AD Department

UNTLifer · July 22, 2017

2 hours ago, UNT90 said:

Lol. Ya, you make zero changes to management except for creating another layer and everyone claims major changes. 😂😂. Same people doing the same things will lead to exactly the same result. Already seeing it with the IPF.

All Baker has done is add a very expensive layer to upper management while producing nothing.

He has already delayed the IPF shortly after announcing it. Gee, those same guys who didn't do their jobs before still aren't. I mean, that's just shocking, isn't it?

i doubt Baker has the power to fire Hank. I think he was told Hank comes with the job. Typical small time North Texas athletics.

I've lost almost all rooting interest. I did re-up season tickets and immediately felt a sense of regret. Basketball is dead to me forever.

You wonder why 99% of alumni walk away? Really?

99% ? Your level of self importance is amusing.

Ben Gooding · July 22, 2017

1 hour ago, UNTLifer said:

99% ? Your level of self importance is amusing.

I mean, uh, from a financial investment standpoint...Is he wrong?

GreenMachine · July 22, 2017

8 hours ago, Ben Gooding said:

I mean, uh, from a financial investment standpoint...Is he wrong?

You would have to know how many were giving and how many stopped giving, something your daddy wouldn't have a clue about. However, that won't stop him from running his pie hole about it.

Ben Gooding · July 22, 2017

1 hour ago, GreenMachine said:

You would have to know how many were giving and how many stopped giving, something your daddy wouldn't have a clue about. However, that won't stop him from running his pie hole about it.

Question asked..Smart ass remark given.

And the stopped giving is irrelevant. What is important, and the large number, is the percentage that never gave a red cent outside of their student fees because of the dog shit we have been for years and years.

97and03 · July 22, 2017

I heard there were some AD changes recently...

#ninjaface

BTG_Fan1 · July 22, 2017

On 7/20/2017 at 7:57 PM, GrandGreen said:

Way too early to be won over by Baker or the opposite. I don't see any major failures or victories at this point. We can debate all day about what goes on behind the scenes. Some assume a great program is being built, others that little has been accomplished. All that we know is what has been reported, to assume anything else is simply guesswork from most of us.

If you really look at the message board reaction, it is very typical. Most fans are going to support the new AD and optimism runs rampant.   The same few posters who never see any progress no matter what, are still in that mode. There is a group in the middle of which I am one that have not been won over by Baker but are still hopeful that he is the answer. Here is how I view Baker's tenure at this point:

Administrative staff: I don't like adding  an upper tier of administrators as a first order of business. I don't have as big a problem with retaining many of the old staff as some, but it doesn't compute that most of RV's staff were top performers. The actual effectiveness of the extra management level won't be known for a long time if at all.

Head Coaching moves: Giving Benford his last year was definitely a mistake. I also have a problem with retaining mediocre at best head coaches in other sports when their contracts expired. The positive, I like the MBB hire, and believe it was definitely a good and necessary move up in terms of the investment in the sport.

Scheduling: The one and one with Tech is definitely a plus. However, I am still trying to figure out why adding Liberty and dropping Army to apparently get an one on one with UH is worthwhile.

Facilities: This topic is more complicated than most believe. It is not only what is added but how it is financed. RV for example, got Apogee built and it is a great facility. However it was built almost wholly with debt secured by student fees. This is a drain on budgets for years and tied up a large portion of student fees that could have possibly been used for athletic operating expenses instead of debt service.

With the above caveat, I like what Baker is doing and planning to do. The track-soccer facility is about mandatory for NT. The track squads are necessary for NT to stay in compliance with NCAA D1 requirements for the number of teams required. The soccer portion should be a step up for what is undoubtedly NT's best team. With the IPF plans, Baker is demonstrating that he is addressing the items that NT needs to build to be competitive with peer institutions.

Of course nothing major has been actually started, so this is a wait and see factor. I do credit Baker with the planned renovation of the Super PIt, I think it should have a lot of years left. Also I assume that he has attacked a lot of the smaller projects that were neglected. The locker rooms and upgrade to the basketball practice facility are not going to provide the wanted wow factor, but are significant improvements.

