Anyone think ACU will catch up with us?

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

ACU will go Division I this season, joining FCS's Southland Conference. We've already pooh-poohed UTSA, only to see them join us in the C-USunBelt with only two seasons under their belts. Why not Abilene Christian in another year or so? They've got well-heeled alumni that are starting to throw cash at their athletic department.

During the Dodge era, some who suggested we hire Chris Thomsen away from ACU were pooh-poohed. Well, Chris moved on to Texas Tech and led the Red Raiders to a bowl victory as interim head coach last season, and has since gone on to join the Arizona State coaching staff.

Meanwhile, ACU ups the ante, jumping to FCS-level. And, because the topic is ripe, they are going in with a new logo:

http://blogs.acu.edu/acutoday/2013/02/15/after-16-years-there%E2%80%99s-a-new-cat-in-town/

They hired a real, big boy marketing firm to do it.

In Abilene, more than 100 student-athletes, coaches, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and other fans were part of focus groups that reviewed early designs, then helped refine them. Seven different wildcats were developed along the way, with one chosen to represent ACU’s 16 intercollegiate athletics teams as they prepare to begin play in NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference this August.

I seem to recall someone here calling to get alumni involved in the process of getting us a big boy logo. Crazy, no?

Edited February 18, 2013 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[GreenMachine]

Sounds like they already have. I wonder if their AD will nix a sharp looking logo/uniform that the athletes and fans want and instead insist they spell out Abilene Christian on the helmets?

[Green P1]

NO

[DeepGreen]

Actual input and decision making from the fan base at ACU on their new logo. Can't do that at UNT.

[MeanMag]

... Man we need wins and baseball. Threads about Abilene? Really?

[SilverEagle]

ACU will go Division I this season, joining FCS's Southland Conference. We've already pooh-poohed UTSA, only to see them join us in the C-USunBelt with only two seasons under their belts. Why not Abilene Christian in another year or so? They've got well-heeled alumni that are starting to throw cash at their athletic department.

During the Dodge era, some who suggested we hire Chris Thomsen away from ACU were pooh-poohed. Well, Chris moved on to Texas Tech and led the Red Raiders to a bowl victory as interim head coach last season, and has since gone on to join the Arizona State coaching staff.

Meanwhile, ACU ups the ante, jumping to FCS-level. And, because the topic is ripe, they are going in with a new logo:

http://blogs.acu.edu/acutoday/2013/02/15/after-16-years-there%E2%80%99s-a-new-cat-in-town/

They hired a real, big boy marketing firm to do it.

In Abilene, more than 100 student-athletes, coaches, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and other fans were part of focus groups that reviewed early designs, then helped refine them. Seven different wildcats were developed along the way, with one chosen to represent ACU’s 16 intercollegiate athletics teams as they prepare to begin play in NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference this August.

I seem to recall someone here calling to get alumni involved in the process of getting us a big boy logo. Crazy, no?

.

From Thompsens profile on the Arizona St. football web-site........

Thomsen turned the ACU program into a perennial contender under his watch, winning the Lone Star Conference South Division Coach of the Year award four times. He led the Wildcats to an undefeated regular season in 2010 and twice won 11 games. ACU, in fact, is one of just four programs in the country to have reached the NCAA Division II playoffs in each of the last six seasons, joining Northwest Missouri State, North Alabama and Albany State (Ga.) in that elite category.

Before Thomsen's arrival in 2005, ACU hadn't won a Lone Star Conference championship since 1977 and hadn't won an outright championship since 1973, but Thomsen led ACU to undisputed league crowns in 2008 and 2010, posting perfect regular seasons in both years. For his efforts, Thomsen was voted the LSC South Division Coach of the Year four times in his seven seasons in the league. Known for his high-powered offenses at ACU, Thomsen's tenure is perhaps most famous for the 2008 NCAA Division II playoff game against rival West Texas A&M, when the two teams combined to break 45 NCAA Division II records in a 93-68 Abilene Christian victory.* That season, ACU led the NCAA in yards per game (558.8) and points per game (52.3) and scored at least 40 points 11 times and at least 36 points in all 13 contests

* WT A&M is coached by this guy.......

http://www.gobuffsgo.com/coaches.aspx?rc=383

Who we probably could have hired instead of TD....in fact I know we could have.

This part of his profile might be of some interest.......

