Possible Sun Belt

[GreenN'walinsVet]

If the merger stays with 18 and lets give them Temple and Utah State , leaving the Sun Belt untouched.

Invite UTSA and Texas Sate for all sports and UTA for all sports minus football. This leaves the Belt with 12 football teams and 14 basketball teams.

West Division:

North Texas

UTSA

Texas State

Louisiana Lafayette

Monroe

Arkansas State

UTA * Non Football

East Division:

FIU

FAU

Western Kentucky

Middle Tennessee

Troy

South Alabama

Little Rock * Non Football

If the merger doesn't go to 24 and the money that would follow, this to me would be a dream scenario. Also with the WAC 100% done, it makes the Belt the clear #2 non AQ conference imo, and would also compete with the merger for #1.

Also, if you can kick Monroe out and add La Tech it would make it even better.

Keep the Basketball tournament in Hot Springs and play the football championship in Shreveport, Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, Nashville, and Miami on a rotating basis.

With that kind of change you renegotiate the TV contract to make the money much more appealing and your off and running with a regional conference with plenty of big markets and up and coming programs both on the field and with facilities.

This post has been promoted to an article

[UNTflyer]

Why dip down to I-AA???

LA Tech + New Mexico State = 12 teams

Done.

[emmitt01]

Why dip down to I-AA???

LA Tech + New Mexico State = 12 teams

Done.

Two reasons.

1)Getting UTSA gets us the San Antonio market for TV contract purposes. Does UTSA really command that market? Nope, but TV execs clearly don't care about an ability to actually draw viewers in your market (see SMU).

2)If the rebel alliance passes us up this go round this allows us to take UTSA off the table for them.

[GreenGuy123]

I'd rather not bring in more FCS schools, especially from Texas. Just more competition in terms of recruiting. But if we were going to bring one in...UTSA over Texas State any day of the week.

[smoothfresh]

Amen to this! I personally like the regional conference. Perfect for road trips and perfect for those schools fan to come to Apogee and spend money in our communities.

[emmitt01]

I'd rather not bring in more FCS schools, especially from Texas. Just more competition in terms of recruiting. But if we were going to bring one in...UTSA over Texas State any day of the week.

Let's not be like UT or SMU and do anything to avoid competition.

[wardly]

If the merger stays with 18 and lets give them Temple and Utah State , leaving the Sun Belt untouched.

Invite UTSA and Texas Sate for all sports and UTA for all sports minus football. This leaves the Belt with 12 football teams and 14 basketball teams.

West Division:

North Texas

UTSA

Texas State

Louisiana Lafayette

Monroe

Arkansas State

UTA * Non Football

East Division:

FIU

FAU

Western Kentucky

Middle Tennessee

Troy

South Alabama

Little Rock * Non Football

If the merger doesn't go to 24 and the money that would follow, this to me would be a dream scenario. Also with the WAC 100% done, it makes the Belt the clear #2 non AQ conference imo, and would also compete with the merger for #1.

Also, if you can kick Monroe out and add La Tech it would make it even better.

Keep the Basketball tournament in Hot Springs and play the football championship in Shreveport, Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, Nashville, and Miami on a rotating basis.

With that kind of change you renegotiate the TV contract to make the money much more appealing and your off and running with a regional conference with plenty of big markets and up and coming programs both on the field and with facilities.

i think Temple and FIU are targeted with UTEP moving west, giving them 2 football only and 16 all sports members.

[Eastwood Eagle]

Why dip down to I-AA???

LA Tech + New Mexico State = 12 teams

Done.

That is incredibly shortsighted.

Yes, UTSA and Texas State are in 1-AA, but after they transition these will be to great rivalries to have. With the addition of these two schools we could have a three way rivalry that would greatly benefit both schools/ fan bases.

If we get passed up, we need to ensure that we get in a conference with UTSA and Texas State.

[GreenBat]

UTSA is part of the WHORN network. Just a little info.

[Harry]

Two reasons.

1)Getting UTSA gets us the San Antonio market for TV contract purposes. Does UTSA really command that market? Nope, but TV execs clearly don't care about an ability to actually draw viewers in your market (see SMU).

2)If the rebel alliance passes us up this go round this allows us to take UTSA off the table for them.

I think there's one thing I learned from this process is it is not about whether you command the market, its how many actual TV sets are in the market. I've said this before but it's worth saying again...college football is one of the few gotta watch live advertising draws in this DVR fast forward past the commercial age we live in today.

[Green Otaku]

I would love someone like Old Dominion or VCU as a non-football member. Helps with the teams out west and adds a great team. Eventually ODU could move their football in.

