laxtonto

This is all about what titles they can or ant use and the limitations on the number of coaches by the NCAA. Much like Bama, they are just using their deep pockets to build a staff to automate more and more of the "other" stuff the HC at most programs do and let their HC focus more time on he is good at. This is something from Saban and in a way I am concerned about what this does to the availability of HC talent at the G5 level. Saban's genius is he knows what he isnt great at/doesn't want to do and delegates to proven former HCs that failed at other locations. So now those guys can either go analyst at the big P5 schools instead of back into the G5 ranks.

Saying there are 100’s of coaches available is the thinking that ended up leaving us with Todd Dodge… There are probably 5-10 coaches each cycle that “fit” the needs of a program like UNT. We aren’t after the retreads of the completely untested, but instead those that have proven something and now are looking to land somewhere to springboard to a midlevel or higher P5 job. How many of those 5-10 names are still available and how have their agent responded when approached? If there is a solid better option, you make the move now. If not you are just as likely to luck into a disaster hire as an improvement just picking from the general available “field” of talent available. The mistake was made by not lining up a replacement 6 weeks ago and now we are stuck in no man’s land.

The problem is if you fire him and then spend the money to buy him out and his assistants then you are pot committed to hiring someone now. The problem with that is we are seeing a massive hiring cycle in the college ranks this year (way more than most years which can be somewhat attributed to COVID) in whihc we would be the latest of the job open. So we are going to be fishing in a shallow pond that has been pretty heavily picked over.. Unless we already have "our guy" lined up right now, do you want to go out and hire a retread and be prepared to be doing this again in 3 years, during the early part of our move into the AAC?

Hard to can him with how bad the current market is for available coaches, but I know before the UTSA many were stating he needed to win both the UTSA and bowl game to keep his job. The real problem is that if you fire him can you get a better option this year or do you do like Neb and give the guy a lame duck year knowing that he has no real chance of hitting 9 wins/making the conf title game/winning a decent bowl game. Essentially you go into next year already starting a search and planning on canning Seth once he is no longer going to be able to make the conference title game.

Are we doing any form of ticket donation setup this year? I can’t really make a bowl from Ohio, but would gladly donate what I normally would spend to young alumni or students.

Normally, this far in coach’s tenure at school and having to fight and claw to get to a bowl game would be a mandate of win or go home from the AD. This is not a normal year and the available talent is looking pretty shallow. Much like what Neb realized, the worst move to make is to make a move now with limited options as a replacement whole shelling out the cash for both buying out the old staff and bringing in the new. If he wins the bowl game then it’s easy and if he loses I’m still 70/30 he’ll be back.

Is it sad I’m at the point of not knowing which is worse…… winning or losing here in OT

🙂

It’s been a week and a half… Heard rumors about this mid-last week from the ivory tower side that UNT, MWC and the AAC were in heavy discussions, but never thought it would move this fast… I am very happy about how this turned out.

YES!!!!!!

https://theamerican.org/news/2021/10/21/general-american-athletic-conference-announces-the-addition-of-six-universities.aspx Announced at 9:00 am on the AAC Website!! It is done!

Hell… I’ve donated for banners to flown around stadiums to help voice our displeasure with the AD, so why not billboards to piss of SMU fans too… I would be in for a few scheckles as well… Would just need someone to take some good pictures for me because I live in Ohio..

No. They killed the WAC16 idea and so the infamous airport meeting at the Denver airport led to the split off into the MWC. Several schools ended up getting screwed in this and all these years later, some of the MWC schools still hold the judge.

Most of the UTEP problems is bad blood between the original members of the MWC (or former members of the WAC more appropriately) and UTEPs unwillingness to go with the WAC16 idea years and years ago. UTEPs rigidness then is being repaid in spades. I have no ill will to UTEP, but I can’t fault schools that have a long institutional memory either.

So this may be dumb question, but I haven't really seen an answer for this... What happens to the playoff payout structure if all of the sudden if there is one less G5 conference? Does the change in payout get split up among all conferences or split among the remaining G5? If they are going to increase the split for the G% into a G4, there is a huge incentive to go ahead and axe the CUSA before they can back fill more with FCS schools and further dilute the distribution pool.

So it looks like we have a few open dates to fill in the future... what is the AAC policy on non-conference schedules? We now need like 5 games in the next 5 years

Dare I say it... Dare I dream.... Baseball..... coming to UNT?

So the real question is did the AAC go to 14 knowing that they will eventually lose 2 or to lock out the MWC from Texas to hopefully shake loose AF and CSU?

Get ready for Thursday and Friday night ESPN games!

Funny enough we have a way better chance of getting into the AAC while SMU is still there than SMU does of ever getting into the Big12. The AAC is stuck trying to play defense against a possible MWC expansion while there is no other real market force out there that would incentivize an SMU add to the Big12. It might make SMU grumble, but they dont really have a choice if they want to keep their paycheck. If the MWC expands into Texas, they may be better suited for the expanded ESPN tv deal at the cost of the AAC. That is the big driver in this and frankly all the complaints by SMU mean nothing to the AAC if it comes at the cost of the ESPN media rites deal…

SMU is probably never getting into the Big 12. Regardless what they say, the Big 12 can’t afford to take another private school in DFW. With TCU already there and with Houston, TT, and Baylor in the fold, there is little value in adding another Texas private school. Memphis probably provides better value vs SMU at this point to the Big 12.

What is even better is to read the text responses to that survey and how people actually in the sports business view the various schools.

And what do you do when you get offered by both? The AAC doesn’t want the MWC in Texas at all and knows that the MWC provides more household names of interests to DFW residents than the leftover slate for the AAC. If the AAC adds UNT and Rice, the MWC can still get into Texas by adding UTSA, but they are lacking another central time zone option as a travel partner. What makes this so interesting is that there is 3 viable options and both the AAC and MWC can really at best only grab 2 right now. Both the MWC and and the AAC really need the Big 12 to continue on with expansion so that both the MWC and AAC can absorb 3 Texas schools not just 2.

You are implying that some level of talks, even if informal in nature, between the AAC and UNT have not happened yet, which I know is patently false.