new athletic director

[drex]

Do y'all think that Villarreal's replacement will be a step forward?  Or will we be worse off when the dust settles?  I know this is very abstract, but it is the slow summer.

[southsideguy]

do we even know if any has applied for the position?  it is the off season and we need something to talk about otherwise the uniform and sticker debate is about begin.

[Ben Gooding]

No way we take a step back. I honestly cannot see a scenario where that is even possible. 

[UNT90]

41 minutes ago, Ben Gooding said:

No way we take a step back. I honestly cannot see a scenario where that is even possible. 

I can. If anyone from the current regime is named AD, it's a step backwards. 

If UNT goes with a guy who has never faced challenges like UNT faces and his sole experience base is with P5 schools, this could be awful hire and a big step backwards (like the UT associate athletic director UNT hired years ago. Can't recall the name). 

Hire someone youngish (early 40s)  who has been an AD at a lower level and has succeeded in a challenging situation where those that came before him failed. This should be the criteria (as it should have been for head football coach). Will UNT do this?

Very recent history suggests no.

2 hours ago, southsideguy said:

do we even know if any has applied for the position?  it is the off season and we need something to talk about otherwise the uniform and sticker debate is about begin.

Thankfully, there has been plenty to talk about, keeping these mind numbing subjects from gaining any traction.

Edited June 12, 2016 by UNT90

[UNTexas]

34 minutes ago, UNT90 said:

If UNT goes with a guy who has never faced challenges like UNT faces and his sole experience base is with P5 schools, this could be awful hire and a big step backwards (like the UT associate athletic director UNT hired years ago. Can't recall the name). 

Are you talking about Craig Helwig?

[UNT90]

1 minute ago, UNTexas said:

Are you talking about Craig Helwig?

Thought it was the guy before Helwig?

[UNTexas]

8 minutes ago, UNT90 said:

Thought it was the guy before Helwig?

Helwig was at UT in the 80s then was in charge of the Sun Bowl  before he came to North Texas in 94. I can't remember who the AD was in 93 when Parker was the head coach. 

[Harry]

15 minutes ago, UNT90 said:

Thought it was the guy before Helwig?

The AD position has been a tell tale sign to the lack of stability in North Texas athletics.  We had six athletic directors in the 80's, with Fred McCain holding the position for five of those ten years. 

Corky Nelson was named athletic director in 1989.  This only lasted until 1990 when Steve Sloan was hired.  Sloan in my estimation was a good AD.  He had been AD at his alama mater Alabama.  Sloan was the catalyst in moving the program to I-A, and helped convince chancellor Hurley to allow him to reach out to the Big West conference about membership.    Sadly Sloan left UNT for the same position at Central Florida in 1993.  As we all know, UCF's progress after him arriving was dramatic.  The sad fact is that had we had the foresight to retain Sloan we might be in a completely different place right now. 

Helwig served in the post from 1994-2000.  Helwig was the executive director of the John Hancock Bowl and had been an associate AD at UT Austin and KState.  He was responsible in carrying out Sloan's plans to expand Fouts which was required to get approval for I-A status.  UNT joined the Big West in 1996.

[UNT90]

Then it was Helwig I was addressing. The guy that gave us 3 whore games in some seasons.

Its a different time. Hopefully this hire has ran a program before and faced similar challenges at that program. 

This is the most important hire in UNT athletic history. Getting it right could lead to great things, getting it wrong could lead to a return to FCS competition. 

[El Paso Eagle]

There was always a rumor that Helwig lived out of a Hotel his whole time in Denton. Does anyone know if this was true?

[SilverEagle]

4 hours ago, UNT90 said:

If UNT goes with a guy who has never faced challenges like UNT faces and his sole experience base is with P5 schools, this could be awful hire and a big step backwards (like the UT associate athletic director UNT hired years ago. Can't recall the name). 

Hire someone youngish (early 40s)  who has been an AD at a lower level and has succeeded in a challenging situation where those that came before him failed. This should be the criteria (as it should have been for head football coach). Will UNT do this?

I totally agree with this! 

Because, to paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerld.......“Let me tell you about the North Texas alumni/fans. They are different from you and me".

And the sooner our new Athletic director understands this and crafts a plan to connect with this "different" group of people, the sooner he/she will be successful in his/her job.

Edited June 12, 2016 by SilverEagle

[FirefightnRick]

3 hours ago, UNT90 said:

I can. If anyone from the current regime is named AD, it's a step backwards. 

If UNT goes with a guy who has never faced challenges like UNT faces and his sole experience base is with P5 schools, this could be awful hire and a big step backwards (like the UT associate athletic director UNT hired years ago. Can't recall the name). 

