Scenario Planned For LSU

[MeanGreen61]

Scenario planned for LSU

North Texas players help with relief effort

09:34 AM CDT on Sunday, September 4, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas and the Sun Belt Conference have examined just about every possible scenario to reschedule the Mean Green’s game against LSU only to arrive back at square one — a three-team switch that appears to be the only option to save the game, UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said Saturday.

UNT is currently working with two other Sun Belt teams on a plan that would include schedule changes for both Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette.

UNT and LSU were forced to postpone Saturday’s season opener be-cause of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The plan includes the following changes:

* UNT and LSU would reschedule their game for Oct. 29.

* UNT would then move its game against ULM that is currently scheduled for Oct. 29 to Nov. 19, when the Mean Green is scheduled to have a bye.

* ULM would then push back its game against Louisiana-Lafayette from Nov. 19 to Nov. 26.

“After going through the process, contacting other schools and looking at their schedules, that appears to be the best scenario,” Villarreal said. “The only other scenario is for LSU to move a Southeastern Conference game to create another open date, but right now that is not on the table.”

The problem with the scenario involving moves by Sun Belt teams is ULM would be left without a game between their homecoming game against Troy on Oct. 15 and a Nov. 5 home game against Florida Inter-national.

ULM athletic director Bobby Staub said late Friday night that the switch would be problematic for the Indians because it would leave the team with back-to-back open weeks during the season.

“We will be open to looking at different options and will go from there,” Staub said.

UNT and LSU both have a financial interest in playing the game. UNT has a $500,000 guarantee to play the game, while LSU was expecting a capacity crowd of more than 90,000 fans at Tiger Stadium for its season opener against the Mean Green.

While the move would allow UNT to get the game in, it would drop a tough non-conference game into the middle of the Mean Green’s Sun Belt Conference schedule and eliminate one of UNT’s open weekends.

UNT has changed its schedule twice already. The Mean Green moved their game against Arkansas State to accommodate the Indians’ home-and-home series with Army and later shifted its schedule so their game against Troy on Oct. 4 could be broadcast on ESPN2.

UNT is now scheduled to face ASU on Nov. 26.

There is also a possibility the game will not be rescheduled. Villarreal said UNT would try to raise extra funds and trim its budget if the game is cancelled.

UNT athletic department raises funds for relief

Defensive tackle Isaac Thomas jumped in line to help the North Texas athletic department finish off a project to aid people in his home state of Louisiana on Saturday morning.

UNT mobilized all of its student-athletes to help with a fundraiser to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina, which ripped through Louisiana this week. The project reached a milestone when the UNT football team helped stuff a 26-foot truck full of supplies the school’s athletic department had collected.

Villarreal said that the athletic department raised a total of $22,000 in cash and supplies. The money and supplies will be donated to a variety of organizations that are assisting in the relief effort. A portion of the proceeds will be used to assist the Tulane football team that is staying in Dallas.

“It’s a really good feeling to know that we are helping out,” Thomas said. “My family moved to the north part of the state before the hurricane. It could have been my family. I took it upon myself to help out more. I was out there two or three days in a row.”

Villarreal credited the school’s coaches and student-athletes for making the fundraiser a success.

“I am extremely excited,” Villarreal said. “We set a goal to raise $5,000. After the first day, we set it at $15,000. The generosity of students, faculty, staff and the citizens of Denton is phenomenal. The $22,000 won’t make a huge dent, but it will make a dent.”

The supplies UNT student-athletes collected were shipped out Saturday.

“I would like to thank my players and all of the student-athletes for participating in this very worthy cause,” UNT football coach Darrell Dickey said. “We have a great group of kids with great character and big hearts.”

UNT to get a peak at MTSU

UNT’s coaches and players were set to get a preview Saturday of Middle Tennessee, the Mean Green’s opponent in what will now be its season opener on Sept. 10.

The Blue Raiders played at Alabama on Saturday night.

“We are going to see if we can get a peak at it somewhere,” Dickey said.

The Mean Green enter the season with a 25-game winning streak in Sun Belt Conference play, the second-longest conference winning streak in the nation. Boise State entered the season with a 26-game streak in the WAC.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

[PlummMeanGreen]

The kick in the butt in all this will be if a certain SBC school choose not to cooperate with the schedule change. NT has already set a good example by cooperating with Arkansas State so they could play Army.

I hope this all gets resolved in the next few days.

[MeanGreen61]

N. Texas date close to set

Glenn Guilbeau

La. Gannett News Service

BATON ROUGE - LSU, North Texas, Louisiana and Louisiana-Monroe officials are close to an agreement on a new date for the postponed LSU-North Texas game from Sept. 3 that will change two other games.

But it was not done yet as of Saturday night.

LSU wants to host North Texas on Oct. 29, which is an open date for the Tigers but no one else. North Texas is currently scheduled to host ULM on Oct. 29, but the idea is to move that game to Nov. 19. Only ULM and UL are currently scheduled to play on Nov. 19 in Monroe, but those two schools have been asked to move that game to Nov. 26. ULM and UL do not have games scheduled on Nov. 26.

