Ranting about the AD, Students, Attendance and Fan Support

UNTFan23 · February 22

On 2/6/2025 at 2:49 AM, 97and03 said:

As a student during the time of the first vote, there were a couple of reasons it failed- one of which I would blame RV. When asked to explain exactly how the fee increase would be used to renovate Fouts or build a stadium, he wasn’t able to show a clear vision for it. Those who were skeptical (myself included) would have been more supportive had there been a clear plan.
What wasn’t his fault was that the AD was pushing hard for it with students, which created a backlash and riled up the “no” vote. One of the tipping points, as I recall it now in my old age, was an alumni funded publicity campaign in favor of the vote. I think there were table tents or other materials pushing for a yes. I definitely recall people saying that if the alumni wanted it so badly they should pay for it. (And they were correct, but we still don’t.) The hard push on both fronts ran counter to UNT’s rebellious culture. We ended up funding the 2002 increase in the student government at a reduced rate in order to be able to acquire the property across the highway that now houses all our athletics programs. (Most student senators who voted for it got kicked out by angry students, btw)
That is likely why the next vote was done as a student initiative, but I would suspect it was coordinated with RV, but I guess we would need @UNTflyer to confirm.

I didn't get kicked out of the Senate. 🙃 I think I was like one of two that kept their seats.

97and03 · February 22

6 hours ago, UNTFan23 said:

I didn't get kicked out of the Senate. 🙃 I think I was like one of two that kept their seats.

My girlfriend did, as did a couple of other friends. Despite authoring the legislation and leading the charge to pass it, I ultimately voted against it because 100% of the grad students I represented who reached out to me before the vote demanded a no vote. But I had made sure it would pass anyway. My girlfriend basically never forgave me for that. It was, admittedly, kind of shitty that they all lost their seats and I didn’t. But I guess that’s politics, bitches!

Censored by Laurie · February 25

serious question...does the AD employ a marketing director? is that intended as a major facet of Mosely's contract?

UNTLifer · February 25

15 hours ago, Censored by Laurie said:

serious question...does the AD employ a marketing director? is that intended as a major facet of Mosely's contract?

Eric Capper is in charge of Community Engagement (fail), Shannon Halbritter handles Marketing & Fan Engagement (never heard of her/fail) along with Kayli Manypenny, Mike DeMoss and Peyton Klauber. That entire department is MIA.

https://meangreensports.com/staff-directory

I think the shocking thing to me is the size of the staff. Does it really take that many people to run that department?

Edited February 26 by UNTLifer

greenminer · February 26

10 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

Eric Capper is in charge of Community Engagement (fail), Shannon Halbritter handles Marketing & Fan Engagement (never heard of her/fail) along with Kayli Manypenny, Mike DeMoss and Peyton Klauber. That entire department is MIA.

Some are on X/Twitter and (I don't think) you have an account in that community, right?

10 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

https://meangreensports.com/staff-directory

I think the shocking thing to me is the size of the staff. Does it really take that many people to run that department?

Jus looking at some of our conference mates:

https://fausports.com/staff-directory
https://gotigersgo.com/staff-directory

Edited February 26 by greenminer

untphd · February 26

8 hours ago, greenminer said:

Some are on X/Twitter and (I don't think) you have an account in that community, right?

Jus looking at some of our conference mates:

https://fausports.com/staff-directory
https://gotigersgo.com/staff-directory

Compare our nil fund to memphis

https://www.memphis.edu/mediaroom/releases/2024/april/uofm-fedex-nil-commitment.php#:~:text=FedEx Corp. has announced an,University of Memphis student-athletes.

NT80 · February 26

10 minutes ago, untphd said:

Compare our nil fund to memphis

https://www.memphis.edu/mediaroom/releases/2024/april/uofm-fedex-nil-commitment.php#:~:text=FedEx Corp. has announced an,University of Memphis student-athletes.

And yet we beat Memphis' women's team twice, lost to their men in Memphis by 4, and lost football in Memphis by only 8.

I'm not seeing a glaring team difference with their added NIL. It still takes elite coaching as much as athletes to win games.

UNTLifer · February 26

9 hours ago, greenminer said:

Some are on X/Twitter and (I don't think) you have an account in that community, right?

Jus looking at some of our conference mates:

https://fausports.com/staff-directory
https://gotigersgo.com/staff-directory

Yes, I have an account on X/Twitter. Wonder if Trump would send Musk and Big Balls to audit the department. Outside of Mosley, how many of these people do you see at events. For those of you living in and around Denton, how many of those "community engagement" members do you see actively in the community?

I guess the two department moles didn't like my assessment, but I can tell you this. I could do a much better job than any of those in those roles, and I've never worked in an athletic department once. I have a close family member that moved from private business into academia and he laughs at how much wasted time there is on a daily basis. They are clueless about being efficient.

greenminer · February 26

2 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

Yes, I have an account on X/Twitter. Wonder if Trump would send Musk and Big Balls to audit the department. Outside of Mosley, how many of these people do you see at events. For those of you living in and around Denton, how many of those "community engagement" members do you see actively in the community?

I guess the two department moles didn't like my assessment, but I can tell you this. I could do a much better job than any of those in those roles, and I've never worked in an athletic department once. I have a close family member that moved from private business into academia and he laughs at how much wasted time there is on a daily basis. They are clueless about being efficient.

okay. Is this sentiment specific to us, or all of academia and/or college athletics?