Donations and support: A very long range objective that NT must substantially improve. Too early to rate Baker, but men's basketball should show an immediate attendance spike and football attendance will give some indication if Baker is on target. Mean Green club membership and donations are about the lowest in the conference, so I would be disappointed if Baker can't move those numbers up.

Winning: Ultimately what Baker will be judged on; his record in terms of wins and losses, particularly in football and men's basketball.

Again Baker did not give TB his 5th year.. WB gave him the benefit of the doubt to coach and see what could happen on top of the AD already paying 3 buyouts. It's also shows WB did not trust the guys to replace TB.

I do agree that Tech is nice, so is UH.. We may not like the Army series but I think it was worth keeping even in the future when UNT is hopefully a lot better team. Yes Liberty is odd becuse Liberty has agreed to games and paid schools very large amounts as well.

The donations and that will come once we win. It's also good to see the school pouring its own money into the programs. When fans see and witness they are doing there part it will led to fans doing there's. Also, the free tickets to recent grads will hopefully show to them even a small amount goes a long way.

Hopefully a success season last year will led to more people at football games and people will come out to see the basketball games as well which will have a nice bump in terms of income/revenue.

oldguystudent · July 22, 2017

greenminer · July 22, 2017

3 hours ago, 97and03 said:

I heard there were some AD changes recently...

#ninjaface

office-space-bobs-we-uh-we-fixed-the-gli

BTG_Fan1 · July 22, 2017

On 7/20/2017 at 5:51 PM, meanrob said:

I can be as patient as the next guy but let's face it, I don't have another option so I have to be. WB hasn't done anything major I don't like but I'm not convinced he's the savior either. Initiatives like the new alum season ticket drive are a start, we need more of that. I'm not thrilled a lot of the old faces are still around.

The assumptions made by people on this board do drive me crazy. After Helwig and RV, you gotta show me rather than just talk. It was apparent to me around 2004 that RV wasn't the man for the job and a majority of this board (at least the vocal ones) defended him.

Lastly, our marketing and promotions has always sucked. I know the social media side is getting better but please WB fix this and don't be afraid to get out of the box.

But he has done major things.. Buying out Gmac, the soccer/track stadium, and soon to be announced IPF.. yes the construction hasn't started so we can't say it's a success but under RV these things likely would not have happened or been ready yet.

I do agree about the old faces and it makes me wonder about why they still around. We don't know if RV wasn't giving them what they needed, or if they have changed under WB because of new leadership or they were just misplaced under RV, heck we don't know how there contract/salary is set up.

I do agree that our marketing has sucked but we need to start in denton and grow out. Get the students and local community then grow. denton is a booming city.

20 hours ago, UNT90 said:

He has already delayed the IPF shortly after announcing it.

IPF was never announced nor has it been delayed since it wasn't given a date...

0-2 and #FakeNews

wardly · July 22, 2017

I just got back from Colorado Springs, where the Rams announced this years season ticket sales of 16,000, up from 12,000,[C.U.'s was 19,000] with average 2016 attendance at 27,500.When W.B. gets us moving in that direction I will believe that he walks on water. Until then, I continue to be cautiously optimistic .

Harry · July 22, 2017

1 minute ago, wardly said:

I just got back from Colorado Springs, where the Rams announced this years season ticket sales of 16,000, up from 12,000,[C.U.'s was 19,000] with average 2016 attendance at 27,500.When W.B. gets us moving in that direction I will believe that he walks on water. Until then, I continue to be cautiously optimistic .

That's pretty impressive. I'm sure their new stadium project doesn't hurt.

Ben Gooding · July 23, 2017

3 hours ago, Harry said:

That's pretty impressive. I'm sure their new stadium project doesn't hurt.

Look, an AD using hard numbers to communicate to its constituents. Who knew.

Of course it's easier to talk in this format when the words are gold, but the good and the bad needs to be communicated. We are lacking severely in this department, and have been since I've been following this program. I thought we would see this area improve. It has not.

