UNT FB Morale at All Time Low?

[MeanGreenZen]

The difference between now and previous downtimes is that now just feels hopeless.

Any decent player we get, will just leave us for more money. 

How much would a P5 school have paid for a sophomore Brandon Kennedy or a freshman Jamario Thomas or a junior Mason Fine?

Hard to invest in this when you get gut-punched by your all conference linebacker transferring (at the end of June!).

I don’t know what the solution is, or if there will be a solution. All I know is that since the selfishness of NIL and the transfer portal hit college football, I care about it less and less. 

[Venson]

57 minutes ago, Pellom said:

NIL is fine. The big schools were always paying for players. 

So true. I was just your average high school football player in the mid 80s and knew I wasn't going to play college football. However, we had a kid on our team that was recruited by Texas A&M. They brought a car up and told him that it wasn't his, but he could drive it anytime he wanted and park it at his dorm like it was his. So yeah they have always paid. Now it's just out in the open. I agree with you on that the problem is the transfer rule. It needs to be overhauled. I don't know what the answer is, but it cannot continue like this. Maybe when the P5 poach your guy, they have to pay back the entirety of the scholarship that they received and give you NIL worth the entirety of a full scholarship so that you can give it to your next recruit that's worth it in addition to you being able to offer said kid a scholly. 

[NT80]

2 hours ago, MeanGreenZen said:

The difference between now and previous downtimes is that now just feels hopeless.

Any decent player we get, will just leave us for more money. 

How much would a P5 school have paid for a sophomore Brandon Kennedy or a freshman Jamario Thomas or a junior Mason Fine?

Hard to invest in this when you get gut-punched by your all conference linebacker transferring (at the end of June!).

I don’t know what the solution is, or if there will be a solution. All I know is that since the selfishness of NIL and the transfer portal hit college football, I care about it less and less. 

Yes, sad, we can never feel secure with star players again.   It's too easy now for kids to be recruited away to other programs while in a program, either with the lure of NIL $ or the chance to play on a bigger stage. 

There needs to be designated time-limit windows, and perhaps compensation to a losing school, in both cases.

[greenminer]

15 hours ago, HoustonEagle said:

It’s based on who spends the most money and that is all.

The money/media environment is incredibly bloated but, by and large, the blue bloods are who they are because they have always been the ones spending the most money.

[NorthTexasWeLove]

I'm not overly optimistic. However, the man has taken us to almost 50% (5 of 12, I believe) of our bowl games. Yes, he's lost them all. But we were playing December football under him 5 of the 12 times in our school history. That's a tip of the hat to him, but also eye opening to how poor of a football program we have. I think if he continues taking his team to bowl games, especially given our history, you have to keep him on board. Eventually, the stars will align for that elusive 10-win season/bowl championship. With that said, he's done such a mediocre job, the moment we're 4-8 and watching from the couch he has to go. So, IMO, SL has put himself in a tough position and it's certainly of his own doings. 

[NT80]

9 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

I'm not overly optimistic. However, the man has taken us to almost 50% (5 of 12, I believe) of our bowl games. Yes, he's lost them all. But we were playing December football under him 5 of the 12 times in our school history. That's a tip of the hat to him, but also eye opening to how poor of a football program we have. I think if he continues taking his team to bowl games, especially given our history, you have to keep him on board. 

NO.  Many Bowls now have no historical quality or value and are not earned like they used to be.  Last year's "Bogus Bowl" for NT was a perfect example.  It was a last-minute invented Bowl with Participation Ribbons just so two lame programs with 6 wins (regardless of quality) could boast to be best of the worst.  SL is on the downhill slope with this program and it's past time for change in leadership.  

[meangreenfaninno]

1 hour ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

I'm not overly optimistic. However, the man has taken us to almost 50% (5 of 12, I believe) of our bowl games. Yes, he's lost them all. But we were playing December football under him 5 of the 12 times in our school history. That's a tip of the hat to him, but also eye opening to how poor of a football program we have. I think if he continues taking his team to bowl games, especially given our history, you have to keep him on board. Eventually, the stars will align for that elusive 10-win season/bowl championship. With that said, he's done such a mediocre job, the moment we're 4-8 and watching from the couch he has to go. So, IMO, SL has put himself in a tough position and it's certainly of his own doings. 

