UNT Ranks Last in College Sports

[EagleGreen]

It's amazing to me that year after year we are one of the absolute worst sports programs.  This is absurd and old and likely the number one reason why we can't fill the seats and market effectively in DFW.  How about getting an efficient AD?

[risinggreen]

It's amazing to me that year after year we are one of the absolute worst sports programs.  This is absurd and old and likely the number one reason why we can't fill the seats and market effectively in DFW.  How about getting an efficient AD?

Apparently the sleeping giant is in a coma. We need a baseball program and an overall attitude adjustment ASAP.

[MeanGreen13]

it's really disheartening to see my alma mater ranked last and my current institution ranked 2nd... watching the way things are done here versus NT is enough to make me wanna scream. the approach is fundamentally different in every way and the proof is in the final product.

[GreenMachine]

It's amazing to me that year after year we are one of the absolute worst sports programs.  This is absurd and old and likely the number one reason why we can't fill the seats and market effectively in DFW.  How about getting an efficient AD?

and this is exactly why RV needs to go

[UNTexas]

We have a good soccer program! Sadly, our football and basketball are pure sadness.

[UNT90]

Nothing to see here. Move along. Everything is fine. Contract extensions for everyone.

[GangGreen]

Do we get a participation trophy?

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

Pretty damn embarrassing. 

[untjim1995]

I'd be more upset about this if CBSSports didn't have about 10 typos in this list.

Yeah, those 10 typos are really the embarrassing part of the list...certainly not having zero points with the stellar company with are grouped with.

[MeanGreenMarine]

I'm really liking the 0's across the board in that article. I wonder if there will ever be a day where being mediocre will no longer be acceptable for UNT athletics. 

[meangreendork]

This list looks like BS to me. More typos than listed sports...it's somehow worse than clickbait.

[That_Guy_Arlo]

It's a sloppy article with a list that is oddly calculated. Seems to only matter if you're a major power to be honest, I'm not looking into this too much.

[EagleGreen]

Yes, we would not want to be evaluated as a power school.  Do they have ranking for non-power schools?  That would be great.  In fact, if we turn the list upside down....

[UNT90]

I'm really liking the 0's across the board in that article. I wonder if there will ever be a day where being mediocre will no longer be acceptable for UNT athletics. 

mediocre? Hell, I'd kill to reach that lofty goal. 

 

I long one for the day where absolute suck isn't acceptable for UNT athletics. 

[GrandGreen]

I'm really liking the 0's across the board in that article. I wonder if there will ever be a day where being mediocre will no longer be acceptable for UNT athletics. 

Mediocre means average, NT isn't there at this time; although it is a goal "hit six".

[UNT Five&Dime]

Why is everyone pissed off? We made a "Best in College Sports" list!

[MeanGreenMarine]

I meant mediocre because I factored in the soccer, softball, and 2013 football teams. 

[Got5onIt]

We're in the hotbed of football, baseball, & basketball talent. In my heart, I still believe the right leadership can turn this program into a consistent winner. We'll never be OU or UT, but we sure as hell can be better than what we've seen the last 10 years.  Either that or I'm truly insane for really believing this....

[UNTFan23]

I kind of wonder what the wild card sport was for all the different schools.  It's also easy to get dinged when you don't field baseball, which not every school does,

[EagleGreen]

The University LOVES RV because he has brought in some money.  My point is that if you get someone in that can produce winners, RV's money will look like a frozen hamburger on white bread.  It seems we strive for mediocrity, hitting it only now and then, and celebrate largely when we aren't the worst.  Take the HOD bowl for example.  Administration is STILL talking that up.  This is all fine, just fine, we'll live, but imagine if tamu or t.u. had a win in the HOD bowl.  They would talk it up, just like we did, celebrate shortly and then have a press conference on how they will serve the alums and university better by working harder and achieving a better bowl the following years.  This is just an example, not something to harp on, but we must get an aggressive and effective AD.  Right now it's like a dictatorship with no hope for the future.  Cuba has a more promising future than UNT sports right now.  

[Harry]

The University LOVES RV because he has brought in some money.  My point is that if you get someone in that can produce winners, RV's money will look like a frozen hamburger on white bread.  It seems we strive for mediocrity, hitting it only now and then, and celebrate largely when we aren't the worst.  Take the HOD bowl for example.  Administration is STILL talking that up.  This is all fine, just fine, we'll live, but imagine if tamu or t.u. had a win in the HOD bowl.  They would talk it up, just like we did, celebrate shortly and then have a press conference on how they will serve the alums and university better by working harder and achieving a better bowl the following years.  This is just an example, not something to harp on, but we must get an aggressive and effective AD.  Right now it's like a dictatorship with no hope for the future.  Cuba has a more promising future than UNT sports right now.  

The HOD Bowl was a really nice accomplishment when you look at what we have accomplished historically.  It also was the 1st year of the reconfigured C-USA so it gave us some respect in the conference.

