untjim1995

I believe that OU and OSU are connected together, so if you are looking at Oklahoma and Mizzou leaving to the SEC, I believe OSU is in the mix, too. Kansas is apparently shackled with K-State, so the MWC is probably about to really step up in hoops if those aforementioned teams leave, plus they will probably add the other Big XII leftovers, as Texas will go indy. The MWC will add Utah State to stay in the SLC market and then would get to 16 teams, while probably becoming the next AQ league. The Big XII falling apart is the absolute worst thing that could happen to our dreams of moving up the conference chain, as the MWC would be full and CUSA would not have seen any movement. If we are going to be in the SBC for next 10+ years, I just pray that no one else leaves. I just can't imagine being in a league where MUTS, FIU, or another SBC bunkmate gets plucked away and we replace them with Georgia State or Georgia Southern. This is the scenario I fear the most concerning our alma mater.

For those of with very small kids, remind me again when we fire this thing off--after we score, end of the quarter, kickoff? Any others? I will need to prepare my 3 year old and 5 year old to cover their ears or else I can see a massive amount of fear that will be damn near unrecoverable If I don't get ahead of this one now.

I saw BCG at the UTA-UNT game this past November. He was by himself in the concession line and was very pleasant to talk with, although he looked as if he hadn't slept in about 3 days. Later, I saw him sitting by himself with no one even close to him. He left after UNT went up by 20 and came over and said bye. Total hoops junkie--and a junkie of other things, too..

Baylor was far from being terrible when they joined the Big XII. They had been to several bowl games in the years leading up to the SWC crashing down. It was TCU that was terrible, along with SMU and Rice, too. Baylor will be in the MWC before this is all over--mark it down.

I agree with this completely. Texas's greed and need for power has killed the Big XII. The saddest part about this is that if the LHN was just made to be a simple deal instead of this extravagant, ESPN production that is a cash cow, there would still be the Big XII-II in place. The midwestern schools much prefer this current setup to waht the other options will be. The saddest part to me in all of this is that we never made ourselves into an athletic program that any of these conferences would want to add when expansion/poaching became the big deal. Obviously, we hope that we can change that now, but if the Aggies leaving does cause the Big XII to fall apart, we just lost our MWC possibility. This scenario is actually terrible for anyone in CUSA who wants to move up, too, as the Big East and MWC will pick up the teams left behind from the Big XII, leaving UCF, ECU, and UH in CUSA for years to come. The only thing that could somehow save teh Big XII is if they get clearnace from the NCAA to stay as an AQ league if they get enough teams to join it, assuming that Texas, Tech, OU, and OSU leave. I could see a new Big XII that would look like this: ISU, KU, KSU, Mizzou, BYU, Colorado State, AFA, New Mexico, Memphis, Houston, TCU, and UTEP Heavy on basketball stalwarts, but having regional football programs that have had big success in the past. It gets TV markets that would at least get a decent payout from some network and would have bowl ties with Houston, Memphis, DFW, El Paso and Albuquerque, not to mention cities that have hosted the old Big 12 championship game in Houston, Kansas City, and St. Louis. This league would still probably be on par with the Big East in football, but it would keep them AQ. This could be our ticket into the MWC, but a lot of the teams we would play would be far away (old Big West days). This also would create a few openings in CUSA, but the SMU/private school block would probably still be a deal-killer. All that said, a new Big XII would give us many more opportunites than if the conference just dies.

Ponyfans should love this--similar to the time we had SMU Football Ads streaming on gmg.com a few years ago. I will never forget the fun they had with that one. One of their posters had the same ad that was showing over here on gmg, but he edited it to say, "Yea, we blackballed you." It actually was the first bit of honesty concerning UNT on that site that I ever saw.

This usually gets followed very closely by the same demographic arguing about how racist our society is--you know, because they know so much about it, being lily white and all...

Sumlin is a very good coach--he will be an AQ coach very soon. Keenum is the perfect QB for his system because of that release and the athletes that he throws to. Their offense will be stout. Their defense is always what holds them back from being a serious BCS buster, but UH is definitely a team that we need to emulate over the next few years.

Richard Bridges? Still think Dickey was wrong to start him instead of Scott Hall against Tech at Texas Stadium. We had no chance after that...

