Jonnyeagle
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GoMeanGreen.com
Posts posted by Jonnyeagle
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Does anyone else notice when you put your ticket in your apple wallet that it does not have a bar code? That is worrying me a bit. I don't want to get stuck down there without being able to get in. That place is a madhouse on game days with all the drunks and whatnot.
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I'll be there +2
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Statement from UNT President Neal Smatresk
For more information contact: Taylor Bryan, 254-709-4411, Taylor.Bryan@unt.edu
DENTON, Texas –
UNT President Neal Smatresk: “It has been my pleasure to work with Wren for the past six years as our VP for Athletics and AD. During this time, our athletics program has experienced record-setting success in virtually every area, including student academic performance, fundraising, overall conference records and championships. While we are sad to see him go, this is a great move for Wren and his family, and it speaks volumes for his success here at UNT. With solid infrastructure in place and a staff of great administrators and coaches, we are well positioned to continue our success. We will begin our search soon, and I anticipate that we will attract a strong pool of candidates who can continue our remarkable upward trajectory as we transition into The American.”
--GMG--
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Welp, it's officially official now:
LINK: https://wvutoday.wvu.edu/stories/2022/11/30/wren-baker-to-lead-wvu-athletics
West Virginia University has named Wren Baker as its next vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Baker comes to Morgantown from the University of North Texas, where he has been the vice president and athletics director since 2016. With previous stops at Missouri, Memphis, Northwest Missouri and Rogers State, Baker brings more than 20 years of experience to WVU as its 13th director of Athletics.
“I am thrilled to welcome Wren Baker to the West Virginia University family as our new athletic director and I have no doubt his personality and energy will connect with our student-athletes and coaches, as well as our campus community and alumni,” President Gordon Gee said.
“When we began this search, we were determined to find someone who could lead in the modern realities of intercollegiate athletics and build on the legacy of his predecessors,” Gee added. “We wanted someone who clearly understood the dynamics of a fast-changing athletics environment and had found success being at the forefront of this new world that includes managing NIL and the portal. We looked at a number of well-qualified candidates and, at the end of the day, Wren met every one of our needs.”
Baker will have oversight of 18 varsity sports, a department budget of more than $90 million, approximately 250 employees and nearly 500 student-athletes.
“I am incredibly grateful to President Gee, Rob Alsop, the search committee and Board of Governors for the opportunity to serve as vice president and director of athletics at West Virginia University,” Baker said. “WVU boasts a powerful brand reputation and a storied academic and athletic history. My family and I can’t wait to get to Morgantown to build relationships and help take Mountaineer Athletics to even greater heights.”
At North Texas, seven programs (men’s cross country, volleyball, women’s soccer, football, men’s basketball, women’s golf and softball) combined to win 17 conference or division championships during Baker’s tenure, and the overall athletic department’s winning percentage in the last year was the best in the modern era. In 2019, every team achieved a winning season for the first time in school history. He led 18 head coaching searches, and his hires have a combined winning percentage of nearly 70%.
UNT student-athletes excelled in the classroom under Baker’s leadership, posting top APR scores and setting four consecutive department Graduation Success Rate records. Every team recorded a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher with the spring 2022 department GPA hitting a 3.206 average.
Baker also led record fundraising years at North Texas. The school registered its four best fundraising years in its history, and the overall top five largest gifts at UNT came under Baker’s leadership. He guided North Texas athletics to a school record for fundraising in a single year, nearly doubling the previous department record.
Ticket revenue increased by 125% under Baker, and football attendance grew by 71%, while men’s and women’s basketball crowds grew by more than 60%. Additional achievements at North Texas included a five-year strategic plan, new 20-year facilities master plan and lucrative contracts for multi-media rights, licensing, apparel and equipment.
Originally from Valliant, Oklahoma, Baker earned his bachelor's degree in education from Southeastern Oklahoma State in 2001 where he was a member of the honors program. He went on to earn his master's degree in education leadership from Oklahoma State in 2003. He and his wife, Heather, a Bokchito, Oklahoma, native, have two daughters, Addisyn and Reagan.
