TIgreen01

Not really a delay, but certainly something to make us sweat this bill out a little more. What is the feeling inside the AD?...

Yep, it's easy to cheer for WKU (when UNT doesn't make the field). You guys hire class coaches and recruit likable players....that, and you play some solid ball. I remember cussing the refs during last year's 1st round NCAA tourney win by WKU (remember as the refs blatantly blew 3-4 calls down the stretch and subsequently erased a big WKU lead?) as hard as I would have cussed them had that happened to UNT. The loss this year to Gonzaga was a killer, gut-punch, though...great game, and a job well done representing the league.

Damn, those are bad memories....I still remember exactly where I was as I listened to that game get out of reach.

I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but sometimes I can't help it. When you see only 4 teams, not in the power 6 conferences, get at-large bids you have to start digging into how that came to be. The number of non-power 6 teams getting at large bids is going down every year....and this is happening while the QUALITY of the mid-major teams is improving every year. The SAME NCAA that levels penalties against smaller schools (APR being one example) while negotiating penalties with the big schools is picking the tournament participants. I can't help but think that the same double standard that exists there also exists in other facets of the NCAA sporting world.

So, let me get this straight....say you give $10,000 to various departments at UNT. That donation (since it's above $1,000) used to also get you into the "President's Council." The new requirement is that you explicitly direct $1,000 to membership in the President's council and your donations to the department of your choice are effectively cut from $10k to $9k. At no point will the university step in and just take $1k off the top of any donation to force you to join the President's Council? So your $10k donation stays at an effective $10k unless you purposefully direct some of it away to the PC. Is that correct? If so, I am failing to see why this is such a big issue. As long as money isn't being funneled away from all donations given to the school, how does this affect our overall donation level? Unless some people were giving just because the benefits of being in the President's Council was the catalyst for them giving their donations.

That's the second piece of this stadium project. We're all under the impression that Fouts has kept us from being able to draw better name opponents to Denton. It will be interesting to watch how the first 5 or so years in the new stadium pan out in this regard. I'd personally pay more to watch a better class of opponent and don't give a dang about the facility. That said, b/c we're all operating under the belief that the new stadium will help us upgrade our level of competition, I'm definitely on board with building it.

It will definitely be interesting to see what effect this new stadium has on season ticket sales. My guess is not much after the first year shock wears off. Coupled with higher ticket prices and we very well could see a decline overall......that is, if our team doesn't start winning games. Winning is what cures our ills....all the rest just helps us keep from turning off the curious casual fans by being able to offer a better in-game atmosphere.

Alright....you've crossed a line. The Doug Flutie line. Damnit, man. Why are you talking trash about Doug-freakin-Flutie?!?!? We've arrived at the point where just the mere comparison of someone to any of the Dodge's draws a sarcastic, negative response from you. Stop it.

This is the best post in this thread (by a mile!). I do think it's hard to differentiate between Brett Vito-the beat reporter and Brett Vito-the blogger, though.

I agree this is fantastic news for UNT and Denton....but that damn thread header is really, really misleading. Not a damn word about the stadium in this announcement. Maybe it's part of the negotiations that are starting up, but we wouldn't be privy to that type of information at this point. Wake me up when the athletic fee bill passes the state legislature.....then maybe we'll hear how this new resort center could be tied in with a stadium. Great news for UNT, though....just fix the dang thread header, please.

Dang...LongJim beat me to it. Everything I was trying to say.....he said (LongJim) better.

We poo-poo it b/c it is poo poo. The guy was run out of town in Miami---esp. after he lost complete control of his team and wasn't bringing in the recruiting classes anymore. And at no point am I drooling over anything our football program has done lately. We have absolutely sucked the last 2 seasons....no question about it. Last year's team was the worst team I've ever seen play an organized sport....at any level. I still wouldn't trade for Larry Coker....unless he came with a stable of stud recruiters and coaches. And I definitely would not trade UNT's future for the future of UTSA. I think we're all so insecure around here that we look at anyone trying to move up as a threat to completely overtake us....but UTSA has it's own set of problems. They are trying to start a football program (in UT-Austin's backyard!!) from scratch during these economic times. They have had a difficult time of it of late, so they hire a name coach (with a bad recent history) in an attempt to get some momentum back. It remains to be seen if it will work. Good luck to them....but I wouldn't go bet on them or start calling our AD an idiot over another school hiring Larry -freaking- Coker.

