Ok, Nothing but the truth

meangreenbob · February 18, 2012

Honestly, if you are not putting at least 60,000 people in your stadium regardless of the opponent do you really think you deserve a share on equal terms. A chance at a National Title? Of course not. That's not American. It's redistribution of wealth. Darn they give you a millon to kick your ass in front of their fans. Don't want the money then don't play them.

Yes, there are some schools in the so called major conferences that feed off the elite. They were lucky. They know it. Yeah, wish UNT was one of them. We aren't. But can be.

The only way any of the teams from the MWC, CUSA and the Sun Belt can reach that level is to divide up the remaining schools not according to who they want to be associated with but who is economically affordable.

Creat rivalries. Fill stadiums. Creat excitement. Generate revenue. Then and only then will the public take notice.

Edited February 18, 2012 by meangreenbob

UNTflyer · February 18, 2012

Honestly, if you are not putting at least 60,000 people in your stadium regardless of the opponent do you really think you deserve a share on equal terms. A chance at a National Title? Of course not. That's not American.

What on earth does attendance have to do with determining the best team in the country?

meangreenbob · February 18, 2012

What on earth does attendance have to do with determining the best team in the country?

Flyer I like you and repect you but do you really need an answer to your question?

UNTcrazy727 · February 18, 2012

Flyer I like you and repect you but do you really need an answer to your question?

Yes it does because I'm wondering the same thing

MeanGreenDan · February 18, 2012

Yes it does because I'm wondering the same thing

I third this.

meangreenbob · February 18, 2012

Flyer I like you and repect you but do you really need an answer to your question?

I will answer it for you. The belief is that the best athletes will sign on with the schools that will give them the best opportunity to show off their talents to the greatest number of people so that they can hopefully get dratfed into the NFL and make a lot of money.

Therefore since the best athletes go for the TV exposure those schools believe and the athletes as well that they are the best the country has too offer. Why let a Sun Belt school think otherwise. You think a Sun Belt school that averages 17,000 deserves a chance at the national title? I don't. Not yet.

Edited February 18, 2012 by meangreenbob

greenminer · February 18, 2012

This has "Sisters of the Poor" written all over it.

UNT 90 Grad · February 18, 2012

I thought that winning led to butts in seats, not the other way around. I guess ihad it backwards.

Honestly I think it starts with winning, which leads to better exposure, which leads to better recruiting, which leads to more winning, which leads to more exposure, etc. Part of the added exposure includes growing attendance, but I'll bet players care more about ESPN highlights than game attendance if given the choice. I'll bet they'd be fine with a half filled house if they new NFL scouts were in attendance. Just my thoughts.

keith · February 18, 2012

I actually read Bob's post a bit differently...with a sarcastic slant. Of course, by itself, attendance does (and should not) determine who has a chance to be considered as the best team in the nation. That just seems silly. However, something just as silly - membership in one of the select few conferences - does seem to determine who has a chance at the national championship.

All 120 teams start each year undefeated, but only those lucky enough to be members of the "elite" conferences have been determined to be worthy of being considered for national championship status. Once in one of these conferences, you're already eliminated half of the competition. In reality, it's even a smaller select few in those conferences that have been preordained for greatness, but I digress.

So, before even having a chance at a national championship, you first need to win the birth-right battle. In other words, no matter how good you are, you must first be in the right conference (see Boise St). Now these conferences will not give up or dilute their elite position just out of the goodness of their hearts. After all, there is prestige (and money!) at stake.

To make a long story short, the first and apparently required step toward winning a championship is getting into one of the "selected" conferences (at least in today's world). In order to do that, you have to make yourself as attractive as possible to your potential suitors. Bob is simply laying out a recipe to do that.

Keith

VideoEagle · February 18, 2012

So TCU must not have finished as #2 since their attendance was no where near what some schools not in the Top 25 were.