You must be really you and have 20 or 30 years to hope Littrell can turn things around.  Some of us will be 6 feet under by that time sadly.

[meanJewGreen]

On 6/24/2022 at 10:57 AM, Cr1028 said:

I disagree strongly. Fan morale in late 2006 and late 2015 were way below where we are now. People were saying the exact same stuff when the Murphys left and recruiting was in the cellar, then Gunnell signs on and then everything is hunky dory to them again. People are very wishy washy right now and want better but we are nowhere close to black jerseygate or being force fed  Iowa City’s favorite son. Maybe you forgot what it felt like to end up with only 25 points and less than 270 total yards in a legit 7 overtime game against a team that would go 0-12. https://www.espn.com/college-football/matchup?gameId=262800249

How is morale even close to approaching that or 2015 levels of disgust?

Bro, it was so bad we stormed the field after that game 

[Cr1028]

1 hour ago, meanJewGreen said:

Bro, it was so bad we stormed the field after that game 

See I didn’t stick around for that, I left in the 3rd overtime, drove all the way to Coppell to a buddies house and it still wasn’t over. I was so disgusted over trading missed field goals and the abhorrent offense that I couldn’t watch anymore. I didn’t think that game was ever going to end because both offenses were so awful.

I think I had Hopavac in a class at that time but I didn’t bring it up because he was a super nice guy and I didn’t want to make him feel worse than he probably already did.

Edited June 26, 2022 by Cr1028

[greenminer]

2 hours ago, meanJewGreen said:

Bro, it was so bad we stormed the field after that game 

I was there and don't remember that at all.  Did that involve more than 10 people?

[meanJewGreen]

2 hours ago, greenminer said:

I was there and don't remember that at all.  Did that involve more than 10 people?

I think by the end there were like 50 of us students. We stormed the field twice that year, once for smu and once for this. 

[97and03]

12 hours ago, greenminer said:

I was there and don't remember that at all.  Did that involve more than 10 people?

I spent most of the game under our tailgate tent with two fires going while watching it on the scoreboard screen. We went to the stands a couple of times but it was just too miserable. I definitely remember ironically storming the field after. We were mostly glad it was finally over more than the W. 

[greenminer]

ha! Okay, guys thanks for painting the picture.  My most vivid memory from that game was seeing the ladies leave at HT, ahead of us guys, to scout places to eat.  Then they returned during one of the first OTs having already eaten, wondering where we had been.

[greenminer]

On 6/25/2022 at 3:09 AM, untjim1995 said:

I wasn’t around then, as I was in elementary school, but this would be the low point for our history.

Dropping to FCS level, while being surrounded by schools in the SWC, which was amongst the best conferences in CFB, will forever be the decision the kept us from ever being included in the now Power 5 setup. We nuked several generations of fans here. And we have enjoyed exactly 6 winning seasons since we moved up to FBS in 1995. 6… out of 27 seasons.

I feel like we need to clarify whether we are talking about the worst decision in our history, vs. the most apathetic the fanbase has ever been.  I feel like you're talking about the former, and I thought the OP was about the latter.
 

On 6/24/2022 at 10:27 PM, NT80 said:

1982 was an especially gloomy season.  The previous year in 1981 we finished 2-9 in Bob Tyler's only year (thank god).  1982 brought a new coach in Corky Nelson, but again we stumbled to 2-9 only beating a near dead UTA program and Richmond.  Also, 1982 was NT's last in 1-A for a while as we were demoted in 1983 to 1-AA for lack of attendance and Administrators not designating Texas Stadium as a home venue. 

Fun fact about that '81-82 season: you can't find any other moment in North Texas history where we had a 1 year FB coach, 1 year AD (also Bob Tyler) and 1 year University President (Howard Wellington Smith Jr.), all lined up together at the same time.  All three of those positions were filled with new names in 1982.

Edited June 27, 2022 by greenminer

[keith]

4 minutes ago, greenminer said:

We're splitting hairs here, but I feel like we need to clarify whether we are talkinga bout the worst decision in our history, vs. the most apathetic the fanbase has ever been.  I feel like you're talking about the former, and I thought the OP was about the latter.

