flyonthewall

The new athletic center is as nice as any in the country. The new academics center is up and running and is beautiful and state of the art. The turf on Fouts Field is brand new and state of the art. The education at UNT is as fine as any in the state, with some programs tops in the country. I know our stadium is old, but what is there not to sell to these kids right now? We all want a new stadium, but I am tired of hearing about what we don't have.

I can't believe Quoner hasn't shown up spewing forth on his screen.

I heard yesterday that Coach Dickey has been diagnosed with diabetes, I do not know if it is type 1 or 2. However it is manageable and he should be fine.

No mention of Lionel Brown?

Renewing season tickets, honoring capital campaign committment, will be at every home football game, and 2 away games, haven't missed a mens or womens basketball home game in three years. And yes, I would like to see a change in the way our football program is run. Hope of hopes is that current football coach can foster this change.

Virgil and Gail Strange did a lot of work to get the deck acceptable. Do you want them to give you the beer? In case you didn't hear, the Mean Green Club is a fund raising arm for athletics. The basic formula at every University is the more money you donate, the more "perks" that you get. However, you are not giving the money to get perks, you are giving the money to fund scholarships for student athletes. I personally don't care if I ever get any perks, that is not why I donate money. Join the mean green club to support North Texas Athletics at whatever level you can afford, then if there are some perks, enjoy them instead of complaining about how much better is could be.

Not to beat a dead horse, but assuming we trot the same kids out there that we did last year (who did we recruit that is going to help us), and assuming the two teams that we beat actually improved a little, (Middle Tennessee new coach, Florida whatever doesn't turn it over NINNNNNNNE Times) tell me the two teams that we are going to beat to go 2-9 this year? I could put my green lens sun glasses on that I got for playing in the Don January tournament and say we split our OOC games and run the table in conference play and are still the only Sun Belt team to actually play the New Orleans Bowl in New Orleans. My expectation level for this season might be too low, but at least I will be pleasantly surprised if I am wrong. Last year we returned the back to back national rushings champs...............Maybe expectations were just to high last year.

Is stating facts bashing? By the time football season starts there will probably be more facts to state, as in some key "contributors" did not make grades. Or maybe, coach leaves for another job. Low ranking recruiting class, is that bashing? You are right, the record of this team will speak for itself.

Plumm, it seems that you and I are on the same page about a lot of stuff. Boy I hope DD can really pull off a good year, but I just don't see improvements. Our O coordinator really needs to make some innovative improvements in the offense. I was told once that the most expensive piece of marketing you have is yourself. In other words, you can put a billboard on the highway but if people meet you and you got nothing then you are nothing. We need to right this ship a little before we can promote this product to the masses. Our football coach simply doies not understand the simbiotic relationship between football, athletics, university and the people who support all of the above. He thinks he can be on an island and still succeed.

A home and home with SMU, TCU, RICE, BAYLOR would really help this program. If who sold 30,000 tickets at Fouts twice a year, then we would not need to play the big money game against Texas to fund our Football budget. The SMU at the very least needs to be competitive. If we are not competitive then who cares about showing up for the next game. In this regard, it is a very important game to set the stage for future attendance and support for the rest of the season. This is not however the most important game in the history of the program.

EulessEagle, your post explains why this year could be real ugly. SMU good recruiting class, MAC champs, WAC Champs, National Champs..... If we could pull it off it would be a huge stepping stone for national notice. Reality is we have got to recruit better for several years to get back to the top of the Sunbelt, much less compete with these folks. Again, I hope I am wrong.

I agree that the SMU game is not the most important game ever for this program. I think the win in the NO bowl against Cinci is more important. However, this is the season that defines where we are going. Is it fair to say that anything short of a conference championship this year should not be tolerated? Coming off of 2-9, a 2-9 season where Clint Marks threw a perfect touchdown pass to a linebacker, and where a certain Florida team turned the ball over 9 times, or we would be 0-11, it seems to me that it is just unrealistic to do much better. Explain to me who we have added that is going to make a difference on this team. Offensive line, defense, where did we improve this team? Realistic goals need to be set for this team if we are going to stick with the current coaching staff. It takes two or three years to get back to where we were, not one season with the 100 and something ranked recruiting class in the country. I will be in my seats this year win or lose, but I am hoping for the best, and prepared for ugly. And folks, this year could be ugly. I hope I am wrong.