This. Our coach is no idiot--he knows that he has severe depth and strength issues on the lines. The QB and WR situation will work itself out, but the lines alone keep my expectation for this season only at 3-4 wins. The attitude adjustment will pay huge dividends for us next season and beyond. But, if SI is right, and we go 5-7, I will be beyond thrilled. To put this in perspective, since 1995, our first year back at the FBS level, we have won 5 games or more in a season on 5 occassions, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. In 1996 and 2001, we won exactly 5 games. In the other 11 seasons, we have won a total of 27 games. You can see how a 5 win season prediction can make me giddy!!

Funniest post on this board in a long time.

Here's where your argument hits a snag. Back when Dickey was our coach, we had a huge conference winning streak, 4 straight bowls, the two previous national rushing champs who received lots of natinal and local pub, and open practices. In 2005, we averaged about 17-18K per home game, which was no different than it had been before. Lance Dunbar is awesome, but his team has been absolutely horrible for a long time. Joe Bob will know him even more when he runs for 200 yards in an opening season win over FIU. If that makes Joe Bob buy a ticket for our big home game against Western Kentucky, then we are the better for it. But I doubt if we were sending out all kinds of information on practices right now and how great Lance Dunbar is, Joe Bob will buy that ticket for Western Kentucky's visit to Denton if we get blasted in our first 4 games of the season, even if he runs wild in those games.

This is dead-on. UH will never be in the Big XII because the conference already owns the Houston market, even if A&M leaves. Its the same for us. TCU has proven all of this, as their own AD admitted when they joined the Big East that being in DFW would have never gotten them a Big 12 invite, so they have had to go other directions. Now, if the big Texas schools leave and the other teams remain (OU, KU, MU, etc..), then some of those MWC/CUSA schools and TCU would probably get calls in a heartbeat, since the remianing schools would have to get Texas schools into the conference. Its doubtful that would happen, though.

I will start off by saying where my viewpoints on this have come from. I grew up in Ft. Worth, rooted for the Frogs, watched lots of old SWC games at Amon Carter Stadium, and never liked SMU. I had absolutely no idea about North Texas until 1988 when they beat Tech, Texas*, and Rice--its how I learned what i-aa vs i-a meant. The TCU vs. SMU vs. UNT argument on who has more potential is one that is tied up into many topics (conference affilitation, alumni, media, enrollment, history, location, and facilities). To me, this is TCU's main advantage on the other two schools. When TCU wins, they have a big town to draw from, a city that basically adopted TCU as the hometown team. Ft. Worth has always viewed itself as very different from Dallas, which has always been a professional winner's city. Ft. Worth roots hard for the pro teams, too, but they have taken great pride in having a great university as its own to help show off the city. Even with the fact that TCU has a small enrollment, wealthy private students, and a small alum base, the school has always had a strong endowment for athletics. Couple all of this with the fact that they are in the heart of the metroplex, the media covers them very well, especially when they started beating people that fans have actually heard of. When TCU beat USC in the Sun Bowl in Coach Fran's first year, it started a wildfire that has only gotten stronger over the years. They basically have what SMU and UNT don't have--a big metroplitan area that the city has embraced as its own. Of course, it always helps to be a winner!! SMU has the money, the history, and the metroplex media as advantages, but Dallas covers the professional teams first, the big Texas schools next, then SMU and high school stuff. Their wealth fits in well in the Dallas mindset, but unlike TCU, the city of Dallas never has made SMU their hometown team. If June Jones keeps building the program up, they have the same problem that UNT has--they mostly play teams that have about zero interest to their fans. Sure, UH, UTEP, Rice, Southern Miss, and Tulsa are teams that we love to play and would die to be in a conference with, but to SMU's older alumni and the Dallas citizenry, they hate not being in a conference with Texas, A&M, Arky, Baylor, etc.. Getting to play them in non-conference games (except TCU) is all they can hope for now. In Dallas, if you aren't the best, you might as well be the worst--hence the Pay for Play mess that they got caught up in back in the 80s. Couple this all with the snob factor that SMU ramps up about 25x more than any other private school in the state, you get the fact that SMUs days of being included in an AQ-league/new 1-a order in the future are nil. To me, UNT really has to hope a few things align to make a big jump up in the future. Obviously, winning is the big thing, although wins against SBC teams only won't do it. That has been proven. We are going to have to get our "USC" win, that gets followed by big seasons, ala TCU in the late 90s. We have to hope that we can start winning fast and that it makes a MWC/CUSA invitation even possible. Denton has proven that they don't view UNT as its hometown team--poor support, constant bad-mouthing of athletics, and a true lack of media have all been factors. But, to me, the biggest reason that Denton has never cared about UNTs athletic teams is because we have never been able to align ourselves with a conference that people care about. If you get the big signature OOC win and combine it with an SBC championship/bowl berth, you could very well get that jumpstart to get into the MWC/CUSA that I believe is the only way to get alums, students, and Denton to solidly support the program ALWAYS!! I personally think that the MWC berth is the only chance UNT has to ever be included in the future separation that will occur. If it occurs, TCU and UNT will be in great shape, but I truly believe SMU won't ever get that chance. But, if we don't get an invite there, I think TCU will be the only DFW university that will be in the new 1-a/AQ down the road. If it plays out this way, maybe we will finally get that new SWC we always talk about--it will probably just be a non-AQ/1-aa league, though.

