A Crazy Idea for North Texas

[MeanGreenGlory]

You're might hate this idea...

But hear me out...

If Colorado State and Air Force leave the MWC for the AAC, I don't think the MWC is a good conference for us. I also don't think we're getting an AAC invite.

So we're currently looking at sitting tight with our CUSA, Sun Belt, and MAC colleagues at the bottom of the barrel of NCAA football. 

This is all like an economic downturn where businesses need to adapt, innovate, and evolve in order to stay afloat. Otherwise, you become irrelevant and die (e.g. Blockbuster failing to stream and Kodak failing to switch to digital).

I don't see CUSA or the Sun Belt taking any reasonable measures to create a logical conference...nor do I see CUSA taking action alone to improve its stock in the college football landcsape.

This means it's up to us—as a school—to write our own story if we want anything other than the unfortunate inevitable. If we don't adapt, innovate, and evolve quickly, there's a good chance we'll be left behind and be forced to Division II as the P5 fully take over Division I.

So here's the crazy idea...

What if we:

• Went independent
• Hired a coach like Lane Kiffin along with a bunch of other P5 coordinators
• Scheduled difficult schedules year after year stacked against the likes of Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame, BYU, Stanford, Michigan, Ohio State, Clemson, etc.
• Used the schedule and coaching staff to attract a roster of strong P5 talent through the transfer portal

Now, you're probably thinking, "That's a recipe for disaster! We won't win any games!"

And you're right, we'd probably go 0–12 for a few years.

But...

• All of those schools would pay us big bucks those first few years for their "guaranteed" game
• Our strength of schedule becomes one of the top in the country and could help attract top notch players that aren't getting the playing time they want at their current schools
• Our name stays relevant in the P5 conversation every weekend of the season (even if as the punching bag at first)
• Over time, iron sharpens iron; if you constantly play the top teams, you're going to get better than you would playing CUSA / Sun Belt teams every week
• Over time, you start to win and turn heads
• The more heads you turn, the more you build off the "underdog/come back" story that every sports anchor *loves* to talk about
• The more positive buzz you build, the more you establish yourself as a power player
• Once established as a power player, we either continue on as an independent or work to get a P5 conference invite

Now, you might be thinking, "That's insane and there's a lot of risk associated with that. We could go independent, not win a single game for 6 years, never get an invite to a P5 conference, and just be a lonely loser of a school."

But here's the thing...

That's the worst case scenario...

And we've been uncomfortably close to that worst case scenario in CUSA for the past couple years. So, if that worst case scenario happens, and we absolutely must join a conference, then we simply go back to CUSA or the Sun Belt and end up exactly where we would have been all along. 

So all in all, it doesn't feel that risky to me, and the upside—albeit a challenging uphill battle—sounds far more exciting, appealing, and worth the risk.

Edited September 29, 2021 by MeanGreenGlory

[NorthTexasWeLove]

7 minutes ago, MeanGreenGlory said:

You're might hate this idea...

But hear me out...

If Colorado State and Air Force leave the MWC for the AAC, I don't think the MWC is a good conference for us. I also don't think we're getting an AAC invite.

So we're currently looking at sitting tight with our CUSA, Sun Belt, and MAC colleagues at the bottom of the barrel of NCAA football. 

This is all like an economic downturn where businesses need to adapt, innovate, and evolve in order to stay afloat. Otherwise, you become irrelevant and die (e.g. Blockbuster failing to stream and Kodak failing to switch to digital).

I don't see CUSA or the Sun Belt taking any reasonable measures to create a logical conference...nor do I see CUSA taking action alone to improve its stock in the college football landcsape.

This means it's up to us—as a school—to write our own story if we want anything other than the unfortunate inevitable. If we don't adapt, innovate, and evolve quickly, there's a good chance we'll be left behind and be forced to Division II as the P5 fully take over Division I.

So here's the crazy idea...

