NICE GESTURE BY COACH MAC

KRAM1 · December 6, 2011

I just wanted to mention what i thought was a very nice gesture from Coach Mac last evening at the final Coach Mac Radio Show of the year...Coach Mac personally bought a drink (beer, soda, etc.) for everyone in attendance as a token of his thanks for our attendance during the year. He has consistently called us the "few, the proud" and stuff like that during the year and has thanked everyone on several occasions, so we pretty much knew how he felt about our attendance, so this gesture was really unexpected and heartfelt.

I truly believe that Coach Mac is the right guy at the right time for UNT. Thanks Coach mac for helping to re-establish UNT on the road to being a winning program once again.

I did feel a touch of frustration on Coach Mac's part last evening when he talked about attendance and specifically student attendance. he made the comment that he felt like he had done everything he could to engage the student body and to help get them interested in attending games. I sensed a bit of frustration on his part with the results and payback from the students for his and his team's efforts. He said it made a big difference to recruits when they visit to see a full stadium...it said it matters and while UNT set an all-time attendance record this season, he was hopeful that the UNT fan base and the student body would get behind the program and turn out in bigger and bigger numbers in the future.

It was a very positive and very enjoyable show to attend last evening. Coach Mac talked about players he discussed for all conference on the coach call in recently...Lance Dunbar,Will Atterberry, AK, Zach Orr. He also mentioned Lemon as freshman of the year and Lance as Offensive player of the year. Interesting also that he mentioned that not all the SunBelt coaches attended that conference call...several SunBelt Coaches on the call were not at all happy about that...even mentioned the possibility of future fines for non-attendance. Hmmmmm...interesting. He also talked about several red shirt freshmen that he feels will have impact next season, how our O-line will immediately be in better shape across the board.

Some of you folks who also attended help me out with some names here for those who couldn't attend or listen in on the radio.

Anyway, it was a nice last show, and I was happy I got to be part of it. Next season is looking even better...

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LongJim · December 6, 2011

Interesting also that he mentioned that not all the SunBelt coaches attended that conference call...several SunBelt Coaches on the call were not at all happy about that...even mentioned the possibility of future fines for non-attendance. Hmmmmm...interesting.

This may be nothing, but it's very interesting, for sure.

Also--personally think that Mac did a hell of a job this year. Complete home run for UNT in every regard, IMO.

untbowler · December 6, 2011

DMac is on the right track but he also needs to take responsibility in some ways for the low student turnout as does RV and the Administration as a whole for breeding a culture that does not attract students to the games. Also not competing well on the road against winnable teams (FIU, ASU, Tulsa) can kill any excitement for the fence sitters.

DMac is a great ambassador for the school, but he also needs help from those above him and beside him, he can not do it alone.

KRAM1 · December 6, 2011

DMac is on the right track but he also needs to take responsibility in some ways for the low student turnout as does RV and the Administration as a whole for breeding a culture that does not attract students to the games. Also not competing well on the road against winnable teams (FIU, ASU, Tulsa) can kill any excitement for the fence sitters.
DMac is a great ambassador for the school, but he also needs help from those above him and beside him, he can not do it alone.

Agree...and a few more students who give a darn about their school would help as well. Why students today think they need to be "spoon fed" everything is beyond me. The idea that games were not advertised around campus is a cop out of the highest proportion. They were not advertised when I was an undergrad or a grad student at UNT either and students KNEW when the games were. Cop out. It's a culture thing at UNT, but, like I have said before...the culture is changing...slowly, yes, but it is changing. I believe attendance by both students and alums will be even better next season.

emmitt01 · December 6, 2011

I sensed a bit of frustration on his part with the results and payback from the students for his and his team's efforts. He said it made a big difference to recruits when they visit to see a full stadium

We set an attendance record and Lance set several rushing records and DMac can only complain about attendance?!!! (tongue firmly in cheek)

Translation: "I feel like you're talking directly to me when you say people can't be bothered to support this team so I'll get defensive. I'll mask my defensiveness by blaming a "lack of winning" and "unknown opponents" instead of just coming out and saying I'm not committed to seeing MY university six times a season."