"After leading the country in Division II average attendance the previous year, Buff fans again came out in droves, helping WT to again rank first, nationally, in total attendance."

...from his 2011 profile.....

"During his first season in Canyon, Carthel and the Buffs surprised everyone, having been picked to finish last in the LSC preseason poll, as they registered a 10-1 regular season record and captured the school’s first Lone Star Conference Championship in 19 years. Excitement surrounding Carthel’s program was evident as attendance soared, with a regular-season average of over 14,000 fans per game at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium. Carthel was honored by his peers as the 2005 LSC Coach of the Year."

14,000 may not sound like very much to many on this board, but this is at a school that has 7333 enrolled this spring......6200 of them are undergraduates.

Edited February 18, 2013 by SilverEagle

[El Paso Eagle]

Please stop with the paranoia … it will destroy you!!!!

All the credit in the world to UTSA, but if their not in one
of the largest cities in the country – THAT HAS NO FBS FOOTBALL PROGRAMS at the
time they started they would of never made the moves they have made as fast as
they did.

Abilene is NOT San Antonio

[letsgiveacheer]

Abilene is already well known for their paradox. Anything could happen.

[UNT90]

They will pass us by with a CUSA title in 2076.

[meangreendork]

Not with that terribly ugly cat thing. I know Rickabaugh's done a ton of athletic marks for different teams, but this is one where you can kinda tell they phoned it in and maybe even dredged up unused ideas, or maybe they just rehashed overly used ideas. Either way, not impressed and it looks a lot like every other Rickabaugh-made or Rickabaugh-esque mascot logo.

[LakeTravis]

Curfew and mandatory church services.

I'm sure all the best athletes will line up to sign their LOI.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Curfew and mandatory church services.

I'm sure all the best athletes will line up to sign their LOI.

You'd be surprised.

They currently have 4 alumni in the NFL right now. That's more than us.

[JesseMartin]

I had a roommate who came to UNT for grad school, and he did his undergrad at ACU. But that's irrelevant...anyway...isn't Abilene in between the Metroplex and Lubbock? Moving to FCS gives them a shot at money games with FBS teams, and fairly close regional game opportunities, with us, TCU, SMU, Tech, UTEP...with their attendance being double their student population, they obviously have a pretty solid base of supporters/alumni and a $1-2 million a year from paycheck games won't hurt. Sounds like they are doing some smart work. And don't discount the curfew and church thing...there are quite a few families who will lean hard on their kids to take an offer at a place like that.

[Mean Green 93-98]

Curfew and mandatory church services.

I'm sure all the best athletes will line up to sign their LOI.

It's not a rare thing for football teams to have curfews even where there is not a campus-wide curfew. Auburn hired a security firm to enforce their curfew.

Baylor has done all right despite having mandatory chapel.

[SilverEagle]

Curfew and mandatory church services.

I'm sure all the best athletes will line up to sign their LOI.

These four NFL draftees didn't seem to mind.....from the Arizona State press release about Thompsen....

This looks like a good get for the Sun Devils. Per the ASU press release, Thompson, the the two-time AFCA Region IV Coach of the Year, coached four NFL draft choices (Danieal Manning, 42nd pick, second round by the Chicago Bears in 2006; Johnny Knox, fifth-round pick by the Bears in 2009;Bernard Scott, sixth-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2009; Clyde Gates, fourth-round pick by the Miami Dolphinsin 2011); an NFL Pro Bowl selection (Knox in 2009), a Harlon Hill Award winner (Scott in 2008), the award that is the NCAA Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy; and a Gene Upshaw Award winner (Sam Collins in 2008), signifying the top lineman in NCAA Division II football.

How many North Texas players have been drafted in the last six years or so.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Please stop with the paranoia … it will destroy you!!!!

All the credit in the world to UTSA, but if their not in one

of the largest cities in the country – THAT HAS NO FBS FOOTBALL PROGRAMS at the

time they started they would of never made the moves they have made as fast as

they did.

Abilene is NOT San Antonio

Paranoia you say?

Below are schools that North Texas were once on the same level or even ahead--many of whom we were even in the same conference.

(1) Houston

(2) Memphis

(3) Louisville

(4) ECU

(5) Southern Miss

(6) Cincinatti

(7) South Florida

(8) Central Florida

(9) Tulsa

(10) Boise State

(11) UTSA (jury still out on this one albeit they are kicking our A$$ in marketing & at the turnstiles)

(12) TSU-SM (Some of us Baby Boomers and older long ago learned to say.........never say never.