What if we:

• Went independent
• Hired a coach like Lane Kiffin along with a bunch of other P5 coordinators
• Scheduled difficult schedules year after year stacked against the likes of Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame, BYU, Stanford, Michigan, Ohio State, Clemson, etc.
• Used the schedule and coaching staff to attract a roster of strong P5 talent through the transfer portal

Now, you're probably thinking, "That's a recipe for disaster! We won't win any games!"

And you're right, we'd probably go 0–12 for a few years.

But...

• All of those schools would pay us big bucks those first few years for their "guaranteed" game
• Our strength of schedule becomes one of the top in the country and could help attract top notch players that aren't getting the playing time they want at their current schools
• Our name stays relevant in the P5 conversation every weekend of the season (even if as the punching bag at first)
• Over time, iron sharpens iron; if you constantly play the top teams, you're going to get better than you would playing CUSA / Sun Belt teams every week
• Over time, you start to win and turn heads
• The more heads you turn, the more you build off the "underdog/come back" story that every sports anchor *loves* to talk about
• The more positive buzz you build, the more you establish yourself as a power player
• Once established as a power player, we either continue on as an independent or work to get a P5 conference invite

Now, you might be thinking, "That's insane and there's a lot of risk associated with that. We could go independent, not win a single game for 6 years, never get an invite to a P5 conference, and just be a lonely loser of a school."

But here's the thing...

That's the worst case scenario...

And we've been uncomfortable close to that worst case scenario in CUSA for the past couple years. So, if that worst case scenario happens, and we absolutely must join a conference, then we simply go back to CUSA or the Sun Belt and end up exactly where we would have been all along. 

So all in all, it doesn't feel that risky to me, and the upside—albeit a challenging uphill battle—sounds far more exciting, appealing, and worth the risk.

That's not crazy at all. That's the Florida State blueprint. 

[All About UNT]

10 minutes ago, MeanGreenGlory said:

You're might hate this idea...

But hear me out...

If Colorado State and Air Force leave the MWC for the AAC, I don't think the MWC is a good conference for us. I also don't think we're getting an AAC invite.

So we're currently looking at sitting tight with our CUSA, Sun Belt, and MAC colleagues at the bottom of the barrel of NCAA football. 

This is all like an economic downturn where businesses need to adapt, innovate, and evolve in order to stay afloat. Otherwise, you become irrelevant and die (e.g. Blockbuster failing to stream and Kodak failing to switch to digital).

I don't see CUSA or the Sun Belt taking any reasonable measures to create a logical conference...nor do I see CUSA taking action alone to improve its stock in the college football landcsape.

This means it's up to us—as a school—to write our own story if we want anything other than the unfortunate inevitable. If we don't adapt, innovate, and evolve quickly, there's a good chance we'll be left behind and be forced to Division II as the P5 fully take over Division I.

So here's the crazy idea...

What if we:

• Went independent
• Hired a coach like Lane Kiffin along with a bunch of other P5 coordinators
• Scheduled difficult schedules year after year stacked against the likes of Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame, BYU, Stanford, Michigan, Ohio State, Clemson, etc.
• Used the schedule and coaching staff to attract a roster of strong P5 talent through the transfer portal

Now, you're probably thinking, "That's a recipe for disaster! We won't win any games!"

And you're right, we'd probably go 0–12 for a few years.

But...

• All of those schools would pay us big bucks those first few years for their "guaranteed" game
• Our strength of schedule becomes one of the top in the country and could help attract top notch players that aren't getting the playing time they want at their current schools
• Our name stays relevant in the P5 conversation every weekend of the season (even if as the punching bag at first)
• Over time, iron sharpens iron; if you constantly play the top teams, you're going to get better than you would playing CUSA / Sun Belt teams every week
• Over time, you start to win and turn heads
• The more heads you turn, the more you build off the "underdog/come back" story that every sports anchor *loves* to talk about
• The more positive buzz you build, the more you establish yourself as a power player
• Once established as a power player, we either continue on as an independent or work to get a P5 conference invite

Now, you might be thinking, "That's insane and there's a lot of risk associated with that. We could go independent, not win a single game for 6 years, never get an invite to a P5 conference, and just be a lonely loser of a school."