Schnellenberger did help, since he started the program at FAU, instead of them hiring some no-name assistant to start the program. The problem is that he won his national championship over 25 years ago. People remember Leach had success at Tech just a few years ago and all of the media attention he got, which was not even close to being the same when Howard was patrolling the sidelines in the Orange Bowl for Miami in 1984. What Leach has accomplished as a head coach in college football is light years ahead of anything Isiah Thomas had accomplished as a basketball coach/GM, especially since this is his first college job. Literally, this is apples versus oranges, in regard to helping national perception improve for the SBC.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them offer more than what UNT offered McCarney. He would be a huge get for FAU. As for Leach, I have said that this is the type of job that I suspect he will get as his next coaching job. No big-time AQ team is going to hire him because of that ego. Leach lost out to Randy Edsall for the Maryland job, even though Leach had more success as a head coach in a much tougher league. He has non-AQ (or an AQ in REALLY bad shape, like Washington State) written all over him for his next job. Jim Leavitt may have some say in this eventually, too, but I am sure that his lawsuit against another public institution in Florida may preclude him from getting that job.

LT almost ended up at UNT. TCU got in on them late in recruiting, IIRC, and got him. We recruited him out of Waco very hard. We had JaQuay Wilburn at the time, who was also very good. Imagine, though, what LT would have done in a Dickey-run offense. He might have run for 500 yards in a game here!! I will say this, though, about LT. In the infamous "Throw the Ball" game at TCU, LT really didn't have that huge of a game against us. He may have broke 100 yards, but it wasn't by much if he did. It was the next week that he ran for over 400 yards against UTEP.

I tend to agree with this, as I have said that the non-AQs should really look at creating their own playoff system to create excitement during the AQs "bowl" season. Those AQs are so beholden to the bowls that they aren't going to leave them for a while. Imagine a Boise State versus UCF semifinal playoff game in mid-December when 6-6 Texas Tech is playing 7-5 Arizona in the Insight Bowl. It seems like it would create way more interest than the spare bowl game, especially if the next day has another semifinal between undefeated North Texas playing SMU to go the championship game. If North Texas play Boise State for the non-AQ championship in the last week of the year, I can't imagine that an Alamo Bowl game between 7-5 Oklahoma State and 6-6 Northwestern will really attract many viewers. Let the AQs have their BCS bowl games. We will keep the dollars from the playoff system and avoid the cost of going to bowls that still cost the university a lot of money in the end. For a playoff game, it would seem that every non-AQ should be able to sell out a home game, especially if FCS schools can do it. All monies from the enitre playoff run gets split evenly amongst the non-AQs. If we are going to go the route of superconferences anyway, then we might as well put the screws to those schools first. Don't play them in non-conference and create a playoff that they aparently cannot do, since the AQ presidents and bowl committees have all the power and won't change anything. Or, of course, we could just keep the status quo, too...

