Glad To Be Green

Well you can all call it a lie but I can not get access to the account and did not post anything other than the concert and logo posts. I have reported to Twitter and have a copy of that. And I am the only one who had access to post. So regardless of what you believe, these are the facts.

Well I promised I would stay off the Board unless it was informational and this is. Our original Twitter site was hacked a while back and apparently whoever did it made it impossible for me to get back in or shut it down! I know there were political barbs flying back and forth and I promise you that none of that content was produced or condoned by any member of the LTTC and never would be. Anyone that really knows me or the members of our Board realizes that this type of behavior is against our general respect for people. Our goal as a Collective is to create opportunities for student-athetes and build a Collective that will help retain and attract top athletes so how would those messages advance that effort? We are still working with Twitter to remove the messaging and hope it will happen soon. My question is why do some of you take this misinformation, totally unsubstantiated and beat the drum one more time? Just because you don't like me. if that's the case then there is nothing I can or want to do about it. But how do you think that breeds anything positive about this collective and its' importance? As long as I have started, I am going to address some other things in this thread. I know many of you will not like it and probably create more threads to demean the comments, but in all honesty it won't bother me because I know the information to be true. First I took this position not because I love the University, but more because I believe in young people and want the best of them to come to North Texas. I believe in the men who asked me to take the challenge on because together we built nearly every facility our student-athletes play in today. I did it because, despite your beliefs, I knew I was capable of making this happen becasue everywhere I have been in my life I have done so. And while I don't count you in that number, there are a lot of people, coaches and administrators who do believe in me and I am doing it for them. And I do love this University. Secondly, I did raise money while I was here...lots of money. We convinced Ron Warranch to donate the entire amount, right at $1.5 million to build our tennis facility shortly after I arrived and we never stopped. Check the list of people who are our largest donors and you will see that they were brought on board during our tenure. Families giving million and multimillion dollar gifts to help build the Athletic Center, buy and renovate the Liberty Christain property and eventually erect Apogee Stadium. That cultivation has fueled their continued participation. The naysayers will try to say someone else did all this but if that's so then why didn't they do it before we got here. As far as my ability to lead, in under 60 days, we incorporated an organization, went through the appliaction process for tax exempt status, built a new website from scratch, created banking relationships, put together a strong board, traversed through the many steps required to run an NIL, created a business platform, initiated a successful kickoff event, developed programs and partnerships to provide student-athletes with opportunities to earn compensation, created and then offered contracts and raised a significant amount of money to meet those obligations. Many schools took 8-10 monts to do the same thing. Not bad for someone that, according to you, can't run an organization effectively. And when we get that $300,000 donor we will have no problem holding a press conference. Finally, I am not going to quit because you think I should. Many people don't feel the same way and are helping us grow. So now go and take all the shots you want, make remarks about syntax and perpetuate myths for your own benefit. What I would humbly ask is that you lose the personal grudges and think about the future of the program because it's not about me or you. It is about North Texas. So back to passing on information. Since the Twitter account was compromised, we have created a new Twitter site - The Real Light The Tower Collective@LLTCED2022 and will begin posting regularly soon with student-athletes providing a lot of the content about the process but also the nonprofits and charities we will be working with. I hope you will check it out and also hope you will consider joining our group to help complete the already fast start we have had. You can go to our website www.lightthetowercollective.com to get more information or make an online donation because every dollar really does help. One hundred $100 donations adds $10,000 to the fund and 200 at $500 gets us an additional $100,000. Those kinds of dollars paired with an already impressive balance from higher level gifts will help us create a solid and strong Collective so important to our athletic program. If you would like to talk about a recurring gift, please fill out the Contact Us section on the site and I will get right back to you. In closing, we don't have to agree, we just need to make a difference. Let's Light The Tower and Go Mean Green! P.s. By the way, we had the box for that Garth Brooks concert "donated" by a gentleman who comitted $40,000 and two others who committed a combined $30,000.

