Legend500

It was fun watching ESPN dump the rest of the Pony ads yesterday afternoon during the UAB game. Of course they flamed out in their first tourney game. Quite on-brand, really. I honestly have always wished SMU the best, because I'm not living in the 1970s, and our universities have totally different missions. I still think this move to the ACC is absolute desperation, and the deal just keeps getting worse - the Playoff share is a third of what they projected (but is tripling overall, which means even for them) and assumes the headline names stay in the ACC, which is... quite the assumption. SMU's got money, but donor fatigue's gonna catch up fast, which is why they're stuck with Lanier. When you're paying off the new endzone facility, have lost your biggest on-campus attendance draw (UNT in both football and basketball), have to compete with Miami for throwing money at problems, are subsidizing your own broadcasting rights, and have to pay exit fees... all of a sudden you're asking for over a quarter-billion dollars to lose to Wake Forest in Charlotte. For the American, Army is a great pickup for everyone but us (I would have preferred rescuing UTEP). Especially for basketball, a UTEP for SMU trade would have been even at worst just for the program history.

The only Texas school better positioned to enter the AAU than us is Houston (AAU doesn't consider Ag Department research expenditures, which dings Texas State a bit and absolutely murders TTU's chances). Of the privates, only Baylor is even on the radar. That said, the gap between the AAU and Houston is large, and between us and Houston research-wise is similarly huge. The best thing UNT can do for now is to continue to dance with the partner who brought us and keep making real strides in the humanities - which is less effective for research dollars but far more useful for publishing statistics, which is also a part of the AAU and the TUF's methodology.

I totally understand why SMU would do this, but it's one hell of a risky bet. So far, what SMU has done is to buy an upgrade to first class on the Titanic, but after all the lifeboats have already left. There's still two stages left in this realignment until it settles down - first a final few pickups out of the ACC, and then either a P2 with one Fox and one ESPN, or a 32-team premiership with the Big 10 and SEC dropping some deadweight. What SMU is betting on is that the ACC without its major teams will still be a step above the other conferences, but I think that's a risky bet, and their value is suspect. After the ACC's raided, there will be a further, titanic shakeout into regionals or into the pro-rel system the Mountain Pacific is considering. In either case, if I'm a conference I have an easy ask for SMU - why not pay us $400 million to take you? SMU's set a precedent that they're willing to throw money, and while that can get you into the ACC for $200 million, it also means that with the new endzone facility, $350 million that could have been spent elsewhere on campus or on athletics is off the board, and that you could end up being in back in the American for $400 million a few years later. Good luck to the Ponies, but I think it's telling that other teams with private money haven't even suggested doing this (hi Temple or BYU pre-XII).

It absolutely is. Having done some admissions work at several different levels, AAU>AAU Affiliate>Shanghai/ARWU>Carnegie>throwing all the universities in a washing machine>USNWR.

I remember how happy I was when we got a coach who had an extensive record and experience at a P5 FBS school. I was also happy when we hired the young new HC straight out of high school. Given the results, maybe this type of hire is the right one.

Of course they'd love to beat the home school, beyond that, though, they're fans. In either event, it's a good thing for the program as a whole which, right now, needs to secure our home market to the greatest extent possible. I'm not talking about throwing millions to the Trailblazers, but where we can help - say joint advertising - we should. UT doesn't have to care about getting more attention. We do. However we need to do that, drawing more people in the Metroplex into a relationship with North Texas - however that is done - is a necessary predicate to expanding our programs. Leveraging our presence area-wide is a part of that. The final renders still had them in (attached), but they were cut just before construction started. It really is the little things sometimes at a venue, and it's a minor outlay for a good return. Great add I overlooked. I think that's where a lot of us, including Admin, are about baseball. Even if we chose to start it as opposed to the far-cheaper and equally popular soccer option, both items are down the list a bit. The big thing is student athlete experience, and that means a new AC and making sure we match up well on the NIL front.