UNTLifer · July 23, 2017

Patience is a virtue. Considering this is the first time in over 100 years that we have an administration and AD on the same page, I would expect it to take more than one year. But that's just me.

meanrob · July 23, 2017

8 hours ago, BTG_Fan1 said:

But he has done major things.. Buying out Gmac, the soccer/track stadium, and soon to be announced IPF.. yes the construction hasn't started so we can't say it's a success but under RV these things likely would not have happened or been ready yet.

I do agree about the old faces and it makes me wonder about why they still around. We don't know if RV wasn't giving them what they needed, or if they have changed under WB because of new leadership or they were just misplaced under RV, heck we don't know how there contract/salary is set up.

I do agree that our marketing has sucked but we need to start in denton and grow out. Get the students and local community then grow. denton is a booming city.

This is my last comment on this because I'm not against WB in any way and it's getting time to talk football. Also, I said he hasn't done anything major I DON'T LIKE not anything major at all. Add reading comprehension to the list of things that drive me crazy about this board.

Facility improvements isn't one of the ways I'm gauging WB's early tenure. I don't care about them. I'm not saying they aren't a positive step or unnecessary but they won't be the reason this athletic department turns around. Big ticket items aren't our problem. And if you believe they are, then please tell me how we managed to be horrible with a brand new football stadium and the move to CUSA. A new stadium and better conference were the top two on the list in the early 2000s and it didn't lead to success. In fact in my opinion it lead to a lot of relaxing and thinking everything was fixed and it would all take care of itself. Ain't that easy in G5 land.

I thought athletic department personnel changes would happen after Christmas. They didn't and I wondered aloud about it. It seems they are happening now and I'm fine with it occurring later than I thought. The world doesn't work on my timetable and if WB needed or wanted to wait until he was ready, that's his call. I think they needed to happen and I'm glad they are happening. I'd rather not be lumped in with the people who think because it didn't happen when they wanted to happen, then WB is the same old North Texas.

I've said it for a long time but what this program needed was consistent leadership and better decision-making. Until those were fixed everything else is just moving pieces around. If you want to know what would make me happy, it's no more horror stories from oldguystudent. No more parking and ticket fiascos. People giving the club area rave reviews again. The MGC being more than just an organization that takes your money. Giving the head coaches everything they need to win. The AD busting his ass to get people to the games in November rather than just throwing in the towel. Better off-season events. And the list goes on. We all know that hiring good head coaches and raising money is essential to the job but if you don't do the little things right, this program will never reach its potential. And I know it's hard to do everything right at a place like North Texas but if you don't grind and give it your everything, you won't be successful here. And that's from Baker to Littrell to the ticket manager to MGC coordinator.

I've been a fan 24 years and for the most part, the coaches and ADs haven't had a clue what they were getting into when they got here. Guys like Trilli and Dodge had been successful at lower levels and thought they could just come in here and do what they've always done but how'd that work out. Helwig and Mac thought because they had been at big time programs they could just show up and success would magically happen. Doesn't work that way. RV brought enthusiasm at first but he was here ten years too long. All of them got beat down by how tough it is to be successful here. Ironically Dickey and JJ had the toughest situations and understood how it worked here and they're the most polarizing coaches of all of them. Right now is the only time we've had younger, hungry guys in all three positions (four if you count Jalie) who might actually understand what they're up against. Does that mean they'll be successful? No, but it's the most promising situation we've had since I've been a fan.

So no, I'm not down on WB. But also don't tell me about the IPF and soccer facilites. Those are nice but they aren't our problem.

Edited July 23, 2017 by meanrob

BTG_Fan1 · July 23, 2017

8 minutes ago, meanrob said:

This is my last comment on this because I'm not against WB in any way and it's getting time to talk football. Also, I said he hasn't done anything major I DON'T LIKE not anything major at all. Add reading comprehension to the list of things that drive me crazy about this board.