Well I promised I would stay off the Board unless it was informational and this is. Our original Twitter site was hacked a while back and apparently whoever did it made it impossible for me to get back in or shut it down! I know there were political barbs flying back and forth and I promise you that none of that content was produced or condoned by any member of the LTTC.. We are still waiting for Twitter to shut it down and remove the messaging but hope it will happen soon.. in the "Mean" time we have created a new Twitter site - The Real Light The Tower Collective@LLTCED2022 and will begin posting regularly soon with student-athletes providing a lot of the content about the process but also the nonprofits and charities we will be working with. I hope you will check it out and also hope you will consider joining our group to help complete the already fast start we have had. You can go to our website to get more information or make an online donation because every dollar helps. Remember one hundred $100 donations adds $10,000 to the fund and 200 at $500 gets us an additional $100,000. Those kinds of dollars paired with an already impressive balance from higher level gifts will help us create a solid and strong Collective so important to our future. If you would like to talk about a recurring gift, please fill out the Contact Us section on the site and I will get right back to you. Let's Light The Tower and Go Mean Green! Rick V

And that would be awesome. Every dollar will help get us there. While we have never had that size response for any initiative, it is our hope that we get to that level of participation moving forward to meet all the needs of the athletic department over time. And again every dollar heps. Hope you will consider joining the cause.

The objective is to retain and attract the highest level players necessary to win. Using all of the donations that come in without designation allows the Collective to maximize allotments to those players and adjust as needed from season to season. So to be most effective. donations, as is the case at most schools. should be to the general Collective.

INrither I or the Board have stated that we would need 12,000 people to make the Collective work. However we do want everyone to have the opportunity to donate and be a part of the initiative and help us be competitive in helping attract and retain players that can help us win. The Collective didn't create this situation but we are trying to make sure we are not at a disadvantage in the realm that is now a part of intercollegiate athletics.

I fully understand and do take it that way. Trying to get so many thigs done in a short time but no excuse. This must be done correctly in every facet. Appreciate your feedback.

Some may see Glad To Be Green and go oh no. I want to let everyone know that I will be using this board to share information and answer questions and not to rehash negative comments that might be left on the threads. The Light The Tower Collective should be a positive addition for our athletic program so I ask regardless of how some of you might feel about collectives or me personally let's keep the topic positive for student-athletes and potential donors that might visit the site. To start, I want to addrees the latest release on the LTTC kickoff event to be held next Friday at Apogee. I want to clarify that is in no way meant to be exclusionary to anyone. It is our goal to create a large fund pool quickly and so a list of people who personally or through giving history would be willing to help at certain levels to provide the kick start needed to be viable and have substantial funding available before the end of the month. Honestly, if we have missed anyone who would like to be a part of this initial group please let me know and we will get you an invite. We are fianlizing another more generaal event to get more information to those who desire it. Everyone will be able and have the opportunity to join the cause. As we release information we want to make sure we are fully prepared to take donations and that we have created ways for everyone to participate. While we have moved swiftly, we are still tying uo the final loose ends of all the tools necessary to operate properly. Many of you may have seen the release this morning that SMU will be giving football and basketball players $38,000 annually. They have been working on theri collective for over 8 months and are just getting to the point they are ready to make deals. One poster asked when I became an NIL guru. Well I am not and don't proclaim to be. I don't think there is one as this process is still so fluid. However I understand many of the facets involved that make up the process having served on two NCAA committees that have discussed this topic fo the last 10 years.. I accepted this role because I know I can adminster the program, provide beneficial service to student-athletes inside the guidelines provided and make sure the Collective represents itself in a manner that reflects well on the University and the athletic program. The website is set to be complete in the next 7 days and will provide information on the purpose of the Collective, how donors can get involved and the benefits associated at a number of levels. There are also areas that talk about how companies, corporations and charities can join with compensenstaed athletes in beneficial programs. Again as the rules fo the game change, the website will grow to reflect new an pertinent information. Yes I am participating finanacially in the Collective. I have always participated financially in the causes I work for and this will be no different. Hard to ask people to financially support if you are not. I know some of you have asked how you can give and if you want to do so without knowing the options and benefits available please email me at rick@lightthetower collective.com and I will make it happen. We appreciate everyone's patience in getting this endeavor rolling. I, like some of you, was frustrated that it took so long to get started and why it did I am not sure. At this point it doesn't matter. We will have a functioning program operating this fall and be competitive with most of the schools in our new home, the American Conference. GO MEAN GREEN and let's LIGHT THE TOWER!

