Challenges Remain

[UNTflyer]

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/sports/stories/DRC_UNT_series_Part_III.a3d8b122.html

[MeanGreen61]

“To move forward, we definitely have to change the face of our football program and win games,” UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said. “I have made it very clear that we are not going to continue on the track that we have been.”

[MeanGreen61]

CUSA thread on conference strength with Boise gone. Some interesting comments about Sun belt

http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=439707

[GrayEagle]

CUSA thread on conference strength with Boise gone. Some interesting comments about Sun belt

http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=439707

Don't get me wrong, I'd kill to get into CUSA but as a conference it's not all that far above the WAC without Boise. Conference USA had four teams near the bottom of the heap last year.

Ironically, it was a poster from ECU who wrote the article and they will fall the farthest this coming year (if Phil Steele knows what he is talking about).

The WAC is fairly stable with Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada and La Tech. Utah State and Idaho were a drag but improved greatly last year. San Jose and New Mexico State are a train wreck and are pulling the conference down. Idaho has serious attendance problems. Still, as a conference they are ahead of the Sun Belt. Phil Steele ranks six SBC teams in the BOTTOM 13 and we barely excape the bottom 20.

As strange as it may seem. we could be the savior of the WAC. While we can't begin to replace the power rating that Boise gave them we can reduce their travel costs perhaps (especially La Tech) and bridge the gap between Louisiana Tech and the rest of the conference. The big problem is long range. The only really viable addition is Montana and they couldn't gain admission until next year. If the MWC cherry picks Fresno or Hawaii this conference dies. The Belt has at least two who are, and will continue to be, a real attendance problem. Apparently they cannot be ousted so the WAC acquiring the stronger (and closer) SBC teams is becoming more logical.

[DeepGreen]

Let me get this straight, according to the thread title, "Struggles in football may hurt UNT's chances in realignment", UNT will have realignment problems because of football. Yet, prior to June Jones going to SMU, the 'Stangs had horrific records in football since the death penalty and have moved to two conferences since then.

Edited June 15, 2010 by DeepGreen

[GrayEagle]

Let me get this straight, according to the thread title, "Struggles in football may hurt UNT's chances in realignment", UNT will have realignment problems because of football. Yet, prior to June Jones going to SMU, the 'Stangs had horrific records in football since the death penalty and have moved to two conferences since then.

On their first move the WAC took in the western half of the FBS (16 teams, that is) and to get to CUSA they were aligned with Tulsa and Rice on an all-or-nothing deal.

Before Dickerson-James and the death penalty SMU had a great reputation and rightly so. Before most of us were born, SMU was a national champion. They followed that with the Doak Walker and Don Meredith eras. I'm afraid that their popularity gave their students a holier-than-thou attitude and highly selective entrance for players had put them in a 20 year skid.

I think that history used to play an important part in conference selection but now it's more 'what have you done lately?'

[UNT90]

Not to mention that SMU hired a respected coach and went to a bowl game last year, showing that it is a program on the rise with a coach that has won in challenging college circumstances (Hawaii).

Sadly, for now, we will have to sell potential.

[ColoradoEagle]

Two winning seasons in the last 21 years, and all of the sudden people think SMU is on its way to the Big 12.

[UNT90]

Two winning seasons in the last 21 years, and all of the sudden people think SMU is on its way to the Big 12.

Nope. They are just ahead of us.

[ColoradoEagle]

In what possible way? They were defaulted into CUSA, which is a place we'd like to be, obviously. Beyond that...what?

We have a newer, more impressive stadium on the way. We've been to the NCAA tournament twice in the last several years and have won at least 20 games a season for a while now. We've had more winning seasons and been to four times as many bowl games as them since their death penalty/our trip back from 1-AA.

I will give you that their year in football last year was better than ours. So what. TCU they are not.

[GreenStreet]

Two winning seasons in the last 21 years, and all of the sudden people think SMU is on its way to the Big 12.

Thank you!

I mean they do have to play this year.

[UNT90]

In what possible way? They were defaulted into CUSA, which is a place we'd like to be, obviously. Beyond that...what?

We have a newer, more impressive stadium on the way. We've been to the NCAA tournament twice in the last several years and have won at least 20 games a season for a while now. We've had more winning seasons and been to four times as many bowl games as them since their death penalty/our trip back from 1-AA.

I will give you that their year in football last year was better than ours. So what. TCU they are not.

They have committed mucho $$$ to their football program. Right now, they have much more $$$ than us to put toward athletics. Right now, they have a much improved football program that has a coach that has proven he can continue the improvement. Right now, they are in a conference which many of us (not I) would KILL to be a part of.

Again, those are all right nows, which is why we have to sell people on our potential, sadly.

This is about football, not basketball. Ask Kansas how far a great BBall program gets you.

Edited June 16, 2010 by UNT90

[Censored by Laurie]

In what possible way?

Did I miss the part when this entire conference re-alignment thingy became about performance and programs and not about money?

[ColoradoEagle]

Did I miss the part when this entire conference re-alignment thingy became about performance and programs and not about money?

If endowment determined conferences, SMU could have its pick of any conference in the land. Fortunately it doesn't, and neither does paying your coach $2m/year.