What does the joining of CUSA mean to you?

[Mean_Green09]

What does the joining of CUSA mean to you?

What are your “Biggest Hopes”?

What are your “Biggest Fears”?

How many years will it take UNT to win a Conference title?

Do you think it will be Mac who leads us to that title or no?

To me joining CUSA is a sign of progress for the university. It may not be a tremendous step up in conferences, but the change in scenery comes at the right time for UNT.

My biggest hopes are that UNT can start fast. Show that it can compete with these schools and start to win some respect from recruits around Texas.

My biggest fear is that we become bottom dwellers for the next 5 years unable to break through. I would also fear that some of the teams in CUSA bolt for other conferences which in turn merges the Sun Belt with what’s left of CUSA.

I think it’s going to take 4 years before we win a CUSA title. I believe that in order to do that we need to win at least 6-7 games this year. Winning now will bring in the recruits and start the buzz around the program beyond just GMG.

No. I’m hopeful that he gets us back on the winning track though. If he gets us back to a bowl game in 2 years and let’s say we win. I think he walks away. My vote is rent out Major Applewhite for 2 years before he becomes the HC of UT. I think we need someone that is fiery, energetic, innovative, but also appeals to the recruits.

What are your thoughts?

[Harry]

What does the joining of CUSA mean to you? Being in a conference where we belong that has a respected name, being able to have actual rival (s), playing teams that the average fan in Texas is familiar with. It's no slight to the Belt but we were on an island and really didn't belong in that conference it was just the best option we had at the time. I think of all the new C-USA additions we may have benefited the most from the move I really do.

What are your “Biggest Hopes”? I hope we do well, at a bare minimum can compete in our division and ultimately consistently win championships. I hope we will finally get to develop meaningful rivals. The biggest rival we have had in the past 15 years is New Mexico State....nowhere to go but up!

What are your “Biggest Fears”? My only fear is continued conference expansion, I am leery of the AAC and how they are positioning themselves as a step up, as is the Mountain West. I want C-USA to do well out of the gate and I want some loyalty to build amongst the teams. The AAC and to a lessor extent the Mountain West are trying to create a perception gap which I don't believe exists but it is something we have to overcome.

How many years will it take UNT to win a Conference title? Probably 2-3 years, Tulsa and Rice may prove too much this year and we have yet to show consistent production at the quarterback position. The team with the best QB usually wins this thing. We also get hit pretty hard by graduation this year.

Do you think it will be Mac who leads us to that title or no? I hope so. I and most think Mac has done a good job with a program that he inherited in despair. I have said before that Mac is in a unique position of either being the guy that helped get North Texas back on track or the guy that elevates us to higher levels than we have ever experienced. I hope it is the latter but I think this season will be very important in that particular regard.

To me joining CUSA is a sign of progress for the university. It may not be a tremendous step up in conferences, but the change in scenery comes at the right time for UNT. Agree 100%

My biggest hopes are that UNT can start fast. Show that it can compete with these schools and start to win some respect from recruits around Texas. This season reminds me of 2001, our first year in the Belt. I remember RV being very careful about stating that we were probably a year away which as a new AD at the time was understandable. We started off that season 0-5 capped off by a heartbreaking loss to Monroe on the road. We then turned it around beating a ranked MTSU squad at home and ended up getting to a bowl. Hopefully we will start better this year but I can envision us having a similar turnaround.

My biggest fear is that we become bottom dwellers for the next 5 years unable to break through. I would also fear that some of the teams in CUSA bolt for other conferences which in turn merges the Sun Belt with what’s left of CUSA. Agreed. Valid concerns.

I think it’s going to take 4 years before we win a CUSA title. I believe that in order to do that we need to win at least 6-7 games this year. Winning now will bring in the recruits and start the buzz around the program beyond just GMG. The table is set oh so nicely. We've seen the student population build every year since Mac arrived and Apogee opened. Hard fought competitive games will allow that to grow but winning will speed up the process. The numbers are on our side we just need to give them a reason to get engaged.

No. I’m hopeful that he gets us back on the winning track though. If he gets us back to a bowl game in 2 years and let’s say we win. I think he walks away. My vote is rent out Major Applewhite for 2 years before he becomes the HC of UT. I think we need someone that is fiery, energetic, innovative, but also appeals to the recruits.

