Wren Baker Press Conference at 10 a.m(CT)

NorthTexan95 · August 1, 2016

Just now, Cerebus said:

The latter what?

Tim MacMahon asked a lot of questions and wrote things that some people didn't like. Some people got so mad that they threatened to cut off access unless he was moved off of coverage.

oops ... meant ladder. So Tim was punished by a promotion?

Edited August 1, 2016 by NorthTexan95

UNT 90 Grad · August 1, 2016

7 minutes ago, Tyler Maryak said:

So glad @Brett Vito asked about "other programs" at North Texas.

I joined late but I saw Coach Evans was in attendance. Good opportunity for some awkwardness.

NorthTexan95 · August 1, 2016

Just now, TreeFiddy said:

Would have been an easy time to ask Wren what type of goals he think are reasonable for MGC/season ticket numbers. Could have about what he thinks is the biggest deficiency. etc...

Lost opportunity. Hopefully @Brett Vito schedules an interview and will ask a full slate of questions in order to get him on record.

Welcome aboard Wren. Now get to work on fixing this thing.

Exactly! Inquiring minds want to know. Maybe we can get him on the pod cast and ask the questions Vito didn't.

Cerebus · August 1, 2016

Just now, NorthTexan95 said:

oops ... meant ladder. So Tim was punished by a promotion Cowboys?

Tim was moved to cover Dallas area high schools. Everything he has accomplished after that is due to the fact he is a hard worker and good at his job.

NorthTexan95 · August 1, 2016

Just now, Cerebus said:

Tim was moved to cover Dallas area high schools. Everything he has accomplished after that is due to the fact he is a hard worker and good at his job.

... and Vito is still here.

Cerebus · August 1, 2016

1 minute ago, NorthTexan95 said:

... and Vito is still here.

And both of them had to deal with the same AD... It's almost like MacMahon's career took off after he got moved away from a toxic situation.

Ben Gooding · August 1, 2016

"We will win" is all I need to hear. Welcome aboard. Now do what you say we are going to do.

baberuthbomber8 · August 1, 2016

I understand UNT wanting to do this in Denton, but would have been great to do it in Dallas at the Ticket, but i guess that was out the window with Hank getting passed over..

I say this because we only had 1 reporter at this, and would have been great to of even had UNT had the Dallas Morning News, and Star Telegram as well(Even if it means paying for a bit of space in the sports section)... Plus if we had done it on The Ticket, more alumni would have heard it bet.

UNTFan23 · August 1, 2016

4 minutes ago, TreeFiddy said:

Would have been an easy time to ask Wren what type of goals he think are reasonable for MGC/season ticket numbers. Could have about what he thinks is the biggest deficiency. etc...

Lost opportunity. Hopefully @Brett Vito schedules an interview and will ask a full slate of questions in order to get him on record.

Welcome aboard Wren. Now get to work on fixing this thing.

This is good stuff for an interview 90 days into his tenure as AD/VPA (Vice President of Athletics). He's barely tipped his toe into the pool and we're expecting some big solutions to some big deficiencies. I also don't think calling forward all the warts on an introductory press conference is a good way to start things off.

MeanGreenTexan · August 1, 2016

Pretty sure when WB mentioned Littrell being from Muskogee, there was quite a chuckle from the audience. I'm pretty sure I heard Shoopy.

Cerebus · August 1, 2016

One more thing.

Vito asks a question in the open press conference, everyone gets to quote it. In fact, since the AD ALREADY SAID HE WOULD MEET WITH VITO INDIVIDUALLY AFTER THE PRESS CONFERENCE, he would likely get beat to publishing.

I am sure he will have a lot more questions in the 1-1 interview afterwards.

TreeFiddy · August 1, 2016

Was McMahon in attendance? He was pretty vocal about needing a new AD.

Was George in attendance?

1 minute ago, UNTFan23 said:

This is good stuff for an interview 90 days into his tenure as AD/VPA (Vice President of Athletics). He's barely tipped his toe into the pool and we're expecting some big solutions to some big deficiencies. I also don't think calling forward all the warts on an introductory press conference is a good way to start things off.

That's probably fair, but I am not looking for solutions I am looking for any goals that have been communicated/put in place as part of the interview process.

MeanGreenTexan · August 1, 2016

1 minute ago, TreeFiddy said:

Was McMahon in attendance? He was pretty vocal about needing a new AD.

Was George in attendance?

That's probably fair, but I am not looking for solutions I am looking for any goals that have been communicated/put in place as part of the interview process.

Jub is in Oxnard, CA.

jredallas · August 1, 2016

31 minutes ago, Eagle-96 said:

"We Will Win"

I LOVE it. Best quote from a UNT AD EVER!!!!1

But, did he also say, "You can put that in 3-inch headlines"?

Edited August 1, 2016 by jredallas

UNTFan23 · August 1, 2016

2 minutes ago, TreeFiddy said:

That's probably fair, but I am not looking for solutions I am looking for any goals that have been communicated/put in place as part of the interview process.