Facility improvements isn't one of the ways I'm gauging WB's early tenure. I don't care about them. I'm not saying they aren't a positive step or unnecessary but they won't be the reason this athletic department turns around. Big ticket items aren't our problem. And if you believe they are, then please tell me how we managed to be horrible with a brand new football stadium and the move to CUSA. A new stadium and better conference were the top two on the list in the early 2000s and it didn't lead to success. In fact in my opinion it lead to a lot of relaxing and thinking everything was fixed and it would all take care of itself. Ain't that easy in G5 land.

I thought athletic department personnel changes would happen after Christmas. They didn't and I wondered aloud about it. It seems they are happening now and I'm fine with it occurring later than I thought. The world doesn't work on my timetable and if WB needed or wanted to wait until he was ready, that's his call. I think they needed to happen and I'm glad they are happening. I'd rather not be lumped in with the people who think because it didn't happen when they wanted to happen, then WB is the same old North Texas.

I've said it for a long time but what this program needed was consistent leadership and better decision-making. Until those were fixed everything else is just moving pieces around. If you want to know what would make me happy, it's no more horror stories from oldguystudent. No more parking and ticket fiascos. People giving the club area rave reviews again. The MGC being more than just an organization that takes your money. Giving the head coaches everything they need to win. The AD busting his ass to get people to the games in November rather than just throwing in the towel. Better off-season events. And the list goes on. We all know that hiring good head coaches and raising money is essential to the job but if you don't do the little things right, this program will never reach its potential. And I know it's hard to do everything right at a place like North Texas but if you don't grind and give it your everything, you won't be successful here. And that's from Baker to Littrell to the ticket manager to MGC coordinator.

I've been a fan 24 years and for the most part, the coaches and ADs haven't had a clue what they were getting into when they got here. Guys like Trilli and Dodge had been successful at lower levels and thought they could just come in here and do what they've always done but how'd that work out. Helwig and Mac thought because they had been at big time programs they could just show up and success would magically happen. Doesn't work that way. RV brought enthusiasm at first but he was here ten years too long. All of them got beat down by how tough it is to be successful here. Ironically Dickey and JJ had the toughest situations and understood how it worked here and they're the most polarizing coaches of all of them. Right now is the only time we've had younger, hungry guys in all three positions (four if you count Jalie) who might actually understand what they're up against. Does that mean they'll be successful? No, but it's the most promising situation we've had since I've been a fan.

So no, I'm not down on WB. But also don't tell me about the IPF and soccer facilites. Those are nice but they aren't our problem.

The reasons why we have still been horrible after the opening of Apogee and moving to CUSA is because CUSA is still a middle/bottom of the list of the G5 conferences with it behind the Mountain West, and AAC. Yes its nice having Apogee after Fouts but again kids are happy to have a new shiny stadium but it is still 1/2 to 2/3 full most of the time... Kids see other schools that have IPFs, Football only weight rooms, fancy and overpriced locker rooms, etc and then they see us with just Apogee, some of these kids we recruit see there own HS have IPFs, weight rooms, etc. The reason why we need to focus on facilities is because it will get us on par/ ahead of our competition and because an IPF will not get up and leave UNT for a P5 program.

The personal issues is something that we have no idea about... We have all talked about should someone like Hank still be around. We have no idea what the situation was under RV in terms of he was/ was not put into the wrong position, or if he was/was not given the tools need, or if he was just someone blamed or even someone who should be blamed. To me I would have liked seeing these spots filled earlier as well so people have the time to get used to spot and everything before the season as well but again, we have no idea what has happened/changed between now and before WB. But again, I don't think any of us have any clear idea of how the salaries/contracts are set up for some of the personal either.

