Excuses

[wardly]

Excuses for failure. Let me count the ways. 1]We were a commuter school in the 60's known for teachers its music department.[ decades ago]. 2]Administration has never supported athletics . [they do now] .3] We dropped down to 1AA [decades ago] 4] Students don't care enough .[ they enacted a student athletic fee] 4] . Our facilities are terrible [ state of the art stadium and indoor practice facility]  5] Our coaches don't recruit in DFW [ hire some that will.] 6] We can't hire good coaches because we don't pay them enough. [ I think Seth is making close to $2million per year. Jury is our on whether or not he is worth it] . 7] The local media doesn't love us. [ We don't seem to love ourselves so what do you expect ]. 8] We have hundreds of thousands of UNT graduates in the METROPLEX who don't attend games  or donate money [ You got me there. Actually I don't have a clue why we can't get more cheeks in the seats of more donations. Maybe our "can't do " attitude contributes to there apathy . I attended UNT in 1961 thru 1966 and graduated with a BBA degree. I had a successful career in health sales and distribution from 1968 until I retired in 2003.  No body gives any thing good away, and every territory that I took over was in the crapper. No existing business to speak of, hadn't see a company representative in months,[ and hated him anyway], poor service, etc. In sales your cup is either half empty or half full. My frustration with this Board is that we seem to have developed a  "half empty " mentality that I just don't understand. When I look at the "tools" our Athletic Department has its impossible for my cup to be anything but half full. In summary, I am just sick of excuses as to why we have such a pitiful football program and tired of the same lame old reasons. We need to draw the line in the sand, forget about past deficiencies [and there have been a butt load] , not dwell on the past and look to the future.We need to expect more or we will get less. No more excuses.

Edited September 9, 2021 by Coach Andy Mac

[UNTLifer]

[TheColonyEagle]

[wardly]

3 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

Actually I have a Mean Green umbrella , but I get your point. Bah Humbug !

[TIgreen01]

6 hours ago, wardly said:

Excuses for failure. Let me count the ways. 1]We were a commuter school in the 60's known for teachers its music department.[ decades ago]. 2]Administration has never supported athletics . [they do now] .3] We dropped down to 1AA [decades ago] 4] Students don't care enough .[ they enacted a student athletic fee] 4] . Our facilities are terrible [ state of the art stadium and indoor practice facility]  5] Our coaches don't recruit in DFW [ hire some that will.] 6] We can't hire good coaches because we don't pay them enough. [ I think Seth is making close to $2million per year. Jury is our on whether or not he is worth it] . 7] The local media doesn't love us. [ We don't seem to love ourselves so what do you expect ]. 8] We have hundreds of thousands of UNT graduates in the METROPLEX who don't attend games  or donate money [ You got me there. Actually I don't have a clue why we can't get more cheeks in the seats of more donations. Maybe our "can't do " attitude contributes to there apathy . I attended UNT in 1961 thru 1966 and graduated with a BBA degree. I had a successful career in health sales and distribution from 1968 until I retired in 2003.  No body gives any thing good away, and every territory that I took over was in the crapper. No existing business to speak of, hadn't see a company representative in months,[ and hated him anyway], poor service, etc. In sales your cup is either half empty or half full. My frustration with this Board is that we seem to have developed a  "half empty " mentality that I just don't understand. When I look at the "tools" our Athletic Department has its impossible for my cup to be anything but half full. In summary, I am just sick of excuses as to why we have such a pitiful football program and tired of the same lame old reasons. We need to draw the line in the sand, forget about past deficiencies [and there have been a butt load] , not dwell on the past and look to the future.We need to expect more or we will get less. No more excuses.

Yes!

[MeanGreen22]

Tl;dr

[wardly]

" All About UNT " changed my title from "Excuses" to "TLDR ALERT". First, I don't know what that means. Second, I didn't realize anyone could alter your posts. Third, I wish he hadn't.

[El Paso Eagle]

7 minutes ago, wardly said:

" All About UNT " changed my title from "Excuses" to "TLDR ALERT". First, I don't know what that means. Second, I didn't realize anyone could alter your posts. Third, I wish he hadn't.