Over the past 72 hours the Mean Green family has suffered a tragic loss and it has impacted many of our players, coaches and staff. Over this time many members of the GoMeanGreen.com family have reached out to us and shown their support through calls, emails, flowers and in other kind ways. I want to thank each of you for sharing your thoughts and prayers through this difficult time. The Mean Green Nation is awesome.

Hope everyone had a great fourth of July! Thought I'd respond to this and wait for the flack. First of all the uniforms have never been of the choosing of the athletic director. That choice is made by coaches as evidencd by the change from Dickey to Dodge. Green Helmets to white helmets. Plain to piping. My only mandate is green and white with occassional use of black. The style and cut of the uniforms are the choice of the head coach in each sport. And no we didn't take the cheapest uni from NIKE, we took the one Coach McCarney wanted. As far as helmet decals, yes I did put the North Texas on the side of the helmet in 2001 because the previous logo was terrible. My first preterence was an overlapped NT but that was nixed by admimistration. And yes my personal preference is not to brand the athletic program as UNT because that is how it would show up on the bottom of ESPN, CBS, etc. So North Texas became the mark. Our consistent use has made it a recognizable and consistent mark. As for the logo is concerned, yes we have implemented in may spaces throughout the stadium and on the field. I love the logo we helped design in 2005. So I have expanded its' use in many places hwere else it shows up will have to be seen. As far as pagentry and tradition of college football, I'd love to hear things you would like to see added. Since arriving we have added the team march through taigating, helped expand the band from 175 to over 350, added musical prompts for fans to follow (jgst like LSU), reinstituted tailgating, added the Jr Mean Green tunnel and this fall will add a new end zone tradition during the player entrance. We initiated Friday night at Clark Park and brought live music to the tailgating area. With the help of Fire Fightin Rick and others we have retained the cannon, the Model T and added yhe spirit tug. But the pagentry of college football you talk about isn't just about that. It is created on game day by stands filled with loud, engaged fans who stay the course. At LSU the mystique of Death Valley is the participation of 80,000 fans in a freny repeating cheers and songs that have been rehearsed for generations. At clemson it is the orange and blue clad students that line the run down the hill and the 1000s of tents lining the way in. At Texas A&M it is the corp, the kiss and the locking of arms in a show of unity. None of those started yesterday and have been honed over decades. So embrace what is in place and help grow the experience. The new stadium won't create the pagentry but the way it is built will help tighten the space and create a whole new environment. The tailgating space surrounding the stadium can become a field of green and white tents that provide a pregame excitement. Lastly, I understand that this is a fan board and therefore at some point everyone is going to disagree and complain about something. Everyone knows how to do it better and we never know how to do it right. That said, my vision and the hard work of our current group has taken the program to places most of you ever thought possible. And while you want to continually find or create problems in the program, you are missing the best times this place has seen in a while. Bragging on the growth of facilities at TSU when you have a far superior facility about to open is proof positive that nothing will ever be good enough! GO MEAN GREEN

Sorry, I didn't wear a North Texas shirt because I didn't plan on being in those seats and I was only there for the fourth quarter. And Skiver is very mistaken as I was in Mobile Alabama on May 17, on the Coaches Caravan in Grand Prarie on May 19th and at Sun Belt Conference meetings on the 25th. Pretty hard to be at a game then!

Not true. First game all year.

