russell360

UTD and UTA don't even have football teams. Their success has little to do with sports. I don't see how lack of football has kept them from building respectable endowments academic success Tech got to where they are because "SOLELY" athletics? All those Cotton bowl victories? BCS bowls? Fired best coach, hired a dud. During that time raised system endowment to over $1 billion, had a $1 billion dollar fund raising campaign, gained NRUF and Texas research initiative funding... Athletics are important, but they are not the driving force behind most universities

Probably not the smartest insult to lob if you are UNT fan......!

LJ agree that they have nothing in common (which is my point). You earlier you said that UT/AM keep good "favor" with Tech football program because of Tech's medical and law "colleges", in your mind explaining why UT football would affiliate or have a special relationship with Tech. My point is that that is not a valid contention. A&M and UT athletic programs couldn't care less about Tech's professional programs. If A&M wanted to keep Tech's football program in their "favor", and coveted Tech's med/law so much "to give kids an option" and "take strain" off their systems, why did they leave the conference? If Tech goes to PAC or any other conference with UT it is more likely to be because the football team has 58k attendance, sells merchandise, wins bowl games and has good TV ratings rather than anything else. Why is Tech's HSC so big? Tech's medical school in El Paso exists (and is not a part of UT) because Tech had the initiative, political support and most importantly was able to raise the money to pull it off. It wasn't given to them by UT . UT wanted it at UTEP

It didn't keep A&M from leaving did it?.... And Tech has a much larger HSC than A&M with 2 med schools and more students.... Do you think UNT's having a med school affects UT-UNT football?

Of course. that is why I said "start to close the gap"

nobody else in the state has stepped up to be a major player, so it goes to the barren plains.. UT is #1 in EVERYTHING and there is a big gap after them, but Tech is not small-time. Who else?? Tech averages 58k home attendance with >13k students/game #17 school all-time number of bowl games played, won 9 of last 10 Wall street Journal ranks Tech #22 most valuable football program # 26 rank collegiate licensing ranking Academically; Tech/UH just received National Research university funding,and Tech and will start to close the gap with UT. Tech raises > $100 million/yr, completed a 1 billion dollar fund-raising campaign, tech system endowment should pass 1 billion this year, and has $220 million/yr research budget.. Tech will make a good target for PAC or other major conference if B12 ever dissolves What other state school in Texas is as solid overall with football/academic programs? UH ? NT? UTEP?

Tech has been in the same conference as UT since 1958, long before Tech had a law school or med schools. UT associates with Tech because of Tech's professional schools? Sound s like a major stretch/rationalization. Aggies are gone. Who else would UT/Tech affiliate with?

Texas need more lawyers trawling around looking for work like it needs a hole in the head. What are there, maybe 25-30K lawyers already in the Metroplex? The state already adds 3,000 new lawyers each year Couldn't UNT have spent that money more productively?

Obviously not the easiest thing to do. Tech was tired of the mature politician coach and a different direction with youth/excitement and an up-and-comer. Clearly took a big risk. The easiest would be to have hired a seasoned coordinator at a major conference or head coach from a smaller conference. Tech manned-up and threw the dice. Time will tell... Dan McCarney would have fallen all over himself to get out the door had Tech offered!

Ad hominem attack: Attacking an opponent's character rather than answering his argument....

Texas Tech was approved years ago for a vet school, but it has yet to be built. It was never funded.

I have to think that there HAS to be more pressing needs for the state than more law schools. There is no true shortage of lawyers holding back the State of Texas. This seems to boil down to NT prestige.. If UT, UH, TTU have schools, NT has to have one!... I don't think opening another school is the best stewardship of state money. You can't tell me that there is a shortage of such magnitude that it would justify such on expense in this economy and in the face of higher ed. cuts. The State has voiced what it wants; research universities, however,UNT is lagging behind in meeting those criteria forfunding which the state is offering, and it seems is focused on spending $$ and political capital on a law school( which is not needed). I bet that the state won't fund it. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/business/09law.html?_r=1

how is each school doing in the "tier one" competion?

Hard to say UH and Tech had a "head start" when North Texas was established in 1890, Tech 1923 and UH 1927.

sponsor said that they sold just enough tickets to break even and make the $1.1 million payout... Better bowl than UT's!

Tech draws well in Lubbock and away and alsohas a pretty good TV draw. Of course Tech doesn't draw as well as UT but certainly is light years ahead of Baylor. Note there is no BU-UT or BU-OU games listed. Tech has a bigger fan base in the DFW area and I would suspect they have higher viewer ratings for that area.

Tech does get pretty good TV ratings http://blogs.chron.com/sportsmedia/2010/06/some_college_football_ratings.html

He says he will "air it out". No one would be dumb enough to change Tech's great offense. http://www.redraiders.com/2010/01/10/tuber...-to-air-it-out/

I would have prefered to see TCU go, but the TCU of the 80-early nighties is not the TCU we see today. BU certainly had clout, but they also had a stronger program overall( Attendance...) TCU was a sad-sck that didn't get it's act together until it was left behind. TCU had a 0.37 winning % between 1980-1994 and more importantly had poor attendance. There would be a lot more clamor that it was unfair if a weaker TCU had been taken over BU. I find it hard to believe that the B8 was "forced " to take anyone. They were in position of control and they ultimately decided (not BU Tech UT or A&M..) who would join. All the big leagues were going to 12 members.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...f.4bf22e33.html BU had better attendace. It was primarily about $$$ At the end of the SWC a TCU vs Rice or a TCU vs SMU drew no TV and only 20-25 k attendance. They could have picked TCU then y'all would be complaining that TCU got in unfairly... They wanted 4 and BU was the best of the rest. Had Arkansas not already left for the SEC, they would have been chosen.

Who in the old SWC was significantly better than BU?

UT got out of the SWC because they felt that they were carrying the conference and that they could attract better TV contracts and make more gate $$ by playing fewer lightweight schools. They moved to the B12 and are doing better financially. The UT's believes that the big schools are the main attraction and why split with the opening act? The Ohio States , Floridas of the world believe that THEY carry the water and therefore THEY can make the rules that they want to benefit themselves and they deserve the profits. Where ever you draw the line there will be schools just under the wire who will complain. BU got in to the B12 because they were the best option at the time. The B8 wanted to grow to 12 and needed 4 from the SWC. UT,A&M,Tech and who else from the SWC? UH? poor attendance/ weak teams at the time. Rice , TCU or SMU? Those were the deadweight schools that UT wanted to get away from...

It's like a lawyer that didn't graduate in the top of his class complaining that all the guys in the top firms have all the good clients and have a better salary...

Drove through Russellville Ark. on the way to Hot Springs once. There is a sign as you enter town "Home of the Arkansa Tech Wonder Boys". We stopped to eat lunch there and as we walked into the restaurant everyone stopped and stared at the out-of-towners as if we were from Mars. We were the only people that were not smoking so I asked for the non-smoking section. They looked at me like I was crazy... Arkansas is a trip.

B12 is one of the great conferences. Just because it didn't dominate like some blow-hards predicted doesn't mean that it failed... By your logic NT is screwed; NT has hired a coach that bought into the B12 offensive philosophy but he lacks the player and the coaching experience to pull it off...