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When RV got here, we only "participated" at the FBS level in athletics. We were battling it out with ULM for least resources of all Division 1 programs that had a football program. Think about that. We were amongst the bottom of the newly formed and poor Sun Belt Conference. Our football team played in debatably the worst stadium with the worst field in all of FBS. Our "athletic center" (coaches offices, weight room, etc.) were in the bowels of said stadium. The field had a track around it, so it was also the track and field program headquarters. Our soccer team played their home games at a local park. It might have been at the same local park our softball team played, or maybe they played at the intramural fields? I think the volleyball team played at the old Snake Pit, my apologies to Pits. Swimming and Diving? The old PEB swimming pool. Our tennis team played on the courts next to the Super Pit complete with 1" cracks in the surface. I have no idea where or how the golf team practiced or worked out. The Super Pit, which was the crown jewel of UNT facilities, had bright orange fabric seats that were filthy. As in every single seat had a stain in a color other than the seat was supposed to be. We paid our coaches amongst the worst in the country. We had no "training table". Tailgating was not allowed at football games. RV hired Dodge for $125,000. That was an improvement over Dickey's salary. By the time RV left our HFC was making 7 figures. So, when RV got here, he was battling that kind of apathy. People in RV's position not only have to make the right decisions to move things forward, but they must also convince others with your vision so you can have said money to do the things you want to do. You don't have complete control and autonomy. There was a mindset once upon a time at North Texas that tailgating at football games was a bad idea. That certainly didn't come from an athletic director along the way, right? It probably came from risk management. A university official probably said, "it's not a bad idea since nobody comes to the games anyway so let it be written...no tailgating at football games". RV was effective at starting the ball rolling to where we are now. I am well aware he did not do this alone (thank you to Presidents and BOR members who got it right), but his biggest achievement was getting people to believe we deserved and could do better. Before RV: Fouts, bowels of Fouts, trough urinals (I don't care what #MeanRob thinks he knows, I had a player piss by me during a game at said trough, it did happen), concrete like football playing surface, giant crown on football field, dirty orange seats at the Super Pit, local parks!!!, uneven tennis court surfaces, and a HFC making $85,000/yr.!!!!!!!!!!! After RV: Apogee, green seats in the Super Pit, PEB Natatorium, tennis facility with even surfaces, Lovelace Stadium, Soccer/Track Stadium and offices, academic offices, actual athletic center with weight rooms, offices, and meeting spaces, training table, robust sports medicine, and a HFC making $2MM/year and assistants making enough to not HAVE to make a change every year. The guy is not a God but is a slam dunk for HOF for good reason.

Agreed! The resources and support given to athletics by university leadership post-RV is night and day. I’ll also add that many of the names funding the big projects post-RV are donors identified and cultivated during RV’s tenure.

MY man!!!! GMG

I keep thinking some of the folks in charge at the University of Texas will wake up some fine morning and admit how badly they’ve screwed up college sports—especially college football, since that’s the big catfish. Of course, that thought is aspirational, like flying pigs, dancing turnips, and an athletics conference that makes geographical sense. If you’re looking for ground zero for the chaos that’s engulfed college sports, you’d need to go back to 2011, when Texas A&M bolted for the Southeastern Conference because the school no longer trusted UT’s machinations in the Big 12. Lots of Texas A&M alums will tell you that jumping to the SEC was the best thing that ever happened to the Aggies. A&M, no longer stuck in the Longhorns’ shadow, found itself competing in the richest, most prestigious conference in the land. Yet still, I have this dream that A&M and Texas officials will meet for coffee, shake hands, and say something like: “Let’s think of our fans and what’s best for them.” I know that’s naive, but if they ever got together, it would take them about five minutes to come up with a brand-new conference that’d be wildly appealing in the Lone Star State. UT and A&M would be in it. So would Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Arkansas. Also Texas Tech, Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma State, TCU, and SMU. (I’d also invite UTSA, UTEP, and North Texas.) read more: https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/ncaa-conference-realignment-blame-texas/

More like the Hall of Very Good. At least one or two there for sentiment not accomplishments.

For the remaining Pac12, I don’t think they view the B12 as materially better than staying together and perhaps picking off a couple MWC schools. BYU would jump from the Big12 in a heartbeat like TCU did. If the Big12 can’t woo any Pac12 schools, then they need to decide if it’s better to stand pat or try to go big. They may find themselves in a bidding war with the Pac12 for the same MWC schools if they choose to go big. If the MWC is going to get picked apart, then The American should extend invites to Air Force, Colorado State and Army ASAP.

PAC and MWC biggest problem is the time zone. Both leagues need access to the CTZ. Would not be surprised if both conferences made an attempt. This is why the AAC should form a partnership with the MWC and the PAC should do the same with the Big 12.

