Rick Villarreal leaving UNT is a change desperately needed

Skipper · May 27, 2016

The Editorial Board

In November, a plane circled over campus towing a message for the Hurley Administration Building: “Fire Rick Villarreal.” Seven months later, that plane landed.

Villarreal told the university community Monday that he was leaving his post as athletic director. Good for UNT. At a time when the university is sailing full steam to be Dallas-Fort Worth’s choice school, the three money making sports have routinely come up short.

In an interview, Villarreal said he and UNT President Neal Smatresk “came to this decision and felt like it was best.” Publicly, Smatresk has been grateful for Villarreal’s service. But Villarreal’s departure is a clear reminder that Smatresk and other leaders are serious about turning North Texas athletics into more, shall we say, tier-one programs.

Head coach Seth Littrell looks on as the offense runs through drills. Colin Mitchell | Senior Staff Photographer

Villarreal will be the athletic director until June 20, but the effects of his 15 years here will linger. The football program, a sore thumb, has a new coach, Seth Littrell. Villarreal hired him. New head women’s basketball coach Jalie Mitchell: hired by Villarreal.

For a long time now, Villarreal has built a kitchen without a cook. Smatresk and others must quickly hire a new athletic director who can press these new coaches and enforce excellence.

We need an athletic director who will not be defensive about their flaws. In some interviews, some Daily reporters and editors say Villarreal’s attempts to spin questions about substandard game attendance were almost laughable. In one interview, Villarreal told a reporter “I hope I’m not disappointed” with the ensuing article.

That’s not how this works.

North Texas women’s basketball head coach Jalie Mitchell talks with Steven Bartolotta on the Coach’s Show at Rudy’s BBQ. Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer

On forums like GoMeanGreen.com, alumni, donors and fans roast Villarreal for the school’s poor athletic performance. They yelled about Villarreal’s empty promises of a baseball program. People stopped buying season tickets; they stopped showing up to games.

Online posts turned into bricks, thrown at UNT’s Mean-Green facade, shattering it like glass. Good for UNT, for listening to its people. It’s clear that airplane-delivered terrorist kite of hate speech over campus hit its target.

For Smatresk and his team, growing a quality athletic program is a challenge. We know he and his team have done well to position UNT as a vital institution for DFW and for Texas. We’ll see how athletics turn out.

And stop quietly raising our athletic fees while you field losing teams.

Find UNT an athletic director who can get us excited about going to games. There are people here and abroad who love North Texas sports and want to see UNT’s athletes thrive. Give the community a reason to celebrate.

Featured Image: File Photo. Colin Mitchell

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UNT90 · May 28, 2016

Uh... Wow.

Look, I don't want to rehash this mess that is sitting on UNT's doorstep, but Rick Villarreal telling a college kid "I hope I'm not disappointed" is at best an extremely manipulative move (like there was ever any question that was his #1 go to) and at worst downright intimidation.

That could be why we never saw Sidway's transcript.

Just terrible behavior from an awful AD that was allowed to hang around way too long because he manipulated the right people.

Lets hope UNT has turned a new, much better and honest page and this NEVER happens again.

Edited May 28, 2016 by UNT90

meanrob · May 28, 2016

"Terrorist kite of hate speech"

what?

Wag Tag · May 28, 2016

11 hours ago, Skipper said:

The Editorial Board

In November, a plane circled over campus towing a message for the Hurley Administration Building: “Fire Rick Villarreal.” Seven months later, that plane landed.

Villarreal told the university community Monday that he was leaving his post as athletic director. Good for UNT. At a time when the university is sailing full steam to be Dallas-Fort Worth’s choice school, the three money making sports have routinely come up short.

In an interview, Villarreal said he and UNT President Neal Smatresk “came to this decision and felt like it was best.” Publicly, Smatresk has been grateful for Villarreal’s service. But Villarreal’s departure is a clear reminder that Smatresk and other leaders are serious about turning North Texas athletics into more, shall we say, tier-one programs.