Assuming the Super Pit remains in fundamentally solid shape, my priorities would be: 1. Athletic Center/Apogee Refresh: It's a good one, but the arms race in facilities includes amenities for athletes. With the impact of NIL, it's important to make sure our students are very happy with what they have compared with the competition. Additionally, while Apogee is still one of the better venues in CUSA or AAC, we need to ensure it stays that way. Doing the Center means also addressing Apogee's technology and display systems, so I'd include moving the main screen to its original WingZone location, replacing the corner board that exists and placing additional ones at each corner, finishing Apogee's electronic boards, and completing the lighting as originally designed. Seriously, even the lights at a facility make a difference, and the light stands and type at Toyota Stadium would make Apogee look even better. 2. Secure our agreements with local professional leagues for as long as possible: I hear it from other fans at other schools all the time - our advertising and academic agreement with the Dallas Cowboys impresses all. This should be extended at practically any cost, and be extended to include every major sports franchise in the DFW area. 3. Continue to assist the development of sports at UNTD: While a different University, everything UNTD achieves also helps home campus, and brings additional fans who have loyalty to the Mean Green. There's not many UTA, UTEP or UTSA fans who aren't even bigger Texas fans. We can leverage that, too. Plus, the thought of SMU basketball losing to UNTD has me indescribably turgid, and it also helps goal #2 viz UNTD's arrangements with Mark Cuban. Athletics at UNTD and making sure students at UNTHSC and UNTTCUSM have some loyalty to home campus it the way to total Metroplex domination. 4. Football (Association Rules): Already hosting a great women's squad, UNT should go all in on starting a companion men's program. Association Football has a much younger and richer demographic than any other sport in the US, and while it's been "going to be more popular than baseball" for decades now, it appears it may finally do that in the next 5 years. Facilities would require little additional investment, the program would benefit from the World Cup in Dallas in 2026, and the AAC has provided championship-level teams (Navy) and coaches (Wichita State's Ted Lasso, who is at AFC Richmond). 5. HyperPit: The SuperPit is like Fouts Field was in one respect - it will last well past it becomes badly outdated. While it remains the only Texas arena to host both the NIT and CIT, it still shows age, and risks becoming a Frankenstein's monster of patches before too much longer. In the medium term, a new facility is needed, and we best get started on it.

Our name's on the trophy every year, and on the basketball one, too. It's hard to get worked up about having our name on the same trophy twice.

I swear anytime I come in here and UTSA is mentioned, it has the same damn energy as PonyFans whenever we're mentioned. Except UTSA fans can spell and do basic math. PonyFans people are all excited about blowing 200k for undergrad and then ending up at UTSA for grad school. Edited for kindness. I'm sure 2 or 3 SMU peeps could qualify for UNT's or UTEP's grad programs, and several for UTSA or UTA, but most are still gonna end up at TAMU Commerce or Tarleton. Point is, UTSA is not the enemy - the true enemy of both of us is far closer.

It being a Tuesday game makes things more difficult. People can stretch Thursday off, but Tuesday will be tough for the Runners. I would still hope they bring a respectable crowd.

Great pull by the Miners. Will still need to hold their noses passing through Cruces (ok maybe stop at Weck’s) but good news for them.

Paul Blake graduated, disappeared for forever, and then ended up in space. I dare Austin to match that.

Any committee that includes Coach Gennero has my full support. Having a female supermodel kicker was a brilliant move to help our recruiting.

I sure hope SMU doesn't steal our DC.

Did anyone salvage the "turn off headset" button from Fouts? Asking for a friend.

I thought the recent news that SMU has sold it's Plano facilities and may be leaving completely was a telling move. It's an admission that they're capped, and that either they are facing issues with applications (because you can now get more for less at the area state schools) or intend to raise admission standards (by only offering admission to the top 95% of Jesuit, St. Mark's, Hockaday and Ursuline students). I doubt it's economically viable, but the best way to get rid of the Superpit in favor of building a Hyperpit is to talk the Music Department into renovating it for their opera house. Those people get everything they want. Baseball is a saturated market. It is in relative decline, and it makes no sense throwing money into a sport which is already over-competitive and over-recruited in Texas and where we'd be competing with UTSA for relevance. It also requires the construction of a separate facility. There are two sports where the DFW area has become an incubator for talent, which either require no new facilities or they can be built as part of other contemplated facilities, that have growing fan bases, and that provide an ability to set ourselves apart from other schools or to reinforce current rivalries. I would support the addition of men's soccer, or of men's and women's ice hockey well before adding baseball. There's a reason we don't have baseball facilities or even a team yet even after trying for years. Baseball doesn't attract enough support from donors to justify its addition. Trying something totally different and unique in an area with strong interest but no college teams (hockey) or something which requires minimal additional investment but is filled with area talent (soccer) would both offer better support than baseball has.