"We thought we had it finished, but we're still waiting on final approval," LSU Assistant Athletic Director Herb Vincent said Saturday.

LSU had to change the Sept. 3 game because the state emergency officials late Monday night designated the LSU campus as the chief relief center for victims of Hurricane Katrina, which roared through New Orleans on Monday. LSU's Carl Maddox Field House has been turned into a shelter, and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center has become a field hospital with a triage unit and temporary morgue. On Saturday, the football team's indoor facility also became a shelter.

LSU is now planning on opening the season on Saturday, Sept. 10, against No. 18 Arizona State at 7:45 p.m. on ESPN.

"The schedule changes are not finalized, but I think they're very close," UL interim Athletic Director David Walker said Saturday from the UL-Texas game in Austin, Texas. "More than likely, it's going to happen with our game with ULM being moved."

The move will cost UL, though. School will be out during the days leading up to Nov. 26 with Thanksgiving two days before the proposed new date for UL and ULM.

"We'll have to incur considerable costs to hold a game during an off week - per diems, staff, the cafeteria," said Walker, who did not have an estimate of the cost yet.

North Texas and LSU may help offset some of the costs these changes will bring for ULM and UL.

"North Texas has asked us what the additional cost will be," Walker said.

North Texas will receive a guarantee from LSU in the neighborhood of $400,000 to play at LSU, but that could also rise.

"LSU may have to participate financially in the game changes," Vincent said. "If that's what we have to do, that's what we have to do. These changes are being considered because LSU had to change the game in the first place."

ULM, which lost 27-23 to I-AA Northwestern State Thursday night, has a problem with moving its Oct. 29 game at North Texas because it is already open on Oct. 22. The proposed schedule change would mean the Indians would have back-to-back open weeks before hosting Florida International on Nov. 5.

"Three weeks off is a concern," ULM sports information director Judy Wilson said Saturday.

[GreenBat]

We were the Good Samaritans early in the year. Giving ASU a big pay day against Army. I think UL-La. will bend over backward to help NT. We have a pretty good relationship with the Rajun’ Cajuns. But the people in Northeast Louisiana (UL-M) don’t like us very much. It goes back to the I-AA days in the Southland Conference. I don’t expect UL-M to do anything to help out NT. Wright Waters might need to step in and remind them that what’s good for NT (the big dog) is good for the Sun Belt.

[PlummMeanGreen]

We were the Good Samaritans early in the year. Giving ASU a big pay day against Army. I think UL-La. will bend over backward to help NT. We have a pretty good relationship with the Rajun’ Cajuns. But the people in Northeast Louisiana (UL-M) don’t like us very much. It goes back to the I-AA days in the Southland Conference. I don’t expect UL-M to do anything to help out NT. Wright Waters might need to step in and remind them that what’s good for NT (the big dog) is good for the Sun Belt.

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Wright Waters will undoubtedly have to resolve this, because some cannot see past their noses on this. If ULM wants to create bad waves with us, let them do it on the field of battle, not the business ledger when they stand to lose friends in Baton Rouge who I think they need more in their corner than we do.

[MootPoint]

Wright Waters will undoubtedly have to resolve this, because some cannot see past their noses on this.  If ULM wants to create bad waves with us, let them do it on the field of battle, not the business ledger when they stand to lose friends in Baton Rouge who I think they need more in their corner than we do.

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Don't hold your breath.

[Eagle91Gator95]

As much as I hate going against one of Moot's s, I have to think the state political pressure would almost assure that neither ULaLa or ULM will stop this shuffle from happening. There's too much money to be lost for LSWho to not play their full allottment of home games!!

[MootPoint]

As much as I hate going against one of Moot's  s, I have to think the state political pressure would almost assure that neither ULaLa or ULM will stop this shuffle from happening.  There's too much money to be lost for LSWho to not play their full allottment of home games!!

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I never said LSU wouldn't play a full 11 games. . . .

[greenminer]

I never said LSU wouldn't play a full 11 games. . . .

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The board's true devil's advocate...

[MootPoint]

The board's true devil's advocate... 

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http://utahstateaggies.collegesports.com/s...bl-04sched.html

http://www.lsusports.net/SportSelect.dbml?...164&SPSID=27811

Remember that Utah State canceled their game against Nicholls State and is now one game short. Notice that both Utah State and LSU have an open date on September 17. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but there are options out there for others that maybe we're not going to have control over.

Edited September 5, 2005 by MootPoint

[MootPoint]

Southern University also needs a game and has an open date on November 19 when we just happen to have an open date. . . .

I would love another home game, but, hey, who knows

[Guest Aquila_Viridis]

It will be best to let this game go and make a push to cover the NET income it would have produced. The administration should make some kind of appeal across the entire alumni, like a letter from the president. It is very unlikely that all these schedule shenanigans will produce good results. They have got to reach out to these alumni and make them understand why this is important.

[Arkstfan]

The kick in the butt in all this will be if a certain SBC school choose not to cooperate with the schedule change.  NT has already set a good example by cooperating with Arkansas State so they could play Army. 

