So, how was the luncheon ?

[C Rod]

5 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

Sorry, but this is the dumbest idea ever. 

Well you’re certainly entitled to your opinion. Thanks for sharing. 

[UNTLifer]

4 minutes ago, C Rod said:

Well you’re certainly entitled to your opinion. Thanks for sharing. 

As are you. 

[keith]

1 hour ago, C Rod said:

And with the Pit still standing, both our basketball teams could still play a few mid-week home games in Denton each season for the local students and fans.

Planting our basketball flag in Frisco is a no-brainer. Let's do it. 

UCONN plays off campus in Hartford.  Both men and women.  Some games are still played on campus.  If the fans and Denton community don’t want to come out and support the teams, maybe it’s not a bad idea to take the teams to the fans (wherever they are). 

I will admit I’m not a fan of playing off campus, but if there is a venue where the teams could play a few games a season as an outreach to fans looking to adopt a local D1 program, it may be worth it.  It’s clear Denton isn’t interested.  

[MeanGreenZen]

1 hour ago, keith said:

UCONN plays off campus in Hartford.  Both men and women.  Some games are still played on campus.  If the fans and Denton community don’t want to come out and support the teams, maybe it’s not a bad idea to take the teams to the fans (wherever they are). 

I will admit I’m not a fan of playing off campus, but if there is a venue where the teams could play a few games a season as an outreach to fans looking to adopt a local D1 program, it may be worth it.  It’s clear Denton isn’t interested.  

I mean, we played several important games in Fort Worth last week and the crowds weren’t impressive.

[untjim1995]

1 hour ago, MeanGreenZen said:

I mean, we played several important games in Fort Worth last week and the crowds weren’t impressive.

Fort Worth has a team already. Frisco doesn’t…

[Pavlovs Eagle]

On 3/26/2025 at 12:59 PM, keith said:

All kidding aside, it is important to celebrate success and recognize employee contributions.  Too many organizations (business or otherwise) don't do a very good job of this.  

This is equivalent to a pizza party in the breakroom. Employees see right through this.

16 hours ago, Hunter Green said:

I like your way of thinking. It's the kind of forward thinking that is sorely lacking in all areas at UNT, especially athletics and marketing.

On another note, I am trying to justify donating $ to our NIL, but with the leadership we have in place now, I think I'll invest my money where I can get a return on my investment. But one innovative thing I've seen (I think it was at UTSA) when buying at the refreshment stand, they would ask if you wanted to round up or even donate $1 to their NIL fund. Do you think our athletic department would come up with something like that? If so, I've neither seen it nor heard it. Just my 2 cents.

We're too busy having the cashiers point to the 15/18/20% tip options on the week old stale popcorn and grey hot dogs to ask for NIL round ups. 

The food at the Pit has gotten steadily worse throughout the Mac/Hodge era.  The only thing that improves is the addition of a bar.  I guess it's better to be drunk than fed.

18 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

Fort Worth has a team already. Frisco doesn’t…

I bet the Texas Legends NBA G League team gets more fans than a relocated UNT Basketball game would.

90% of the current diehards that aren't asleep in the stands live from the lake north on 35E or from Heritage Trace North on 35W.  Those people aren't driving 60 mins to Frisco.  I'm probably one of an absolute minority that rejiggers my entire work day to make it weeknight basketball games from the Collin County corner of the metroplex. 

If there's kids at UNT Frisco that live there or are at least students that only attend classes there, UNT should run a bus on game days from there to Denton.  A singe 43 passenger tour bus would be a great start... till we need two... then three... and on and on.

[C Rod]

13 hours ago, keith said:

I will admit I’m not a fan of playing off campus, but if there is a venue where the teams could play a few games a season as an outreach to fans looking to adopt a local D1 program, it may be worth it.  It’s clear Denton isn’t interested.  

In this new era of NIL and college athletics, we need to be strategic - not stuck in outdated traditions that don’t serve us.

Let’s be real: UNT is a commuter school. The idea that we have to keep basketball in Denton just doesn’t hold up. The city has never truly rallied behind the university, and game attendance numbers reflect that. So why not take our talents elsewhere - somewhere that wants to invest in the future of Mean Green basketball?

That place is Frisco.

Frisco is booming. It’s a city that understands the business of sports, from the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility at The Star to FC Dallas and the PGA headquarters. Frisco values UNT so much so that they donated the land for our new Frisco campus. Taking the partnership further, UNT should strike a deal with the City of Frisco to build a brand-new basketball arena, replacing the aging 23-year-old Comerica Center. Imagine a state-of-the-art facility in a prime metroplex location, surrounded by corporate sponsors, premium ticket buyers, and a sports-centric community that would actually show up for games.