Mean Green 93-98 · December 6, 2011

DMac is on the right track but he also needs to take responsibility in some ways for the low student turnout as does RV and the Administration as a whole for breeding a culture that does not attract students to the games. Also not competing well on the road against winnable teams (FIU, ASU, Tulsa) can kill any excitement for the fence sitters.
DMac is a great ambassador for the school, but he also needs help from those above him and beside him, he can not do it alone.

I disagree that Coach Mac holds any responsibility for the low student turnout. He worked his tail off to try to get students out to games. As apathetic as UNT students have been over the years, apathy appears to be higher among students now than at any time the past decade.

untbowler · December 6, 2011

I disagree that Coach Mac holds any responsibility for the low student turnout. He worked his tail off to try to get students out to games. As apathetic as UNT students have been over the years, apathy appears to be higher among students now than at any time the past decade.

The only area I put any blame on DMac is the piss poor showings on the road, otherwise he did do all he could, the poor turnout IMO relates to the AD and the many Student Organizations not buying into Athletics

GabeGMG · December 6, 2011

DMac is on the right track but he also needs to take responsibility in some ways for the low student turnout as does RV and the Administration as a whole for breeding a culture that does not attract students to the games. Also not competing well on the road against winnable teams (FIU, ASU, Tulsa) can kill any excitement for the fence sitters.
DMac is a great ambassador for the school, but he also needs help from those above him and beside him, he can not do it alone.

Take responsibility for the low student turnout? He just helped set the all time attendance record. Prior to this season we averaged two wins a season since 2005. I'm personally happy with the attendance we got this year, especially with two games have less than ideal weather.

Student attendance will continue to grow, it's just going to take time...hopefully some winning seasons will expedite this. I continue to see more and more students wearing North Texas apparel on campus these days which to me means the culture is starting to change. I think DMac and the AD are going above and beyond to bring the students in, but like I said it is just going to take some time.

KRAM1 · December 6, 2011

Any "blame" leveled at Coach Mac for the poor attendance...students and otherwise...will only come form folks who have no real clue about what he has done and tried to do and the hours he put in this season trying to energize both fans and students. I only hope he is not discouraged enough by this year's results to "give up". It will not be a one-year turn around, and he will have an easier job turning around the fortunes of the football team itself than turing around the dismal attitude toward attendance held currently by many students, alums and members of the greater Denton Community.

foutsrouts · December 6, 2011

DMac is on the right track but he also needs to take responsibility in some ways for the low student turnout as does RV and the Administration as a whole for breeding a culture that does not attract students to the games. Also not competing well on the road against winnable teams (FIU, ASU, Tulsa) can kill any excitement for the fence sitters.
DMac is a great ambassador for the school, but he also needs help from those above him and beside him, he can not do it alone.

I'm not going to TOTALLY base student involvement this season on that last pathetic turnout, but I do think it has gotten to the point that Rawlins and the administration need to seriously get involved somehow in the attendance issue. I don't know: memo the prof''s, call an emergency meeting, involve all levels in formulating a strategy, just figure out something new and creative. I really don't think we can expect Coach Mac to be in charge of marketing. He has plenty on his plate as it is.

Dr. Seuss · December 6, 2011

Mac is a phenomenal guy on and off the field, he has so much passion for Unt its inspiring... Im a firm believer in the more wins we have the more fans we will have. Hes changed this program more in one year than the past 10 years combined. Once we start winning and showing people that we are the real deal, its gonna be amazing to see.

I think that we need to get out of the belt, its been great to us but its time for a change. No one gets interested to see Sunbelt games, thats why we still dont have a rivalry game, imo. I interested to see how we travel on the road compared to other belt teams. I couldnt make it to road games this year bc of work, I would like to hear some input on that

I think if we dont win one or two ooc games next year, our attendance will still struggle. I still think playing LSU will still hurt us more that help even if we make it a ball game, even though I dont think it will happen bc theyre going to be better next year than this year. Because at the end of the day a lost by 1 point is still a mark on the right column.