A goal the the AD/VPA will likely be graded on will be season ticket/MGC growth rather than a specific number. Mr. Baker is going to need some time to sit down and figure out exactly where the department is before setting any kind of goals.

Eagle-96 · August 1, 2016

25 minutes ago, NorthTexan95 said:

Vito said he would ask all of the pertinent questions ... he asked three? Maybe?

Way to under perform once again, Brett. There's a reason why Brett is still covering Denton when previous guys moved up the latter.

That press conference was way too short and had way too few questions asked.

Vito continued to ask questions when nobody else was and Baker said that(paraphrasing) he and Vito can continue the Q/A after the press conference in a one on one. Vito WAS doing his job but Baker is giving Vito an opportunity to get scoop on all the questions he wants.

Ben Gooding · August 1, 2016

2 minutes ago, UNTFan23 said:

A goal the the AD/VPA will likely be graded on will be season ticket/MGC growth rather than a specific number. Mr. Baker is going to need some time to sit down and figure out exactly where the department is before setting any kind of goals.

Welllll, RV tried to actually take credit for MGC "growth." I would like there to be public goals established so in the middle of this the "growth" isn't just some arbitrary number.

Aldo · August 1, 2016

2 hours ago, MGNation92 said:

You can find the link for it here:

http://conferenceusa.com/watch/?Live=15

FYI for everyone wanting to catch the replay, Smatresk opens it up around the -26:00 minute mark

UNTFan23 · August 1, 2016

1 minute ago, Ben Gooding said:

Welllll, RV tried to actually take credit for MGC "growth." I would like there to be public goals established so in the middle of this the "growth" isn't just some arbitrary number.

What good does it do to put out to the public goals such as a hard number for Mean Green Club numbers? What gets put out in public can be used against NT in recruiting battles by our competitors. You really need to be careful in what you disclose as many times it helps provide a competitive advantage to someone else.

I understand our fans want to see improvements in such areas but in my eyes things like MCG and season ticket numbers is more proprietary and doesn't need to be shared with everyone.

Aldo · August 1, 2016

2 minutes ago, UNTFan23 said:

What gets put out in public can be used against NT in recruiting battles by our competitors.

Not sure if I can get this across very well, but what what I'm trying to say is that I want us to reach a point where numbers can't be used against us:

When you're last in FBS in the state in terms of funding/membership, it creates bigger problems beyond losing recruiting battles. We don't need other people using it against us when we are the ones limiting ourselves and not finding the resources. (For the record, I believe we are in the middle of trying to address this).

Conversely, if we are one of the best in the state, we can point to it and say look how good we are.

In the future, I don't want to be so embarrassed about our numbers to be ashamed to release them. I want to be able to say, look how we're hanging - or exceeding - our peers.

hickoryhouse · August 1, 2016

12 minutes ago, UNTFan23 said:

What good does it do to put out to the public goals such as a hard number for Mean Green Club numbers? What gets put out in public can be used against NT in recruiting battles by our competitors. You really need to be careful in what you disclose as many times it helps provide a competitive advantage to someone else.

I understand our fans want to see improvements in such areas but in my eyes things like MCG and season ticket numbers is more proprietary and doesn't need to be shared with everyone.

That makes perfect sense to me. I assume that there will be internal goals and quotas to hit. I don't necessarily want that to be public. When we hit those goals make them public and celebrate. Don't give our competitors ammo to use against us

Army of Dad · August 1, 2016

"We choose to go to the moon...not because it is easy, but because it is hard"

-23 You can't say that in public!

UNTFan23 · August 1, 2016

1 minute ago, Aldo said:

Not sure if I can get this across very well, but what what I'm trying to say is that I want us to reach a point where numbers can't be used against us:

When you're last in FBS in the state in terms of funding/membership, it creates bigger problems beyond losing recruiting battles. We don't need other people using it against us when we are the ones limiting ourselves and not finding the resources. (For the record, I believe we are in the middle of trying to address this).

Conversely, if we are one of the best in the state, we can point to it and say look how good we are.

In the future, I don't want to be so embarrassed about our numbers to be ashamed to release them. I want to be able to say, look how we're hanging - or exceeding - our peers.

Rather than releasing specific numbers what I'd much rather see the department be able to do is release the fund raising power of the MCG in terms of dollars. It would be great to say that the MGC is capable of raising (as an example) "in excess of $2 million per year in athletic scholarships and other capital campaign initiatives."

Rudy · August 1, 2016

1 hour ago, NTAlum09 said:

"We have to make sure we have the right staff"....lol

Capper 's head would've exploded when he heard this, but he was to busy trolling Derek Thompson on Twitter.

UNTFan23 · August 1, 2016

8 minutes ago, Army of Dad said:

"We choose to go to the moon...not because it is easy, but because it is hard"

-23 You can't say that in public!

Notice a timeframe wasn't attached to when the US would land a man on the moon, just that we should do it. It was a smart goal set by JFK. Again, growth is a goal even without a hard, tangible number.