"Where Are The Fans?"

GoMeanGreen1999 · 2024-10-05T15:49:05Z

On 10/3/2024 at 10:02 AM, UNTLifer said:

https://dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/mean_green/brett-vito-eric-morris-becoming-familiar-with-age-old-unt-issue-with-fan-support/article_66fde1a2-7e84-11ef-9b5a-7316195ea700.html

Eric Morris had just finished talking about an emphatic win over Tulsa on Saturday when UNT’s coach took time to address what has become an age-old topic when it comes to the program.

Where are all the fans?

The stands were pretty empty to start when UNT kicked off its game against Golden Hurricane at DATCU Stadium. It didn’t get much better throughout the night and emptied out by the time the Mean Green finished off a 52-20 win.

I guess he is out on campus weekly drumming up support? Out in the community doing things and being seen?

Green Lantern · 2024-10-05T17:19:49Z

On 10/4/2024 at 10:41 AM, SilverEagle said:

Looks like a good sign to hang in the offices of every administrator and employee of the athletic department. And also.....

2. The UNT Alumni Association

The better sign to UNT admins related to this group would be “Quit hiring outside talent when you have dedicated degreed alums on staff who would crush this leadership role”. Grass is NEVER greener (pun intended) outside the UNT family for these roles. It’s a passion business.

All our experienced and highly regarded alums that worked there and/or in tangentially related UNT Advancement roles have been poached away by other institutions (SMU, Colorado, OK State, Sam Houston, A&M Commerce, amongst others) or left for private sector roles that compensate appropriately because of being passed over for external hires (minus the smart KFra hire) time and time again.

TheColonyEagle · 2024-10-06T06:28:50Z

Haven’t seen this mentioned, but once again……

We started the season out pretty well. Got some local and national attention, to the point we were a trendy pick. “Tech better watch out!” Reece Davis on ESPN Game Day picked us as his “superdog”. We were starting to turn a corner regarding perception.

And not only do we get beat, we got absolutely destroyed on national TV. Outclassed, out coached, out played and embarrassed.

We were taking a few steps forward only to get hit in the face ONCE AGAIN and get launched back to what many think is our rightful place.

How many people paying attention to our game vs TTech didn’t even bother to look at the schedule to see our next games much less make plans to show up. This probably happened about halfway through the 2nd quarter of that game.

We are in a situation where we have no room for error. When you’re in this situation, no amount of marketing can overcome getting embarrassed like we were in Lubbock. We had our chance. Blew it.

so this comment from the article:

“He’s held up his end of the bargain.”

depends on the lens we use and the standard we apply. if we use the standard of “holy crap it’s a miracle we’re 4-1 and we never do this” then Yes, he’s held up his end of the bargain. And yes. This start is the exception not the norm. But if we want the casual fans to show up, that standard won’t work. So if we use the standard of “we need to be ranked or pushing the top 25 and knocking on the door of the playoff. Getting national attention getting national credibility” which WILL get the casual fan to show up, then Eric Morris’s performance in Lubbock means he did NOT hold up his end of the bargain.

The coach at UNT, whoever it is, cannot have it both ways.

Edited 8 hours ago by TheColonyEagle

SilverEagle · 2024-10-06T13:50:46Z

7 minutes ago, Green Lantern said:

The better sign to UNT admins related to this group would be “Quit hiring outside talent when you have dedicated degreed alums on staff who would crush this leadership role”. Grass is NEVER greener (pun intended) outside the UNT family for these roles. It’s a passion business.

All our experienced and highly regarded alums that worked there and/or in tangentially related UNT Advancement roles have been poached away by other institutions (SMU, Colorado, OK State, Sam Houston, A&M Commerce, amongst others) or left for private sector roles that compensate appropriately because of being passed over for external hires (minus the smart KFra hire) time and time again.

They keep thinking that Athletic Department jobs (especially fan development) can be done by anyone. That must be why, since the days of Bob Tyler, after head coaches (and their assistants) have had time to settle in, they all look around and say "what the hell is the matter with these people?". Bob Tyler was the first to say it out loud, but many others wanted say the same thing. I appreciate Coach Morris for saying it out loud again.

Marty · 2024-10-06T16:02:19Z

I went to the coaches show with Mac & SL. Mac was a master, he would work the room, shaking everyone's hand. SL would usually just stand to the side. If he talked to anyone,it would be to the regulars on the front table. Haven't been since Morris took over. If he's skipping out early, seems like a violation of his contract.

aprice · 2024-10-06T16:47:28Z

The underlying issue has less to do with sports and more to do with the university as a whole. We have the stigma of being a second choice school, or a school that is for working class kids who can't afford to move hundreds of miles away.

There is some truth to this, but how do you get people to be proud of this accomplishment instead of hiding from it? Its kind of a self fulfilling prophecy. If the alumni base largely sees themselves as inferior to some other brands, why would an outsider think any different?

Texas is so large that getting into the flagship schools isn't even possible for most college students. If you look at small states like Kansas, OK, AL, OR, etc, it is very easy to into their flagship schools because there just isn't as much competition. But they don't have any issue showing pride in their school. Being in this state puts a school like ours in a unique disadvantage, partially because the PUF has held back most of the public universities, but also because the perception that comes with not being the flagship school.

How do you overcome this? I don't know.

Ross Hodgeson · 2024-10-06T17:10:36Z

19 minutes ago, aprice said:

The underlying issue has less to do with sports and more to do with the university as a whole. We have the stigma of being a second choice school, or a school that is for working class kids who can't afford to move hundreds of miles away.

There is some truth to this, but how do you get people to be proud of this accomplishment instead of hiding from it? Its kind of a self fulfilling prophecy. If the alumni base largely sees themselves as inferior to some other brands, why would an outsider think any different?

Texas is so large that getting into the flagship schools isn't even possible for most college students. If you look at small states like Kansas, OK, AL, OR, etc, it is very easy to into their flagship schools because there just isn't as much competition. But they don't have any issue showing pride in their school. Being in this state puts a school like ours in a unique disadvantage, partially because the PUF has held back most of the public universities, but also because the perception that comes with not being the flagship school.

How do you overcome this? I don't know.

Yes I think UT just changed to requiring top 5% for admission which puts it way out of reach for most.

But I don't think UT is the issue, it's schools like Arkansas and OU that rob us of a lot of students that are looking for more spirit and pride in their college experience. I think we suffer from an attraction to students that want a cheap education and the convenience of being close to home. Arkansas students from DFW area don't have the luxury of driving home every weekend when you have a 9-10 hour commute.