GrandGreen

Remember NT has 8 offensive lineman who have started for at least one year. Santiago, Drake, and Bailey have started most of two years; Johnson, Menard, Freely, Hollovay and Gill have started most of one year.

Why would anyone in the Belt want to move to the MAC? I don't consider the MAC a step up now, and I believe the Belt's future looks brighter plus I believe that both teams would prefer to stay in a Southern conference. CUSA could be a step up because the overall budgets of its members are significantly bigger than the Belt, but the difference in play is not that great.

I don't think La Tech has any problem being in a conference with UNT. In fact, that was the whole basis of the WAC offer to UNT.

I agree in principle that a new SW like conference would be great. However, the most effective way to accomplish this would be to merge Western CUSA and Western Belt into two conferences. One consisting of the Western teams and the other the Eastern teams. You would retain the Belt and CUSA conferences to maintain NCAA status. Assuming that the Western conference would be the Sun Belt and the Eastern CUSA, it should be a simple procedure for the Sun Belt to change its name to anything they can agree on. The new Western conference would just have ten football playing members and could then go after additional teams like New Mexico, New Mexico State or (I hope not) Louisiana Tech. Western Conference UTEP Tulsa Houston Rice SMU UNT ULM Ark St UALR New Orleans ULL Tulane Eastern Conference Marshall East Carolina Central Florida UA Birmingham Memphis Southern Miss MTSU WKU Troy Florida Atlantic Florida International Southern Alabama

A dual threat QB is what this offense is build on, and Riley will had a further dimension to it. Viza was a hard fearless runner but did not have either the speed or elusiveness that Riley possesses. Riley's speed makes him a special player and I think it would be foolish to overprotect him and significantly limit his running. Dodge's running ability should not only keep defenses honest but be a real offensive weapon. I expect him to run smart and not try to overpower tacklers but use the slide and running out of bounds to compete runs and not take the risk of injury for an extra couple of yards. I think it is obvious from the spring game that Dodge will run a lot and that is the way it should be. An attempt to make Riley a predomintly passing QB ala Viza would greatly hinder his potential. T

Yes, that would sure help NT's APR rating. The last thing NT needs is to take more borderline academic football recruits. I think this points out a major fault in the APR process. Some schools apparently have little problem taking students who barely qualify and keeping them in good academic standings once they pass the NCAA minimum standards. Schools are in effect rewarded for offering and steering athletes to courses with little challenge and probably less value. Conversely, schools that insist athletes take course loads at least comparable with the normal student are penalized. I definitely don't think Troy is an example of a program I want NT to copy. Approximately 1/3 of their signees do not meet the NCAA minimum academic standards and the school has the lowest entrance standards of any school in the Belt. Not a good combination for a school that wants to move up the athletic food chain. On field success is great but most college presidents want to be associated with schools with similar stanards and college athletic directors don't want to compete with schools that have lower standards.

Maybe, but someone had to hire him. Robbins also recruited two high school All Americans in one class prior to Tubbs being on the staff. Assistants usually do most of the work in recruiting, however the head coach has to close the deal.

That conference schedule is awful. Only four home games and seven away plus having the last five games all away. I don't understand how the Belt schedule got this imbalanced.

Not sure NT takes this competition very seriously. The key to winning is fairly obvious, strong track teams (counts as 6 events) and heavy use of foreign athletes. WKU for example won men and women cross country as well as women's indoor track and both women and men's outdoor track. They did this largely because of the heavy use of foreign athletics. Their conference winning cross country teams got most of it points from their 3 athletes from Kenya, 3 from Uganda and 1 each from South Africa and Ireland. These same athletes also dominated the distance events in track. Middle Tennessee follows the same formula with a cross country team including four from Kenya, 2 from Uganda and 3 from Canada. Nothing wrong with how MTSU and WKU dominate the all sports competition, in fact it is smart if your objective is winning the Buba's. Even though WKU has a two sports advantage and the MUTS one, NT could I believe make up the difference much faster and cheaper by adding African distance runners than adding more sports. Depending on foreign athletes is something that NT has really not done in the past, and I am not sure a meaningless all sport competition is reason enough to change that stand. However, NT has recruited one good foreign athlete in cross country and recently went from the doormat in woman's tennis to a contender by heavily recruiting international players. Foreign athletes in selected sports M Track inclusive of cross country WKU 8 MTSU 7 UNT 2 W Track inclusive of cross country WKU 5 MTSU 7 UNT 2 M Golf WKU 3 MTSU 0 UNT 1 W Golf WKU 0 MTSU 2 UNT 0 M Tennis WKU 5 MTSU 6 UNT na W Tennis WKU 4 MTSU 5 UNT 5 W Soccer WKU 1 MTSU 6 UNT 0 Volleyball WKU 0 MTSU 1 UNT 1 M Swimming Diving WKU 6 MTSU na UNT na W Swimming Diving WKU 4 MTSU na UNT 0 Totals WKU 36 MTSU 34 UNT 11 A lot of crowing on Belt board from MUTS about this all sports trophy. Understandable, but I am not sure it means much especially if you look at the details. All sports are not created equal and the ability and willingness to procure foreign athletes is such a large part of the competition in the Belt, it tends to diminish the value.