I completely agree. I fully believe that BYU will be in this league, if it still exists. That keeps them at 10, gets a big name in the conference, and would add a TV market and a national following. Texas and ESPN have BYU in their hip pocket--I am still convinced that both had major influence on BYU goin independent. As soon as they announced their indy status, Texas scheduled them for two games and ESPN immediately announced a TV deal with them. Both of those two parties need BYU and won't care a bit about the BYU network. SMU, UH, and every other school in Texas and Oklahoma will never get into the conference as long as the conference membership looks the way it does now.

Yeah, there are lots of politicians from those schools--its just too bad that they are out numbered GREATLY by politicians from West Virginia, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Alabama, all of whom control their respective state capitols and Washington, DC. Look at our own state. Texas and A&M have shared PUF funds for over a century without sharing a dime with any other school, including the other big public schools in the state. Texas Tech, UH, and UNT, not to mention all of the other state schools have some political ties in Austin--just not enough to get any of that PUF money. I can assure that all our SBC brethren can relate. Arkansas doesn't even act as if Arky State exists, LSU treats the other LA schools like they are little kids, and I'm sure Kentucky and Tennessee aren't just giving WKU and MUTS a whole lot of love. Power and Money may be the downfall of college athletics, but make no mistake, both will continue to be the major forms of influence for a long time to come.

To me, for UNT, the pros and cons on all of this are just glaring at us all. PROS--PROMISE and LOCATION!! Now that we finally have a legitimate stadium, other strong facilities, and solid coaches/athletic director in the two main sports, we should have conferences very interested in having us come aboard. We are located in a huge media market, have a huge enrollment, and lots of alums who would come running out of the woodwork if we ever started playing and beating names of schools that people know. The MWC would be a great fit for a Texas school to play in right now. CONS--HISTORY, APATHY, and LOCATION!! No history of winning and lots of apathy among the fans and media, due to poor leadership and community support over the decades. The other Texas FBS schools, private or public, have shoen little-to-no interest in being aligned in a conference with us EVER. We got this beautiful stadium (finally) and started supporting athletics (finally) but, realistically, it may very well be too late. As a matter of fact, the price tag on this new stadium seems to be a bargain for the jewel that it is, but it will look very expensive if we are "downgraded" back to a 1-AA type level within the next 5-10 years. If this happens, and we are basically back to playing Southland-type schools, the administrators at UNT will get barbequed by the "old nestors" and the anti-athletic types. You think funding was bad before... I will tell you that my best hope is that we end up in the MWC, but I fear that the number of applicants for that conference just soared. I truly believe Texas Tech, Baylor, and possibly, Kansas and K-State, are bound for that conference real soon. If the MWC wanted to wait until they saw who would be a good fit for expansion to 12, they are about to get some good possibilites. Tech's academics will not play with the Pac-12 schools at all, only if it means they get Texas with them. Either way, Baylor will go there, just to smite the old SWC schools in CUSA. The Kansas schools would be a huge get for the MWC, but I suspect it will be the Big East that will get them. I fear this, though. All of this conference shuffling occurs and CUSA see some teams leave and there are openings. But CUSA decides to fill UCF's shoes with Florida Atlantic, ECU shoes with Middle Tennessee, and there are no Texas or private schools that leave, thus we get stuck in the SBC with Arkansas State, ULL, ULM, Troy, USA, WKU, and FIU. If this occurs, it will continue to be a tough sell here for the foreseeable future.

If it was just this simple to move to the MWC...

I am very proud that we have finally decided to make a commitment to football by building a stadium that is beautiful and hiring an experienced staff to lead our program. It really is amazing to see the steps that the administration has made over the last few years. All that said, though, if we don't start winning, this stuff we are celebrating now will fade away quickly.

I agree with you on both counts. HOWEVER If a&m thinks they are going to compete with the BIG BOYS in the SEC they have another think coming. a&m will be a middle-of-the-conference level football team at best - Hell, they have hardly competed in the upper level of the Big 12 until last year...... Sorry Objective Aggie, your lesson should be Arkansas. They left the SWC many years ago and over that time they have been a middle-of-the-pack SEC team - and believe me, a&m has nothing going for it that Arkansas does not also enjoy. Talk about "premier conference" and a&m wanting to be in one - I have no doubt that a&m will enjoy relative mediocrity in the SEC (at least as far as football is concerned).......

Yeah, they did, but that has zero effect on how they will do against UNT in 2011.