Very interesting hire. Obviously UTSA's first priority is trying to make a splash in the news, but I wonder how long he'll actually be there. Coker doesn't exactly have the track record that you'd look for in this type of situation. For some to call our admins stupid (for hiring Dodge) and praise those at UTSA over this hire are confused. Coker has a name (so did Dodge) but ran his last college program into the ground. Has everyone forgotten the famous FIU-Miami fight in the Orange Bowl??? If anything, I think Dodge gets the edge between the two b/c his upside(at the time we hired him) was so much more than Coker's....granted both coaches are/were big risks.

Exactly. Me, too.

So you guys must all have 'Dodge2007' on ignore? There's your one name....in this thread.

We will be better on offense in 2009. Mark it down. Defense remains to be seen, but there is hope. Special teams?? No idea...not a lot of hope there, personally.

I've taken exception to some of Vito's work in the past, but I think that was a very solid report. How Riley does as a FBS starting QB HAS to be the top concern for most casual fans. It's going to be the story of the season....so get used to it, everyone. Granted, most on here know that no matter how well he does, without special teams and defensive improvements this team will continue to struggle. Hopefully we get a little of both. Vito's right, there are many fans who need convincing that this program is worth watching again. I'm having a terrible time getting some of my buddies to re-up on season tickets again...and I know that has got to be a pretty widespread problem.

oops...fixed.

Apples to Oranges. Florida is not as watered down as Texas....or at least it wasn't before adding FAU and FIU. No program in Texas is going to be able to recreate the meteoric leap that South Florida made, and to a lesser extent the success that FAU has had, simply b/c of the number of schools in the state that are playing at the FBS level already. To break it down by numbers, both state's produce roughly 350 FCS level athletes per year. Texas currently has 4 schools competing in BCS auto qualifier conferences (UT, A&M, Tech, Baylor). Compare that to Florida, who also has 4 (Florida, FSU, Miami, South Florida). Now step down a rung....mid-major level FBS schools. Texas has 6 (UNT, SMU, TCU, UTEP, Houston, Rice). Florida has 3 (UCF, FAU, FIU). Both states are heavily recruited by their surrounding states, who produce far fewer FBS level athletes (don't remember exact #'s, but only 3-4 other states even produce more than 30/year. Alabama is one and they produce around 100). Either way, it's safe to assume that schools will be able to sign kids from their home state easier than others...which gives FAU and FIU a built in advantage in the state of Florida, as it does us in Texas. The one thing to consider, though is that the kids that Texas St. and/or UTSA (if and when they make the jump to FBS) sign will instantly become FBS level players----even if they wouldn't have been counted to that total in previous years. Same thing for the state of Florida when FAU/FIU made the jump. Either way, you have one state---Florida, who is producing roughly the same # of quality FBS level players with 4 fewer FBS level teams. The talent pool in Florida is currently richer than Texas due to them having fewer schools to divide it by. All that said, TSU and/or UTSA jumping up is a definite threat to UNT, as it is to TCU/SMU/Houston/Rice/UTEP....b/c it will further thin out the talent within the state.

You know, it wouldn't take much change to our current entrance to really spice it up. In the OSU example, the band isn't really setup on the field much differently than what we do....but they do form a line to block the field for the team. Then once the fight song starts, they open the line and the team runs through....the most impressive part is that you've got movement happening from everyone on the field (not just the football team rushing through) and looks much more impressive and exciting b/c of it. That and you make the band a part of the show (b/c they are also moving), and not just background music.

Can't believe this isn't remarked upon more. Goes for just about ANY university commercial. For a school with such great arts, RTVF, and broadcast journalism departments you'd think we could get something out there(ie---quality advertising and commercials) to really show off that side of the university more.

Emmitt, ask and you shall receive.... I don't think questions about Riley's durability or perceived lack of arm strength are necessarily in bad taste. That said, the above is the kind of stuff that sets me off. It really is ridiculous to read this kind of gossip(and let's be honest, this comes across as sounding like a bunch of jealous teenage girls) on the board....and worse to have it advertised as "insider" information. Whether or not it turns out to be true, it gets old reading the same tripe over and over again.

Not everyone...but several do.

You are HIRED!

You are dead-on with that statement. Period.