Robbins was a victim of sorts at UNT after recruiting IMO the best class by a long shot at UNT, he was terminated and never got to coach them in a game. He was probably the best recruiter ever at UNT although at the time the competition in Texas was not anywhere as tough. He was aided by a new and best facility in Texas, the Super Pit. Blakeley's success in his three twenty plus winning seasons was almost entirely due to Blakeley recruits. Robbins' last recruiting class included two all state players and one second team all state players (five man teams not like the almost everybody all state teams of today) Kenneth Williams, Fred Mitchell, and Melvin Davis. In other words he got 3 of the top 10 recruits in the state including 2 of the top five. Added to that he signed juco All American Terry Bailey in the same year as well as Joe Pride the leading rebounder in Juco ranks that year. He also had waiting in the wings redshirted transfer Carl Jones, one of the best shooting guards in NT history. Blakeley could have also inherited senior Bobby Iverson but he decided to forgo his senior season. He was a legitimate high school All American also recruited by Robbins and was probably the highest ranking recruit ever to sign with NT basketball. I have always wondered what Gene Robbins would have done if allowed to stay at NT. Blakeley's problem was he could not come close to recruiting at the level of Robbins and after Robbins' recruits left he was basically a .500 coach against a much easier schedule than Robbins had in the MVC. In Blakeley's defense going independent certainly hindered the basketball program and he alleged his recruiting budget was totally unsatisfactory. Those open complaints and mediocre teams after his third year ultimately got Blakeley fired. Then UNT hired Tommy Newman, another sad story.

www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1800&ATCLID=3740484 Apparently there are more players leaving as by my count, this puts NT at 16 ships. Should booster the front line, but another kind of strange signing. She apparently did not start at the Juco and averaged under 5 points and rebounds a game although at a very good program. She had signed with Cal but mysteriously became available. The fact that at least at one time Cal, a very good program, wanted her is a good sign.

1. UNT's defensive front will be better. It is hard to imagine that it will be worse. However, NT did lose it's most consistent player in Thomas and the fruit basket turnover at the defensive end position in the spring seems to indicate that the large number of returning de's are not deemed adequate. I would have thought that with Gilmore at one end and Skyes, Brown, Owusu-Hemeng, Cole available at the other end that this position would improve. The Spring starters at de were Cantly and Akpunka who neither looked as good as walk on Nailor in the Spring game. The defensive tackle positions looks even more unsettled with Ross looking like the most likely starter. The staff does not seem that impressed with the rest of the dts available in the spring and it is likely that Atkinson will take the other position or Cantly will be moved back inside. I will buy that the defensive front will be better but I am not sure it is going to improve enough to be even Belt level average. If Gilmore stays at end, I think that position will be significantly better than last year, but I am not convinced that NT has the answers at the tackles position. 2. UNT's defensive secondary will be better because it is more experienced. I think the secondary will be much improved not primarily because of experience but because I think the talent level is been substantially upgraded. Yes, a years experience will benefit Royce Hill, Adams, Shorter, Williams and others. The addition of transfers Smith and Chatman will also help. It is not lost on me that Bush a three year starter at corner back is having to fight for a spot in the rotation against Adams, Smith and Hill. The safety position with Shorter, Williams and Cook also seems to be much stronger. IMO, the defensive secondary could turn into the strength of the team. The problem is can be defensive line give them some help with a decent pass rush. 3. UNT's linebackers will be a strength of the team. Two of NT's best players are Nwigwe and Robertson and both have experience and talent. The third line backer is the question. Will Kyle Hill remain in that position or will Phillips, Prior or perhaps even Penson, last years starter, end up in that position. Whatever happens with the second outside linebacker position, NT should be almong the leagues best at the linebacker position. 4. This year could be the turning point - finally - for UNT's defense. Despite last years lesson, I don't think NT's defense can get worse. In fact I think with the talent level improved, experience at most positions, and an a coaching overhaul that the defensive unit will be significantly improved. No, it will be far from dominating but with just a little help in the defensive line; I think it could at least be competitive in the Belt. In fact, I can see the defense being better than the offense this year.

I guess they mentioned Amber Jackson at this banquet. meangreensports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1800&ATCLID=3738428

No way, will recruiting improve unless the product on the field improves. TD has certainly not enhanced his status with recruits by fielding the worst team in the nation last year. Any bounce he got from his great high school reputation is long gone, and the only way he can recover is to start winning big. The allure of a poor team and the vision of playing early just does not sell. If it did there would be a lot more equity in college sports.