Hire someone youngish (early 40s)  who has been an AD at a lower level and has succeeded in a challenging situation where those that came before him failed. This should be the criteria (as it should have been for head football coach). Will UNT do this?

Very recent history suggests no.

Thankfully, there has been plenty to talk about, keeping these mind numbing subjects from gaining any traction.

Completely agree.

 

Rick

[greenjoe]

Craig Helwig owned a house on Foreestridge with his wife Terri.  Vic Trilli lived in his home on El Paseo around the corner.  Helwig hosted several basketball related events during this era called "Chili with Trilli."  

 

Owned not rent.

[Matt from A700]

6 hours ago, UNT90 said:

Hire someone youngish (early 40s)  who has been an AD at a lower level and has succeeded in a challenging situation where those that came before him failed. This should be the criteria (as it should have been for head football coach). Will UNT do this?

I think this would be do UNT best and I hope this is the same idea President Smatresk has. Do you have any specific names in mind?

[greenjoe]

Craig Helwig owned a home on Forrestridge around the corner from Vic Trilli, a home he owned  on El Paseo.  Helwig hosted a basketball season event in his home called " Chili with Trilli."

 

owned not rented

Edited June 12, 2016 by greenjoe

[UNT90]

One difference I hope we see from the new AD is transparancy and truthfulness. RV lied so often he had trouble remembering them and it got to the point I wouldn't listen to the guy in any public address because you couldn't believe a thing he said. 

For the love God, please give us an AD that publishes MGC numbers, season ticket numbers, donation numbers. An AD that stands up and says "I made a mistake. I have to do better. My staff has to do better. This isn't acceptable" instead of the excuse making and blame shifting we have seen for the last 5 years. 

An AD that HONESTLY engages the fan base. 

This is what I hope for the next AD. It would be a huge culture shift for the AD and the university, a sorely needed one.

[TheWestie]

8 hours ago, Ben Gooding said:

No way we take a step back. I honestly cannot see a scenario where that is even possible. 

"Benford promoted to AD position..."

[EagleMBA]

"Benford promoted to AD position..."

Edited June 13, 2016 by EagleMBA

[drex]

For some odd reason I was never invited to any of Helwig's chili suppers.

[SilverEagle]

10 hours ago, drex said:

For some odd reason I was never invited to any of Helwig's chili suppers.

Would you have gone if you had?

[DeepGreen]

And give me an AD that works more than a 40 hour week when necessary.  Whatever it takes to get the job done to the satisfaction of the University and the fans.  

We need to get it right this time or its over for UNT Athletics.

[untjim1995]

On ‎6‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 7:41 AM, drex said:

Do y'all think that Villarreal's replacement will be a step forward?  Or will we be worse off when the dust settles?  I know this is very abstract, but it is the slow summer.

The new AD should be a step forward. But its possible to go backwards, even if remotely. If the next AD is Hank, and we extend Benford, and Littrell cannot fix anything in the next three years, there will be no doubt that we have gone backward. But again, that's remote...I truly believe Smatresk will hire from outside of the university and that Benford's last days as our coach will end within the next 9 months--and I truly think Littrell will improve things around here by 2018.

To me, the best way we will know if the next AD is making a big step forward will be seen in actual attendance at football and basketball games. If that is seen, then the season ticket revenues and MGC memberships will follow. Just watch to see the butts-in-seats and that will tell you if we are moving forward or staying still. If it drops, then this is a situation that probably cannot get fixed. You cannot run a FBS program if your average attendance is 40% of capacity. And if men's basketball attendance cannot improve from being less than 20% of capacity, then its all a moot point. At that point, you will have probably gone close to 15 years with one winning season in football and zero winning season in mens hoops since JJ left, all while FBS realignment has been and will be going in full force.

OTOH, if we can see Littrell turn this around in the next few years and we get a good hire in basketball that gets attention and can turn the talent that is here now into a winner, the attendance should be significantly higher than it is today. And that would be a great sign that we have in place the person who knows what he is doing in leading this department, getting the revenue sports in the right direction. Attendance will pick up and so will the other revenue streams with it.

[UNTLifer]

2 hours ago, SilverEagle said:

Would you have gone if you had?

Yes, just the chance to lace Helwig's chili with something that would have done him in would be enticement enough.

[untjim1995]

Helwig was a bad AD, but he did one thing better than RV--getting name teams to the area to play us in football.

He just ignored everything else and whored us out in football and basketball to pay for everything. He probably had no other option with the resources that the university wasn't giving to athletics at the time. He needed to go when he left, but at least he didn't stay 5+ years beyond his usefulness like RV did.

 

[drex]

For the record, Rich McDuffie was the AD who lived in a motel room for some of his time here.