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Should Cajun official fly to Denton ?


MeanGreen61

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http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll...369/1006/SPORTS

Second Wind: Publicity crucial element to build programs

Dan McDonald

dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

This comes strictly from a selfish viewpoint, but maybe University of Louisiana officials should fly to Denton, Texas, and bring back Rick Villarreal as athletic director.

Villarreal, you see, understands how important I am.

"I," in this case, meaning the media outlets that cover the university and the UL athletic program.

Rick just loves us.

He may or may not have interest in the post, but after five years at the University of North Texas he realizes the value of a city and a university benefiting from local media.

Denton doesn't have a local television outlet. Dallas and Fort Worth stations cover that market. The dominant newspaper in the area also comes out of Dallas.

"We don't penetrate the market like some schools do," Villarreal said. "When you turn on the six o'clock news, they're not talking about North Texas. You're hearing about the Mavericks or the Cowboys."

It's a common malady around the Sun Belt Conference. Florida International and nearby Florida Atlantic are dominated media-wise by Miami pro teams and the state's big three colleges - Florida, Florida State and Miami.

New Orleans and Denver may carry their cities' names, but they're not their cities' favorite sons when it comes to media exposure. Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky are both close to a pro market in Nashville.

When UL starts recruiting for its empty athletic director office, maybe it should take papers and video tapes.

"Lafayette has a distinct advantage over a lot of schools in that they have local media there," said Villarreal, who spent much of his youth in New Orleans and several adult years on the LSU athletic staff. "You can turn on the TV or pick up the paper and see about the Ragin' Cajuns and know what's going on."

It may not seem like much on the surface, but good athletic directors are good at looking below that surface.

"You can't put a price on that kind of coverage," Villarreal said. "We're trying to get our alumni base and our fan base mobilized, and having your kids on local TV and in the papers creates contact with them. All of a sudden there's a familiarity. If people are coming to the games they know the kids, but if you don't hear about them all the time it's not as familiar to them.

"That's a huge advantage, but only if you're following that up by getting involved in the public and bringing your community in."

Bingo. There's your solution, the winning lottery ticket, the correct question on Final Jeopardy.

Community involvement.

Before there can be successful fund-raising efforts or season-ticket drives, before there can be support for improved facilities, there has to be a community that believes in the program. And that community watches television, listens to local radio and reads newspapers.

"The community there wants to associate with the university," Villarreal said. "Having the media right there helps that. It just takes a little nurturing and someone willing to get into the community and help spread that word."

That's why Rick loves us.

But to get us, Rick, you gotta come here.

Edited by MeanGreen61
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Well there is no doubt he will apply for this job, and he is almost certainly the AD mentioned in the other article that already has his application in. It appears to me he is not very happy here? I am sure there are many reason why that we could speculate on.

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I am sure there are many reason why that we could speculate on.

Am I the only one who remembers a similar thread this time last year that attempted to speculate on why RV would leave UNT? And then days later he posted on this message board about why he was happy to be here?

RV has made no comments except that he is happy to be at UNT; where there is plenty of work to do. I think we should take the man at his word.

(I attempted to search GMG for RV's post; but mysteriously it could not be found by the search engine).

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I can't believe what I am reading here. Why in gods name is RV interviewing with a rival school newspaper during recruiting? His comments clearly seem to downgrade UNT as opposed to Lafayette. Give me a break. "Rick just loves us" makes me want to puke. The fact that he is complaining to a writer for a school looking for an AD speaks volumes. He should be out raising money like he promised when he was hired.

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Am I the only one who remembers a similar thread this time last year that attempted to speculate on why RV would leave UNT?  And then days later he posted on this message board about why he was happy to be here?

RV has made no comments except that he is happy to be at UNT; where there is plenty of work to do.  I think we should take the man at his word.

(I attempted to search GMG for RV's post; but mysteriously it could not be found by the search engine).

Oh I remember. But I don't find it just a coincidence that his name pops up for just about every reasonable position either. There isn't a soul here who would want an AD that didn't want to be here. Hence, a statement is necessary to clear things up (whether it is a right or wrong assumption).

Also, if he is handcuffed here from having complete power over his athletic department (within reason), could we really blame him. I want RV here, but I won't fool myself into thinking this is his final destination.

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UNT is in the same boat as TCU and SMU. None of the DFW universities really get a lot of coverage, unless someone is ranked or perhaps playing a ranked opponent or playing a big 12 school.

I'd say it goes in this order with DFW sports:

1. Dallas Pro teams

2. Big 12 teams in Texas

3. the DFW universities

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I can't believe what I am reading here.  Why in gods name is RV interviewing with a rival school newspaper during recruiting? His comments clearly seem to downgrade UNT as opposed to Lafayette.  Give me a break.  "Rick just loves us" makes me want to puke.  The fact that he is complaining to a writer for a school looking for an AD speaks volumes.    He should be out raising money like he promised when he was hired.