Maybe @All About UNT could share  why if the message is "too long; didn't read" there was a name change. I understand the all-powerful Admins, but it's not really their job to tell us what is too long. 

[untjim1995]

@wardly—this was a great post. I just wish that we could actually show us all that we can put it together and leave all of that behind. It would be a glorious day for all of us if we could ever do it.

[tmjerm]

I love the passion and the sustained commitment over the decades.  Growing up a die hard Houston Cougar, I didn't get on board the Mean Green train until 2005, my freshman year, which feels like a long hard road.  I can only imagine the decades of unreciprocated love and commitment you've felt.  You hit all the right points I believe.  I do still believe in Seth and certainly Wren and Neal.  I think the opportunity to build and grow as a coach will pay off for Seth.  The dynamics are different everywhere.  We are committed to athletics finally which is beautiful.  I think Seth is a bright offensive mind who's had to learn a lot of lessons and been through growing pains.  As long as he continues to fail forward (which I do believe he has done, e.g. recruiting was awful early and now vastly improved; had to swing and whiff a few times after Graham left, but feel pretty good about the offense over the past couple of seasons; getting veteran coaching experience on staff like PB, etc.) and we see growth, I'm still a believer that he will right the ship.  Those are not excuses, those are realities of modern college football for schools in our circumstances.  All that said, continued growth is a must.  I don't have high expectations for our record this year...6 wins would surprise me.  But if we see major defensive improvement and an offense that comes into its own under Ruder, and players playing smart, disciplined, physical football, I'll be happy with that growth. 

[ColoradoEagle]

48 minutes ago, tmjerm said:

I don't have high expectations for our record this year...6 wins would surprise me.  But if we see major defensive improvement and an offense that comes into its own under Ruder, and players playing smart, disciplined, physical football, I'll be happy with that growth. 

Anything less than 6 wins, and we need to be looking for a new HC. After two 4 win seasons, that's the bare minimum to keep the job.

Edited September 9, 2021 by ColoradoEagle

[Mike Jackson]

I agree with this mostly.  I think we should only focus on what we and our Athletic department can control.  With that in mind anyone interested in working with me on a weekly Mean Green and G5 focused podcast since it appears the Mean Green Barbershop Podcast has been cut?  I am extremely green in the podcast space but willing to do the research. 
 

[PS; I think we should focus on revenue numbers so we can speak with realistic confidence on the moves UNT can make versus other G5 programs]

[PlummMeanGreen]

1 hour ago, wardly said:

" All About UNT " changed my title from "Excuses" to "TLDR ALERT". First, I don't know what that means. Second, I didn't realize anyone could alter your posts. Third, I wish he hadn't.

Altering poster’s comments seems to be happening with several on this forum, ww. ☹️ 

__________________________

Hey tmjerm!  How far back with the UH Coogs do you go?

Below pic says how far I go except it goes even further back to about 1960, but methinks I may be a couple or so years older than you?🙄😊

••• Houston Astrodome,
January 20, 1968

••• UH Coogs vs UCLA “The Big E vs Lew Alcindor (before he changed his name)

•••We had terrible seats that night & binoculars didn’t make it much better.👀

Late sportscaster Dick Enberg credits this one game with taking NCAA basketball from a regional sport to a full blown national one leading to what would become March Madness, ie, The Big Dance. 

(In 1964 I was 13 & fortunate to see the UH Freshmen team at Delmar Fieldhouse that consisted of Elvin Hayes, Don Chaney, Theotis Lee, Kenny Spain & (I think) George Reynolds. They were destined for greatness although Guy Lewis’ team never won an NC—seems John Wooden & UCLA were always in the way.☹️

🐎🦅 BEAT THE HELL OUT OF SMU—😳NORTH TEXAS! (in a Christian sort of way, of course).🙃

 

[UNTLifer]

1 hour ago, wardly said:

" All About UNT " changed my title from "Excuses" to "TLDR ALERT". First, I don't know what that means. Second, I didn't realize anyone could alter your posts. Third, I wish he hadn't.

It's why some long time posters are no longer on here.