NT80 · February 26

3 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

Yes, I have an account on X/Twitter. Wonder if Trump would send Musk and Big Balls to audit the department. Outside of Mosley, how many of these people do you see at events. For those of you living in and around Denton, how many of those "community engagement" members do you see actively in the community?

I guess the two department moles didn't like my assessment, but I can tell you this. I could do a much better job than any of those in those roles, and I've never worked in an athletic department once. I have a close family member that moved from private business into academia and he laughs at how much wasted time there is on a daily basis. They are clueless about being efficient.

I agree, I'm not seeing any different results from this group. Well, fewer students attending our sporting events. That's not a positive!

Nothing new for general fans. Same ole events as in years past, except the preseason basketball thing downtown...with TWU and the high schools... eyeroll. It appears to be totally on self-serve. No risk/reward. All the same.

We have an introvert as AD, when the job requires an extrovert.

We need a salesman, not a paper pusher.

Edited February 26 by NT80

UNTLifer · February 26

16 minutes ago, greenminer said:

okay. Is this sentiment specific to us, or all of academia and/or college athletics?

Pretty much all.

greenminer · February 26

Apparently we were one of the few football programs in Texas that saw an increase in attendance from the previous year?

UNTLifer · February 26

12 minutes ago, greenminer said:

Apparently we were one of the few football programs in Texas that saw an increase in attendance from the previous year?

Still nothing to write home about. The schedule was much better. There was the push to sell out the Wyoming game, plus games against Tulane, Army, etc... all while we were playing better until late in the year. Not putting 30,000 in that stadium with the number of students, alumni in the area and the local population is nothing to brag about.

Shark84 · February 26

23 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

Eric Capper is in charge of Community Engagement (fail), Shannon Halbritter handles Marketing & Fan Engagement (never heard of her/fail) along with Kayli Manypenny, Mike DeMoss and Peyton Klauber. That entire department is MIA.

https://meangreensports.com/staff-directory

I think the shocking thing to me is the size of the staff. Does it really take that many people to run that department?

I still don't understand why we can't hire UNT grads to fill some of these positions. They would know what the problems are and what can be done. Hiring people from Texas Tech, Rice, SMU, ect. isn't working.

NorthTexasWeLove · February 26

43 minutes ago, Shark84 said:

I still don't understand why we can't hire UNT grads to fill some of these positions. They would know what the problems are and what can be done. Hiring people from Texas Tech, Rice, SMU, ect. isn't working.

THANK YOU!!!

Monkeypox · February 27

23 hours ago, Shark84 said:

I still don't understand why we can't hire UNT grads to fill some of these positions. They would know what the problems are and what can be done. Hiring people from Texas Tech, Rice, SMU, ect. isn't working.

Maybe UNT grads don't apply BECAUSE they know what the problems are and what can/can't be done.

untjim1995 · February 27

11 minutes ago, Monkeypox said:

Maybe UNT grads don't apply BECAUSE they know what the problems are and what can/can't be done.

More likely, the administration hires people like Mosley precisely because he's cheap AND he isn't from here, so he's not going to cause any problems for them. RV was here for 16 freaking years, all because he agreed to do two things: stay within the budget and never complain about it...then he insulated himself further by fleecing 17 people into feeling like they were big wigs, which bought him at least 5 years.

Wren was fine here, probably the best we've ever had, but he knew that the greener pastures were not in Denton, they were up the foodchain. And that he wasn't from here didn't exactly cause any problems for the UNT administration.

GreenEggs&Ham™ · Saturday at 03:30 PM

The ESPN radio show for Univ. of KY basketball said last week that Norman, OK is the new Starkville of the SEC for basketball game day experience. They said that even with $1 beer and hotdogs, OU couldn't entice a descent crowd against the Wildcats and one fan even threw a full beer can at a player. UK had enough fans to make it sound like a home game. Even OU is struggling to get it right.

I attended UNT/OU football game in 1991 & that it was an excellent experience, however. The OU fans were welcoming and hospitable so maybe it's just basketball.

Also, Wren lives in West Virginia now. I can't name one good reason to live in WV & I live next door in KY. Denton is a far better place. Money isn't going to fix the flaws there either. Perhaps he can move on to a better place one day and that is his plan.

Pavlovs Eagle · 2025-03-06T17:29:35Z

On 2/26/2025 at 3:40 PM, Shark84 said:

I still don't understand why we can't hire UNT grads to fill some of these positions. They would know what the problems are and what can be done. Hiring people from Texas Tech, Rice, SMU, ect. isn't working.

Shouldn't UNT have a pipeline of people to hire from and intern for peanuts from its Sports Entertainment Marketing program at the Ryan Biz School? They should be doing class projects for free for the sports marketing group in the Athletic Dept. The students are green, and their ideas may not be honed, but they're closest to the problem of student engagement. Why not give them free experience with a business case, and the Athletic Department free consulting on the solution to student attendance.

I always complained to those who would listen at UNT that they didn't do a great job connecting any of us in my program with the hundreds upon thousands of employers in the DFW area. Meanwhile, other U's in Texas had pipelines of employers ready to snap up a new grad and pay them pennies just to get their foot in the door. Unsurprisingly, the biz school can't even connect with the people across the freeway in the Athletic Center.