Baker begins his duties at WVU on Dec. 19 under a six-year agreement through Dec. 31, 2028, and will earn a yearly compensation of $1.1M, plus incentives.
WVU’s Directors of Athletics:
Anthony Chez - 1904-13
E.R. Sweetland – 1913-14
George Pyle – 1914-17
Harry Stansbury – 1917-38
Roy “Legs” Hawley – 1938-54
Robert “Red” Brown – 1954-72
Leland Byrd – 1972-78
Richard Martin – 1978-81
Fred Schaus – 1981-89
Ed Pastilong – 1989 - 2010
Oliver Luck – 2010-2014
Shane Lyons – 2014-22
Wren Baker – 2022-
Wren Baker will join President Gordon Gee for a news conference on Monday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m. in the Football Team Room at the Milan Puskar Center which will also be streamed via WVU Sports on Facebook and Twitter.
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Does Wren take McCasland with him? If so that is bad bad news for us.
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I for one like the simplicity of how this is all playing out. Wren needs to just tell him, "Seth, if you beat UTSA in their home stadium in front of 45K fans you will keep your job and if you don't I will have to fire you as soon as it is over." It really is nothing personal.
I once had a sales job where we had an annual number we had to hit and the year I didn't hit mine my boss called me in the office and said hey man I hate to do this but I have to let you go. It stung for a bit, but I appreciated his honesty and I learned a lot about life on that day.
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I have not given up on Seth, but if we do need a replacement hire I think Ryan Walters may be the guy. Known as an outstanding recruiter, he has coached at North Texas before and understand the situation and what needs to get done. Known as the very best recruiter in the country. Only problem is paying his buyout won't be cheap, it's $750K.
QuoteIllinois has extended defensive coordinator Ryan Walters' contract through the 2024 season, adding one year to his initial three-year contract, which pays him $850,000 this season. In a press release announcing the move, Illinois said Walters will be paid the third-most among Big Ten defensive coordinators and top-10 nationally for his position.
According to an Illinois press release, Walters' base salary increases to $1,050,000 for the 2022 season, with $100,000 raises in each of the two seasons that follow. He will also be eligible for annual retention incentives of at least $250,000 per season. His contract includes a $1,000,000 buyout for any non-head coaching position in the Big Ten, and a $750,000 buyout for any non-head coaching position outside of the Big Ten.
I think he would be a fantastic hire and unlike Fuente would still be hungry to win.
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What scares me is this guy is known as a fantastic recruiter. Just goes to show that there are no guarantees.
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Mean Green Nation,Your UNT Football team is C-USA Championship game bound and will be bowl bound for the sixth time in seven seasons! The Mean Green will travel to San Antonio to take on UTSA in the Alamodome on this Friday, December 2nd at 6:30pm. Championship game tickets are available now for only $25 per ticket plus fees.Purchase your tickets through the UNT Athletic Ticket Office to receive the best value and to make sure you are sitting with other Mean Green fans. Tickets will be allocated in Mean Green Scholarship Fund priority point order that gives first priority to donors and season ticket purchasers. Tickets must be ordered by Tuesday, November 29th at 5:00pm to be eligible for the priority seating order.Tickets will be located in Sections 137-140 or 238-241 of the Alamodome. All tickets will be delivered digitally via the TicketMaster platform and there will be no printed tickets. Tickets will begin being delivered to purchaser accounts on Wednesday, November 30. UNT Athletics and Alumni Association will have further information about a pre-game tailgate in San Antonio later this week.The UNT Ticket Office will be open on Sunday, November 27th from 12:00pm-3:00pm at Gate 2 of Apogee Stadium for in person purchases or over the phone at 940-565-2527. Further information regarding UNT’s bowl location will be shared on Sunday, December 4th. Looking forward to seeing you in San Antonio next Friday supporting the Mean Green!Thanks & Go Mean Green!UNT Athletic Ticket Office
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11 minutes ago, southsideguy said:
I would not give him an extension if we don't fire him. Let him play next year under his current contract and see how that turns out. It will be a long season.
Agree that it should not be extended until after next season.
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A wonderful photo and the greatest quarterback to ever play at UNT in the modern era!