[UNTflyer]

Yes, UTSA and Texas State are in 1-AA, but after they transition these will be to great rivalries to have.

Based on what? The 75 UTSA fans that traveled to Sam Houston State?

If we get passed up, we need to ensure that we get in a conference with UTSA and Texas State.

Oh dear God...

[GreenGuy123]

Let's not be like UT or SMU and do anything to avoid competition.

Haha yeah, you are right. I mean I'd love to actually have some rivals. We do have quite a bit of history with Texas State and I wouldn't mind a "Battle of the Birds" game with UTSA. Plus, those road trips would be great. I guess it would be a no lose situation to try and get them into the Sun Belt. If we get into the Alliance, great, if we get passed over, then bring on some Central/South Texas rivalries.

[GreenGuy123]

I would love someone like Old Dominion or VCU as a non-football member. Helps with the teams out west and adds a great team. Eventually ODU could move their football in.

I think ODU and VCU would be great non-football members. I wouldn't be opposed to adding Charlotte either, once they get their football in gear.

[Daddy Dumpsalot]

If the merger stays with 18 and lets give them Temple and Utah State , leaving the Sun Belt untouched.

Invite UTSA and Texas Sate for all sports and UTA for all sports minus football. This leaves the Belt with 12 football teams and 14 basketball teams.

West Division:

North Texas

UTSA

Texas State

Louisiana Lafayette

Monroe

Arkansas State

UTA * Non Football

East Division:

FIU

FAU

Western Kentucky

Middle Tennessee

Troy

South Alabama

Little Rock * Non Football

If the merger doesn't go to 24 and the money that would follow, this to me would be a dream scenario. Also with the WAC 100% done, it makes the Belt the clear #2 non AQ conference imo, and would also compete with the merger for #1.

Also, if you can kick Monroe out and add La Tech it would make it even better.

Keep the Basketball tournament in Hot Springs and play the football championship in Shreveport, Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, Nashville, and Miami on a rotating basis.

With that kind of change you renegotiate the TV contract to make the money much more appealing and your off and running with a regional conference with plenty of big markets and up and coming programs both on the field and with facilities.

This is a joke. We really are that desperate aren't we? Have we been so stagnate over the past 60 years that we are hoping to get into a conference with a school that started their football program 2 years ago? Here I am thinking that maybe we can move up and play some schools with some name recognition so we can attract a larger, more dedicated fan base....but nope we're hoping to get into a conference with two FCS schools 30 miles apart. Adding these two schools should be viewed as a step backwards and we can continue to expect 12k average attendance. I guess it's too much to ask (demand) that we aim a little higher?

Edited February 15, 2012 by Daddy Dumpsalot

[Aquila_Viridis]

I read recently that we are offering a green light to greatness. Promoting Texas State and UTSA is a red light that leads to ruin. North Texas is a much better UNIVERSITY than those remedial institutions. This should be the last time that those two schools are mentioned in the same breath as UNT. Please feel free to mention them with Sam, SFA and UTA though. Then your words will make sense.

If you think that associating with those institutions is necessary for North Texas' wellbeing, then you don't get it. You have no idea what you're talking about. You are trying to put the cart before the horse and let the tail wag the dog. Don't be stupid.

Edited February 15, 2012 by Aquila_Viridis

[Aquila_Viridis]

Oh and yes I do expect 'vitriolic hatred' from those institutions.

[UNT90]

If we get passed up, we need to ensure that we get in a conference with UTSA and Texas State.

Wow.

Just Wow.

[Mean Green 93-98]

Neither LaTech nor UTSA does anything for me. I don't get the repeated posts that "we need to get rid of ULM so LaTech will join the Belt." Really? We need to bend over backward for LaTech? Remember, they're not the school in Baton Rouge, they're the school in Ruston.

[eulessismore]

If the merger stays with 18 and lets give them Temple and Utah State , leaving the Sun Belt untouched.

Invite UTSA and Texas Sate for all sports and UTA for all sports minus football. This leaves the Belt with 12 football teams and 14 basketball teams.

West Division:

North Texas

UTSA

Texas State

Louisiana Lafayette

Monroe

Arkansas State

UTA * Non Football

East Division:

FIU

FAU

Western Kentucky

Middle Tennessee

Troy

South Alabama

Little Rock * Non Football

If the merger doesn't go to 24 and the money that would follow, this to me would be a dream scenario. Also with the WAC 100% done, it makes the Belt the clear #2 non AQ conference imo, and would also compete with the merger for #1.

Also, if you can kick Monroe out and add La Tech it would make it even better.

Keep the Basketball tournament in Hot Springs and play the football championship in Shreveport, Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, Nashville, and Miami on a rotating basis.