I do agree that we need to get the even smallest details right because that makes a HUGE difference. The current staffs (SL, GM, JM) appear to be on the same track and mindset as WB and NS. Football will take A LOT of money to catch us up with just other programs in our conference when it comes to the IPF and weightroom, but we have seen improvements in Basketball with the nicer locker-rooms and the new touches to the Bball practice facility. Yes one minor detail has really back-fired was the Soccer/Track stadium because its delayed. Its a big issue because the promises that were made to current athletes and recruits that will now go unfilled, and that is why I think it is taking even longer to get the IPF done. I do agree that they can do A LOT more in terms of the off season, in terms of getting possible donations. I have said they should during the "Quiet"/ No contact period of recruiting they (The AD department/Coaches) should do something like dinners at Apogee even something like 5-10-20 bucks a seat and have them talk about players/ recruiting, answer questions, etc because its gets us invested in them and also another way for them to get some extra recruiting budget $ when they have nothing else to do outside of film for work. Heck, another idea would be to do the during season podcast at Apogee, and let us come up and mingle/listen to everyone and offer things like 5 buck tickets... Sale the seats and then people on Saturday don't have an excuse for not coming once they have tickets, and if they don't show its still 5 more bucks than before.

I do agree about the 4 younger coaches in these slots, and we have to realize that RV while he did some good things for the programs (Apogee, APR, JM and SL, etc) he did set us back years as well in terms of things like MBB with TB, facilities that are/were in terrible shape, and not updating/ changing with the times. WB said in 1 article with Vito, that outside of Apogee all of the facilities are average at best, with WB already having to fix problems at the tennis court. We can't blame or hold WB to the budget that he had his first year because he had no say in it, just like how he had no say in TB. We can debate it about if TB coaching the full-season was correct, but to me it shows 2 things... 1) the people who would have replaced TB were not going to improve the team (record) nor did WB have confidence in them, 2) that WB did not want to distract the current roster/ deal with another buyout even with how tiny it would have been. To me what is good is that SL, JM, GM seem to all realize that they are bigger fish and need to improve.

The problem isn't the lack of facilities, but they are 1 of the problems. Recruits don't think UNT is serious and potential coaches as well because we aren't even on par with other places, and yes some schools are like us that they don't have top of the line facilities. With us having 1 of the largest student bases in one of the largest media markets we shouldn't be at the level that we are. NS and WB seem to be on the same page in knowing that having a solid and successful college program can change how the school is viewed and how it affects donations/enrollments. What we need to do is hold the admin (WB and NS) accountable for them getting UNT back to being on par and hopefully far and away the best. SL has shown he can coach up a roster of 60+ scholarship guys that got destroyed by Portland State, and GM showed he could have success at ArkState, and JM got her team to the conference dance as well. The problem isn't the coaches right (as of now), its just providing them the tools needed.

The biggest problem that WB and NS need to change is how the school is viewed by future/current/alumni. They need to find new ways to make UNT not be a back up school anymore, and how to make sports a bigger thing on campus for current students and ALL alumni. Doing things like the free/discounted tickets to recent grads is a solid promo but we need more and I think they know A LOT more can be done.

outoftown · July 23, 2017

On 7/20/2017 at 11:32 AM, xyresic said:

Threads often shift topics wildly, so I'd like to make one with a high level focus rather than a detail like baseball, uniforms, sushi etc.

WB came in and "evaluated" the situation. In talking to him and looking at his public comments a major theme is being overlooked. It is very difficult to evalutate employees and programs when they haven't been given the tools to perform. Look at what WB said about Benford: essentially I am going to see if we can fix up a few things and give him some help then make a decision. They tried, it didn't work and they made a move. Grant is a tremendous hire. He has experience across multiple levels, winning at every stop and he has a great coaching staff around him. The team will take a huge step forward, some @ UNT I have spoken with think 18+ wins is the year 1 expectation.

I think WB views everyone in AD department in this way, give them the tools and see what they can actually do once they have them. That is not a shortcoming it is the sign of a good leader. Ben and UNT90 are spot on that there were people underperforming in the department under RV, this is difficult to dispute. But were they underperforming more than our facilities, fundraising, AD leadership etc? Why were they underperforming? As some have pointed out that is a much more difficult question to answer. WB takes heat for "evaluating" and moving slowly, but if you look at things closely a big shift is already happening. The AD department has over 100 employees when coaching staffs are added in, but for simplicity let's call it 100. Already there has been a fairly large turnover over 20 people and probably closer to 30. There have also been multiple hires to senior roles. To me this sends a clear signal that everyone needs to step up their game or be replaced or be demoted. I like this type of management. Here is more money, more support, go hustle and win - if you don't someone is going to take your place.