(13) Who did I leave out?

Isn't this more than enough for us and do our present UNT Board of Regents even know the history on this subject as it relates to our school? Anyone want to take a few bets on that one?

GMG!

Edited February 18, 2013 by PlummMeanGreen

[Mean Green 93-98]

Paranoia you say?

Below are schools that North Texas were once on the same level or even ahead--many of whom we were even in the same conference.

(1) Houston

(2) Memphis

(3) Louisville

(4) ECU

(5) Southern Miss

(6) Cincinatti

(7) South Florida

(8) Central Florida

(9) Tulsa

(10) Boise State

(11) UTSA (jury still out on this one albeit they are kicking our A$$ in marketing & at the turnstiles)

(12) TSU-SM (Some of us Baby Boomers and older long ago learned to say.........never say never.

Isn't this more than enough for us and do our present UNT Board of Regents even know the history on this subject as it relates to our school? Anyone want to take a few bets on that one?

GMG!

It could change, but we are still certainly ahead of UTSA and TSU-SM.

[Green P1]

Curfew and mandatory church services.

I'm sure all the best athletes will line up to sign their LOI.

Bingo. As an Elder's son(Church of Christ) I waited by the mailbox everyday for months just so I could beat everyone to their acceptance letter... Ripped it up and went with the next school to accept.

Edited February 18, 2013 by Green P1

[meangreener]

UTSA has passed us by, or are at least at our level.

TSSM on the other hand, absolutely not. They did sell out the Tech game, but the thing was like 30/70 TSSM/Tech fans, then promptly went back to the gutter in attendance.

They're still in the Sun Belt. Which, as bad as the CUSA is now, the SBC is firmly cemented as the bottom rung of FBS football after this realignment. I mean, schools wanted to get out of there SO BAD that they paid a lot of money to skip out a year early (MTSU, anyone)?

Edited February 18, 2013 by meangreener

[meangreanmick]

Paranoia you say?

Below are schools that North Texas were once on the same level or even ahead--many of whom we were even in the same conference.

(1) Houston

(2) Memphis

(3) Louisville

(4) ECU

(5) Southern Miss

(6) Cincinatti

(7) South Florida

(8) Central Florida

(9) Tulsa

(10) Boise State

(11) UTSA (jury still out on this one albeit they are kicking our A$$ in marketing & at the turnstiles)

(12) TSU-SM (Some of us Baby Boomers and older long ago learned to say.........never say never.

(13) Who did I leave out?

Isn't this more than enough for us and do our present UNT Board of Regents even know the history on this subject as it relates to our school? Anyone want to take a few bets on that one?

GMG!

Just because we had a couple of nice games under Fry a long time ago does not put us on the same level with those schools. I would argue we haven't ever been on the same level as far as an Atheltic department across the oars, or football in particular with Houston, Memphis, Southhern Miss, Tulsa, Cinncinatti, etc. most of those schools have competed for a national championship in a major sport, or have been at a higher level for a long time.

Yes we beat Cincy - but one game does not a program make, just ask ULM.

North Texas has never been at that level. We had a few ice seasons here and there. That doesn't mean we were at that level, it means we had a nice season. We we beat TTech those several times - I wouldn't have argued that as a program we were at their level - we just beat them on the field. We have never had close to that support in terms of donations, fan support, etc.

[meangreener]

Just because we had a couple of nice games under Fry a long time ago does not put us on the same level with those schools. I would argue we haven't ever been on the same level as far as an Atheltic department across the oars, or football in particular with Houston, Memphis, Southhern Miss, Tulsa, Cinncinatti, etc. most of those schools have competed for a national championship in a major sport, or have been at a higher level for a long time.

Yes we beat Cincy - but one game does not a program make, just ask ULM.

North Texas has never been at that level. We had a few ice seasons here and there. That doesn't mean we were at that level, it means we had a nice season. We we beat TTech those several times - I wouldn't have argued that as a program we were at their level - we just beat them on the field. We have never had close to that support in terms of donations, fan support, etc.