With that kind of change you renegotiate the TV contract to make the money much more appealing and your off and running with a regional conference with plenty of big markets and up and coming programs both on the field and with facilities.

Maybe I'm just not seeing the South Central Texas vision, but man the whole thing sounds like, "hey, we really need to lower our standards". I will say I've enjoyed watching us play at UTAin basketball, but we already do that most years.

Edited February 15, 2012 by eulessismore

[Aquila_Viridis]

So my point being that as a university our goal should be to move UP not down, I wanted to get a sense of what we would be looking at further up the totem pole. I realize that getting such associations has challenges and even downsides in some cases.

There is a reason SMU doesn't want to be associated with us. SMU is much more highly ranked as a university. Now why they would have that view and not feel the same about Houston, I can only attribute to us being in their backyard.

Leaving out the true big conference schools, and forgetting all the barriers, here are some with which UNT should reasonably aspire to associate as a UNIVERSITY since they are ranked higher, but not too much higher, as such than UNT:

Bowling Green

Ball State

LT (hurts doesn't it)

SDSU

UAB

UCF

Temple

Cincinnati

Idaho (ouch)

Louisville

USF

Utah State

Hawaii

Nevada

Wyoming

CSU

Buffalo

Ohio (reach)

And by the same standard here are some with which UNT SHOULD currently associate, though some are slighlty lower than NT:

NMSU

ECU (lower)

Houston

Memphis (lower)

USM (lower)

UNLV

Of course, there are lesser schools that have better sporting success and recognition, and there are higher programs that have small or no sports programs. (I don't think we can count on an Ivy League invite.)

One thing is clear to me: as a university we do not belong in the Sun Belt; it is weighing us down. If we don't get into CUSAMWC (where by the way there is some riffraff from our vantage point) then we should be talking to the best of MAC and remaining WAC, maybe take a couple of Belt schools and try to pick off one or two from the CUSAMWC, all to form a new conference that is better for all. If we're going to help anyone move up there would be a lot of candidates that are much better schools than Texas State or UTSA and even ranked ahead of NT. If you want local competition, go see games on Friday night. You will note that the crowds are usually not very big.

[ntmeangreen11]

How many times has North Texas been slighted by another school in our programs history because that program didn't want anything to do with us? It's about being cutthroat and sabotaging other schools. There are already 10 FBS schools in Texas. 85 scholly's/teamm =850 players over for years. Two more schools = 1020. I'm pretty sure Texas produces around 250 FBS signess a year or so, with about 100 of them signing out of state.

It would make a lot more sense and be more beneficial to us if we're not alliance bound to take La. Tech & NMSU(Even though they're an outlier) two established programs that aren't in our state. If not scared of being passed up by either TSU or UTSA, but I don't want to even give them the chance, the same way SMU and other schools have done us over the years. It does us no good to try and start a rivalry in 2013 with two schools in South Texas we have little history with.

They might be good replacements for the sun belt for us when we leave, but I do not care to share the same conference with these schools. They are not rivals, they will never be rivals, and I really hope they're never in the same sentence with North Texas. I hope the WAC dies off and they both try to make it independent, because that will result in both schools dropping back down in 3-4 years.

[UNT90]

They might be good replacements for the sun belt for us when we leave, but I do not care to share the same conference with these schools. They are not rivals, they will never be rivals, and I really hope they're never in the same sentence with North Texas. I hope the WAC dies off and they both try to make it independent, because that will result in both schools dropping back down in 3-4 years.

This, 1000 rimes.

It amazes me that some of our own Alumni still think that we are no better than a school that has been playing football for one year and a school that has yet to move up tio FBS football.

How can we expect anyone else to take us seriously when we don't even take ourselves seriously? Being in a conference with therse 2 teams will historically be viewed in the same light as our move back to 1AA. A killer for the program and it's fan base.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Only one reason and one reason only for utsa to be considered:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=cYfjq3ZYZbA

The ghost of Quanah Parker will probably haunt me the rest of my life for posting that link.

GMG!

Edited February 15, 2012 by PlummMeanGreen

[kalebschumann]

I don't know about any of the superiority issues, 1AA, or academic issues- but I do know that traveling to San Marcos and San Antonio are actually possibilities for me. Going to Louisianna, Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee are not options for me.

So purely from a travel point of view- I'm in favor of UTSA and Texas State. I'm going to watch UNT play no matter what their level of competition is. I get just as stoked for an NT game against Texas Pan-American as I do any other. I think I'd feel the same way about football.

I'll let the people that all the details work out the rest. But for the record, from a purely geographical convenience point of view, I'm in favor of UTSA and Texas State.