College athletics is a small world. You don't gain a lot by publicly announcing that all of your employees are a dumpster fire and then canning them before setting foot on campus. You not only look like a jerk, you lose respect of others in the atheltics landscape and it hurts your ability to recruite future talent. WB is taking actions, just because they are not incredibly public doesn't mean they aren't happening.

A similar thing happened with the Denton campus as a whole. There are a lot of parralels: new leadership came in, fixed large fiscal and structural problems, started raising more money then began replacing people that needed to go with ones who were better fits. Most top positions in the school have been turned over. This did not happen instantly but just a few years later 8 of the 10 cabinet positions have been turned over.

Finally, yes not everyone will always support all decisions but the negativity towards WB pisses me off a bit. His major hires (Mosley and Grant) look like home runs, and he has articulated a clear plan to his adminstration to secure more funding. The old AD never did this as simple as it sounds. The adminstration has in turn supported him, working collaborativley with athletics. He has negotiated better deals with vendors and contracts to fix merchandising shortcomings and to save money... the list goes on and on. Look if he flubs something up then by all means be critical of him, but aside from not instantly firing people that are generally disliked by some on this board I don't understand where the criticism is coming from. Building major facilites takes a bit of time, it is not an instant process.

We finally have a solid AD, he is calculating and if there is a problem he will commit resources to step in and resolve it. He is building a deep team, gathering more resources, and hiring coaches who will win. He is also unifying major donors. Guys like CDS who were firm RV supporters are now supporting him publicly in the paper and folks like EK who lobbied hard to hire another AD candidate are behind him as well. I see the signs of leadership from WB and I am supporting the department for these reasons, both finanically and on this board.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't made up my mind on WB, like many I think it is too early to make a final call. But I do believe in trust but verify. And (not saying this is the general case for WB) if people are against getting verified on the big lines, that is generally a sign of something going wrong. That people put him under the microscope comes with the territory though. The AD is a really important decision maker in pretty much everything one tends to discuss on a sports fan board. And I have to say there are some decisions that may lead to great success. I can see some really good work by WB. But there were also some things that have me concerned about the way WB does some things.

So far I see positives:

Hiring McCasland. Yes it could go wrong, in which case he overpaid. However -if you take out the salary part- this is the most defensible hire at UNT basketball since... must be a really long time. It could go wrong but it is an up and coming guy with at least a bit of current successful HC experience at the same level.

Better communication. That is not an unimportant one. Just generally it is conductive to getting people engaged and -just as important- keeping them engaged.

Improving the social media side. This matters to young people.

He managed to get a one and one with T-Tech. Yes it is far away in the future, but it is the ADs job to think into the future and these are exactly the kind of games UNT needs more of.

Could be good but also has some concerning sides:

Adding new higher paid senior people. UNT might need that kind of level, but if things go wrong they will add significantly to thee cost of Bakers tenure. Or if he gets hired away, they could keep a good structure in place for a new AD.

Getting a broader donor base: It looks like there are some signs this is going well, but I feel like there is no way to really know. and well ...I am a researcher and whenever I lack facts my nature also has a skeptical side. My fear is that the good things are emphasized, the bad things not talked about.

Concerning to me:

Prolonging with Seth Littrell. I know some disagree, but I feel it was too early and I feel we are overpaying a bit right now. I would have rather seen some of that money go to assistants. I am not as impressed by last season 5-8 as some. It was fun, but so far it is a one time thing. If UNT does better this season then that is all great, but there are also some concerns there that ahve me thinking 2018 should be the one UNT really makes strides, my hopes for 2017 are not actually that high. Prolonging then at a cheaper price would have been better. But most of all, I don't likee the buyout clause, as it is essentially no more expensive to buy out SL than before.