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5 minutes ago, UNT Family Man said:
Yes, if he wins both you can’t get rid of a 9 game winner.
That's sort of how I was thinking as well. We'd be the laughing stock of college football and the next guy we hired would automatically be a bust.
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1 hour ago, keith said:
With the exception of a handful of coaches or ADs that see something in the coach or have patience to see the process through, the head coach industry is a what have you done for me lately business. Tulane has done well this year. Assuming we move on our coaching staff and hire someone like Willie Fritz, are we willing to be patient enough to wait through a 6 year conference record like the one below before we go 7-1 in and get to 10-2 for the regular season?
1. 1-7 (4-8)
2. 3-5 (5-7)
3. 5-3 (6-6)
4. 3-5 (6-6)
5. 3-5 (6-5)
6. 1-7 (2-10)
7. 7-1 (10-2)
Great post @keith. My only rebuttal would be, yes I could live with some down seasons if the final product turns into a top 25 team. The main reason for this is with the new 12-team playoff starting in 2025, if you get in the top 25 you have a damn good shot to get in a playoff game which could be program changing and tons of money that we could use. Seth hasn't sniffed the top 25 for the 7 years he has been here.
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Gosh I hate to see us lose out on Skip. He would be good but I also like the idear of Rich Rod as a backup plan B.
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On 11/18/2022 at 8:14 PM, greenminer said:
Rich Rod. There. I said it. I liked his offense at WVU. Went 60-26
Tanked at Michigan.
43-35 @ Arizona, while going 3-for 5 in bowl games.
Currently 8-2 in year 1 Jacksonville StateI always liked Rich Rod. I would definitely be up for him as a possibility.
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I get that this is somewhat of a reach but was interested if this could be a possible way of handling the situation. The player would remain happy as Seth is still here and we would get a new CEO to manage things. For the record, I really believe Seth is an outstanding Offensive mind.
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I thought Kai looked better. He has been having that deer in a headlight look for the past few games, and in this one he seemed more alert.
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22 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:
No doubt. And I'm still scratching my head in what he perceives as crazy and insane. I seldom read insane expectations on this board. In fact, far from it.
Amen - agree with you 100%. Please show me one time someone on here was asking too much. All we want is what we deserve and what we rightfully should have coming to us based on the investment that has been made in this program.
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34 minutes ago, greenminer said:
NEW QUESTION (for anyone): did KSU try and pull that with the guy they actually hired, or was this something they only tried with SL?
As I recall this whole KSU job required Seth to accept a couple of assistant coaches as part of the deal. One was Snyder’s son and the other was an ex KSU QB maybe Collin Klein? Story was they offered Seth prior to Kleinman but once Seth’s agent Sexton starting playing hard ball they focused in on Kleinman and that was it.
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6 hours ago, untbowler said:
Neal Brown would be great hire, Skip Holtz solid hire who will win to you 7-9 games every year, Tom Herman ok but 1-2 yrs and bolting, Eric Morris solid hire but again is he being spoiled right now at a P5 OC would actually take the current UIW coach over Morris
Man I really agree with you on Brown. He had 3 10-win seasons at Troy and West Va just us in the wrong league and that is a very tough gig.
I also feel like Brown will have been humbled and learned a lot after the experience. I really like him more than Fuente quite honestly.
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There is nothing personal about this it’s a matter of expectations are much different. In fact if we were staying in CUSA Seth might have done fine. We have to do better in the AAC. I do respect how Seth has handled his time here though and if a separation occurs it should be handled in a classy way I hope.
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Doug is joined by former Virginia Tech and Memphis Head Coach Justin Fuente for the final conversation of a 3 part interview. He discusses taking how he landed the head coach job at Memphis, the tsunami of responsibilities as a first time head coach, how he turned around the program from off the radar to nationally ranked, the first time he saw future 1st rounder Paxton Lynch, why he left to take over for Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech, why he decided to keep legendary DC Bud Foster as a holdover on his new staff, how COVID stalled his momentum in Blacksburg, why it ultimately didn’t work out, and the lessons he learned from the job as he looks to the future.
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UTSA roll call and 2022 C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME DAY INFO
in Mean Green Football
Posted
Thanks man I appreciate it.