[CaribbeanGreen]

1 minute ago, UNTLifer said:

It's why some long time posters are no longer on here.

If long time posters left because a post title got edited, buddy, there ain't Charmin that soft 

[UNTLifer]

1 minute ago, CaribbeanGreen said:

If long time posters left because a post title got edited, buddy, there ain't Charmin that soft 

It was more than that.  

[SilverEagle]

18 hours ago, wardly said:

Excuses for failure. Let me count the ways. 1]We were a commuter school in the 60's known for teachers its music department.[ decades ago]. 2]Administration has never supported athletics . [they do now] .3] We dropped down to 1AA [decades ago] 4] Students don't care enough .[ they enacted a student athletic fee] 4] . Our facilities are terrible [ state of the art stadium and indoor practice facility]  5] Our coaches don't recruit in DFW [ hire some that will.] 6] We can't hire good coaches because we don't pay them enough. [ I think Seth is making close to $2million per year. Jury is our on whether or not he is worth it] . 7] The local media doesn't love us. [ We don't seem to love ourselves so what do you expect ]. 8] We have hundreds of thousands of UNT graduates in the METROPLEX who don't attend games  or donate money [ You got me there. Actually I don't have a clue why we can't get more cheeks in the seats of more donations. Maybe our "can't do " attitude contributes to there apathy . I attended UNT in 1961 thru 1966 and graduated with a BBA degree. I had a successful career in health sales and distribution from 1968 until I retired in 2003.  No body gives any thing good away, and every territory that I took over was in the crapper. No existing business to speak of, hadn't see a company representative in months,[ and hated him anyway], poor service, etc. In sales your cup is either half empty or half full. My frustration with this Board is that we seem to have developed a  "half empty " mentality that I just don't understand. When I look at the "tools" our Athletic Department has its impossible for my cup to be anything but half full. In summary, I am just sick of excuses as to why we have such a pitiful football program and tired of the same lame old reasons. We need to draw the line in the sand, forget about past deficiencies [and there have been a butt load] , not dwell on the past and look to the future.We need to expect more or we will get less. No more excuses.

 I'm a bit confused. Are you implying that all of the people with negative attitudes who post on this board somehow have the power to cancel out all the great strides the University and the Athletic department have made regarding resources/facilities in the last 10+ years? 

Change starts from the top. The last time we had any sort of one-two punch for changing the "perception" that the general public has about North Texas was when Jitter Nolan was President, and Hayden Fry was AD and Head Coach. The resistance to the changes they were trying to bring about did not come from the student body, or general public, but rather, the lower level heads of departments etc who represented a large bureaucracy that was very resistant to change.....especially (as I've already mentioned) the changes that Jitter Nolan and Hayden Fry wanted to bring about.  

Your own example of making changes and being successful at it was probably brought about because you were in charge of making the changes. And near as I can tell, there wasn't anyone actively (like the old NTSC/NTSU bureaucracy) trying to get in your way. 

My main complaint through the years as been aimed toward the administration.  Down the corridor of years, I have looked at hiring decisions this University has made (starting with Bob Tyler) and thought "who the hell thought that was a good idea?"  Unfortunately I have uttered that lament too many times.

So, being the successful business man that you present yourself as being, how many times have you cornered these various decision makers and asked the same question? Because THEY and not sarcastic/snarky/cynical and just generally annoying, GMG.com posters are not the reason for the lack of fan success here at NT. 

[Quoner]

47 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

It's why some long time posters are no longer on here.

Never the ones you hope, though. 

[UNTLifer]

2 minutes ago, Quoner said:

Never the ones you hope, though. 

Exhibit A

[Quoner]

Just now, UNTLifer said:

Exhibit A

[tmjerm]

2 hours ago, PlummMeanGreen said:

Altering poster’s comments seems to be happening with several on this forum, ww. ☹️ 

__________________________

Hey tmjerm!  How far back with the UH Coogs do you go?

