DRC: UNT notes, a look at Texas lockers with HDTV name plates

Aldo · April 20, 2017

*School comes up with flashy new recruiting tool that has no bearing on life skills*

Oh my God this has so much bearing on life skillls, how will they handle being adults! They're making them into sissies! Let's go back to leather helmets and pads!

*Player goes through two-a-days, spring camp, summer training, fall camp, 12 football games, and possible post season*

Cerebus · April 20, 2017

Guys the real problem with P5 football isn't that they can afford this locker room. The real problem is that they have enough money to just buy recruits.

Alabama has 96 "coordinators" on staff now. It just so happens that many of them were coaches of important recruits, or were people influential to important recruits.

The NCAA actually tried to do it's job and proposed a law that would ban that, and the big programs and ESPN already jumped all over it. Crying that it would hurt HS coaches ability to move up to the college ranks.

Alabama isn't going to make many, if any at all, of those coordinators an assistant coach. They can afford to have them sit around for a while. In time, they will get moved on and replaced by new hs coaches who are influential to new high value recruits.

NTXCoog · April 20, 2017

17 hours ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

There was no lightning before the 21st Century? How did Bear Bryant, Darrell Royal, Barry Switzer, Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes, Frank Broyles...Bill Yeoman, etc. ever get anything done having to practice with storm clouds, thunder, and lightning?

In those days, there was no NCAA rule against playing/practicing while there is lightning. While most, if not all, of those guys you listed violated NCAA rules, most would have at least attempted to hide it or found a legit workaround

I would bet more than once those guys had conditioning only days indoors in the weight room or other indoor facilities like a basketball court when practicing outside would have been a waste of time due to weather. An IPF is just the modern version of that which allows for more football oriented workout than just conditioning.

UNTLifer · April 20, 2017

The TSU Armadillos used the Men's (Bahnsen) Gym.

MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF · April 20, 2017

1 hour ago, NTXCoog said:

In those days, there was no NCAA rule against playing/practicing while there is lightning. While most, if not all, of those guys you listed violated NCAA rules, most would have at least attempted to hide it or found a legit workaround

I would bet more than once those guys had conditioning only days indoors in the weight room or other indoor facilities like a basketball court when practicing outside would have been a waste of time due to weather. An IPF is just the modern version of that which allows for more football oriented workout than just conditioning.

I'm really, really doing my best not to laugh and spit out orange juice all over my laptop just thinking of Bear Bryant or Darrell Royal moving a practice indoors at the sound of thunder.

The NCAA can legislate anything it wants. But, there has never been, nor will there ever be, an epidemic of football players (or, soccer players, or baseball/softball players, or cross country runners, or pole vaulters, discus throwers, or javelin hurlers, etc.) being struck my lightning. It's as false as the "too hot to practice" narrative that floats around these days.

NTXCoog · April 20, 2017

17 minutes ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

I'm really, really doing my best not to laugh and spit out orange juice all over my laptop just thinking of Bear Bryant or Darrell Royal moving a practice indoors at the sound of thunder.

The NCAA can legislate anything it wants. But, there has never been, nor will there ever be, an epidemic of football players (or, soccer players, or baseball/softball players, or cross country runners, or pole vaulters, discus throwers, or javelin hurlers, etc.) being struck my lightning. It's as false as the "too hot to practice" narrative that floats around these days.

If the NCAA said they weren't allowed to practice outside due to thunder, in general they'd do it. They would grumble and cuss about it, but they'd do it. And whether it is a dumb rule or not, it is a rule.

But you take a weak example to generalize about being wimps and using an IPF. Do you think that Bryant would practice outdoors in a baseball sized hail storm? No. He'd move inside to the gym. So spit out your orange juice all you want, I guarantee everyone you mentioned moved some workouts indoors due to weather. Definitely not for thunder (although they would if they coached now), but they did not practice outside in the most extreme weather conditions.

untjim1995 · April 20, 2017

3 hours ago, Cerebus said:

Guys the real problem with P5 football isn't that they can afford this locker room. The real problem is that they have enough money to just buy recruits.

Alabama has 96 "coordinators" on staff now. It just so happens that many of them were coaches of important recruits, or were people influential to important recruits.

