UTSA gets big NIL donation

[El Paso Eagle]

12 minutes ago, MeanGreenMan09 said:

Seriously, whoever thought it was a good idea to bring Rick back in and put him in charge of something important, like the NIL, should probably also be let go. Let's clean house until we get the results we want. UNT athletics shouldn't be the Rick Villareal retirement fund so he can go watch Garth Brooks for free, and act like he was raising money for our student athletes, gtfoh with that... would love to see if we achieved anything with that night out on the funds checkbook. 

"Technically" UNT athletics should have nothing to do with it, nor any say 😇 😉

Edited October 4, 2022 by El Paso Eagle

[MeanGreenTexan]

11 minutes ago, MeanGreenMan09 said:

Seriously, whoever thought it was a good idea to bring Rick back in and put him in charge of something important, like the NIL, should probably also be let go. Let's clean house until we get the results we want. UNT athletics shouldn't be the Rick Villareal retirement fund so he can go watch Garth Brooks for free, and act like he was raising money for our student athletes, gtfoh with that... would love to see if we achieved anything with that night out on the funds checkbook. 

I believe the people you're angry with are the very people who are contributing 95+% of the NIL funding.

There still seems to be a lot of confusion around NIL collectives.   None of them, not a single one, are an actual University-sanctioned organization. 

They are all, every single one, independent organizations that are not under any kind of direction from the University they represent.

So when the completely independent organizations decide on leadership, they choose the person they like.   Wren Baker & Neal Smatresk have zero say.

[untphd]

2 hours ago, meangreenfaninno said:

He or whoever runs the account made a mistake, clearly.  That said, it is a new collective and probably not a lot of admin support etc. so let's not go overboard.  I just don't see it as a hanging offense.

 

Vice president / director of accounts?

[tmjerm]

1 minute ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I believe the people you're angry with are the very people who are contributing 95+% of the NIL funding.

There still seems to be a lot of confusion around NIL collectives.   None of them, not a single one, are an actual University-sanctioned organization. 

They are all, every single one, independent organizations that are not under any kind of direction from the University they represent.

So when the completely independent organizations decide on leadership, they choose the person they like.   Wren Baker & Neal Smatresk have zero say.

Exactly, we are biting hands that feed us on this thread.  These people may not be doing things the way you like (tweets are embarrassing) but they’re putting effort and money in.  If you’d rather things be done differently, start your own group and make your own contributions. 

[MeanGreenMan09]

3 minutes ago, tmjerm said:

Exactly, we are biting hands that feed us on this thread.  These people may not be doing things the way you like (tweets are embarrassing) but they’re putting effort and money in.  If you’d rather things be done differently, start your own group and make your own contributions. 

This NIL Collective Political SuperPAC will dry up, because no one will trust it's leadership, why would they when this is what they are putting out.  Maybe when I'm richer, and UNT adds baseball,  I'll start my own NIL Collective, with black jack and hookers, the way it should be. 

[tmjerm]

7 minutes ago, MeanGreenMan09 said:

This NIL Collective Political SuperPAC will dry up, because no one will trust it's leadership, why would they when this is what they are putting out.  Maybe when I'm richer, and UNT adds baseball,  I'll start my own NIL Collective, with black jack and hookers, the way it should be. 

Can’t wait!  Until then though, people giving our larger donors grief is counterproductive.  Can you imagine being so invested and relied upon while so many potential donors toil and gripe?  

[greenminer]

7 minutes ago, MeanGreenMan09 said:

This NIL Collective Political SuperPAC will dry up, because no one will trust it's leadership, why would they when this is what they are putting out.  

Who do you think RV is reaching out to, and how many people do you think share our lack of trust in RV?

[MeanGreenMan09]

4 minutes ago, greenminer said:

Who do you think RV is reaching out to, and how many people do you think share our lack of trust in RV?

Any that are paying attention I'd say... once again, just look at what is being put out in the name of the collective on Twitter, that does not say sound judgement or good PR skills... at all...

[MeanGreenMan09]

6 minutes ago, tmjerm said:

Can’t wait!  Until then though, people giving our larger donors grief is counterproductive.  Can you imagine being so invested and relied upon while so many potential donors toil and gripe?  

Won't someone think of the donors!!!!

[meanrob]

21 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I believe the people you're angry with are the very people who are contributing 95+% of the NIL funding.

There still seems to be a lot of confusion around NIL collectives.   None of them, not a single one, are an actual University-sanctioned organization. 

They are all, every single one, independent organizations that are not under any kind of direction from the University they represent.

So when the completely independent organizations decide on leadership, they choose the person they like.   Wren Baker & Neal Smatresk have zero say.

This is not what Vito's original report said. 