What are your thoughts? I think and hope Mac stays. I will reserve my thoughts on any replacements when and if we cross that road.

[jdennis82]

What does the joining of CUSA mean to you?

A conference affiliation that other college sports fans recognize. I've always felt reference to a SBC affiliation was met by others with the perception that it is no different than the Southland Conference

What are your “Biggest Hopes”?

Establishment of rivalries that extend beyond a single comeback victory that 35 people remember

What are your “Biggest Fears”?

Rough transition in what are important years to grow success. We can't afford to take a step back on paper where the less-than-casual observer views NT coverage in the media.

No prediction on the other two. I hope to be competing for titles with Mac in the fold for years, but I also want the league to develop across the board such that a championship is an incredible challenge for whoever takes it. I feel there's so much potential for each program that it's so tough to tell who will step forward right now.

[PlummMeanGreen]

It's an early Christmas gift.................and Nirvana compared to where we've been for almost forever.

Independent status (with more bowl games today) would have been fine if we would have only advanced our program with the normal progression which growth usually complements and had we kept the momentum going that Fry started (but apparently took that to Iowa, too); thus leaving with UNT the KCCMO management style; that is, the Keystone Comedy Cops Modus Operendo of how to run an NCAA college football program and how it was run for many on this board's entire adult lifetimes.

This conference will work as long as we have the Houston area in it as to go to for all our varsity sports, specifically football; not sure what we'd have if CUSA ever lost Rice U, though, but funny thing is how I don't think CUSA will lose Rice U. They are smarter than the average bear down there off South Main, Houston, Texas.

I honestly think now that 1 or 2 schools who left for the AAC if they had to do it over again would have stayed put in CUSA, especially if that league starts getting raided again. For instance, what if 2 from that league from its West Division take the MWC bite and 1 or 2 go with the ACC? Where does that leave the others in the AAC who jumped the CUSA ship then?

I think this CUSA trip for North Texas is bigger than most realize at this point and if we only add winning to the recipe then many more will then realize it, but winning in top shelf facilities (which we now have) will eventually be a nice combo for UNT.

Coach Mac from what he inherited from Coach TDodge probably needs Year 4 to turn this thing around completely but many of us hope it will be Year 3--as in this Fall. We cannot run this ship the way it was run last several years in the Sun Belt or for some there will be hell to pay. (I don't post trying for little green numbers or to win some smack board popularity contest, folks, and you should know that by now).

Yet the glut and lack of players on scholarship Coach Mac inherited seems to have been the main problem for him and our program up to this point. I think our staff realizes by now that Texas HS football players are not going to (like us) genuflect everytime they see Apogee Stadium, either; it will still take some evangelistic fervor style of selling against the recruiting competition we have--even in CUSA.

Our Past Is Way Too Long Past--I've Forgotten Way Too Much of It Myself:

Not one Texas HS potential recruit who visits our stadium today even knows (or cares) who Hayden Fry was, what Hayden Fry did at Iowa, least of all North Texas since nothing on our campus is even named after him up there--after all why would you want name anything after the only coach who left Denton over .500 the last half century?

Edited July 3, 2013 by PlummMeanGreen

[NorthTexan95]

What does the joining of CUSA mean to you?

It means not having to scroll down as far to check the conference standings on ESPN.com. It's the little things in life that make a big difference.

[GTWT]

What does the joining of CUSA mean to you?

It means we're no longer in the God-forsaken SunBelt.

[emmitt01]

"What does the joining of CUSA mean to you?"

It means the end of the excuses.

"We can't expect to recruit, win, have attendance because...."

We play in Fouts...gone

We don't fund our program...gone

We don't have a quality coaching staff...gone

We play in the Sun Belt...gone

We don't play Texas teams...gone

If we continue to struggle we simply HAVE TO start taking a hard look in the mirror (and on Bonnie Brae). -1 me all you want, but know in your heart it's true.

Edited July 3, 2013 by emmitt01

[Side Show Joe]

It means a good rivalry between my brother and I. He went to Houston, but has season tickets at Rice. We have been talking a good amount of trash leading up to this game.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

What does the joining of CUSA mean to you?

What are your “Biggest Hopes”?

What are your “Biggest Fears”?

How many years will it take UNT to win a Conference title?

