C-USA budgets a concern?

UNT90 · June 13, 2016

On June 11, 2016 at 10:47 PM, Aquila_Viridis said:

It will only matter who is in that job if his superiors seriously care, as a key institutional goal, whether he succeeds. Changing AD was sort of like the stadium in that it was something that should have happened a long time ago. We've had a new stadium for years but they haven't seemed to care whether there's anyone in it. At this point I view the AD change exactly the same. So, no; it provides a possibility at least, but a lot more needs to be done than making the change at AD.

Yep, a sweeping cultural change needs to occur inside the AD and in the way the UNT administration views athletics. If UNT hires from within, it will show that it's the same ole same ole and they could care less about making the changes needed.

Like I said, this is a 2 step process. Getting the second step wrong invalidates the whole process.

GTWT · June 13, 2016

3 hours ago, Arkstfan said:

Seriously?

Graduate?

Imagine the frustration of leaving the Sun Belt, move to cUSA, only to watch the best schools leave cUSA, & have cUSA devolve into the Sunbelt. I admire your love of ASU - that's great. But it doesn't mean I want ASU, or any other Sun Belt school in the same conference as North Texas.

Aldo · June 13, 2016

1 minute ago, GTWT said:

But it doesn't mean I want ASU, or any other Sun Belt school in the same conference as North Texas.

I think we are well past that.

UNT90 · June 14, 2016

7 hours ago, Aldo said:

I think we are well past that.

Ya, but in the entirely wrong direction.

Arkstfan · June 14, 2016

There is a saying all of us as sports fans should take to heart.

Oh to be able to see ourselves as others see us.

Today, television sees Sun Belt and CUSA as the same thing.

The reality is the leadership of CUSA like generals oft do prepared to fight the last war not the one coming.

Markets was an out-moded model. The MAC demonstrated that you take colleges in the middle of cornfields and get a good media deal by having success and meeting the needs of tv even if few people are in the stands.

Of late some of the best CUSA audiences have come from games involving Marshall, WKU, and Tech. One of the best Thursday's ESPNU has had came with rural AState at rural App St despite competition from the NFL, Big XII and SEC that night.

The problem in G5 land is worrying about status. Go read the Twitter feeds of recruits. They don't give a crap about any school that hasn't offered them unless it's a P5 but most of their football chatter is NFL. They aren't wanting to be like the staring corner for UT or Bama, they are looking at the starting corner for the Cowboys or Seahawks. They rarely comment on college games unless they are taking a visit or have committed.

This is a business. You can sweat designer labels but it in G5 it's the race to be 6th best.

It's all well and good to send a volleyball team to Miami or a softball team to West Virginia when affiliation with those schools has spendable value that covers or nearly covers the cost. When TV money doesn't cover the cost of paying the defensive coordinator or won't cover the cost of two football charters it's a different beast.

The marketplace is changing viewership is going to be the buzzword for future TV deals, keeping costs down, selling tickets, and getting donations the key to survival. Maybe UNT can do those things in CUSA 3.x but I suspect it's easier done if CUSA west becomes the core of a new conference that includes TXST, ULL, AState and maybe South Alabama. A group that is positioned to align with the Heart of Dallas, New Orleans, GoDaddy, New Mexico, and Montgomery with no money pit Hawaii no passports required Bahamas. A league overlapping the old Fox SW footprint almost perfectly.

As for the suggestion of "butt-hurt" I absolutely LOVE seeing someone throw that in a response it means they have no adult answer to my argument, it's a flip of the bird before the cops pull the trigger on the taser and the fight ends.

When we hired Terry Mohajir as AD the goal was to get the budget to $20 million by 2017, it hit that in 2014 and last year was just shy of $30 million, new indoor practice facility, new video board, new lights, new press box, new premium seating with waiting lists for each premium seating area, and rumor mill says the new ops center with more premium seating breaks ground after the season. Home and homes with SEC, ACC, Big XII several AAC and MWC.

Not sure why some people would rather affiliate with FIU or FAU (two schools posters here complained regularly about when they wore Sun Belt patches) or yet another start from scratch in Charlotte but if those are seen as superior I think I've identified a focus problem for UNT that may be a factor in the troubles.

untjim1995 · June 14, 2016

5 hours ago, Arkstfan said:

There is a saying all of us as sports fans should take to heart.

Oh to be able to see ourselves as others see us.

Today, television sees Sun Belt and CUSA as the same thing.

The reality is the leadership of CUSA like generals oft do prepared to fight the last war not the one coming.

Markets was an out-moded model. The MAC demonstrated that you take colleges in the middle of cornfields and get a good media deal by having success and meeting the needs of tv even if few people are in the stands.

Of late some of the best CUSA audiences have come from games involving Marshall, WKU, and Tech. One of the best Thursday's ESPNU has had came with rural AState at rural App St despite competition from the NFL, Big XII and SEC that night.

