UNTX

My name is John, and I was born and raised in Denton. Graduated from Denton High in '88 and earned my BBA in Finance from UNT in '92. Returned to UNT in '94 to get an MBA which I completed in '96. While I was at UNT I was a member of the business frat. Delta Sigma Pi (any other current or former members on here?). I worked for UNT for four and a half years, three years of which I was the Cash Manager and Special Asst. to the VP Finance. Fun, fun job! But the allure of a fatter paycheck from the corporate arena became too much to ignore and I finally moved a "little" south of Denton and bought a home in N. Carrollton and now work as an accountant in Irving for Michaels Stores, Inc. Anyway, a growing interest in Mean Green athletics began for me during my freshman year in '88 when the team upset Tech and Rice and almost beat Texas. I still didn't attend a football game as a student until, what still remains for me, the greatest game at Fouts of all time - SMU vs NT in 1990. I got hooked and I've missed very few home games since that awesome night. My father, and older brother and sister are graduates of UNT as well.

UTD better than Texas Tech AND Houston AND UNT?! Really?! How on Earth did they rise so quickly? US News has them in the 3rd tier with TTU while we're stuck in the 4th with UTA, UH, TWU and TAMU-Commerce. It boggles the mind that a school that didn't even offer freshman and sophmore level classes until 1994, didn't even exist period prior to sometime in the sixties, and currently doesn't even have any Phd programs has ascended so far in such a short period of time. Perhaps we need to examine what it is that they're doing that's "so right" to get themselves on these lists. I honestly believe that UNT is as good if not superior overall to UTD, we just get nailed in certain statistical categories that knock us down, such as graduation rate and rate of alumni giving. UTD's giving rate is close to thirty percent! And uh, they don't even have football OR compete at the division I level in any sport. Hell, I didn't even know they sponsored NCAA sports until last month! Go figure.

I would be MUCH happier occassionly playing any of our former Texas SLC rivals (UTA, SWT, SFA, UTSA and SHSU) in non-conference play on a home and home basis in basketball. Especially over Div. II teams like St. Edwards and TAMU-Commerce/Kingsville. Playing schools like those does nothing for us except guarantee (sometimes barely) a meaningless win in front of almost no one at the Superpit. It would also be better than just playing 3 or 4 non-conference games at home while all the rest are on the road. Hopefully something can be worked out in the future. Sidenote: I went to see NT play UTA on "the stage" a couple of times when I was a student. JUST LAST WEEK I was telling two UTA grads at work that the Mavs play in a theatre on stage. They said I was lying! I told them it's a fact and that the team plays in Texas Hall. They knew Texas Hall because that's where they walked when they graduated. But sadly, they had no idea that the basketball team played there. I bet them money on it, they declined but still said I was wrong. A quick visit to the UTA web-site proved that I was telling the truth. And sadly, they seemed a bit embarrased by it. But hey, UNT certainly has it's share of unknowledgeable and apathetic students/alums as well - so don't take it as a shot. Good luck to the Mavs this year.

I agree. That was extremely painful to listen to. Down by 25 at the half! I wouldn't have ever guessed that it would be that bad. We've got teams in the Belt better than Baylor. Ugh. Jones didn't make it up for the post game interview. Hank mentioned he was still with the team and wasn't happy. At all.

TAMU-Commerce came to play tonight and gave the Mean Green fits. Davis continues to turn the ball over too much and we've got a problem passing the ball and with turnovers in general. Hit just 60% of our FT's. Attendance was better than I thought it would be. I'm not sure we hit 1000 but it may have been close, thanks in large part to Commerce bringing several hundred enthusiastic fans to the game. Has anyone heard anything about Will Smith? He left the game in the second half and could not walk off the court unassisted. He didn't return of course and I didn't hear any mention of it on George and Hank's post game review. Anyone know anything? Hope he's OK - we don't need to lose anyone else. I'm afraid that some folk's predictions of a 20+ win season are going to be disappointed this year. From the looks of things and the way the Belt has improved so far this season, we could very well take a step back this year. But keep the faith - JJ and his staff will continue to build the program, but we're probably two years away at this point. Like football, it will take some time to get us to where we're one of the top three teams in the conference and looking to make a run at a title. One side note: Some guys in front of us in line to buy tickets tried to get upper deck seats for $5.00. They used to sell them that way. They aren't anymore. The woman working the table simply said they weren't selling tickets for the upper seats anymore. Your choice is $10 to get in - period. I guess this is good and that the AD is trying to fill the lower deck seats first, and then open the upper one's if there is demand for them. I just wonder if not offering cheaper seats ($10 is probably cheap enough) will hinder some people from making it to the games, such as local families with kids? I didn't notice if they offer a cheaper price for youths. Maybe they do. Filling the lower seats as much as possible will certainly look better when we have games televised. That's it.