I want to preface this post by acknowledging that many will take the opportunity to rip me, but I have become accustomed to it as nothing seems really good enough for some posters on the board. Regardless, I proceed. After suffering through the same disappointment each of you faced last Tuesday night, I drove back to Denton and had time to reflect on this team and especially the nucleus of Josh White, Tristan Thompson and George Odufawa. The disappointment and remorse on their faces in the locker room made me sick to my stomach. Not because we had lost a game but because you could feel that they were shouldering all the hurt felt by so many that night. This week that nausea increased as I received e-mails of threads from the board that these kids were a disappointment, underperforming, didn't live up to expectations and now were not going to participate in post-season play. And the comments were, as is often the case, made without the knowledge of or regard for the circumstances of this team. No excuses, but early injuries were obvious and had a direct effect on the team's fortunes. The loss of Alzee Williams forced Josh White to play almost 40 minutes in everty game. The loss of Cameron Spencer early and then Jacob Holman late (who by the way was playing better every game) forced more minutes on both George and Kedrick. And late in the season it showed as we didn't shoot well in several straight games, playing on legs that were worn out. It was a different team that played game number 25 than games 1 through 18. And then when a lot of people had given up on them, including several on this board, they dug deep as they had many times before and came within a bucket of two NCAA trips in two years. In that six game stretch they not only won but they dominated in most cases. They went to UALR to play their third game and second road game in six days and won without Josh. They vindicated losses (both on the road) to Western Kentucky and Troy in romps and eliminated the #1 seed the same way. Tristan Thompson played the tournament of a lifetime and along with George and Josh showed everyone how they game can be played. Unfortunately a team that had to practice with only eight players many times at the end of the season ran out of gas and let something very precious to them slip away. And never made an excuse or cried foul. Along the way they won more games in a four year period than most any team in school history and continued the progress that has brought respectability to a program that had mired in a wasteland for 20 years. They made it to the dance, they beat teams from the Big 12 and SEC and made it attractive enough to lure one of the country's best recruiting classes for 2011. While frustrating at times, as every team is, they have provided more great memories that will leave "true" fans saying remember when. For the first time in my years here, more people hurt and cried when we lost than complained. Those kids and those coaches created that. Now some want to add insult to injury by demanding that they "perform" again because THEY OWE US! Well let me assure you that it was not a money issue that kept this team from moving on. Obviously new facilities, stronger and better paid coaching staffs, budgets that allow all sports to recruit and prepare student-athletes to achieve national rankings and post-season play and all the other improvements are not signs that the athletic department is finacially committed. Just like those kids have always been unlike some of you who complain but don't buy season tickets or support the program financially and then are "owed" everything. Well I would hope that you would welcome this incoming basketball class (and all new incoming student-athletes) with the support necessary to continue moving the program upward. I have deep gratitude for those of you who have taken up for these kids and this team. And for those who want to criticize this outgoing team I would like to paraphrase Jack Nicholson from the movie "A Few Good Men." "I would prefer that you just say THANK YOU!" P.S. For those who condem the schedule, check the non-conference opponents of number one seeds Ohio State and Kansas that include Emporia State, Morehead State. North Carolina A&T. IUPUI, and Florida Gulf Coast among others. And we have won the majority of non-conference games played in the last two years.

I want to extend our apologies to all the Mean Green Club Members for the recent error in the mailing of our Holiday Greeting Cards. The mailing list was sent to the center on campus to be printed and mailed. When I learned of the mixup today, we called the center and they acknowledged that in their address sorting process they inadvertently changed the name fields and the result was the names being placed with other MGC members' addresses. Therefore everyone got a card but with the wrong name. The center will send out an apology after the holidays. That being said I want to tell everyone that we have a lot to be thankful for and that includes each of you. I wish everyone a blessed holiday season GO MEAN GREEN! Rick V

Just wanted to take a minute and thank the fans and the students for creating an awesome atmosphere that hasn't been seen in the Super Pit for a while. Standing on the floor it sounded like a cannon exploded when Josh hit the layup and then we made the second three in overtime. It's how it should be every night when students are here and when school is out we need to fill the gaps and still get a crowd in the Pit. With a crowd that size please let me know if there were problems or any good things that happened. And I promise to let the student section do their thing. I only stepped over because early on there were a lot of students but only about half of them up and chanting. By the end of the game they were rocking. It was the kind of crowd I've waited for and thanks for making it happen. GO MEAN GREEN!