Head coach Seth Littrell looks on as the offense runs through drills. Colin Mitchell | Senior Staff Photographer

Villarreal will be the athletic director until June 20, but the effects of his 15 years here will linger. The football program, a sore thumb, has a new coach, Seth Littrell. Villarreal hired him. New head women’s basketball coach Jalie Mitchell: hired by Villarreal.

For a long time now, Villarreal has built a kitchen without a cook. Smatresk and others must quickly hire a new athletic director who can press these new coaches and enforce excellence.

We need an athletic director who will not be defensive about their flaws. In some interviews, some Daily reporters and editors say Villarreal’s attempts to spin questions about substandard game attendance were almost laughable. In one interview, Villarreal told a reporter “I hope I’m not disappointed” with the ensuing article.

That’s not how this works.

North Texas women’s basketball head coach Jalie Mitchell talks with Steven Bartolotta on the Coach’s Show at Rudy’s BBQ. Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer

On forums like GoMeanGreen.com, alumni, donors and fans roast Villarreal for the school’s poor athletic performance. They yelled about Villarreal’s empty promises of a baseball program. People stopped buying season tickets; they stopped showing up to games.

Online posts turned into bricks, thrown at UNT’s Mean-Green facade, shattering it like glass. Good for UNT, for listening to its people. It’s clear that airplane-delivered terrorist kite of hate speech over campus hit its target.

For Smatresk and his team, growing a quality athletic program is a challenge. We know he and his team have done well to position UNT as a vital institution for DFW and for Texas. We’ll see how athletics turn out.

And stop quietly raising our athletic fees while you field losing teams.

Find UNT an athletic director who can get us excited about going to games. There are people here and abroad who love North Texas sports and want to see UNT’s athletes thrive. Give the community a reason to celebrate.

Featured Image: File Photo. Colin Mitchell

View Full Article

It ain't NTSU anymore! Smak down! GMG

Army of Dad · May 28, 2016

6 hours ago, meanrob said:

"Terrorist kite of hate speech"

what?

Mods doing mod type things.

Ben Gooding · May 28, 2016

No surprise. Time to move on. Hire someone with competence that enforces accountability in all facets.

EagleD · May 28, 2016

It may be time for him to leave but I am very grateful for everything he did. If you think this program is bad now you just dont remember 15 years ago.

UNT90 · May 28, 2016

7 minutes ago, EagleD said:

It may be time for him to leave but I am very grateful for everything he did. If you think this program is bad now you just dont remember 15 years ago.

Mild improvement over a 15 year time frame should never be acceptable.

Ben Gooding · May 28, 2016

36 minutes ago, EagleD said:

It may be time for him to leave but I am very grateful for everything he did. If you think this program is bad now you just dont remember 15 years ago.

I hate to come off as an elitist or ungrateful, but we are now about status-quo as far as G5 facilities go. So let's not pat any one person on the back too hard. Of the facilities that were constructed under his tenure, what is there really to be all that proud of other than Apogee? And with Apogee, what kind of influence did he really have? And what kind of push did he really do to make it happen? But Lovelace and the Bball practice facility are not par for even the CUSA course. These are what he considers his legacy.

We are way behind in literally everything else. That graph on another thread about donor levels as well as our on the field/court performances over the last 10-15 years is what damned him and are also in my opinion is his legacy. He didn't care about the "minute" few and trying to captivate them and bring their dollars into the program. The minute few across the nation is the lifeline of blueblood programs. Without the commitment from the "minute" few programs will perish and positions will falter. He cared about job security and keeping the big donors in place regardless of anything else. He literally said that on a podcast with Harry.

Nevertheless, my time talking about this should have ended about 4 days ago when this came to light. UNT got what it needed, but these articles keep getting published.

rcade · May 28, 2016

7 hours ago, meanrob said:

"Terrorist kite of hate speech"

what?

A mod on GMG has auto-substituted two words with the phrase "airplane-delivered terrorist kite of hate speech." The words rhyme with planner bane.

Ben Gooding · May 28, 2016

plane airplane-delivered terrorist kite of hate speech

haha, that's funny and very RV apologetic. Aww...cute.