The clauses that reduce SL and McCaslands buyout amounts to rubble if WB or the president leaves. Its a complete power play to the detriment of the university. Think about it! Lets say both Bball and FB take off the next two seasons, and at the same time one of the big oklahoma schools has to fill their AD spot and WB leaves. Its fairly likely we would lose both coaches and the AD at the same time. Essentially we'd be starting back at zero. I get why coaches want these clauses, but we are already paying Grant majestically I cannot believe this was necessary, nor will anyone make me believe it was for SLs prolongation.

The Liberty thing. Now I get that SL wanted out of the army game and that WB wanted to oblige him. But there is really no reason for exactly this kind of contract with Liberty. I mean it starts with liberty being a questionable place to start with, but it gets worse by not leveraging them into giving UNT something, anything additional to the home and home, like some extra cash, some one sided option for an extra home and home if UNT choses, anything. I mean what is the worst case scenario if those negotiations fail for UNT? keeping the series with army. What is the worst case for Liberty? not being able to fill their schedule with the mandated FBS schools at home or having to pay a lot more to get someone else in. This smells of a favor to a friendly AD whom nobody should be friends with, or of horrible negotiating. Has to be one or the other. And this more than anything else has me concerned.

I think facilities are important, but it is too early to tell. Two years from now we will know. I personally have no problem with putting out some facilities back to the competition of contractors, if none of the offers were ok the first time. It is important to get this right, as people will be stuck with it for a long time and it is about big amounts of money. I also have no problem with updating old facilities before going to baseball, as I think it is a worse look to have crumbling facilities for existing stuff that it is not to have baseball.

The holes in communication. Generally WB communicates great, but on some of the actual numbers etc he is hard to pin down on. Like are we really improving in MGC numbers? If yes that would be a good sign. If no, what is going on? But who can tell with certainty? We need clearly stated numbers there, otherwise it is only trust, but no verify.

Edited July 24, 2017 by outoftown

Harry · July 23, 2017

To follow on @outoftown post, I really like that they have built a bench so when WB does move to greener pastures we aren't left holding the bag. Mosely is most likely the heir apparent and that motivates him to get some wins now. Frankly - if you look at the best G 5 programs the coaches and AD's move up the food chain, maybe not every year i.e. Ark State but like at Houston where you had three VERY strong hires with Briles, Sumlin and Herman. The one consistent thing UH had was a very supportive leader in Rene Khator who they had to pay big bucks to keep. My hope is that Dr. Smatty will be similar. Also hope so much that we will land a Chancellor that is more proactive than Judge Jackson. My hope would be to land someone similar to John Sharp at A&M. Speaking of which we should be hearing about this soon, certainly prior to the football season no?

wardly · July 23, 2017

18 hours ago, Harry said:

That's pretty impressive. I'm sure their new stadium project doesn't hurt.

We have a new stadium, and won a bowl game a few years ago, yet season ticket sales dropped. Many other schools in both in both CUSA and SBC, including UTEP and UTSA, have far more season ticket sales than UNT. I thought that new bricks and sticks would change that but it hasn't. I have determined that after 56 years of supporting Eagle football that the majority of students and alumni just don't care, and probably won't ever care.

outoftown · July 23, 2017

49 minutes ago, Harry said:

To follow on @outoftown post, I really like that they have built a bench so when WB does move to greener pastures we aren't left holding the bag. Mosely is most likely the heir apparent and that motivates him to get some wins now. Frankly - if you look at the best G 5 programs the coaches and AD's move up the food chain, maybe not every year i.e. Ark State but like at Houston where you had three VERY strong hires with Briles, Sumlin and Herman. The one consistent thing UH had was a very supportive leader in Rene Khator who they had to pay big bucks to keep. My hope is that Dr. Smatty will be similar. Also hope so much that we will land a Chancellor that is more proactive than Judge Jackson. My hope would be to land someone similar to John Sharp at A&M. Speaking of which we should be hearing about this soon, certainly prior to the football season no?

That is a really important part too and deserves a good bit more attention.

Edited July 23, 2017 by outoftown

djohnnie · July 23, 2017

On 7/21/2017 at 7:53 PM, UNT90 said:

Lol. Ya, you make zero changes to management except for creating another layer and everyone claims major changes. 😂😂. Same people doing the same things will lead to exactly the same result. Already seeing it with the IPF.

