many people not performing up to expectations.

Whose fault is it that "There are many people not performing up to expectations."? The most basic definition of Management is getting things done through people. The athletic department is beyond RV's ability to manage. He must go.

[Ben Gooding]

I think this is a short sighted view.  You could make the same argument that it is Smatresk's ultimate responsibility, or Jackson's ultimate responsibility, etc...

I don't disagree that RV should hold Nittardy accountable, just like ultimately McCarney was held accountable. 

If the entire program continues to perform badly, I would expect Smatresk to hold RV accountable.  There are many people in the athletic department that draw a paycheck.  There are many people not performing up to expectations.

"Continues to perform bad" 

Huh? How manys years o continuation does it take?!?!

[HarringtonFishSmeller]

At what point are we overturning cars and tearing down statues? That's when I'll get on the bandwagon.

I'll burn a couch if someone will just move it out onto a roadway for me.

[97and03]

2000 donors x $250 avg donation = $500,000 or roughly our current net from a bodybag game after playing a FCS team to come in.

 

So that is why the MGC little guys matter. 

[MeanGreenTexan]

2000 donors x $250 avg donation = $500,000 or roughly our current net from a bodybag game after playing a FCS team to come in.

 

So that is why the MGC little guys matter. 

That is likely (possibly less than) a yearly contribution from Mr. Khuene though.  

That's how little they matter.  

When Mr. Khuene, Mr. Ryan, Flyonthewall, et al., become upset enough to withhold contributions, then seats get hot.

[TheTastyGreek]

That is likely (possibly less than) a yearly contribution from Mr. Khuene though.  
That's how little they matter.  

When Mr. Khuene, Mr. Ryan, Flyonthewall, et al., become upset enough to withhold contributions, then seats get hot.

Or, not. 

We've lost the Goldfields and Mattress Mac, and those are just the two that were so public that they made the news. Al Goldfield wasn't very subtle about saying that the reason he was backing away was largely due to Rick and lack of progress. 

Mac, maybe you can write off as a bitter guy angry at the firing of his buddy. But the Goldfields were our biggest single donors ever (at one point not too long ago), they were willing to write the check to start baseball, and now (or, at least as of 2012), they're completely out. 

[MeanGreenTexan]

Or, not. 

We've lost the Goldfields and Mattress Mac, and those are just the two that were so public that they made the news. Al Goldfield wasn't very subtle about saying that the reason he was backing away was largely due to Rick and lack of progress. 

Mac, maybe you can write off as a bitter guy angry at the firing of his buddy. But the Goldfields were our biggest single donors ever (at one point not too long ago), they were willing to write the check to start baseball, and now (or, at least as of 2012), they're completely out. 

hrm.  Good call on the Goldfields.

They sold their beautiful mansion not too long ago.  I don't even know if they're still around DFW.  It's falling into disrepair and all that land around it is being partitioned off for new cookie-cutter housing developments.

Thanks RV!

[UNT90]

To get this back on track:

https://www.gofundme.com/kf9xrrn8?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=campaign_link&utm_campaign=darlt_n

A little less than 1/4 of the way there. Does the Mean Green Nation have the will to demand better? Will there be a fire RV billboard for President Smatresk as he sits in traffic on I35E? It's up to you, folks.

 

Edited November 16, 2015 by UNT90

[KingDL1]

To get this back on track:

https://www.gofundme.com/kf9xrrn8?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=campaign_link&utm_campaign=darlt_n

A little less than 1/4 of the way there. Does the Mean Green Nation have the will to demand better? Will there be a fire RV billboard for President Smatresk as he sits in traffic on I35E? It's up to you, folks.

 

$927 of $4400 keep it rolling! 

[bleedgreen4ever]

To get this back on track:

https://www.gofundme.com/kf9xrrn8?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=campaign_link&utm_campaign=darlt_n

A little less than 1/4 of the way there. Does the Mean Green Nation have the will to demand better? Will there be a fire RV billboard for President Smatresk as he sits in traffic on I35E? It's up to you, folks.