"We decided after we visited with the athletic department that we needed to get this going," Lovelace said. "We needed someone to manage it. The Athletic Department recommended Rick Villarreal because of his history, knowledge and camaraderie with UNT athletes over the years."

 

 

[Udomann]

38 minutes ago, MeanGreenMan09 said:

,  I'll start my own NIL Collective, with black jack and hookers, the way it should be. 

[Pseudo Nym]

While it's true that these collectives are and must be separate entities from the University and Athletics Departments they support, they don't have carte-blanche to behave how they want to without consequence.

Once WB and Smastresk catch wind of the tweets, self-serving/promoting concert photo, and the shoddy execution of initial letter to prospective donors with many typos, RV won't be the most welcomed guest in the near future.

He will be kept at arms length and monitored closely from now on which may be for his own good if it is his desire see this collective through.

A statement from the University denouncing the collective or people involved with it, even expressing disappointment would be a huge blow to a collective.

A letter of admonishment will probably be drafted (and should be IMO) as a precursor and sent to RV and the collective board by WB/Smastresk.  While not publicly posted or distributed, it would be a matter of public record via FOIA and general records requests as required of the collective.

It would also serve to put the collective on notice that any future failings in the area of PR could lead to an official/public  reprimanding of the collective, and/or denouncing its association with UNT Athletics and UNT student-athletes (A potential proverbial "death penalty" to collectives).

While the NIL Collectives are still in their infancy stage, managing public relations on either side, the collective or a University, is of the upmost importance.  The University wields more power in this area, and has a lot of options at its disposal to rid itself of individuals it deems are undermining or harming the Universities efforts.

RV seemingly needs UNT and UNT has already made it spectacularly clear, it does not need RV.

[MeanGreenTexan]

29 minutes ago, meanrob said:

This is not what Vito's original report said. 

"We decided after we visited with the athletic department that we needed to get this going," Lovelace said. "We needed someone to manage it. The Athletic Department recommended Rick Villarreal because of his history, knowledge and camaraderie with UNT athletes over the years."

 

 

Oh, yikes.

[greenminer]

1 hour ago, MeanGreenMan09 said:

Any that are paying attention I'd say... once again, just look at what is being put out in the name of the collective on Twitter, that does not say sound judgement or good PR skills... at all...

I think you overestimate how much the casual fan/UNT grad is looking at RV.  Also, we are now 4+ years into the Wren administration.  Thats 4+ generations of graduates who never knew him.

I am with everyone when it comes to loathing RV, but I also feel that our GMG.com community is small and we look at things with a much thicker magnifying glass than anyone else.

[UNT Five&Dime]

Stupid questions.

Is the collective paying for use of the Battle Flag and Clock Tower likeness? Were they the first beneficiaries?

 

[cousin oliver]

14 minutes ago, greenminer said:

I am with everyone when it comes to loathing RV, but I also feel that our GMG.com community is small and we look at things with a much thicker magnifying glass than anyone else.

The actual numbers of total posters may be small but I think you vastly underestimate how many read this site and never post.  I'd wager it is like 90%.   I have several friends who on on here daily and have been for years but never actual post.  They are just lurkers. 

Edited October 4, 2022 by cousin oliver

[Green Otaku]

2 hours ago, MeanGreenMan09 said:

Seriously, whoever thought it was a good idea to bring Rick back in and put him in charge of something important, like the NIL, should probably also be let go. Let's clean house until we get the results we want. UNT athletics shouldn't be the Rick Villareal retirement fund so he can go watch Garth Brooks for free, and act like he was raising money for our student athletes, gtfoh with that... would love to see if we achieved anything with that night out on the funds checkbook. 

 

I held my tongue when it was announced because I thought maybe it would bring in some $$, but it's a weird situation. Imagine a workplace where the old manager was fired, you were made manager, but the old manager still hung around and then was given a position that raised money for your company. 

 

 

[greenminer]

1 hour ago, cousin oliver said:

The actual numbers of total posters may be small but I think you vastly underestimate how many read this site and never post.  I'd wager it is like 90%.   I have several friends who on on here daily and have been for years but never actual post.  They are just lurkers. 

Seriously skeptical that these non-posters make a vast, influential army of anti-RV sentiment.  But maybe?

[cousin oliver]

18 minutes ago, greenminer said:

Seriously skeptical that these non-posters make a vast, influential army of anti-RV sentiment.  But maybe?

Agree - most could care less about RV and don't even know what NIL is.  You are right about that.  I am just saying there are more lurkers than posters on here in my opinion.

[Pseudo Nym]

1 hour ago, cousin oliver said:

I am just saying there are more lurkers than posters on here in my opinion.

I lurked for a few years! 