I couldn't agrre more that our current situation from a visibilty standpoint is not good. While the University has invested in billboards and ads they have never been about Athletics. With the budget we currently have we have been able to purchase a rotation on an LED board at Swisher Road pushing the new stadium but thats not enough impact on a regular basis. But that will all change soon. By late spring our new interstate LED boards at the stadium will hit eveyone that travels up and down I-35 right in the the face. The west face of our new home will carry a big, beautiful University of North Texas 130 feet in the air. In addition the University is beginning work on a Home Team concept that will make us (it includes athletics) much more visible in the region. And despite the information posted in some places our restaurant partners program is bigger and stronger (now at 40) than ever including Rudy's and Texas Roadhouse. But that doesn't finish the job. We need to have businessse put up flags and GO MEAN GREEN on their readerboards. We now have many businesses that are wearing green on Fridays, including the City of Denton employees but it needs to extend to all alums. And everyone must help. At LSU we didn't have to carry all the weight, because the Alumni Association and many other entities of the university used athletics as a vehicle. We must do the same. In the end, to bring this all together we must win. Doesn't matter about the other opportunities out there because we can't make them go away. We just hae to quit using them as an excuse. Let's stop spreading incorrect information and if someone is not returning your call, then call me, because I think I have proven I will communicate. Put on a Green shirt. make others do the same and make your way to the games. Bright days are just ahead. RV

That is changing. Our new president is working right now to provide resources (it is not the athletic department failing to do it as we have limited funding) to do more in the next year. Signs, billboards,etc. will start to pop up soon pushing athletics and not just numbers. As I said last night we will use the resources to do a better job. In this market it is tougher than most. We have no local TV or radio station that provides much more than game exposure and trying to buy that time in Dallas is impossible. Ask SMU and TCU. They're not able to do it either (i.e. the failure of the Pony Up promotion) because financially you can't sustain it. But in Fort Worth (and it has a lot to do with winning) everyone has gone purple from the city to the general publi and business community. We just have to be positive and continue to ask everyone to promote all the time.

Green Dozer, I apo;ogize if we have treated you that way. Please contact me directrly so I ca check into this. Thanks. RV