Edited May 28, 2016 by Ben Gooding

UNT90 · May 28, 2016

I figured it would have been changed by now. Too bad one mod doesn't get that the only hate involved was the hate of really really really substandard job performance.

A sign of intelligence is being able to change your opinion when presented facts that invalidate said opinion.

UNT90 · May 28, 2016

http://ntdaily.com/attendance-on-the-decline-in-major-sports-at-north-texas/

Read back through this from the link provided in the Daily story and just got infuriated all over again. The fact that we are having to pay to make this guy go away makes my blood boil. Hustler and liar to the very end.

Good riddance.

SilverEagle · May 28, 2016

It's not like the "powers that be" both administratively and in the ranks of the "high doners" were not warned years ago. Even RV admitted in his interview with BV that even after four bowl trips the attendance did not go up appreciably. Many on this board have been pointing this out for years.

Ben Gooding · May 28, 2016

8 minutes ago, SilverEagle said:

It's not like the "powers that be" both administratively and in the ranks of the "high doners" were not warned years ago. Even RV admitted in his interview with BV that even after four bowl trips the attendance did not go up appreciably. Many on this board have been pointing this out for years.

In 2013, in a new conference with a new nice stadium while having success on the field, North Texas had an annual record in attendance. The early 00's to the mid-10's are not comparable especially considering the transcendence of CFB between the times. We need consistency and with that the annual attendance record for UNT in TODAY's CFB will be broken year-to-year with said consistency. This is not the year 2002, we are not in the Sun Belt, and we are not playing in Fouts.

FirefightnRick · May 28, 2016

Not that it matters now, but I'm willing to bet no one in the NT Daily know about or remember..(how could they, they were still in grade school)..that Dr. Battialle and the university administration intentionally kept RV away from the campaign on campus to build Apogee. All he was allowed to participate in was give tours of Fouts to students already interested in replacing it.

Rick

Edited May 28, 2016 by FirefightnRick

UNT90 · May 28, 2016

12 minutes ago, FirefightnRick said:

Not that it matters now, but I'm willing to bet no one in the NT Daily know about or remember..(how could they, they were still in grade school)..that Dr. Battialle and the university administration intentionally kept RV away from the campaign on campus to build Apogee. All he was allowed to participate in was give tours of Fouts to students already interested in replacing it.

Rick

Considering the first attempt at a student fee, this was probably the smartest thing UNT has done in decades where athletics are concerned.

UNT90 · May 28, 2016

1 hour ago, Ben Gooding said:

This is not the year 2002, we are not in the Sun Belt, and we are not playing in Fouts.

Graddean · May 28, 2016

6 hours ago, Wag Tag said:

It ain't NTSU anymore! Smak down! GMG

I really get tired of the old snide NTSU remarks. I have three degrees from NTSU. In addition, Joe Green, Cedric Hardeman, Ron Hanklin, etc. all played for NTSU. It is like we should all be ashamed if we were prior to UNT,

Wag Tag · May 28, 2016

11 minutes ago, Graddean said:

I really get tired of the old snide NTSU remarks. I have three degrees from NTSU. In addition, Joe Green, Cedric Hardeman, Ron Hanklin, etc. all played for NTSU. It is like we should all be ashamed if we were prior to UNT,

Mine is NTSU. No disrespect just change! GMG

Ben Gooding · May 28, 2016

11 minutes ago, Graddean said:

I really get tired of the old snide NTSU remarks. I have three degrees from NTSU. In addition, Joe Green, Cedric Hardeman, Ron Hanklin, etc. all played for NTSU. It is like we should all be ashamed if we were prior to UNT,

People get frustrated with it because it shows a lack of knowledge or an abundance of douche bagery. No knock on NTSU, it's just not who we are anymore. We are, UNT.

BillySee58 · May 28, 2016

What progress culminates in a 1-11 season?

meanrob · May 28, 2016

5 hours ago, rcade said:

A mod on GMG has auto-substituted two words with the phrase "airplane-delivered terrorist kite of hate speech." The words rhyme with planner bane.

Thanks, I was confused as hell.