The Athletic - Returning pieces have North Texas football set up for success
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17
The Athletic on DFW Football recruiting
Absolutely--all of this. My son is going off to college in the fall. Both of his parents are UNT grads, but he wanted nothing to do with coming here, because he wanted to go somewhere that had good academics AND that athletics mattered, just like his best friends and cousins all felt. So, he's heading to one of those P4s and we are very excited for him. I just think if we hadn't given up after the SWC pipe dream was burst, it would've been different here...a lot different, too. Again, I think UH was who we could've been just like. In the mid-to-late 70s, our programs were very similar. Both were successful as independents. UH got into the SWC because they only had little ol' Rice to compete with in their market. And they were hugely successful immediately, in both major sports. That got a lot of Houston Energy Money to be invested in their program. We could've emulated that in some fashion, but instead, Hayden Fry leaves and we eventually gave up. That was just too much to overcome, particularly in the timeframe you mention above. UCF moved up to FBS right around the time we made our way back up in 1995. But they didn't have alumni and students that watched their school blow off sports for 12 years like we did. They went about building up a program in a manner that made sense and today, they are in the Big 12. No reason at all that we couldn't have been something like this today if we had made athletics a priority. Instead, we decided that I-A was a way to make more money by whoring out the program and playing at a toilet for decades. Those decisions still have ramifications that killed any chance of us being anything close to what we wanted to be. And the portal bit has killed college sports for me. I literally watched about 3 games of college football last year. And college basketball, which is my first love, is also losing its appeal, too. The NIL, while I'm not a fan of it, I understand why its there. The portal, though, is just too much for me to accept. It's just not worth my time or money to invest in it when the players are using that system to move up from Denton as soon as they can. I don't blame them, either. But college sports was built on familiarity and the players being "ours". That's just no longer a viewpoint that I feel anymore when any player that produces in any fashion just can leave at any time they choose. -
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The Athletic on DFW Football recruiting
I don't understand all the hand wringing. I think UNT is positioned about as well as anyone in the G5 to consistently contend for the at-large playoff spot. Its undeniable that access to the playoff is at a level never seen before at the G5 level. Financially there shouldn't be many G5's that will outspend UNT (if the collective has its sh*t together). There is more premium talent in the portal from the DFW area than you can shake a stick at. There are only so many places those prospects can go. Why not UNT? Use the system to your advantage. Go poach some talent in the portal that would've never considered UNT out of high school. Its how you build depth and increase competition. It can also be done at a relatively low cost for certain positions. The doom and gloom is misplaced (for now). I do, however, think there will be an eventual break away by the P4 but that is years away. -
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The Athletic on DFW Football recruiting
It's not as easy as it was to be invited to the top anymore. Everyone wants to be up at the top, so universities throw money at their programs hoping it happens. In the 80's if you threw money at your program then you had a real shot. Now, it's all based on brand recognition and perception. Though what you are saying has a lot of credence to it, but I think the downfall of the university's athletics started when the university started to push the "university for all" bullshit. And though I think that's a slogan that's not that dated, that's not what I am referencing. I am more so referring to when the push was artsy and music students, and then this liberal inclusion bullshit. Sport people USUALLY don't share those beliefs and/or interests. And when you're making a gigantic bulk of your enrollment that, well, our student and alum involvement turns out to be the result. The drop down certainly did alienate a large % of fans in that window of time, but in the 21st century our problem is what and who we're catering to.- 1
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Dallas ISD 2024 Hall of Fame Class
Kenyon Martin, Bryan Adams, had a really nice NBA career. -
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SWAC leading rebounder Brian Myles to announce where he's going
There are a ton of players still in the portal. It sucks, but we have to be patient and see how things play out. Let the big money NIL's grab up who they want and there will be a lot of really good players looking for a place to land.
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