The reason why students dont go is because of the students that get accepted here. 80+% of them are a bunch of weirdos. When we have fraternity recruitment, the guys that come by barely played sports and dont care about them. Texas has so much competition for sports, its hard to stay with the big boys... we have what 10 D1 programs.

Tcu was able to grow a lot faster than us just because they have a history that involved winning. I think they have 3 Hiesman winners, which is one less bowl games weve been to. Once we start putting the winning seasons together youll see the growth

GMG

Edited December 6, 2011 by Dr. Seuss

meangreenacct · December 6, 2011

The only area I put any blame on DMac is the piss poor showings on the road, otherwise he did do all he could, the poor turnout IMO relates to the AD and the many Student Organizations not buying into Athletics

FIU was definitely a bad game for us, but the next home game we had huge attendance.

I have a hard time faulting him for our performance against Tulsa and ASU. Tulsa's losses are against OU, OSU, Boise, and UH and ASU won ten games this year. Clearly both programs much farther along than us...on top of that the starting QB was injured in both of those games. I have a hard time faulting DMAC in any way for the low student turnout.

Green Mean · December 6, 2011

Coach Mac's job is to coach football and win games. That is what he gets paid for. I think ultimately it is up to people wanting to come to the games. Remember that there are ton of alternatives people have versus attending a UNT game. People need to have a reason to come to our games and they're just not going to come when we've been as bad as we've been recently and it is hard for the average person on the fence getting excited about next year when we still went 5-7. Fans on this board really know the implications of that record and what its meant but the average person will see a 5-7 record and that being in the Sunbelt conference and teams they have never heard of and they'll be more inclined to pass. As stated many many times it is a culture thing but remember that it's a culture thing because we've been pretty bad and irrelevant in our history. It will change and it is changing slowly but surely. We just have to feed off the momentum and upward trend and I am positive things will come into place.

Green P1 · December 6, 2011

We set an attendance record and Lance set several rushing records and DMac can only complain about attendance?!!! (tongue firmly in cheek)

Translation: "I feel like you're talking directly to me when you say people can't be bothered to support this team so I'll get defensive. I'll mask my defensiveness by blaming a "lack of winning" and "unknown opponents" instead of just coming out and saying I'm not committed to seeing MY university six times a season."

Mac just needs to shutup and be happy about a super fun night and a win!!!

/GMG.com'd

SHOSS · December 6, 2011

Mac just needs to shutup and be happy about a super fun night and a win!!!

/GMG.com'd

Could not possibly disagree with you more. He doesn't need to shut up at all...he is the lone voice out there pulling us along like a gigantic anchor.

If anything, he needs to keep on going, louder and louder until word is actually passed along and RECEIVED by all those that had previously been playing the part of def ears...

foutsrouts · December 6, 2011

The reason why students dont go is because of the students that get accepted here. 80+% of them are a bunch of weirdos. When we have fraternity recruitment, the guys that come by barely played sports and dont care about them. Texas has so much competition for sports, its hard to stay with the big boys... we have what 10 D1 programs.

Tcu was able to grow a lot faster than us just because they have a history that involved winning. I think they have 3 Hiesman winners, which is one less bowl games weve been to. Once we start putting the winning seasons together youll see the growth

GMG

TCU does have history, but 1 Heisman for them, 7 Bowl games for us, and I sure hope that we don't have 30,000 weirdos on campus. Geez....we got enough putdowns as it is.

Mean Green 93-98 · December 6, 2011

Could not possibly disagree with you more. He doesn't need to shut up at all...he is the lone voice out there pulling us along like a gigantic anchor.

If anything, he needs to keep on going, louder and louder until word is actually passed along and RECEIVED by all those that had previously been playing the part of def ears...

I believe that was sarcasm . . .

SHOSS · December 6, 2011

I believe that was sarcasm . . .

sorry

VideoEagle · December 6, 2011

I thing Coach and RV both did very well this year. Yes, there are things that could have been done better, but this was probably the best overall year since I started as a Freshman back in 1976.