I hope this all gets resolved in the next few days.

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And the favor was returned shortly thereafter to clear the way for UNT/Troy to be televised.

[Arkstfan]

ULM hijacked ASU to move a game last year after the schedules were printed. We had to pay them $30,000 or so to get them to agree.

As to ULM getting favors from UNT, expect to pay for the favor. Early in the talks to start the Belt UNT threatened to walk if ULM was part of the league.

Some one mentioned ASU got a big pay day for Army. Not true. The guarantee basically covers our expenses, but they come to Jonesboro to start the 2006 season.

[H-towngreen]

Getting Army to come to ASU sounds like a good payday to me. I'd love to have a service acadamy come to Denton.

[UNTFan23]

Moot, I value your opinion and the info you provide, but we need to play LSU unless we could schedule a team to come to Fouts and make up the lost $500k from gate/concessions revenue.

It's unfortunate that we have to rely on the TU's and LSU's for a meal ticket.

[Coffee and TV]

Southern University also needs a game and has an open date on November 19 when we just happen to have an open date. . . .

I would love another home game, but, hey, who knows

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you're having way too much fun with Mr.

[PlummMeanGreen]

ULM hijacked ASU to move a game last year after the schedules were printed. We had to pay them $30,000 or so to get them to agree.

As to ULM getting favors from UNT, expect to pay for the favor. Early in the talks to start the Belt UNT threatened to walk if ULM was part of the league.

Some one mentioned ASU got a big pay day for Army. Not true. The guarantee basically covers our expenses, but they come to Jonesboro to start the 2006 season.

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A problem NT had with those long 12 years in the SLC is that one of the schools in our former 1-AA league had players who could barely spell their names. That school had very, very low entrance standards back in that day for their overall student body and that school was NE Louisiana aka ULM.

Ex NT Chancellor/President Dr. Alfred F. Hurley had a real problem with NE Lousiana St. U back then because at the time they were admitting just about anybody who could pass the "breath in the mirror" test as to show they were among the walking and the living, with NE LA St (ULM) especially being most gracious with their entrance standards if that student just happened to be an exceptional football player. Ex NE La Indian star RB Roosevelt Potts is one that comes to mind from part of that scenario. It was alleged that he was no Rhodes Scholar.

Also, there was a time when the state of Louisiana funded the construction of all athletic venues when (as we all know) in Texas they have to be privately funded. Ex NT Prez Dr. Alfred Frances Hurley seemed to think their were some uneven playing fields being created in the Southland Conference with all this concering ULM's state funded facilities and low entrance requirments, but it was mostly the academic thing with Hurley.

Yet back to the present, if ULM wants to be a horses' butt about all this scheduling because of a natural disaster/human tragedy it will be their school who loses the public opinion battle AND in their own state because this whole thing was created because of Hurricane Katrina; many of ULM's fellow Louisianians have lost their lives because of this hurricane and it was that humongous storm that caused LSU to have to postpone the NORTH TEXAS game in the first place.

But just what would the rest of the citizenry of the state of Louisiana feel if one of their own northern Louisiana schools was throwing a monkey wrench into all this? If LSU doesn't play this football game they stand to lose $4 million which is what I read in some article. Well, LSU has a big time budget as it is, but $4 million is hardly chicken feed for even any Big Time U athletic programs. (I am suprised to read that what many of us have been reading would be a $500K guarantee for NT is now $400,000? Whats with all that?

ULM can go ahead and play big time wheeler and dealer with LSU being the ultimate receipient of that or the short-term, but for the long-term is it seems it would be most prudent for ULM to be a bit more diplomatic and showing some semblance of sensitive with this knowing the reason of why there was a postponed game by LSU in the first place. With LSU being their states #1 school, #1 football program and being located in their states capital city of Baton Rouge, if you want many statehouse votes for future percs for any Louisiana school why would any school in tht state want this kind of publicity. As it is, aren't many Louisiana legislators LSU graduates?

So ULM can really hurt themselves much more than they can UNT if that is their iintent with all this. North Texas can and will recover the $500,000 and probably do so from the NT president's discretionary fund. Our NT administration knows the value of a well-funded D1-A athletic program and would IMO have no problem replenshing its coffers if ULM wants to sabbotage all this with LSU. NT may have to go do a Big Donor for this, and they very well may ask more on this forum to joint the Mean Green Club.

A new $600,000+ turf at Fouts Field which makes its debut in 2 weeks is another prime example of the NT administration AND Board of Regent's financial support for NT; albeit was a loan that will get paid back.

Hope this gets resolved very soon. The longer it takes the more questions LSU officials will start asking and probaby direct some of those questions toward Monroe, LA.

Edited September 5, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

[j0nat8an]

I would love another home game, but, hey, who knows

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[NT80]

Southern University also needs a game and has an open date on November 19 when we just happen to have an open date. . . .

I would love another home game, but, hey, who knows

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LSU admins have already been quoted as knowing they are the ones to postpone the game and will pay all damages to fix the schedules, including costs to ULM if they have to change. If NT could get another home game plus a cancel fee from LSU that would be fine with me not to play that game.