Similar take...I wasn't sure if this was a question about the morale of the team, morale of the fans or both.  No clue on the team, but I wonder how the team morale is at other schools were 2 or 3 guys are getting sweet NIL deals and the rest are getting room and board.

In terms of fans, it seems like we have two extremes at either end and a bunch in the middle (hmmm...sounds familiar).  The portal and transfers has definitely changed things.  It is funny though that as fans we get excited about (sometimes) and welcome transfers in, but can't wrap our heads around the transfers out.  With few exceptions, I don't think it will be worth getting attached to a particular player.  Just root for the uniform.  That is all.

[Mean Green 93-98]

27 minutes ago, greenminer said:

I feel like we need to clarify whether we are talking about the worst decision in our history, vs. the most apathetic the fanbase has ever been.  I feel like you're talking about the former, and I thought the OP was about the latter.

It was before my time; but based upon conversations with those around during that time, the former directly led to the latter.

Even if we were to average as low as 12,000 attendance this next season (we won't), we'd be way ahead of anything we saw during the 90's.  So no, fanbase morale isn't anywhere close to its all-time low.

[bstnsportsfan3]

Seeing this photo today as the first thing on the NT football website was a nice kick in the nads

[southsideguy]

life as a UNT fan-

[NT80]

2 hours ago, keith said:

Similar take...I wasn't sure if this was a question about the morale of the team, morale of the fans or both.  No clue on the team, but I wonder how the team morale is at other schools were 2 or 3 guys are getting sweet NIL deals and the rest are getting room and board.

 

It has to be tough on the team and coaches to be losing top players, either by injury or transfer.  It would be an opportunity for next man up, but morale has to suffer I would think when team leaders and veterans just up and leave with little to no warning?

[97and03]

Been a fan since around 1997 and this isn’t even in my top five low morale points. We were terrible late 90s, with Dickey a breath away from getting fired after his first couple of years before the early 2000s run. Then immediate after that we were right back down. Anyone else remember that Tulsa shellacking that burst our bubbles in 2005? 
Then every year of the Dodge years after that initial infusion of energy about the hire. There was essentially little improvement from game one to the last of his tenure. 
Then the 2014 and especially 2015 seasons felt much worse than this. Our QBs the last couple of years have been pedestrian but NOTHING like the futility of Mac’s last two seasons. Those were much worse. 
My morale isn’t great after losing the bowl game and then a handful of our top starters. Those losses are going to be hard to replace. But again, coming off a season where the coach actually adapted the offense to its strengths (something we didn’t see often over the last decade+) and fought back from a deep hole and seemingly did not lose the team isn’t going to make me jump off my sports bridge. I am in no way completely  satisfied with where the program is today but at least we have a stronger program overall than at anytime during my fandom. I don’t feel the helplessness that I felt at other times over the last 25 years. In part, this is because I think this season might be ok. In part, it’s because I have faith in the AD and we have the resources to make a good replacement hire if needed. 
So to all of you sky is falling types:

[greenminer]

You don't know whipped until you go 3-8, including a 59-0 loss to Boise State, then start 0-5 the next season after losing to a LaMoe team that was 0-4.   Then you're next opponent is a 5-0 MTSU team that was averaging 7+ yards PER SNAP, and had a TE that was at least 6'7".

Talk about clocking out.  But I was in the marching band and went.  Then I witnessed a 72+ yard punt and a miracle.

You don't know whipped unless you've seen us get beaten so badly week after week with a high school coach that was so over his head, you could hear the opposing defense reading our O and calling out the exact play we were going to run.  Play after play.

I saw it on a Thanksgiving weekend game, playing WKU in a snow storm and you could count the fans in the stands.

Guys, our program's fanbase is one of the most pissed on communities in the history of this game.  The media rarely gets our name right.  Our administration abandoned our program decades ago that has set us back in so many ways.  Coaches have given up on our roster.

I'm glad we are frustrated NOW, because it means standards are higher.  But don't mistake this frustration for the worst era in history.  I feel like it is not even close.