The NCAA actually tried to do it's job and proposed a law that would ban that, and the big programs and ESPN already jumped all over it. Crying that it would hurt HS coaches ability to move up to the college ranks.

Alabama isn't going to make many, if any at all, of those coordinators an assistant coach. They can afford to have them sit around for a while. In time, they will get moved on and replaced by new hs coaches who are influential to new high value recruits.

Those "coordinators" get paid something, plus they can put on their resume that they worked for Saban and Alabama, which opens up several doors for assistant jobs in the future.

Power Football Division is coming and I cannot wait for it to happen. I want to see Bama, Texas, Florida, ND, USC outspend each other like they are MLB teams, while I get to watch the Texas Techs of their world assume the position of replacing the G5/FCS schools as easy wins for the rich programs. It will be glorious to watch them sacrifice wins/bowl berths for the $$$ that being a power team will provide, basically serving as the Oakland A's or Tampa Bay Rays of the Power League Division.

Meanwhile, our level of play will produce the opportunity to play teams that our fans actually care about and recognize--unlike the I-aa SLC debacle years--and we will use amateur college players that have the right to win a national championship in a sport that they have zero chance of ever doing now.

The 1-AA fiasco was basically of our own doing for 12 years, while being surrounded by the powerhouse leagues in the SWC and Big Eight. We went down a level only 5 years after having a 9 win team under Hayden Fry. That was stupidity at its finest. We had nobody at our level of play in the SLC days that anyone in Texas cared about because of the SWC mentality that ran so rampant in our media and citizenry. Today, that mentality is basically gone. Our fans love traveling to close opponents that CUSA offers, playing teams like UTEP, La Tech, Rice, and USM as division opponents who we could only look up at because of our insane 1-aa decision in the 80's and early 90's. When the power schism occurs, I truly believe that the UNT fans that support the program will continue to do so, as well as future students/alumni will, because we will be playing teams that our fans have heard of and care about, while also being on a normal playing field for both players, coaches, and funding. If this is done right, we could be playing a series of playoff games while the Power teams are prepping for bowls, meaning that you can get really good playoff teams playing each other each week in December, while 6-6 Mississippi State plays 6-6 Washington State in some spare bowl game. I just think more people would care about a G5 playoff system than they do the FCS playoffs because the teams in the MAC, CUSA, and SBC have more fans and name recognition. And adding in the NDSU's, Montana State's, Youngstown State's, etc..like we did with Appy State and Georgia Southern, will only bolster this level of play.

I know people want us to play in a conference with the SMUs and UHs of the world, but they don't want that and won't let it happen, as evidenced by the last 50 years or so.

MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF · April 21, 2017

On 4/20/2017 at 11:10 AM, NTXCoog said:

If the NCAA said they weren't allowed to practice outside due to thunder, in general they'd do it. They would grumble and cuss about it, but they'd do it. And whether it is a dumb rule or not, it is a rule.

But you take a weak example to generalize about being wimps and using an IPF. Do you think that Bryant would practice outdoors in a baseball sized hail storm? No. He'd move inside to the gym. So spit out your orange juice all you want, I guarantee everyone you mentioned moved some workouts indoors due to weather. Definitely not for thunder (although they would if they coached now), but they did not practice outside in the most extreme weather conditions.

No, everyone else takes a weak example of why one is needed. It doesn't hail baseball sized hail enough to make that the excuse for spending $10-15 million dollars. Horse piss, it doesn't even hail dime sized hail that much. And, even when it does hail, you are talking 10 minutes or so tops in the worst of storms.

A coach who cancels a practice because of 10 minutes of wind and hail should be required to wear one of those pussy hats the women's marchers wore a couple of months ago.

Like I said before, don't give me the bullsh*t about heat and hailstorms. Just tell the truth: "Everyone has one, so we want one, too."

There's no competitive advantage, as I've shown before with the examples of Syracuse and Minnesota, who did it four decades ago and neither have stacked their trophy cases with championship or even sniffed a national title.

F*cking Iowa State and Kansas had IPF's before anyone in the Big 12 and it didn't make them anymore competitive. They are still broke dick Iowa State and Kansas when it comes down to brass tacks. They were bottom feeding half-asses before their IPFs, and they are still bottom feeding half-asses.