It literally just blows my mind that a school that is one of the largest in the nation (top 50) with excellent academic programs has never really had a competitive team on a major scale. Detractors can point to us being a directional school, but look at the other large states and success from their directional schools...USC, UCF...we've never even caught lightning in a bottle in a hundred years. Just mindblowing.

Mean Green sports just aren't fun, anymore, to me. I don't know if I can handle another terrible season of football.

Edited February 18, 2013 by meangreener

[Mean Green 93-98]

Just because we had a couple of nice games under Fry a long time ago does not put us on the same level with those schools. I would argue we haven't ever been on the same level as far as an Atheltic department across the oars, or football in particular with Houston, Memphis, Southhern Miss, Tulsa, Cinncinatti, etc. most of those schools have competed for a national championship in a major sport, or have been at a higher level for a long time.

Yes we beat Cincy - but one game does not a program make, just ask ULM.

North Texas has never been at that level. We had a few ice seasons here and there. That doesn't mean we were at that level, it means we had a nice season. We we beat TTech those several times - I wouldn't have argued that as a program we were at their level - we just beat them on the field. We have never had close to that support in terms of donations, fan support, etc.

There was a time when we were right there with, or probably ahead of, Houston, at least in football. . . . But that was long before Fry. You'd have to go back to our time together in the Gulf Coast and MVC. And once Houston was in the SWC, they had clear separation above us.

Edited February 18, 2013 by Mean Green 93-98

[Rudy]

Curfew and mandatory church services.

I'm sure all the best athletes will line up to sign their LOI.

Baylor and Notre Dame have done pretty good for religious schools

Didn't a bunch of Catholic schools just break off from somebig name conference too? I forget.

[letsgiveacheer]

Just because we had a couple of nice games under Fry a long time ago does not put us on the same level with those schools. I would argue we haven't ever been on the same level as far as an Atheltic department across the oars, or football in particular with Houston, Memphis, Southhern Miss, Tulsa, Cinncinatti, etc. most of those schools have competed for a national championship in a major sport, or have been at a higher level for a long time.

Yes we beat Cincy - but one game does not a program make, just ask ULM.

North Texas has never been at that level. We had a few ice seasons here and there. That doesn't mean we were at that level, it means we had a nice season. We we beat TTech those several times - I wouldn't have argued that as a program we were at their level - we just beat them on the field. We have never had close to that support in terms of donations, fan support, etc.

I'm afraid you don't know much about our history. Our relationship with some of these schools (Louisville, Cincinnati, Houston, etc) goes back long before Fry. Others came out of nowhere and quickly passed us ( South and Central Florida, Boise State, etc). Some, like ECU were playing the forerunner of IAA ball when North Texas was playing with the big boys.

When we complain about people still calling us North Texas State, that is because whatever success and visibility we had on the football field, it occurred when that was our name. We never set the world on fire other than a few seasons under Fry and earlier under Mitchell, but we were still respected and never at the bottom of the barrel as we are today.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Good, thoughtful responses.

I posted this for several reasons. Among them, I've had family connections to ACU throughout my life. One of my mom's uncles was a professor of psychology there; and, his wife was the president's secretary for decades.

My dad graduated from there back in 1969 when it was still ACC. I've had cousins go out there. One of them was at our son's birthday party last night and showed me those logos. That's what popped them into my head again.

Now, I knew ACU had become decent in football, but I didn't know they were moving up to Division I. I do know that ACU has some wealthy alumni. Among them, one of Trammel Crow's business partners from the 70s and 80s that went gangbusters with him inthe Dallas commercial real estate market...and, he was a linebacker for them in the early 70s.

There's banker who started the Burger Street chain. Some of the executives with Casa Bonita industries were also ACU folk.

They are all pretty tightly-knit and weird like TCU people, which makes sense because the two schools represent the religious split in the group the led to the modern day Christian Church and Church of Christ.

I watch ACU from that perspective. It's about an hour and half west of Fort Worth. I imagine what has happened is the oil/gas/shale boom is lining many of their alumni pockets as well. Plenty of West Texas Church of Christers went to ACC/ACU, and many were from families owning ranches/farms/land. This many be the financial lightning in the bottle for ACU's athletic departments.

Anyway, I don't feel paranoid. I just think you have to look around at what is happening and be realistic about where you are in the world...and, where your current and next competition are going. ACU appears to have found a little ambition.

Edited February 18, 2013 by The Fake Lonnie Finch