I read the DRC article this morning citing that major components of the stadium campaign have left and this is a real blow to the future success of the stadium campaign. And I was sure that it would stir things up which is the object of the story in the first place. While the changes presented challenges and required others to step forward, the changes have not stopped the process nor decreased its momentum. First Mr, Goldfield did not leave the progam. He made the decision to reduce his participation in the formulation and directing of the fund raising aspects months ago and as stated put himself in a role of visiting donors when needed. It was always his major intention to assist with donor visits and in the article he states that he stands ready to assist with donors when needed. This is not something new that happened yesterday. And while I hated his decision to take a less active role, I understood Mr. Goldfield's desire to step down from the steering committee. As most of you know this has been a long process and gearing up for the campaign was much slower than he or for that matter I had envisioned. Then there was the three month period while the student fee was in process. These are the things that frustrated Al as his way of doing business did not usually involve having to wait on so many changes. Al has continued to be supportive of the project as he is in the article. His statements that he wants to see it completed and there are a lot of good people over there who want to see it happen verifies that he awaits as we do the completion of the new stadium. His gift was the initial starting point of actually getting this project on track and I appreciate all that he and Shirley have done and will do. And while I truly hate the departure of Ann Clinkscales, it was for the right reason and the choice she should have made. I appreciate the time and effort she put into helping coordinate efforts and engage donors during her stay. She was a real help in a time of need. All that said, in the last two months others in the department have been instrumental in securing several five and six figure pledges and gifts. Chris Cannon, Mandy McKinley and I have been seeing donors on a regular basis. Club level seats have begun to sell and have picked up as we have been able to see more donors. Mandy has been key in securing stadium suite requests already covering half the number available. Discussions with companies considering naming rights are ongoing for the entire facility and other areas of the stadium. We are also working with the alumni asssociation on the possibility of a very special area at the stadium which would benefit the stadium and the association. We have added support now from the development area more people out selling the project. There is a lot of momentum and remember the stadium is still two years away. Now many will write this off as whitewash or excuses because whatever others say about the program must always reflect the entire true picture. Well I intend to address these and other topics such as APR or staff changes not to argue but rather to clarify. Progress continues to be made in so many areas but that is usually not put out as much as the negative because the negative is what many feed off. Anyone can throw stuff out and it is accepted because there is no response otherwise. Well that time is over. In the end what is it that we should be talking about? Not Title IX or a tennis facility or academic success because that is viewed as moving the target. Right now the fact is that after 30 years of talking about a new stadium we are as close as we have ever been to that reality. We were able to pass the first athkletic fee in school history despite several down seasons. Design Development for the stadium is near completion and will soon be ready to move construction documents. The project continues to evolve and will soon come to fruition. Is that not what all of us want? It has not happened in the easiest, or fastest or most convenient manner. It has at times put me and others in frustrating positions. And while it is not the job of the Athletic Director to plan, implement and run a capital campaign, I will not shy away from the responsibility that I have to this project by trying to place blame on anyone else. It is time to stop trying to pick everything apart and start supporting this project. All of us.

Of course I have no way of knowing how the election will go but I do want to thank my staff, the students and the many individuals who have helped get information out about the stadium. I will be out of town most of next week at Sun Belt Conference meetings so let me just clarify a few last things. I have tried to give out as much information and been as accommodating as possible to let students see and know why we feel this facility is important. We have worked to modify, correct or expand information over the weeks so that everyone is correctly informed. Here's what we have tried to convey through the information. The plan and mandate is that we build this stadium green, per the newly adopted policy on campus for all facilities and that has been a part of the planning in all the discussions with architects. The architects have told us through their research that it would make it the first LEED certified college football stadium in the country. The fee will not go into effect until the semester the stadium is open so many current students won't pay the additional fee. The current $3 "Athletic Fee" portion of student services fees will be dropped if the referendum passes, making the increase $7 not $10. The resulting fee will still be less than most in our own conference and equal to or less than those currently in place or already approved for several schools in Texas, many of which are affiliated in the FCS, have no football or are at the Division II level. Student fees could only be used to fund half of the cost of the stadium and the athletic department/university will have to raise the remaining half. That, unlike some other states, no state funding can be used to build athletic facilities. Students will "still" not have to pay for tickets when the new stadium opens. A current student ID will still get them into games at no charge. The stadium has accessibility issues in almost every area and although we have made several improvements over the last two years, gameday presents a number of challenges with everything from inadequate restroom and concession facilities to bad press box and seating configurations. The current master plan for the University shows the football stadium south of I-35 not in its' present site and it has been that way for several years. This is one of the reasons, the main reason, there was never a "formal" plan to renovate Fouts and there was never a statement made to anyone saying that we had. We only stated that discussions concerning areas such as drainage, excavation and ADA challenges had taken place. That coupled with the Master Plan moved us away from the idea of a renovation. In this last week on both sides may make claims or statements that may or may not be substantiated. I unfortunately am not in a position to control that but I hope each side will keep it fair. In addition to the "facts", we do believe the new facility will help increase attendance, attract higher profile opponents to Denton and put us in a much better position to recruit the very best student-athletes. We also believe it helps change the perception of the program and the university's commitment to an overall great institution and can lead to new and increased participation by alumni and others who can help many areas of the university. However I have stated to students over and over again that building a new stadium doesn't guarantee anything but that not building it and not investing in the program will definitely make it harder to get where they want to be from a football and athletic program stand point. We have compiled this information on fact sheets that are going out to all students on both sides of the issue. I believe we have made a good case and shown the need. As we can not control the other factors affecting the vote, I wish us all the best in this very important decision. And I ask that we all continue to support our teams, our coaches and our university.