 

New thread with a better title?

[flyonthewall]

I think @oldguystudent was right. This is getting to be too much like a war. 

Everyone on both sides needs to tone down the rhetoric.

@flyonthewall we disagree, but I certainly respect your generosity and efforts for the program. With his more recent public comments RV took a deuce on the fanbase as the topping of a turd sundae. I'm not sure that the  perceived ivory tower attitude that is being projected by RV and his defenders will ever result in anything positive.

nor will banners, billboards etc, but carry on.

[Ben Gooding]

nor will banners, billboards etc, but carry on.

Nor will losing in the revenue sports, inept leadership, minimal to no marketing, and miniscule donors/season ticket holders. But we will carry on. 

[flyonthewall]

 

 

I think @oldguystudent was right. This is getting to be too much like a war. 

Everyone on both sides needs to tone down the rhetoric.

@flyonthewall we disagree, but I certainly respect your generosity and efforts for the program. With his more recent public comments RV took a deuce on the fanbase as the topping of a turd sundae. I'm not sure that the  perceived ivory tower attitude that is being projected by RV and his defenders will ever result in anything positive.

nor will banners, billboards etc, but carry on

goldfield doesn't count john.  He went broke.   And I mean hard broke.   He may have publicly made excuses, but he went broke.  And he told me this stadium will never happen to my face.  I wanted to punch him.

Edited November 16, 2015 by flyonthewall

[EagleMBA]

Several of us have been critical of RV's overall job performance, with emphasis on hiring record, scheduling and "dealmaking",MGC deficiencies and other administrative factors. I decided to compare some resumes of peers to RV's just to see how his record would stack up. Disclaimer: This was not done in a scientific manner, I just looked up some resumes from other institutions as they came to me and stopped when I got tired. There is no methodology, other than I tried to think of CUSA and some other schools of similar size to UNT. I did not reduce what I found to a matrix because some of the info is not objectively comparable. I am going to post the links and ya'll can check them out if you are so inclined and draw your own conclusions.

Texas Tech

http://www.texastech.com/genrel/hocutt_kirby00.html

U of H

http://www.uhcougars.com/genrel/hunter_yurachek_888852.html

Rice

http://www.riceowls.com/genrel/joe_karlgaard_872366.html

MUTS

http://www.goblueraiders.com/staff.aspx?staff=10

LA Tech

http://www.latechsports.com/genrel/tommy_mcclelland_ii_853387.html

UTEP

http://www.utepathletics.com/genrel/stull_bob00.html

RV

http://www.meangreensports.com/genrel/rick_villarreal_848277.html

[flyonthewall]

So now we are the wine and cheese crowd?  Well f.u. too buddy.   I cook barbeque.   You really think that millions of dollars were donated just for access?  You really think people sit around saying "how do we alienate the piss ants?"

No sir, we need piss ants.   The stadium looks stupid without them.  We need like 20000 piss ants at every game, because everyone can't afford wine and cheese.

Here we go......

#itsallajoke 

[UNT90]

Several of us have been critical of RV's overall job performance, with emphasis on hiring record, scheduling and "dealmaking",MGC deficiencies and other administrative factors. I decided to compare some resumes of peers to RV's just to see how his record would stack up. Disclaimer: This was not done in a scientific manner, I just looked up some resumes from other institutions as they came to me and stopped when I got tired. There is no methodology, other than I tried to think of CUSA and some other schools of similar size to UNT. I did not reduce what I found to a matrix because some of the info is not objectively comparable. I am going to post the links and ya'll can check them out if you are so inclined and draw your own conclusions.