Well I can’t speak to Flyer’s experience but RV was instrumental in getting the first one passed.

@ntmeangreen11

I think this is very good news from what I can gather. Now the Pac 12 will likely go after the best Mountain West teams to backfill for losing UCLA and USC. This puts the AAC is a better position.

they are committed until they are not.

Hmmm... didn't read all of that article. too long. But I guess it does not matter the topic, it is always fun to say it is UTs fault (and i don't even care if that is Tennessee or Texas).

Yes, when these elite programs all join together in conferences... several will lose more games than their fanbase is used to. And the fans will complain, donors will complain, ADs and Coaches will be fired. It will be great!

This article is ridiculous. So his premise is that UT single-handedly caused all of this? Sure, man...

I think it may be time. He accomplished a lot with facilities. In some ways he is responsible for us getting into AAC. He remains an ardent supporter of the program. Thoughts? Too soon?

I’m in this camp. The guy was here 15+ years and multiple people have mentioned one of his accomplishments is getting the seats changed. Not much more to say.

I second that they are committed until they are not. but generally it is better for NT if the BIg12 eats the Pac12 because that keeps them from going after AAC schools in the future, stabilizing the AAC.

Lofton update(hope this is not an old update) Lofton

IMO, losing Dion Novil leaves by far the biggest hole. But I'm more excited than concerned about our D-line.

Abner Haynes didn’t make until the fourth class?

You know there’s this thing called the student athletics fee that didn’t hurt either

“Fox has chosen to steer away from the Pac-12 as a part of its future. It’s ESPN or bust for the Pac-12. Maybe this includes the Big 12. Maybe it doesn’t. Fox, though, is out of the picture.” https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/2022/07/04/why-espn-not-fox-is-the-network-which-can-save-the-pac-12/

The Pac12 has always been where BYU wants to be. It is their dream conference.

8 straight losing seasons and keep your job? That may be the most unbelievable coaching stat in UNT history regardless of sport.

Am I reading Tina Slinker's bio correctly? She only had 6 winning seasons in 19 years as our head coach? And she had 8 straight losing seasons from '91-'98. How low were our standards for her to have survived that stretch? Only at UNT does this resume get you into the hall of fame.

I 100 % agree with this. Ask again in 25 years.

RV did enough overall good things for the program to warrant inclusion into the HOF. He also oversaw a few gaffes and poor hiring decisions along the way. Pros: Apogee Stadium and new overall Athletic facility Masterplan, restoring Mean Green name for use and marketing, restoring Mean Green club to official status, Green seats for SuperPit, move to CUSA, Bowl games, encouraged tailgating, upped donations and levels of sponsorship, fired DD when he needed to be fired. Cons: Hired Benford, hiring Dodge was good for media buzz...but letting or requiring HS assistants was a terrible decision, left many AD staff and ineffective coaches on payroll too long, overstayed his effectiveness.

Exactly. This is only put out as trying to calm all the emails he is getting, lol. If the offer from the Big?12 is comparable to the new Pac12 future media deal they are working on, then ASU will change their minds.... or as soon as AZ, Colo, and Utah say they are leaving, then ASU is also on that bus...

With everything going on, I've lost track of where UTEP is headed? Remain in CUSA? Hope they end up in the Mountain West.

Having family/alumni from the University of Arkansas, they left the SWC for two reasons. They were the only school from outside Texas and UT called the shots.

How did capitalism cause, in your words, regulators to skimp on inspections?

If I was UTEP I would be having hope again right now. Because it is not that unlikely that they can end in a slightly watered down MWC. Even watered down, that would be better for UTEP than this new C-USA where they and NMSU are just a bad geographical outlier.

It wasn't Texas, per se, that caused other big schools to leave. It was more revenue available joining other conferences, plus the Longhorn Network, that did it. Like the writer mentions, Texas prevented a Big12 Network from happening, so no wealth sharing. The fat cat was despised, but still liked enough by the smaller programs because a game filled away stadiums.

Well, how far off is the writer? Is the writer off because of angle or because of how UT has influenced any conference they've been in? Hear me out. There's a reason Arkansas left the SWC. There's a reason Colorado, Nebraska, aTm, and Missouri left the Big 12. What is the recurring statement? "because UT" Premier programs aren't joining UT's conference, they are leaving it. Yes, the Big 8 and SWC merged, but that is different than other programs saying, "hey, I want to join the SWC" Texas and OU leaving the Big 12 was just a logical step in all of this "Super NIL" conferences being formed nonsense.

Wonder how long before UT decides going to the SEC was not such a good idea. They couldn't win in the Big 12, SEC will not be easier.