Losing to UTSA at home which took away the C-USA championship took a lot of the pizazz out of that season however.

RV needs to have solid seasons from both Mac and Benford this year no doubt about it.

[untjim1995]

The HOD Bowl was a really nice accomplishment when you look at what we have accomplished historically.  It also was the 1st year of the reconfigured C-USA so it gave us some respect in the conference.

Losing to UTSA at home which took away the C-USA championship took a lot of the pizazz out of that season however.

RV needs to have solid seasons from both Mac and Benford this year no doubt about it.

The HoD BOwl was probably the pinnacle of UNT Football since we moved up to FBS, since it was a huge win on NYD at the Cotton Bowl over a team that people have heard of, UNLV. But the saddest part about it was knowing that season tickets actually dropped after that great season, even when we were picked as the favorite to win the CUSA-West division, and SMU on the schedule at home. The problem, as always, goes beyond the wins and losses here--its about the opponents you play and the brand of offensive football you play to get people excited to watch you play in person (see Dickey versus Dodge attendance). We played SMU, La Tech, Nicholls State, USM, FAU, and FIU at home. By the time we got to the last three home games, we rolled out a bus driver offense that literally wouldn't even throw a pass in crucial parts of games. You give the fans--and recruits--nothing to get excited about, even if you beat Florida International in a beautiful stadium. In DFW, there are just too many options for your time and money.

We are stuck with McCarney, no matter what offense he runs, no matter how many wins or losses he brings us, for at least three more seasons. Chico, though, is probably done after this season. And in terms of mens hoops, Benford's days are done if he doesn't post a winning record this season, which gives us another opportunity to see who RV hires. If I was to bet on how tha twill play out, Benford will be gone the moment a winning season is mathematically impossible and Rob Evans will be promoted to interim head coach, with a chance to get the full-time job here. I fear the RV hire, though--I can see him hiring an assistant that wows him from some big school, who has no idea how to be a head coach. As much as I love the Jalie Mitchell hire, since she is actual alum, we have no idea how she will do as a head coach, just as we have seen from Tony Benford. Me personally, I'd be on  the phone with Steve Shields at UALR or Scott Cross at UTA offering them the job immediately, but I'm betting that we get an assistant coach from a big school again.

[Harry]

@untjim1995 However things end up with Mac, I think he will be looked on favorably historically as the guy who came in and brought stability and organization to a program in desperate need.  Will he be the guy to take UNT to the next level?  This remains to be seen but this season will tell us a lot.  I think it is unfortunate that this important season will be hindered from a evaluation standpoint by a murderous schedule.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Harry

[untjim1995]

@untjim1995 However things end up with Mac, I think he will be looked on favorably historically as the guy who came in and brought stability and organization to a program in desperate need.  Will he be the guy to take UNT to the next level?  This remains to be seen but this season will tell us a lot.  I think it is unfortunate that this important season will be hindered from a evaluation standpoint by a murderous schedule.

I completely agree with you on all fronts here. He brought stability to a situation that was unwinding like a tornado thru a trailer park, to a point where 4 wins disappoints us. In the previous three coaches we had since we moved up to FBS in 1995, Simon had one season that was better, at 5-6 in 1996. Dickey had 4 years that were better from 2001-2004, and Dodge couldn't get better than 2 wins. IOW, since 1995, we have had 4 winning seasons, one of which was 2013 under Mac. We have had losing seasons with 4-5 wins 5 times, two of which were Simon's in 1996 and 1997, and three belong to Mac, 2011, 2012, and 2014. No question that Apogee helps him, but he has solidified things to a point where we have gone from 1-2 wins per year between 2005 and 2010 to at least 4 wins per year from 2011-2014.

This year's schedule will give Mac some leeway here--we could be waayyyyy better than last year and finish with the same record. As I have said before, a bowl berth should get Mac CUSA Coach of the Year honors, at a bare minimum. There's a reason we are picked 5th in the West--we are low on developed talent and high on difficult games to manuever.

[Eagle1855]

Hesitant to post this, as I believe in the "praise in public, criticize in private" adage. But this kind of ranking (regardless of whether or not it's an arbitrary poll) simply can't happen at a school of 35k students located in the State of Texas. It's unacceptable. 

I think the part that's most difficult to stomach is, there doesn't seem to be any plan in place to be anything other than what we've always been. If there is, it isn't being communicated very well. A vision needs goals -- actual goals -- and it needs to be communicated. Saying you want to be competitive doesn't really mean anything. Saying you expect to win conference championships year in and year out -- and then accepting nothing less -- says everything. And it inspires support from fans. 

I believe TCU wants to win. A&M wants to win. UH wants to win. SMU, like it or not, wants to win. Do you think the causal fan outside Denton would say the same of UNT? Perception matters. Perception matters in the media and in the living room with recruits. 

Losing sucks. But it's a hell of a lot easier to stomach if you know there's a plan in place, if you have an idea where the ship is headed.