You are what you are, IPF or no IPF.

It's strictly a "keeping up with the Joneses" thing. The "safety" angle is complete and utter bullsh*t. There is no record of an epidemic of any type of outdoor athlete being injured or killed by hail or lightning. It's as rare as Jerry Jones having a complete thought that squares with common sense.

MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF · April 21, 2017

On 4/20/2017 at 0:34 PM, untjim1995 said:

Those "coordinators" get paid something, plus they can put on their resume that they worked for Saban and Alabama, which opens up several doors for assistant jobs in the future.

Power Football Division is coming and I cannot wait for it to happen. I want to see Bama, Texas, Florida, ND, USC outspend each other like they are MLB teams, while I get to watch the Texas Techs of their world assume the position of replacing the G5/FCS schools as easy wins for the rich programs. It will be glorious to watch them sacrifice wins/bowl berths for the $$$ that being a power team will provide, basically serving as the Oakland A's or Tampa Bay Rays of the Power League Division.

Meanwhile, our level of play will produce the opportunity to play teams that our fans actually care about and recognize--unlike the I-aa SLC debacle years--and we will use amateur college players that have the right to win a national championship in a sport that they have zero chance of ever doing now.

The 1-AA fiasco was basically of our own doing for 12 years, while being surrounded by the powerhouse leagues in the SWC and Big Eight. We went down a level only 5 years after having a 9 win team under Hayden Fry. That was stupidity at its finest. We had nobody at our level of play in the SLC days that anyone in Texas cared about because of the SWC mentality that ran so rampant in our media and citizenry. Today, that mentality is basically gone. Our fans love traveling to close opponents that CUSA offers, playing teams like UTEP, La Tech, Rice, and USM as division opponents who we could only look up at because of our insane 1-aa decision in the 80's and early 90's. When the power schism occurs, I truly believe that the UNT fans that support the program will continue to do so, as well as future students/alumni will, because we will be playing teams that our fans have heard of and care about, while also being on a normal playing field for both players, coaches, and funding. If this is done right, we could be playing a series of playoff games while the Power teams are prepping for bowls, meaning that you can get really good playoff teams playing each other each week in December, while 6-6 Mississippi State plays 6-6 Washington State in some spare bowl game. I just think more people would care about a G5 playoff system than they do the FCS playoffs because the teams in the MAC, CUSA, and SBC have more fans and name recognition. And adding in the NDSU's, Montana State's, Youngstown State's, etc..like we did with Appy State and Georgia Southern, will only bolster this level of play.

I know people want us to play in a conference with the SMUs and UHs of the world, but they don't want that and won't let it happen, as evidenced by the last 50 years or so.

Yes.

You look at our fellow Missouri Valley Conference-mates from back in the day, with the exception of only New Mexico State and West Texas State, most are doing better. Wichita State cut their program in 1986.

Tulsa, AAC
Houston, AAC
Cincinnati, AAC
Memphis, AAC
Louisville, ACC

Certainly, no school was doing that much better than us when we left the MVC. All have had ups and downs, but done pretty well. The 12 year gap wasn't the only problem. After the gap, the next AD and president still weren't able to get us onto equal footing with TU, Houston, Cincy, Memphis, and Louisville.

Probably more than being passed up by the SWC, it is most vexing to me that we couldn't at least get into the WAC when Tulsa did, along with SWC rejects Rice, TCU, and SMU. UTEP was also in there.

Whatever you think of the old WAC from the mid to late 90s, it did serve as a springboard up to several programs. Utah and TCU are now P5. The wiser of the schools within it split off into the Mountain West, which along with the American, gets better billing than C-USA, MAC, and Sun Belt.

We couldn't even do what fellow Big West Conference-mates Utah State, Nevada, and Boise State did - also make the jump to the Mountain West.

Even before RV got here, the whole thing was a train wreck of bad ideas and alliances dating back to leaving the MVC, and cutting ties with those schools.

VideoEagle · April 21, 2017

Just to be accurate, NT had no option except to drop to 1AA based on the retroactive rules imposed by the NCAA. The choice NT had was in waiting to try to get BACK to 1A football. The rules on doing that were a LOT tougher in the 80s verses in the 90 but it still could have been done.