I don't entirely disagree, but until 2025 our options are limited - most P5s are scheduled out that far. I do think games against credible, nationally known G5s are the best option. Teams like Coastal offer declining returns - still not too many know they're legit, so the downside of losing is higher than the upside of winning. Our serieses with SMU and Houston were critical for getting attention from both the American and Mountain West. Keeping a relationship with Houston must be a priority. Other than that, I prefer our basketball scheduling philosophy - OOC is for getting our team ready to face the big boys, not for getting our single win against the Little Sisters of the Poor. As far as UTEP goes, they (along with us and Houston for a while) were kept out of the SWC because of integration, so it's a nod to history to keep playing them, plus if we help them out of a jam it helps us politically.

So, here's what our options generally look like (tried to give 3). Of course, we have no clue right now what kind of schedule certain teams will have, but we know enough. Ranked by appearance. No, TCU still won't because they are cowards. We already have paychecks - sorry, opportunity games - for all of these years. 2023 9/9 - Texas/Oklahoma (replacing SEC teams, assuming all moves happen at the same time), UTEP (assuming small/no conference for them), Louisiana (open, need another non-con) 9/16 - Houston (replacing Kansas for them), MTSU/NMSU (open, need another non-con) 2024 9/7 - Houston/UTEP/UNLV (open, need another non-con) 2025 9/13 - Houston/LATech/SoMiss (open, need another non-con) 2028 9/23 - Air Force (we already play Army and Navy), Houston/TxSt (open, need another non-con) 2029 9/8 - Air Force (we already play Army and Navy), LaTech/UTEP (open, need another non-con)

This is magnificent. Now let's get to work. Which is annoying the private schools in our division so much that they move to the Southland.

A lot of this is outside the conference's remit early on, as there were pretty high level boosters for a large exurban university and a moderately sized suburban university already meeting like absconding lovers at a breadwinning breakfast location a day or tue after the TX/OU news broke. A lot of the preparatory work for this happens years before anything actually happens.

Absolutely, this is a pre-emptive strike, but not just on the MWC. AAC West teams were worried that a combination of CUSA and Sun Belt teams could overtake them as well. This eliminates that concern, while managing to keep toeholds in Houston and Florida, and actually expanding the league's presence in Dallas.

That's a solid division, and with our institutional plusses, we could be very competitive in a few years. Navy might actually consider this, too, because recruiting. As far as how SMU will vote,

This round, just like the last several rounds of realignment, is about money. Last time that meant TV markets, and the CUSA is a prime example of why that strategy doesn't work. This time around it's about adding schools that can afford to continue to invest in an era with diminishing media rights distributions while other schools (specifically in the XII and the AAC) have to cut budgets significantly to accommodate the new distributions. What happened between the Mountain and AAC suggests that the math in going to the AAC has been done, and for most even CUSA schools it wouldn't make sense. Notice how that discussion died so quickly? I'm willing to best a substantial sum that ESPN told the AAC what it's post-raid distribution would be, and it was a huge haircut - probably on the order of 50%. ESPN was paying the AAC for Cincy vs UCF, not Tulsa vs ECU. There is a real question for some schools - especially those who don't own their own facilities - as to whether moving to the AAC can make any economic sense. Which is why things seem to have suddenly hit a wall.

Moving from the kitchen to the smoking lounge won't change the fact that we're all on the Titanic. No moves unless a majority of Texas schools are included with us.

Current Game Status: does anyone know if the steakhouse in the Winstar has any 9:00 tables?