Yes it is a stretch. There are a lot of move 30 plus years old that laid the groundwork for this. Unfortunately since the dissolution of CFA making every school a free agent when it comes to media revenue this was bound to happen. Leagues just don't function well without revenue sharing. The big dogs can't be so greedy they kill the competition income wise and have compelling on the field competition each week. Long story short it is now ESPN and Fox are dictating these changes. They could easily play hardball with conferences and say we are going to pay your "elite" conference well but not at the expense of giving another conference a reasonable contract that still allows them to compete. Y'all can always go pay per view. But we guarantee that income won't be as stable. Also the Vandy's, Purdues, Northwestern's, Washington States and etc will be servely hurt by the financial hit sparsing those rights out. Texas could have slowed all this down big time. And they definitely could have gotten Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, and A&M to stay with more equitable revenue sharing structure in the Big 12. Maybe you lose one of them at worse but they could have replaced any of them.

Always good when alumni make it to the coaching ranks. Hope He will do well in his new job. clearly was a good thing to know the HC.

The other suggestion I would make is to invest in a good digital thermometer. Get a regular "probe" type, and a wireless one if you can. They're a big help on long cooks, and to accurately measure done-ness. The other is grill gloves, and get two kinds. The ones you handle food with, and another pair of gloves to handle grates and hot metal/grill stuff. The other essential BBQ tool--that all grill chefs MUST possess in whatever design desired--is below. These are not optional:

When Dickey was fired, the DC was Fred Bliel. He had been brought back by Dickey for a second run in the position in 2006. He was the DC in 2006, the year Dickey was fired. I don't know where to look for the stat, but I know that in the one year that he was DC he significantly/noticeably improved the overall ranking of the defense from the 2005 year. NOW, it is my opinion (and some others that I have talked with) that if Coach Dodge had retained (or was allowed to retain) Fred Bliel and his staff, his record would have been (potentially) much different. At the very least, Coach Bliel's defense would/could have been the difference in many of the close games that Dodge lost.....most notably Navy. Just for the record. North Texas has hired three coaches out of HS to be our head coach. 1. Odus Mitchell (Marshall HS) 122-85-9...(0.586%) 2. Dennis Parker (Marshall HS) 11-21-1 (0.348%) 3. Todd Dodge (Southlake) 6-37 (0.139%) ADDENDUM: Ok, I found the statistical information regarding my assertion about Coach Bliel. In 2005 the North Texas defense was ranked (overall) as 101 in D-1 In 2006, under Fred Bliel, the North Texas defense was ranked 64th. In 2007 (first year for Todd Dodge) the defense was ranked 113.

2008–09 Shanice Stephens 11–20 6–12 2009–10 Shanice Stephens 9–22 5–13 2010–11 Shanice Stephens 5–25 2–14 2011–12 Karen Aston 15–16 7–9 2012–13 Mike Petersen 11–19 10–10 2013–14 Mike Petersen 12–18 6–10 2014–15 Mike Petersen 5–24 4–14 Put him in. Facilities are nice.

Corky Nelson, Darrell Dickey, and Tina Slinker are all in with losing records. Andrew Smith is in because he died while he was on the team. If those 4 are in, there is no reason RV shouldn’t be in. Apogee, JJ, and the athletic center were enough in my mind. He also tried to get students engaged by swapping UNT gear for their Longhorn, Aggie, or Sooner attire. He wasn’t a Wren Baker level salesman/fundraiser but he did several things worthy of recognition and should be in the NT HOF whether he is still a fan or not. https://news.unt.edu/news-releases/unt-athletic-director-rick-villarreal-stepping-down

Can’t forget about the 3rd party report/evaluation at the end of his tenure, outlining the state of our AD, including staff and facilities. it was not a good look, and that’s putting it nicely.

Not to be disrespectful, but when you look at who we have put in our "HOF", there is no reason he should not be in there.

No tailgating without Rick V Rick V always believed in Johnny Jones Helped (with students) build Apogee Got the ball rolling in a lot of other sports Huge ambassador for the university His misses were Benford, Dodge, and the whole Mattress Mac debacle (but honestly Mattress Mac is an egomanical clown.. who does some good in Houston) but he's a huge ambassador for the university. Wren's the next level, but Rick got the train on the track

Going to take a flying banner to persuade me.

Name an AD in the 30 years before him that did as much or more. Wren has taken us to a new level, but RV got the ball rolling from basically nothing. We had zero for facilities. ZERO. At the end, he looked tired. I would have been tired too. I would be leading the cheers for him if it happens.

RV was very close to another expansion of Fouts and renovating a warehouse next to Fouts to become our new Athletic Center. Instead, in great timing, he was able to secure the former NT golf course land for Athletics when it became available. Then he was able to get the funding to have Apogee and the new AC built there, all for about $78 mil. Couldn't buy a parking lot for that today. That alone should warrant entry. But not all were glory days. The Benford and Dodge hires were disasters. Are there any strictly AD's in the HOF? I know some like Fry were combo Coach/AD.