All Baker has done is add a very expensive layer to upper management while producing nothing.

He has already delayed the IPF shortly after announcing it. Gee, those same guys who didn't do their jobs before still aren't. I mean, that's just shocking, isn't it?

i doubt Baker has the power to fire Hank. I think he was told Hank comes with the job. Typical small time North Texas athletics.

I've lost almost all rooting interest. I did re-up season tickets and immediately felt a sense of regret. Basketball is dead to me forever.

You wonder why 99% of alumni walk away? Really?

Some of y'all say an upper layer of management was added. This is true. I think some of you missed how this department was previously run. There was a single person

in charge with no oversight. This change was a necessity. You cant have a lone wolf running the programs without accountability. There are now auditing programs in place with systems, people and processes to run them that should have existed years ago. If they fail, so be it but their performance will be measured and monitored without excuse. This was a change that was needed and was added immediately with the people to run them. This gives the dept a direction that was previously lacking.

meanrob · July 23, 2017

4 minutes ago, djohnnie said:

Some of y'all say an upper layer of management was added. This is true. I think some of you missed how this department was previously run. There was a single person in charge with no oversight.

I think this was a huge part of the problem. RV had to have his hand on everything instead of letting people do their jobs. Throw in my opinion that he wasn't qualified, creative or talented enough to do those jobs and you get what we got.

GrandGreen · July 23, 2017

56 minutes ago, djohnnie said:

Some of y'all say an upper layer of management was added. This is true. I think some of you missed how this department was previously run. There was a single person

in charge with no oversight. This change was a necessity. You cant have a lone wolf running the programs without accountability. There are now auditing programs in place with systems, people and processes to run them that should have existed years ago. If they fail, so be it but their performance will be measured and monitored without excuse. This was a change that was needed and was added immediately with the people to run them. This gives the dept a direction that was previously lacking.

There is still one person in charge, adding another layer below him doesn't change that. As far as oversight, I am not sure how you would know that unless you are an AD employee. Adding a finance person should improve oversight, but that depends on their authority and ability.

RV should IMO never have been an AD, so using him as a comparison is meaningless. Too early to know how effective Baker will be, but just adding personnel/cost seldom solves problems.

BTG_Fan1 · July 24, 2017

10 hours ago, Harry said:

To follow on @outoftown post, I really like that they have built a bench so when WB does move to greener pastures we aren't left holding the bag. Mosely is most likely the heir apparent and that motivates him to get some wins now. Frankly - if you look at the best G 5 programs the coaches and AD's move up the food chain, maybe not every year i.e. Ark State but like at Houston where you had three VERY strong hires with Briles, Sumlin and Herman. The one consistent thing UH had was a very supportive leader in Rene Khator who they had to pay big bucks to keep. My hope is that Dr. Smatty will be similar. Also hope so much that we will land a Chancellor that is more proactive than Judge Jackson. My hope would be to land someone similar to John Sharp at A&M. Speaking of which we should be hearing about this soon, certainly prior to the football season no?

I'm new to this who finding a Chancellor thing, so could someone give me and the others as well a cliff-notes version of how the Chancellor is picked?
I'm assuming people are nominated then the the BOR votes on them? With that being said, I hope whoever is picking/nominating people for the job looks at how other schools have turned to athletics as a way to generate money as well for the school.

UNTLifer · July 24, 2017

With all due respect to the position, is this a position that is really needed? I am not taking a side, just posing the question as I don't know the answer.

GrandGreen · July 25, 2017

On 7/24/2017 at 10:40 AM, UNTLifer said:

With all due respect to the position, is this a position that is really needed? I am not taking a side, just posing the question as I don't know the answer.

Well, Hurley was both Chancellor and President, so it can be done. However, I think the NT system would be better served with an Chancellor and allow the NT President to concentrate just on Denton. Hopefully, they will get someone a lot less Dallas eccentric that will serve the whole system.