What in the world would anyone complain about?

www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1800&ATCLID=3736490 I thought a very disappointing Belt meet. Finishing a distance fourth for both women and men IMO was far from satisfactory. NT was slowed by injuries but I'm sure the other teams had similar if not worse problems. Patrick Strong, NT's best cross country runner and at one time NT most heralded track star Brandi Stanfield did not even compete this spring. NT got strong performances by Wiggins, Talley and others as indicated in the write up but in general NT's track program is not competitive with MTSU or Western Kentucky. One of the best NT performances was not even mentioned in any official write-ups and that was Jordan Wehr with a pole vault of 17' 6 1/2" in the decathlon. A mark that is close to the all time record. Kind of an indication of how this meet went, is the performance of board favorite Brock Stickler who had the school record and best in Belt discus throw. He fouled on every attempt in a competition and did not score although his best distance this year was 10 feet better than the winner. I just don't understand with all the athletes in Texas, why NT doesn't dominate the Belt in track. There is just too many events in which NT has has little presence. Men for example had no entrees in the long jump or triple jump and only Sticker on a football ship in all the weight events. It seems that teams like MTSU and WKU manage their scholarships much better than NT, who seems to have no overall plan to develop competitive athletes in all events.

Huh, JJ runs a 3 guard offense (point guard, 2 wings) and he currently only has 6 guards and one of those, Mangrum has a horrible history of injuries. If anything, he has too many front court players; six for only two starting positions.

I keep seeing this quote about Trilli and the seats. Just what did he actually do? What Trilli did was pop off about liking the orange seats in the SP because they reminded him of UT. Fans did not take to that quote then Trilli became the champion of recovering the seats. Note, the seats were badly worn, at least the ones that actually got a little use, and obviously had to be changed soon. The effort with whatever Trilli contributed managed to get funding to replace a few hundred seats from fan donations. The balance of approximately 10,000 seat covers were replaced with school funds. Trilli and staff according to Trilli also painted the dressing rooms. Trilli in my opinion was a con man, and not a very good one at that. Any contribution he had to improving the SP were minimal. To be kind, he was the master of exaggeration. Sorry, to get off on a tangent, but I don't think Trilli deserves much credit for anything at NT other than almost killing the basketball program.

This does make Thomas sound like a better recruit. Official Site

You are right. They have changed the computation to eliminate the effect of students leaving early who are in good standing. While I did not find a clear example, I did find this quote on a NCAA site: Some of the retention increase can be attributed to an adjustment in the APR calculation that allows student-athletes earning a 2.6 grade point average and meeting other academic requirements to transfer without losing the retention point. Historical data reveal that student-athletes fitting this academic profile go on to graduate at rates similar to student-athletes who do not transfer. Thanks for the input, because I was not aware of the change. I don't think Dodge has lost many players due to academics, so improvement should be in line with RV's predictions.

Remember that this so called academic measure is actually more of a penalty for teams with a large turnover of players before graduation. Although, players that leave that are not in good academic standing count twice as much against a program's APR as those with satisfactory performance; the formula is based on the number of players that exit the program prematurely for whatever reason. For example, if you look at recruits from TD's first class that actually started school by my count 8 are gone of which only two are likely academic casualties. Programs going through a lot of change and difficulties such as NT are likely to have much greater turnover than the norm and are punished for this by this APR computation irregardless of the academic issues. By virtue of the APR computation, schools are actually encouraged to place athletes in questionable academic programs and gimme courses. If the NCAA actually wanted to do something, they could greatly limit the number of special admits given to athletes and closely monitor degree programs to ensure they truly consist of college level curriculum. Does anyone know why there is such an inconsistency between the NCAA reports and the NT official site on the results of the football APR? For NT to lose another ship would mean that that last years score would have to be worse than the year dropped from the average which seems unlikely.

Slightly good news, NT actually improved and gained back one ship. Official site

I doubt they can pay him less if they reassign him. Secondly, very seldom does an university actually reassign a coach. It is just not worth it. They tried that with Simon and it certainly didn't work. Putting a disgruntled employee in a position he doesn't want does nothing for the University. In essence these types of clauses are used to negotiate a settlement, not to be reassign head coaches. I doubt NT plays hard ball with any football head coach. They didn't with DD and IMO there were a lot of reasons to argue that he voided his contract for conduct. Most schools don't go that route because they don't need the negative publicity and it tends to scare off potential coaches.

Stephens signs juco guard. Looks like best recruit of spring for the ladies. Official Site

How in the world do you know the University is committed to him? Your second statement about real fans is just plain crazy. Real fans want the best for their team and that may or may not be to keep Dodge after this year. If Dodge has another disastrous year there is no way it would be in the University's best interest to retain Dodge. Some people worry about the cost of a buy out but that would be small compared to the cost of two more seasons like Dodge's first two.