I would check in every couple of months to see what the "word on the street" is so-to-speak.  Finally, I had some thoughts I wanted feedback on and made a post about it and got a ton of feedback from all directions, some views I wasn't expecting, but have enjoyed the candor and conversing with other Mean Green faithful.

I have friends who have been lurkers for a while and see posts before I do and text me.

They're passionate, have strong feelings on things, some donate, some attend a lot of events, but they just don't feel like they want to contribute the way those of us that type out posts do.

Definitely a greater than 2:1, lurker:poster ratio in my estimation as well.  All things considered, the percentage of opinions/view points shared on here probable equates the same in the lurker crowd.

This board has a very diverse representation of Mean Green Fans/Supporters/Alumni (however one decides to identify, haters too) in my opinion; it has a lot of value in that regard!

[Quoner]

13 hours ago, Pseudo Nym said:

If that was an official UNT team or department account, and someone wrote that (the politics and going after people) they would be fired.  Absolutely be fired, there would be no discussion.

That's what the consequences would be and ironically RV, with his previous experience as an AD and athletics administrator knows this.

Also, the idea that admin support would be required to avoid mistakes like this is uninformed.  We're no longer in the first decade of social media, there was no "hacking" or "mistaking for a personal account" this was/is piss-poor management and judgement.

 

My brother in Christ, this was clearly the work of Anonymous or an equally sophisticated entity. Also, since the political tweets were all before 8/1 and the account continued tweeting normally with contact info and athlete congrats into September, we’re dealing with something that can not only hack into the mainframe, but change the flow of time itself.

 

Edited October 5, 2022 by Quoner
TIME HACKERS!

[meangreenfaninno]

6 hours ago, UNT Five&Dime said:

Stupid questions.

Is the collective paying for use of the Battle Flag and Clock Tower likeness? Were they the first beneficiaries?

 

I believe I read on their site somewhere that they were.  It’s a cool logo I think 

[Glad To Be Green]

Well I promised I would stay off the Board unless it was informational and this is. Our original Twitter site was hacked a while back and apparently whoever did it made it impossible for me to get back in or shut it down! I know there were political barbs flying back and forth and I promise you that none of that content was produced or condoned by any member of the LTTC and never would be. Anyone that really knows me or the members of our Board realizes that this type of behavior is against our general respect for people. Our goal as a Collective is to create opportunities for student-athetes and build a Collective that will help retain and attract top athletes so how would those messages advance that effort? We are still working with Twitter to  remove the messaging and hope it will happen soon.

My question is why do some of you take this misinformation, totally unsubstantiated and beat the drum one more time? Just because you don't like me. if that's the case then there is nothing I can or want to do about it.  But how do you think that breeds anything positive about this collective and its' importance?   

As long as I have started, I am going to address some other things in this thread. I know many of you will not like it and probably create more threads to demean the comments, but in all honesty it won't bother me because I know the information to be true. 

First I took this position not because I love the University, but more because I believe in young people and want the best of them to come to North Texas. I believe in the men who asked me to take the challenge on because together we built nearly every facility our student-athletes play in today. I did it because, despite your beliefs, I knew I was capable of making this happen becasue everywhere I have been in my life I have done so. And while I don't count you in that number, there are a lot of people, coaches and administrators who do believe in me and I am doing it for them. And I do love this University.

Secondly, I did raise money while I was here...lots of money. We convinced Ron Warranch to donate the entire amount, right at $1.5 million to build our tennis facility shortly after I arrived and we never stopped. Check the list of people who are our largest donors and you will see that they were brought on board during our tenure. Families giving million and multimillion dollar gifts to help build the Athletic Center, buy and renovate the Liberty Christain property and eventually erect Apogee Stadium. That cultivation has fueled their continued participation. The naysayers will try to say someone else did all this but if that's so then why didn't they do it before we got here.

As far as my ability to lead, in under 60 days, we incorporated an organization, went through the appliaction process for tax exempt status, built a new website from scratch, created banking relationships, put together a strong board, traversed through the many steps required to run an NIL, created a business platform, initiated a successful kickoff event, developed programs and partnerships to provide student-athletes with opportunities to earn compensation, created and then offered contracts and raised a significant amount of money to meet those obligations. Many schools took 8-10 monts to do the same thing. Not bad for someone that, according to you, can't run an organization effectively. And when we get that $300,000 donor we will have no problem holding a press conference.

Finally, I am not going to quit because you think I should. Many people don't feel the same way and are helping us grow. So now go and take all the shots you want, make remarks about syntax and perpetuate myths for your own benefit. What I would humbly ask is that you lose the personal grudges and think about the future of the program because it's not about me or you. It is about North Texas. 