I first heard that attendance will pick up if we get into the Southwest Conference. Then it was if we could just go back to being 1A. Then it was getting out of the Big West. Now it's getting out of the Sun Belt. At some point, it becomes the responsibility of alumni and students to JUST SHOW UP no matter who we are playing.

yyz28 · December 6, 2011

I enjoy watching everyone dry to drill this down to one thing that causes these issues. It is such a multitude of bad decisions and unlucky breaks that have UNT in the position we are in today. ...some of us believed that building the stadium meant UNT athletics changed overnight. Some believed a new coach was the answer. ...in the end, winning, both in conference and against OCC teams that generate INTEREST is the best thing we can do long term to encourage attendance at the football games. The AD can also help by making life easier for those who want to go to the games, and ensure it is easy to get to the stadium, park, tailgate, etc. ...A lot of progress has been made o this front. In the end, only a combination of winning regularly and a change in the culture on campus to where ALL UNT EMPLOYEES make it important to them, will drive the students to make it important to them.

The culture is changing, but its slow. It'll take time.

greenminer · December 6, 2011

The only area I put any blame on DMac is the piss poor showings on the road, otherwise he did do all he could, the poor turnout IMO relates to the AD and the many Student Organizations not buying into Athletics

I bet he's working his tail off to win those road games. It just didn't work out this time around.

GrayEagle · December 6, 2011

Could not possibly disagree with you more. He doesn't need to shut up at all...he is the lone voice out there pulling us along like a gigantic anchor.

If anything, he needs to keep on going, louder and louder until word is actually passed along and RECEIVED by all those that had previously been playing the part of def ears...

Now you're talking! Dan certainly has a right to complain. His team and recruits looked directly across into a student section of what?...300-500 plus the band. God bless those students in attendance but they're far from enough to attract the caliber of players that we need to maintain a FBS university.

Coach Mac is off of his butt doing what he can to garner support but he needs a lot of help. The administration and the faculty need to be behind this program big-time. We have made a significant investment and we need to promote it. Everyone in the AD needs to be selling students and alumni, but especially students, on the merits of all of the programs of this university.

I remember Firefighting Rick leading a group of us over to the student side of Fouts after they had approved the athletic fee which allowed the building of Apogee. We thanked them and called them the greatest generation. Where are they now?

What does the University of North Texas want to be? Do they want to be a complete university such as UT, A&M, Tech, Houston, and the like or do we want to be UT-Dallas, where little goes on beyond classes? No knock on UTD; they are highly rated and give their students a good education...and little else. Hell, UTEP puts us to shame when it comes to attending athletic events with little more than half our student enrollment.

I hope that Dan, the athletic department, the administration, the faculty and alumni that get what the value of spirit, loyalty, and pride can do for a university are successful.

meangreen · December 6, 2011

Mark my words, all it takes is a bowl game appearance and things will skyrocket like you wouldn't believe.

LongJim · December 6, 2011

Mark my words, all it takes is a bowl game appearance and things will skyrocket like you wouldn't believe.

Not necessarily disagreeing with you, but Ball State says hi.

kalebschumann · December 6, 2011

I thing Coach and RV both did very well this year. Yes, there are things that could have been done better, but this was probably the best overall year since I started as a Freshman back in 1976.

I first heard that attendance will pick up if we get into the Southwest Conference. Then it was if we could just go back to being 1A. Then it was getting out of the Big West. Now it's getting out of the Sun Belt. At some point, it becomes the responsibility of alumni and students to JUST SHOW UP no matter who we are playing.

So true. There is something to be said for the opponents, conference, and lack of winning, but this season I think can basically solely be blamed on the fans- not the administration.

While I was student teaching- aka never on campus- I saw Coach Mac TWICE during the Spring semester talking to any group or club he could get his face in front of! I was really impressed! He didn't shovel out random BS like TD would throw out. His words weren't rehearsed, and I believed the way Mac was talking to us.

If a guy who was barely on campus saw him twice in a semester, I can only imagine how much he was around campus.

I don't think any of the attendance blame can be put on him. He did everything he could. And he's not part of the marketing and promotion team (not knocking them), so it's not his main job to get people out there. All that he did was clearly above and beyond.

He has the right to be frustrated about the lack of people. An empty Apogee looks worse than an empty Fouts.