But here’s the bigger play: it makes way more sense to allocate our limited donor dollars to NIL deals rather than expensive facilities.

Why sink $100M+ on a new basketball arena that we have to build, operate, staff, and maintain when we could be using that money to attract top-tier talent and win championships? Facilities don’t win championships—players do. The best investment UNT can make is in the athletes themselves. If we want to be competitive on a national level, we need significant NIL funds to bring (and keep) elite players to Denton (or, in this case, Frisco).

We’ve seen schools pour money into venues without turning their programs into powerhouses. College Park Center in Arlington is a great example - it’s a beautiful arena, but it hasn’t translated to UTA dominance on the court. UNT needs to focus on what actually drives success: recruiting, NIL, and a location that fosters long-term growth.

It’s time to embrace bold moves. 

[greenminer]

4 minutes ago, C Rod said:

Let’s be real: UNT is a commuter school.

do a board search and you'll find conflicting views on this.

On 2/22/2025 at 9:47 PM, NT80 said:

UNT owns/controls over 29,000 student beds on/near campus.  Probably another 10K in apartments nearby.  This is not a "commuter school" like some refer to it as.

 

On 2/22/2025 at 10:00 PM, NorthTexasWeLove said:

This is accurate. The commuter thing is way overplayed. 

 

On 2/12/2025 at 11:42 PM, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

I will keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, UNT is a commuter school where people come here to study, go to class, graduate and move on. People don't come to UNT for the sports, especially basketball.

 

[THOR]

On 3/27/2025 at 11:43 AM, NT80 said:

I count only 5 or 6 in the photo I can see.

Again, no loyalty or support to the school for most.  It's just a job to them.   

They would leave for TWU or Denton ISD if the pay was a few $ more. 

 

sort of like our bball coach

 

we all would leave some pleace for more money

[Tommy Gadberry]

23 minutes ago, C Rod said:

 

In this new era of NIL and college athletics, we need to be strategic - not stuck in outdated traditions that don’t serve us.

Let’s be real: UNT is a commuter school. The idea that we have to keep basketball in Denton just doesn’t hold up. The city has never truly rallied behind the university, and game attendance numbers reflect that. So why not take our talents elsewhere - somewhere that wants to invest in the future of Mean Green basketball?

That place is Frisco.

Frisco is booming. It’s a city that understands the business of sports, from the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility at The Star to FC Dallas and the PGA headquarters. Frisco values UNT so much so that they donated the land for our new Frisco campus. Taking the partnership further, UNT should strike a deal with the City of Frisco to build a brand-new basketball arena, replacing the aging 23-year-old Comerica Center. Imagine a state-of-the-art facility in a prime metroplex location, surrounded by corporate sponsors, premium ticket buyers, and a sports-centric community that would actually show up for games.

But here’s the bigger play: it makes way more sense to allocate our limited donor dollars to NIL deals rather than expensive facilities.

Why sink $100M+ on a new basketball arena that we have to build, operate, staff, and maintain when we could be using that money to attract top-tier talent and win championships? Facilities don’t win championships—players do. The best investment UNT can make is in the athletes themselves. If we want to be competitive on a national level, we need significant NIL funds to bring (and keep) elite players to Denton (or, in this case, Frisco).

We’ve seen schools pour money into venues without turning their programs into powerhouses. College Park Center in Arlington is a great example - it’s a beautiful arena, but it hasn’t translated to UTA dominance on the court. UNT needs to focus on what actually drives success: recruiting, NIL, and a location that fosters long-term growth.

It’s time to embrace bold moves. 

Good thinking outside of the box here @C Rod!  I really do like the idea of Frisco although it will probably never fly as a total relocation I do think you could be strategic about having some of your games there and building on the growth and support available there.   I have given up on Denton businesses, as they are some of the cheapest small time thinking people on the face of this earth.

I do think that UNT is less of a commuter school than it used to be.  That said, students will still bail on weekends to do things in the big city of Dallas and DFW in general and they always will.

The problem with NIL as it stands today is you get more bang for your buck giving money to facilities where they will put your name on the building if you give them enough.  NIL seems to be a black hole.  Also, when they move Nil to the AD in July, I do understand that they will offer tax deductions which currently most do not do.  So I see NIL becoming more attractive in the future especially if you want to field a winning team.