So back to passing on information. Since the Twitter account was compromised, we have created a new Twitter site - The Real Light The Tower Collective@LLTCED2022 and will begin posting regularly soon with student-athletes providing a lot of the content about the process but also the nonprofits and charities we will be working with. I hope you will check it out and also hope you will consider joining our group to help complete the already fast start we have had. You can go to our website www.lightthetowercollective.com to get more information or make an online donation because every dollar really does help. One hundred $100 donations adds $10,000 to the fund and 200 at $500 gets us an additional $100,000. Those kinds of dollars paired with an already impressive balance from higher level gifts will help us create a solid and strong Collective so important to our athletic program.  If you would like to talk about a recurring gift, please fill out the Contact Us section on the site and I will get right back to you.

In closing, we don't have to agree, we just need to make a difference.

Let's Light The Tower and Go Mean Green!

P.s. By the way, we had the box for that Garth Brooks concert "donated" by a gentleman who comitted $40,000 and two others who committed a combined $30,000.   

Edited October 5, 2022 by Glad To Be Green

[Pseudo Nym]

11 hours ago, Quoner said:

My brother in Christ, this was clearly the work of Anonymous or an equally sophisticated entity. Also, since the political tweets were all before 8/1 and the account continued tweeting normally with contact info and athlete congrats into September, we’re dealing with something that can not only hack into the mainframe, but change the flow of time itself.

 

 

Man when I saw this last night, I laughed so hard with a friend who has no connection to UNT what-so-ever, I mean on the floor laughing......

Some of you may be unfamiliar with the working of hackers as it pertains to social media so I'll share why we were laughing so hard:

1) An account a few months old with so few followers (28) is worth neither the time or effort to be hacked

2) The replies in question that "the hackers" posted, two of them, were on July 28 and August 1, the only other replies since then (2) are responses with a name and an email address regarding the business of the collective and response to a UNT student athlete saying Congrats on Sep. 13:

3) The work of hackers for political motivation is to cause chaos, spread mass information, to defame some or an organization, or frame them in some way, I refer you to point #1 as to why this is nonsensical 

4) In the 16 years since Twitter launched, the multi-billion dollar company has improved it's account security ten-fold and account hacking is a claim they take seriously and have taken many steps to combat account hacking as many celebrities, politicians, news organizations, and accounts with millions of followers are targeted often, 28 followers isn't moving the needle for anyone

5) Claims of account hacking when tied to one or two absurd tweets on large and significant accounts is met with severe skepticism as a hacker (or group) has a clear message they want to spread to a large amount of people (millions of people), usually in opposition to what the account or person stands for - again, no ones hacking an account with 28 followers and replying to two people where that message is less likely to be seen as apposed to an actual Tweet/Post

6) Timing.  Within 24 hours of these tweets being discussed on here, all of a sudden "hacking is discovered" but not before the two tweets mentioned in point 2 (give me a break!!)

After recovering from laughing, in conversation I shared how arrogant I thought it was that someone would claim the account to be hacked and that people would actually believe it.

I too had not intended to respond any more to this thread as I thought it was pretty self-evident how farcical this episode had become.

It dawned on me however, that some folks unfamiliar with Twitter, social media, and the "I got hacked" claim may not understand how absurd this claim under these circumstances really is.

I then realized that the answer to the question passing through my mind last night of "Does anyone really think people are that stupid to believe this account was hacked?"  Wasn't just "yes, someone believes people are to stupid too see through the lie and absurd claim" but realized it shows the arrogance of the individual to prey on peoples naivety and lack of understanding surrounding social media and hacking.

No on likes a liar, and the claim that this account was hacked is a lie.

More than liars, there's one thing I simply can not stand in life, and it's when people who know better, attempt to take advantage of people who don't know better.  

There's a reason honorable men (or women) fall more than most, and it's because they have the integrity and dignity to hold themselves to account for any shortcomings, mistakes, or momentary lapses in judgement.

It's what real leaders do, it's called accountability.

This episode was a joke from the start, with folks who have seen enough through the years to raise awareness that there are some real red flags in the areas of PR and management, and point those out to the faithful.  At that point, people can make up their own minds.

Regretfully, at the hands of those directly involved and with a platform to fix it, it has now devolved into a sad, undignified, cheap, and dishonorable lie.

Edited October 5, 2022 by Pseudo Nym

[MeanGreenTexan]

11 hours ago, Glad To Be Green said:

Well I promised I would stay off the Board unless it was informational and this is. Our original Twitter site was hacked a while back and apparently whoever did it made it impossible for me to get back in or shut it down!

Congrats on drumming up funds for the collective!   It's great that you're doing that.

That being said, regarding the above:

 

What's more likely?
Someone was still logged into the Collective account when they believed they were logged in under a different (re: personal) account.   I don't know if that was you, yourself, or someone else close to you.   But, I, along with many others, don't believe this to be a "hacking". 

Carry on...