Texas Tech

http://www.texastech.com/genrel/hocutt_kirby00.html

U of H

http://www.uhcougars.com/genrel/hunter_yurachek_888852.html

Rice

http://www.riceowls.com/genrel/joe_karlgaard_872366.html

MUTS

http://www.goblueraiders.com/staff.aspx?staff=10

LA Tech

http://www.latechsports.com/genrel/tommy_mcclelland_ii_853387.html

UTEP

http://www.utepathletics.com/genrel/stull_bob00.html

RV

http://www.meangreensports.com/genrel/rick_villarreal_848277.html

 

The interesting thing is that there is a lot of feel good talk in RV's bio and very little hard numbers. Where there are hard numbers, the numbers have to do with USM, not North Texas.

That and the bio hasn't been updated in 3 years. Lol.

[EagleMBA]

The interesting thing is that there is a lot of feel good talk in RV's bio and very little hard numbers. Where there are hard numbers, the numbers have to do with USM, not North Texas.

That and the bio hasn't been updated in 3 years. Lol.

I knew you would see that right away. Compare that to, say, LA Tech, MUTS or Houston.

[Army of Dad]

nor will banners, billboards etc, but carry on.

I see the banners and billboards as a response to the ivory tower attitude, especially when piled upon the futility of the "big" sports and inept work from the athletic department.

[UNT90]

So now we are the wine and cheese crowd?  Well f.u. too buddy.   I cook barbeque.   You really think that millions of dollars were donated just for access?  You really think people sit around saying "how do we alienate the piss ants?"

No sir, we need piss ants.   The stadium looks stupid without them.  We need like 20000 piss ants at every game, because everyone can't afford wine and cheese.

Here we go......

#itsallajoke 

When you created the #itsallajoke hashtag, I don't think you had any idea how ironic #itsallajoke would end up being. 

Here is a hint. You can't say you cook BBQ so therefore are a common man and then turn around and call the common man a piss ant. Maybe you should have conversations outside your normal circle to get a wider view of why people feel the way they do. Otherwise, you ARE just a wine and cheese guy, talking to the 17 others about how stupid the rest of us are.

[Silent Eagle]

So now we are the wine and cheese crowd?  Well f.u. too buddy.   I cook barbeque.   You really think that millions of dollars were donated just for access?  You really think people sit around saying "how do we alienate the piss ants?"

No sir, we need piss ants.   The stadium looks stupid without them.  We need like 20000 piss ants at every game, because everyone can't afford wine and cheese.

Here we go......

#itsallajoke

You and your buddies became the wine and cheese crowd the minute that you said that the smaller donations didn't matter as much. Calling the donors like me piss ants because I can only donate as much as a humble military officer and teacher wife can afford (while still donating to her alma mater, UCLA, who is ecstatically grateful for all donations, not just the big ones). The ivory tower donations may be able to pay for the big ticket items and make RV feel like he's doing his job, but the fact that he is not interested in cultivating all donations shows a half-assed effort or completely apathetic attitude in the performance of his duties. Even if his job, from a fund raising standpoint, is to play golf with the pipehitters, the fact that he is not holding his minions accountable for their lack of effort is still a failure on his part.

The "piss ants" (assuming that it's tongue-and-cheek) are the donations that truly matter and are the readily available ones. The fact that he has referred to the numerical and under-tapped/appreciated majority simply because we don't throw money at him hand-over-fist shows a complete detachment from reality. 17 donors are not able to financially sustain a program. If he instructed his staff to begin aggressively pursuing donations from the every man (like UCLA), we would not need bodybag games to finance our athletic department and we could actually have an appealing schedule with winnable games.

I care about wins. I care about the program. I'm shocked that you guys are appalled by the rebellious financial minority getting fed up at not being listened to. 1000 of the minority actually engaged by the leadership will compliment the wine and cheese donors quite well (in my world, we call it main efforts and supporting efforts). I have no problem referring to the 6 figure donors as the main effort. But, the success of the main effort is only possible by paying AS MUCH ATTENTION TO THE SUPPORTING EFFORTS AS THE MAIN EFFORT!