The problem in G5 land is worrying about status. Go read the Twitter feeds of recruits. They don't give a crap about any school that hasn't offered them unless it's a P5 but most of their football chatter is NFL. They aren't wanting to be like the staring corner for UT or Bama, they are looking at the starting corner for the Cowboys or Seahawks. They rarely comment on college games unless they are taking a visit or have committed.

This is a business. You can sweat designer labels but it in G5 it's the race to be 6th best.

It's all well and good to send a volleyball team to Miami or a softball team to West Virginia when affiliation with those schools has spendable value that covers or nearly covers the cost. When TV money doesn't cover the cost of paying the defensive coordinator or won't cover the cost of two football charters it's a different beast.

The marketplace is changing viewership is going to be the buzzword for future TV deals, keeping costs down, selling tickets, and getting donations the key to survival. Maybe UNT can do those things in CUSA 3.x but I suspect it's easier done if CUSA west becomes the core of a new conference that includes TXST, ULL, AState and maybe South Alabama. A group that is positioned to align with the Heart of Dallas, New Orleans, GoDaddy, New Mexico, and Montgomery with no money pit Hawaii no passports required Bahamas. A league overlapping the old Fox SW footprint almost perfectly.

As for the suggestion of "butt-hurt" I absolutely LOVE seeing someone throw that in a response it means they have no adult answer to my argument, it's a flip of the bird before the cops pull the trigger on the taser and the fight ends.

When we hired Terry Mohajir as AD the goal was to get the budget to $20 million by 2017, it hit that in 2014 and last year was just shy of $30 million, new indoor practice facility, new video board, new lights, new press box, new premium seating with waiting lists for each premium seating area, and rumor mill says the new ops center with more premium seating breaks ground after the season. Home and homes with SEC, ACC, Big XII several AAC and MWC.

Not sure why some people would rather affiliate with FIU or FAU (two schools posters here complained regularly about when they wore Sun Belt patches) or yet another start from scratch in Charlotte but if those are seen as superior I think I've identified a focus problem for UNT that may be a factor in the troubles.

Absolute truth here...

Butt hurt is the term that he throws around a lot, but it really shows low class and immaturity, which in and of itself, isn't unusual on a fanboard. But it doesn't keep most of us from being embarrassed at his posting.

One thing about UNT is that being in Texas and surrounded by SWC schools that always looked down on us and wouldn't ever accept us as a potential conference mate for decades has just created the unfounded belief that we should be above being in a conference with Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, or Texas State because we are bigger and serve a larger metro area, that instead we "deserve" to be AAC members because of these supposed advantages. But one thing that ASU, LT, ULL, USM, and others enjoy is that they are all schools in towns that love athletics first and foremost. That gets money into the coffers quickly. We have never had that mindset before and it will take a long time to try and convince our students, faculty, and alumni to look at athletics the way you all do. And that's where the size of the school and the market we are in really don't help us nearly as much as people wish to believe.

wardly · June 14, 2016

I don't think we are in a position to look down on anyone. Last time I looked we were in the bottom of the well.[ I know, its all R.V.'s fault] .I would love to be in same conference as ULL and Ark instead if FAU and FIU.At some point CUSA and Sun Belt will reconfigure. Finally, I personally enjoy Arkstfan's perspective on college football. His university is to be congratulated on the progress their athletic program has made this past decade.Keep posting!

Arkstfan · June 15, 2016

15 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

Absolute truth here...

Butt hurt is the term that he throws around a lot, but it really shows low class and immaturity, which in and of itself, isn't unusual on a fanboard. But it doesn't keep most of us from being embarrassed at his posting.

One thing about UNT is that being in Texas and surrounded by SWC schools that always looked down on us and wouldn't ever accept us as a potential conference mate for decades has just created the unfounded belief that we should be above being in a conference with Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, or Texas State because we are bigger and serve a larger metro area, that instead we "deserve" to be AAC members because of these supposed advantages. But one thing that ASU, LT, ULL, USM, and others enjoy is that they are all schools in towns that love athletics first and foremost. That gets money into the coffers quickly. We have never had that mindset before and it will take a long time to try and convince our students, faculty, and alumni to look at athletics the way you all do. And that's where the size of the school and the market we are in really don't help us nearly as much as people wish to believe.

Funny thing is that for decades in the intercollegiate universe it was generally thought that "city" schools were hoops schools and farm town schools were football schools. Sure there were notable exceptions like USC and UCLA, Until 1992, Utah (in Salt Lake) had been to two bowl games ever and three Final Fours in basketball. Houston had four Sweet 16 appearances before making a final AP top 20 in football. Memphis, UAB, Tulsa, USF, Cincinnati, Louisville all made their names in hoops.

People don't pause over the idea driving two hours (and more) six times a year to go to a football game. Basketball has fewer seats to fill but a much smaller geographic region to draw from, especially weeknight games. I know a dozen or so AState season ticket holders in football in the Little Rock area, come basketball they'll go to no more than three games a year if any.