But here's the thing...

That's the worst case scenario...

And we've been uncomfortably close to that worst case scenario in CUSA for the past couple years. So, if that worst case scenario happens, and we absolutely must join a conference, then we simply go back to CUSA or the Sun Belt and end up exactly where we would have been all along. 

So all in all, it doesn't feel that risky to me, and the upside—albeit a challenging uphill battle—sounds far more exciting, appealing, and worth the risk.

You planning on playing eight games on the road per season?

[MeanGreenGlory]

Just now, All About UNT said:

You planning on playing eight games on the road per season?

Sure.

Become the hard-nose team that can do that.

Every game, the commentators are guaranteed to give some type of credit such as:

"North Texas has the hardest schedule in all of college football. They start at Alabama, followed by Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M, etc., and EIGHT of those are on the road. That's a schedule most schools would never even think about considering, and here North Texas is showing up and ready to play lights out. Hats off to North Texas for being brave enough to take that on because I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

[untjim1995]

Doesn’t Liberty basically do this?

[Mean Green Matt]

1 minute ago, untjim1995 said:

Doesn’t Liberty basically do this?

Liberty has a good football program. 

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

Didn’t we basically do this in the 90s when we returned to FBS? 

[MeanGreenGlory]

12 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

Doesn’t Liberty basically do this?

Partially. They don't schedule with as much tenacity. They seem to lean heavily on CUSA / Sun Belt for scheduling. Their 2021 schedule is:

Campbell
Troy
Old Dominion
Syracuse
UAB
Middle Tennessee
ULM
North Texas
UMass
Ole Miss
Louisiana
Army

I don't think this separates you much from actually being in CUSA, Sun Belt, or MAC. 

I propose maxing it out with a schedule like:

• Notre Dame
• Florida
• Iowa
• Alabama
• Michigan
• BYU
• Oregon
• UCLA
• Auburn
• Oklahoma
• Clemson
• LSU

If you scheduled this, you'd be able to tell P5 players, "You're going to have an opportunity to showcase your talents against the best of the best every single week. Full stop. In fact, you'll play better teams week after week than you would if you were on a team in the SEC. Join us and show the world what you can do."

Get the right hungry staff in place and you could probably create the David vs. Goliath story faster than you think...

And *EVERYONE* loves the David vs. Goliath story.

Edited September 29, 2021 by MeanGreenGlory

[untjim1995]

1 minute ago, MeanGreenGlory said:

Partially. They don't schedule with as much tenacity. They seem to lean heavily on CUSA / Sun Belt for scheduling. Their 2021 schedule is:

Campbell
Troy
Old Dominion
Syracuse
UAB
Middle Tennessee
ULM
North Texas
UMass
Ole Miss
Louisiana
Army

Wow, that’s the ultimate bottom feeder SBCUSA schedule 

[drex]

You won't get any games after week 5....all schools go into their conference games.  Scheduling would be a nighmare.

[MeanGreenGlory]

4 minutes ago, drex said:

You won't get any games after week 5....all schools go into their conference games.  Scheduling would be a nighmare.

It's not uncommon for schools to play non-conference games at random points throughout the season. Alabama plays New Mexico State University in their 9th game this year.

If you really have trouble scheduling game 11 or 12, that's where Notre Dame and BYU can come into play.

Speaking of Notre Dame and BYU, they manage to schedule 12 games a season despite other conference's schedules.

[untjim1995]

12 minutes ago, drex said:

You won't get any games after week 5....all schools go into their conference games.  Scheduling would be a nighmare.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. UConn, UMass, Army, NM State, and Liberty are available to play every year.