Do you think it will be Mac who leads us to that title or no?

What does the joining of CUSA mean to you?

A few, but not many, different opponents.

What are your “Biggest Hopes”?

The remaining members of the Old C-USA stay, and conference realignment is done. I realize this is nothing more than a dream that will never come true.

What are your “Biggest Fears”?

We tank harder than we did the last eight years in the Sun Belt.

How many years will it take UNT to win a Conference title?

In football? Who knows. With the teams that left, those brought along from the Sun Belt, and the start ups, it's not like the competition is going to be worlds different. I expect it to be any year after Tulsa leaves. So, two to infinity years to win the C-USA.

Do you think it will be Mac who leads us to that title or no?

I do not ...although, I hope I am wrong. I really wanted a coach like McCarney and pushed for it. If I have any sports agony, it is that we do not appear to have gotten much more competitive.

If he doesn't, I have a new priority in what I'd like to see in a coach. Because DTs are so hard to find, give me a defensive coordinator from the college ranks with experience with a 3-man front...3-4...3-3-5...3-2-6 (http://digbatonrouge.com/article/mustang-package-key-to-victory-5960/)...whatever.

[MeanGreenTexan]

...

If he doesn't, I have a new priority in what I'd like to see in a coach. Because DTs are so hard to find, give me a defensive coordinator from the college ranks with experience with a 3-man front...3-4...3-3-5...3-2-6 (http://digbatonrouge.com/article/mustang-package-key-to-victory-5960/)...whatever.

What about the 36-24-36 alignment?

[ragpicker]

Look, I'm no good at being predictable, but it doesn't take much to realize that one step up to a better conference may not amount to a hill of beans in this cray mixed up world,

but its a first step and there will be other steps, not now, but soon and for the rest of our lies.

[TheTastyGreek]

What about the 36-24-36 alignment?

Only in a 5-3 set.

[SilverEagle]

What it means to me is three Texas schools to play every year and one Louisiana school that seems to have a higher profile than LaLa. All of them have the potential to develop something that NT hasn't had in just about forever.......A RIVALRY.

[untjim1995]

What does the joining of CUSA mean to you?--Its a step forward--not a huge one, but a step nonetheless. I like the Texas ties and really like getting La Tech with us.

What are your “Biggest Hopes”?--To become a non-AQ that can beat AQs and develop a reputation like Southern Miss used to be known for.

What are your “Biggest Fears”?--Many--1.)We stay a conference doormat. 2.) Fans still don't care about the teams we play week in and week out. 3.) The MWC expands and takes UTEP and UTSA away. 4.) The AAC succeeds and makes the other CUSA teams yearn for a spot in that conference that we have no chance of ever joining. 5.) That the titanic sea change in college football drowns us out of the top level of football forever because we continue to just suck.

How many years will it take UNT to win a Conference title? I have no idea--I'd like to think it would be within the next 2-3 years, but this year will tell us alot.

Do you think it will be Mac who leads us to that title or no? I do think so, because if he can't do it against the competition in this league, then it really is impossible to think anyone can make North Texas into a winner. We have tried the unknown assistant and we have tried the high school football coach to no avail since Hayden Fry left. Finally, with Coach Mac, we hired a coach with skins on the wall as a previous head coach in college. If he cannot do it, I am fairly certain that it cannot be done here. McCarney has great enthusiasm, has solid integrity, and has been a calming influence on this program since day one--and yet it hasn't made a bit of difference to recruits, who have made it clear that Denton isn't where they want to go and play. It may just be that the history and apathy of this place is just too much to overcome, even after adding a coach like McCarney, building Apogee, and moving into CUSA. You know, as I type this, this may be the actual biggest worry I have overall for this program. I probably should have posted this in the question above.

[ragpicker]

Look, I'm no good at being predictable, but it doesn't take much to realize that one step up to a better conference may not amount to a hill of beans in this cray mixed up world,

but its a first step and there will be other steps, not now, but soon and for the rest of our lies.

Let me that try again. Look, I'm no good at being predictable, but it doesn't take much to realize that one step up to a better conference may not amount to a hill of beans in this crazy mixed up world, but it's a first step and there will be other steps, not today, but soon and for the rest of our lives. We will always have Fouts. Here's looking at you, Scrappy.