UNT has a built in advantage due to our enrollment. With revenue sharing we can generate a lot more dollars in house through student fees and the general fund than we could ever do with private NIL funding.  So I would expect that the UNT budget for revenue sharing will be somewhere in the 2.5 to 3 million dollar range and that could be increased if the leadership decides to put more of an emphasis on it.

But you are absolutely correct, NIL is driving everything now and it should be our focus!

 

[untjim1995]

1 hour ago, greenminer said:

do a board search and you'll find conflicting views on this.

 

 

 

The question really isn't whether we are a commuter school or not. Its why the students don't care for our teams or why the city of Denton won't support our teams...

I do wonder what things would look like, though, if we played a game or two in Frisco at the Star or Comerica Center, as well as where Allen plays their hockey games. Partner with their ISDs to get people there if tickets don't sell. Denton County kids don't go, for whatever reasons, so maybe try Collin County parents?

[meaniegreenie]

I've posted numerous times that we should have been marketing FB to the Frisco area and even (yuck) partnering up with the Cowboys. Then after the scheduling issue, I brought it up again regarding BB.

We should be getting the kids interested in the Mean Green from early ages by offering ticket deals, etc. to residents in that area.  It may not work, but it's something we should definitely try given that this area is one of the fastest growing areas in the nation.  We really don't won't Cooke and Grayson counties to be a bunch of Sooner fans in 50 years.

 

[NT80]

4 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

The question really isn't whether we are a commuter school or not. Its why the students don't care for our teams or why the city of Denton won't support our teams...

I do wonder what things would look like, though, if we played a game or two in Frisco at the Star or Comerica Center, as well as where Allen plays their hockey games. Partner with their ISDs to get people there if tickets don't sell. Denton County kids don't go, for whatever reasons, so maybe try Collin County parents?

I agree with expanding our search and reach for more fans.   

But as you say, the "elephant" on campus is WHY won't more students support NT athletics?   That is the group that becomes alums.  If they don't like NT sports in college they won't follow it after they leave.

Our AD is also an issue.   He is not a salesman or marketer.  He is aloof and quiet.  That's fine if he is a pen and paper guy, but hire a guy that will sell the fans and students vocally!  We need a Spokesman for Athletics!

[wardly]

6 hours ago, THOR said:

sort of like our bball coach

 

we all would leave some pleace for more money

1] Our basketball coach is getting a $1 million+ per year raise. 2]The employees who were honored didn't schedule the event. 3] The luncheon could/should of been rescheduled 4] If I'm our women's coach I am out the door asap 5] for a university with a good business school we don't know much about good business 6] The decision to hold the luncheon was a failure of leadership at the top , and I don't mean our AD.

[Mrs. Esterhouse]

On 3/27/2025 at 8:09 AM, Hunter Green said:

 

How many of them are wearing green?

Really? Do you think employees and students at Texas wear burnt orange every day. Do you think employees and students at A&M wear maroon every day. This is a dumb take. 

Also, the employees didn't schedule the luncheon or decide where it would be held. So don't dump on them because you're mad about what happened. I know plenty of UNT employees who are just as pissed and embarrassed by the whole situation as the people on this board. Did the AD do anything to try and make it work? Who knows if they even looked into options to make it work. Whatever happened, it's not on the employees who work hard to keep the school up and running.  

[NT93]

13 hours ago, Mrs. Esterhouse said:

Really? Do you think employees and students at Texas wear burnt orange every day. Do you think employees and students at A&M wear maroon every day. This is a dumb take. 

Also, the employees didn't schedule the luncheon or decide where it would be held. So don't dump on them because you're mad about what happened. I know plenty of UNT employees who are just as pissed and embarrassed by the whole situation as the people on this board. Did the AD do anything to try and make it work? Who knows if they even looked into options to make it work. Whatever happened, it's not on the employees who work hard to keep the school up and running.  

Agreed.  Not sure why anyone would be upset at the employees.

To the bolded part:  I've seen people ask why we didn't try to play to SMU, Frisco, etc, but is that even an option?  I would think the NIT would have some sort of rule that the home team must play at their home court (or on their home campus if they normally play off campus).  Similar to Seton Hall last year.  They play their home games at the Prudential Center, but it wasn't available so they moved to Walsh Gymnasium which is on-campus.  I highly doubt a team can move their "home" games to a nearby arena if their gym isn't available.

[greenjoe]

The only employees I’m upset with are those at the Athletic Department that didn’t see this coming and allowed it to happen.  But now, water under the bridge.  we beat Okie State so on to the Anteaters !