[untjim1995]

6 minutes ago, MeanGreenGlory said:

It's not uncommon for schools to play non-conference games at random points throughout the season. Alabama plays New Mexico State University in their 9th game this year.

If you really have trouble scheduling game 11 or 12, that's where Notre Dame and BYU can come into play.

Speaking of Notre Dame and BYU, they manage to schedule 12 games a season despite other conference's schedules.

BYU won’t be there as an independent much longer as they go to the Big XII

[Hunter Green]

40 minutes ago, Mean Green Matt said:

Liberty has a good football program. 

Because they hired a proven head coach.

[EAGLE83]

We tried this in the 80s and it hurt our other sports

[El Paso Eagle]

16 minutes ago, Hunter Green said:

Because they hired a proven head coach.

And they have a lot of money

[PlummMeanGreen]

••• Check out how many NCAA D1 Independents there were in 1975 in the below link.  UNT was an NCAA D1 Indy in 1975.

FOR NOW?  Get about 10 G5 programs to seek P5 Independent status;  that is, to meet what would undoubtedly be an Indy P5 (NCAA sanctioned) criteria that would include a stadium size of about 42-45,000 seats, minimum number of men & women varsity sports, a required criteria of 20-22,000 per home game, etc., etc, etc) & from that group of new Indys you’d be able to get a full schedule of P5 conference schools & P5 Indys (if there were about 10 of that group).

🥺Yeah, all that would be a pipe dream now, but look how today’s NCAA rules committee has been shooting 60 footers in other things lately?  NIL & portal transfers for starters?  Is the NCAA going to shut down any G5 school who wants to be a P5 Independent from joining their elite country club without getting sued?  

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/independent/1975.html
 

🦅

Edited September 29, 2021 by PlummMeanGreen

[All About UNT]

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/north-texas/1978-schedule.html

5 home games at the height of our success under Hayden Fry. Look at the previous years and see what one of the greatest college football coaches, of all time, had to do to build up that schedule that involved 5 home games instead of 2.   

[TripleGrad]

Been there, done that.  Look at the 1995 season.   Even after we moved to the Big West (and later Sun Belt) North Texas was known for body bag games.  Frankly, they don't do anything for reputation.  You don't gain fans by getting beat week after week after week for years.

We've been the Washington Generals of college football forever.  Deliberately deciding to stay in that role is not a way forward.

[Tom McKrackin]

No way Jose.  Hayden Fry nearly destroyed this university doing what he did,

[PlummMeanGreen]

7 hours ago, Tom McKrackin said:

No way Jose.  Hayden Fry nearly destroyed this university doing what he did,

 You are clueless about what Hayden Fry did.  He bailed us out of a very “small time-thinking” Missouri Valley Conference that lost (or was losing) its premier schools & was loading up with Midwest (former Normal schools) for starters.  He pissed off the teachers college crowd in Denton which made me like him even more.
 Fry was really ahead of his time in Denton; if only he’d had close to the facilities like we have now.  We honestly just have a hard time getting it right up there, but some of us still ain’t giving up. I see a Bill Snyder/ Kansas State type of turnaround in our future with (subsequent) Apogee attendance that will require it to be expanded. I am not alone with thinking that, either.

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by PlummMeanGreen

[Withers940]

You've been playing too much NCAA Football

[NTSU52]

13 hours ago, MeanGreenGlory said:

What if we:

• Went independent

 

[MeanGreenTexan]

13 hours ago, MeanGreenGlory said:

...

I propose maxing it out with a schedule like:

• Notre Dame
• Florida
• Iowa
• Alabama
• Michigan
• BYU
• Oregon
• UCLA
• Auburn
• Oklahoma
• Clemson
• LSU

...

You want to have a 12-game road schedule?

This was not thought through very well.   Were you drinking heavily last night?

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

Nope. Awful idea that would kill trajectories of Men’s basketball and football