TIgreen01 · February 18, 2012

Nope. It's all about money....how much you spend determines how much you win...and spending more money gets you a seat at a better table. One of the common misconceptions, recently,was that Tcu was a little guy. They didn't get a rose bowl invite by chance or sympathy...they got it by being a top 20 spender in football budget.

Schools must determine what results they want and at what level they want to compete at...then they must FUND their program accordingly.

We are not being excluded out of spite. We have been excluded b/c we haven't spent enough to make people take us seriously. Until now.

wardly · February 18, 2012

we will never move up until fans attend games to watch UNT play instead of who they play.

smoothfresh · February 18, 2012

Great post Wardly....simple and spot on!

Voice of Reason · February 18, 2012

we will never move up until fans attend games to watch UNT play instead of who they play.

You hit that on the head.

Alabama drew 91,000 to play UNT and drew 101,000 to play Georgia Southern. It wasn't the competition that put butts in the seats.

GrandGreen · February 18, 2012

Money begets winning begets attendance/demand begets tradition begets money begets winning begets attendance/demand, etc.

It is a circle that can begin at any point: the above is the most likely. Just remember money is a relative factor, the more money the more likely you will win but only if you are consistently outspending your opponents. Coaching and luck can spike this circle, but consistency is the key to building tradition. Tradition once established at a high level can fuel success.

NT sadly is at the low end of the continuum, but slowly building.

risinggreen · February 18, 2012

You hit that on the head.

Alabama drew 91,000 to play UNT and drew 101,000 to play Georgia Southern. It wasn't the competition that put butts in the seats.

Georgia Southern was pretty good. And regional.

TXST_CAT · February 19, 2012

I third this.

Attendance vs TV $$$. You do the math. 30k seat stadium at say $35 average per seat. That's over a Million per game. Not including merchandise and concession sales. Yes attendance matters. Having teams that travel well in your conference makes all the difference in the world.

PlummMeanGreen · February 19, 2012

Attendance vs TV $$. You do the math. 30k seat stadium at say $35 average per seat. That's over a Million per game. Not including merchandise and concession sales. Yes attendance matters. Having teams that travel well in your conference makes all the difference in the world.

UNT once took around 20,000 Mean Green fans down to UT-Austin (according to figures from a day after game edition of the Austin American-Statesman) and most decent, competitive North Texas teams have traveled quite well since.

Even noticed a Rice Owl poster on the CUSA board just this last week comment on the large number of Mean Green fans that showed up at Rice Stadium when we have played the Owls in the past, too. (Heaven only knows how many North Texas Exes live in the Greater Houston area as it is).

GMG!

KRAM1 · February 20, 2012

we will never move up until fans attend games to watch UNT play instead of who they play.

BINGO! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

SilverEagle · February 20, 2012

BINGO! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

And BINGO! WE HAVE TOTAL AGREEMENT.

And now the "chicken and egg" debate comes back around. Does winning make this happen? Or does promoting school spirit and traditions make this happen? Naturally, I say both. But I have always believed that "spirit and traditions (and game day experiences) are what keep the attendance up during the down years.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · February 20, 2012

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was Apogee. We got some boost out of it. The 5-7 record was a good improvement. We must get more this year. We backslide this year, and it's trouble.

That's one of the reasons coach McCarney's health concerns me. I'm 111% confident that he has the ability and energy needed to get us over the hump. I just worry whether there'd be a huge letdown if his health failed during the season.

Who's the Back-up Plan? Is it by default Canales? If so, I think his piloting us to a 2-3 landing after a disastrous start in 2010 is reason enough to stay optimistic.

My kids love running around the empty end zone seats at Fouts. But, at some point, they'll grow old and cynical like the rest of us and expect wins.

Even though my kids aren't named Johnny, let's do it for Johnny!

GrayEagle · February 21, 2012

You hit that on the head.

Alabama drew 91,000 to play UNT and drew 101,000 to play Georgia Southern. It wasn't the competition that put butts in the seats.

I hate to ruin a good story but Alabama drew capacity (101,812) for both games.