I doubt, regardless of the name of the Texas State System, that A$M would allow them to have that name. I've always understood that the Aggies had the right to it all along and weren't willing to give it up despite the fact that they'll never use it. SWT, if they are going to change their name, should simply change it to the University of South Texas. This is a change that would be better for them and wouldn't ruffle any feathers politically. However, I don't understand why they and apparently others feel like SWT is "all that" lately. I spoke with some folks in Houston this week that said that SWT was the up and coming school in the state and that their business school was on it's way to being the second best B-school in Texas behind UT. I reacted as if they were all on crack and asked what enabled them to make such statements. They could never really offer and real support. Anyone else heard of SWT having become such an academic powerhouse all of a sudden? I fail to understand how a school with only three PhD programs can really be "all that." Maybe someone out there knows something I don't and can explain it better than those few lawyers in Houston could.

What was the attendance like? I was unable to make it due to work. Damn I wish they'd push the start times back to 7:30 or 7:35!!! When I made it up for the TCU game last week I felt like Homer from the Illiad trying to make it up there fighting traffic, sprinting through the concourse to our seats right as the game was starting and then getting home at nearly 10:00, still in my work clothes, and starving to death - despite having eaten a bag of M&M's and sharing a cup of peanuts at the game. I'm sure others must have the same problem. Looks like only the weekend games are in my future, unfortunately.

Seem like I remember that our home basketball games used to always start at 7:35, or at least they did for a while. For the last couple of years, maybe longer, they've been at 7:00. Why was this changed? At any rate, I really wish they would push them back to 7:30 because it really is difficult to make it up there in time for a game when you work deep into Dallas and have to fight traffic, and try to leave work early in order to catch the game without missing any of it. I'm certainly not going to miss TCU tomorrow night, but it will be difficult for me to make many other weekday games, and I imagine others have the same problem. That extra 30 minutes would make all of the difference in the world.

I'll be there with a friend of mine. We need a lot of loud Mean Green fans in attendance. This game can make a long holiday weekend extra special with a win on their court. I can't STAND SMU. Hate 'em actually.

This schedule is a major let down. Not only are 9 of our 12 non-conference games on the road, but two of our three games at home are against division II schools!? Others may not like this comment at all, but I would much rather see us in non-conference action at home against some of our former SLC opponents than these schools. Especially the Texas SLC schools. Couldn't we get a two (in Denton) for one deal with some of them? Those games will hurt attendance, and the drought of home games during the non-conference slate won't help either, nor will it help our overall record. Hopefully this is the same kind of deal as this years football schedule, where we'll see a dramatic improvement over the next few years. Also, I thought Baylor was coming to Denton this year. Was there a sudden change, or was I mistaken to think that in the first place?

To Silver Eagle: Actually, there is more to the history between A&M and TWU than just the homecoming queen thing you mentioned. TWU was once part of A&M . In fact, TWU was A&M's "better half." It was the women's campus of Texas A&M University. At one point in time it was known as something like The Texas Industrial School for Girls. Although I don't know specific dates and a lot of detail on that history, I'm pretty sure that it should be pretty easily verified. But TWU was A&M's women's campus way back when A&M was an all male institution. Anyway, they have been in talks with the Aggies about becoming part of the A&M System once again. There's no question about that. UNT will do their best to make sure that doesn't happen.

There has actually been a plan at UNT that was initially drawn up in 1986, that details how a merger with TWU would be handled. That plan has been dusted off in recent years as a merger is more of a likelihood now. The plan calls for almost all undergraduates to be at the UNT campus, while the admin. and graduate school is housed over at the TWU campus. Allied health programs would remain over at TWU, since tailor made facilities already exist on that side of town for those programs. Additionally, those programs would in part be incorporated with our HSC and students would be able to intern at the HSC in Fort Worth (to the extent that it's practical). Initially, TWU would be merged into UNT and be called "The Women's College." Eventually that designation would go by the way side. Currently there isn't enough unrest about the subject to make a merger a reality in the short-term. A class action lawsuit by male students protesting TWU's name might further things along, but that probably wouldn't happen. One factor in our favor though, that has drawn the eye of the Coordinating Board and some in the Legislature is that as of 2000 UNT's square footage utilization was as 125%. TWU on the other hand is at a shockingly low 68%. That's empty space in buildings over there not being used. UNT really NEEDS that space, and the state knows it. Also, TWU's enrollment is down from it's all time high of nearly 11,000 in the mid to late 90's. As you know, enrollment at UNT is skyrocketing. One more thing and I'll stop boring the hell out of you (assuming anyone is reading this): TWU has been talking to A&M about absorbing them. A&M wants them, and they do share a history. When I was still working with the VP of Finance and Business Affairs at UNT I asked him what he thought about that. His response was that "UNT will without question stand in the way of that ever happening." He stated it rather dramitically as well. We'll see.