I got a call about the thread on the board today that basically said that I have lied about several issues concerning the stadium project. The biggest one I guess is that we have 3 companies lined up that want the naming rights and that I also have one person that will do it but if not we'll get one of those companies to do it. Well with all due respect to the young person who posted that, I did not and never have said we have any company lined up to sign up for the stadium. During the tour a question was asked about the rest of the funding for the stadium. My response was that a naming rights sponsor would part of our funding mix and that we had commissioned a report from a company that values facilities. We know from that information that it is a great property. We as a group feel that there are one to three corporations we could approach immeadiately as soon as the project was a go. I also said I would prefer it be named after an individual but if that did not happen then we would probably have to go the corporate route. For anyone who knows anything about corporate naming of facilities those things don't usually happen until the beginning of construction or during the costruction phase. I have made that very clear on several occassions with students, donors and administration. The producers of the report confirmed that for us. I did not say what was posted, but I guess the comments of a student make that my position and my words. Then there's the renovation of Fout's Field. No we did not have an official study done to evaluate a renovation because the University almost four years ago made the decision that the Master plan moved Fouts Field to the other side of I-35. Part of that decision was based on a number of factors but mostly keeping student based facilities and activities closer to campus. Prior to that however, there were discussions about drainage, accessibility, the ability to lower the field and other factors that led to a "new" stadium plan across the highway and not a renovation at Fouts. That was not just my decision as no project of this magnitude would be for any individual on any campus. During this process, I have tried to keep everything transparent making information and the facility available for students. We want this decision to be made based on people knowing the right information. Because of it I've become the villian, my son has been trashed in the paper and by taking the risk and trying to bring something to this program that has been long needed yet grossly ignored instead of taking the easy route I get chastised on a regular basis. This facility and this athletic fee are sorely needed for this program to be moved forward, the thing I have tried to do since the day I got here. If we've made a mistake somewhere, point it out as we still have the time to inform students.

In a recent tour of the stadium to show students the problems at Fouts Field I was addressing the group about the main "reasons" students are saying they are against the fee. In the process of the conversation I brought up the position of some "that we (we meaning students against the fee) keep saying the football program sucks" as a reason for voting against the fee. I then stated "Well it does. I went on to say that "I am as embarassed as anyone about the way we are playing right now. However that was followed up by "But it's not going to get better until we make changes and support the program. My reference to the "program" was in reference mainly to the stadium and all the those things that can affect a team's performance as well as the effects it has on our team and its' ability to be successful. Remember I was there talking about the need for a new facility. I did not say our team sucks and never would. However based on comments I have received I understand how many of you may have taken that and I apologize. I stopped by Coach Dodge's office this afternoon and explained it to him but apologized for the way it may have been taken. I intend to do the same with the team tomorrow. To all of you I wanted apologize if it was offensive and to say that I have done nothing but support our coaches and our kids through this difficult time. I believe that they will get this turned around and we all need to support these young men in every way we can.

I want to mention that the band was not at fault because we should have made sure there was no crossover.

I want to apologize to everyone for the presentation of the video on the scoreboard on Saturday. We worked hard to make sure that we had a number of methods by which to present the stadium project throughout the day and if properly executed built upon each other. Unfortunately when it came time for the video two major areas which had been covered were not handled properly. 1. The announcement " ladies and gentlemen. we ask that you turn your attention to the scoreboard for a very special presentation" was not made and 2. The drumline which we knew was going to play to the Tulsa crowd moved on and then stopped and played to the student section. That stop was not in the script and because it was as the band was being reset in the stands the communication process was not reestablished. I lost it as some of you may have witnessed because I knew we had missed a great opportunity. There is no excuse. Look for the video at future games and on the website.

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