Below pic says how far I go except it goes even further back to about 1960, but methinks I may be a couple or so years older than you?🙄😊

••• Houston Astrodome,
January 20, 1968

••• UH Coogs vs UCLA “The Big E vs Lew Alcindor (before he changed his name)

•••We had terrible seats that night & binoculars didn’t make it much better.👀

Late sportscaster Dick Enberg credits this one game with taking NCAA basketball from a regional sport to a full blown national one leading to what would become March Madness, ie, The Big Dance. 

(In 1964 I was 13 & fortunate to see the UH Freshmen team at Delmar Fieldhouse that consisted of Elvin Hayes, Don Chaney, Theotis Lee, Kenny Spain & (I think) George Reynolds. They were destined for greatness although Guy Lewis’ team never won an NC—seems John Wooden & UCLA were always in the way.☹️

🐎🦅 BEAT THE HELL OUT OF SMU—😳NORTH TEXAS! (in a Christian sort of way, of course).🙃

 

My dad played QB/WR from ‘76-‘79.  3 cotton bowls and lots of great stories.  Season tix through high school until I dawned the green.  Still love em as my second team.  

[All About UNT]

4 hours ago, El Paso Eagle said:

Maybe @All About UNT could share  why if the message is "too long; didn't read" there was a name change. I understand the all-powerful Admins, but it's not really their job to tell us what is too long. 

It was rash I admit.  I am sure the content was insightful but come on guys.... spacing goes a long way in keeping the attention of the reader.  Sorry to offend but I nearly had an aneurysm reading that. 

[All About UNT]

3 hours ago, PlummMeanGreen said:

Altering poster’s comments seems to be happening with several on this forum, ww. ☹️ 

__________________________

 

 

You will see my name under a post that isn't mine from time to time saying I made an edit.  This is most typically due to spelling errors and not wanting the poster to look ill-educated or that they made an error.  

[TIgreen01]

39 minutes ago, All About UNT said:

It was rash I admit.  I am sure the content was insightful but come on guys.... spacing goes a long way in keeping the attention of the reader.  Sorry to offend but I nearly had an aneurysm reading that. 

Not cool, but glad to see you owning up to it.  Don’t be trying to run off wardly!  He’s one of the posters I like hearing from the most.  

[wardly]

5 hours ago, SilverEagle said:

 I'm a bit confused. Are you implying that all of the people with negative attitudes who post on this board somehow have the power to cancel out all the great strides the University and the Athletic department have made regarding resources/facilities in the last 10+ years? 

Change starts from the top. The last time we had any sort of one-two punch for changing the "perception" that the general public has about North Texas was when Jitter Nolan was President, and Hayden Fry was AD and Head Coach. The resistance to the changes they were trying to bring about did not come from the student body, or general public, but rather, the lower level heads of departments etc who represented a large bureaucracy that was very resistant to change.....especially (as I've already mentioned) the changes that Jitter Nolan and Hayden Fry wanted to bring about.  

Your own example of making changes and being successful at it was probably brought about because you were in charge of making the changes. And near as I can tell, there wasn't anyone actively (like the old NTSC/NTSU bureaucracy) trying to get in your way. 

My main complaint through the years as been aimed toward the administration.  Down the corridor of years, I have looked at hiring decisions this University has made (starting with Bob Tyler) and thought "who the hell thought that was a good idea?"  Unfortunately I have uttered that lament too many times.

So, being the successful business man that you present yourself as being, how many times have you cornered these various decision makers and asked the same question? Because THEY and not sarcastic/snarky/cynical and just generally annoying, GMG.com posters are not the reason for the lack of fan success here at NT. 

I'm sorry if I implied that all posters  have the power to effect change at UNT. However we can change or modify our input in a more constructive way. The changes I made in business were accepting the past criticism and going forward with a positive attitude. Everyone works for someone and I certainly was no exception. Regarding Jitter Nolan, if you have the time or interest to investigate you will find that he and UNT parted ways because he allegedly moved funds dedicated to construction of a new music hall to athletics. I still don't think you younger [my 5 years at UNT 1961/1966] graduates realize that until our new president came on board how cash strapped our athletic department was. Hayden built a 3,000 square foot athletic building in the parking lot across from the super pit. That was the last construction of any structure on our campus dedicated solely to athletics until we oped our new football stadium 10 years ago.