I am reminded of a story that Bill Walton tells about John Wooden. Walton showed up to practice with a long hair and scraggly facial hair, which was against his "dress code". Wooden told Walton to leave and not come back untill he got a hair cut and shave. Walton tells Wooden that he is going to stick to his principles and not shave or get a hair cut. Wooden then tells Walton that he admires a man who sticks to his principles and that UCLA basketball is sure going to miss him. Kids want and need discipline. Organized sport is supposed to provide that, and we as fans should expect it from representatives of our university.

My checklist for progress in the program this year: 1. A discipline well prepared football team. 2. Dress code when arriving a the stadium or on away trips. 3. In game adjustments on offense to exploit weakness in defense or to combat certain things defenses are doing to stop us. 4. Better quarterback play. 5. No stupid penalties. These little things are going to be the barometer of DD saying that he is committed to advancing the program.

And when the oil comes out of the ground, the revenue will be subject to tax. If you penalize people for taking risks and becoming wealthy, then there is no incentive to reinvest, expand the economy, and give weak minded piss ants a job so that they can eat, procreate, and continue the crazy cycle of producing liberals who don't have a clue how there job, opportunity to exist in this wonderful country came to be in the first place. It is called capitilism, and you can't have it both ways. Invent something, or improve a process, make some money on it, and thank god you are taxed fairly on your gains and be happy.

Man what I great link. I can see my building from the satellite photos. I am going from 1/2 a block of the highway to highway frontage. Thanks

We all know about our stadium. However, Much has been done to upgrade the stadium. Big Screen for replays, state of the art turf, etc. It looks bigger than the amount of people that it holds, and if we the fans and alumni were filling it up, then it would look really good. I for one am tired of hearing about the stadium being a recruiting crutch. Good salesmen sell to their strengths. New athletic center, new locker rooms, new academic center, new practice fields. I want a new stadium too. I will be one of the first ones to pony up when the new capital campaign starts to build it, just like I was for the academic center. But for right now, quit bitching about the stadium and work with it. It is much improved than before RV got here.

Season Ticket numbers are not a "state secret" nor is the number of mean green club members. All you have to do is ask RV or Mandy and they will tell you. Nothing they do is a secret.

Money is not the only determinant in the success of recruiting. We are close to a two large cities with the Houston and Austin areas not far away. Recruiting is for a large part based on a good plan, and good organization. With our facilities we should be able to out recruit other Sun Belt teams. Which would you rather be? Murphreesboro 45 minutes from Nashville, or us 30 minutes from a major airport, two major cities, pro football, pro baseball, pro basketball, and great new facilities for all sports, with the exception of basketball whose locker rooms have been remodeled with a great venue in the Super Pit.

Met the new running backs coach today at the golf tourney. He is a former defensive back for us and was coaching at Denton Ryan. Can't recall his name.

My point was that he is still coaching here. I guess you didn't get the sarcasm.

Dang why can't we find a guy like this?

I think Dickeys biggest accomplishment his how many big time programs came calling for him after the 2nd straight championship and the bowl victory. Oh wait, I meant the third straight championship. No was it the fourth straight......... Kansas State where he was a great quarterback.........

The fences are not deep enough for D-1 play. This field is right behind the indoor facility on the old Liberty campus

If you know about the mean green club, know what it means to UNT athletics, and love your (our) university, then why does Mandy need to personally call you and ask you for a donation? This is our place, not hers. The more help we give her the better she can do her job. Just getting that tent set up at the away games is a huge ordeal. Not to mention finding a local beer store, finding a small amount of food, catering to supervising cheerleaders, and making sure donors on the trip with the team are taken care of. You may not believe it, but she works long thankless hours.