So he gave a few comments to a newspaper in ULL, its not helping them recruit as you say, he's simply stating the obvious.

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Being a dumb country boy, I do not know exactly how interviews work: but the best I can remember it usually begins with the reporter calling the individual he/she wants to interview. The reporter then hopes the interviewee is nice enough to oblige the reporter. Having met RV, I figure that he has a reputatino as beig a nice guy; who will probably answer your quesitons.

Which if that's the case, it's not like RV was out pandering for a new job.

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Oh I remember.  But I don't find it just a coincidence that his name pops up for just about every reasonable position either.  There isn't a soul here who would want an AD that didn't want to be here.  Hence, a statement is necessary to clear things up (whether it is a right or wrong assumption). 

Also, if he is handcuffed here from having complete power over his athletic department (within reason), could we really blame him.  I want RV here, but I won't fool myself into thinking this is his final destination.

a lot of politics going on at unt these days. RV's name with NMSU and East Carolina was not a coincidence last couple of years. expect it was on some other lists we don't know about. i hope he stays but he may be tired of the fight trying to get denton suypport and lack of dallas media like he mentions.

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I can't believe what I am reading here.  Why in gods name is RV interviewing with a rival school newspaper during recruiting? His comments clearly seem to downgrade UNT as opposed to Lafayette.  Give me a break.  "Rick just loves us" makes me want to puke.  The fact that he is complaining to a writer for a school looking for an AD speaks volumes.    He should be out raising money like he promised when he was hired.

A newspaper interview is a far cry from interviewing with a rival school for a job. Besides, RV doesn't really go recruiting. He goes asking for donations. As an athletics director, his job is to secure funds for ALL athletics - not just football or whatever your favorite sport may be. Buttering up the media helps get NT's name out there and perhaps attract a sleeper donor who is just looking for ways to spend his or her millions.

Think of it this way: RV can't get much coverage in the local media. If he's getting outside coverage that makes it to this area (which as you can see, it has) then he can get publicity in an even wider market. And because the article is very complimentary, and from a rival school, people may realize what a great commodity we have, and work to keep him around. It's a politically savvy move, not only for the university, but for himself.

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THIS IS ACTUALLY 2 POSTS IN ONE...........TAKE 2 DAYS TO READ IT IF YOU READ THIS AT ALL! wink.gif

DAFFYNITIONS.................Is bashing really the correct choice of a word when describing the actions of a head football coach who has (actually) put new meaning in the word bashing by annually criticizing his own employer, showing unhappiness of even having be around his employer or its supporters (except now that he's had a horrifically terrible 2005 football campaign and with him probably thinking his attitudes and actions in better times which were tolerated then might now not be so tolerated but rather such non-stop negativity will now be magnified? But still we have one of our higest profile UNT employees who gets to remain on the payroll (with an overall W/L record or no key wins over true mainstream NCAA D1-A football programs that sorta' suggests that a complaining employee (perhaps) should be accomodated with his apparent need to be somewhere else than his present work environment?

Do any of you keep complainers on your payroll for you who have been hiring (and firing) authorities? Many of us who have had that role (whether now or in the past) would usually accomodate such an employee's attitude and one who seems to not like his work environment (by his actions and words) and as soon as we could we would allow such an employee to have his golden opportunity to go enjoy his life at another work environment. Also, many would terminate such an employee before he brought down other employees to his level of thinking, influencing many with his low expectation with our company and to keep him from having even one more minute to influence the key component in all this............namely, uh, the paying CUSTOMER$?

Yet @ UNT we have rewarded on an annual basis an employee who has bashed our school and its supporters "non stop" on the DFW radio airwaves for 5 plus years running and almost at every turn. So some now want to use the "bashing card" when many of our alums are just merely questioning such unusual behavior from a department at UNT that some of our past NT leadership have even called the "picture window of our university?" So just what is it that we at UNT show in our picture window for all to see? Most others in NCAA D1-A would see thru the smoke and mirrors and call what we've had (7 out of 8 years) stark mediocrity. Yet some of our "accepting of anything dished down to them from present NT leadership" have the audacity to want to $upport (how many of that group one might even question really even does that part) and call such criticsim, uh, bashing?

Just how many alums from other Texas NCAA D1-A schools do you know who would not have some comments about such activities from one of your most highest profile employees any Texas university can have? So (once again) is bashing the right choice of word with all this? Actually, I believe it is the right choice of word as far as one is concerned and he's made (at our expense) a nice living while having been allowed to do this, too.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

So why don't we just volunteer to help our Cajun friends out and just send them UNT Co-Athletic Director and NT BOR Chairman Bobby Ray as their new man and see how long any coach they might have under .500 for almost a decade gets to hang around while beating the Sisters of the Poor and losing to 1-AA schools even during bowl years. (I can't believe I am having to even say such things as I obviously referring to our own alma mater). sad.gif

I am most assured a ULaLa AD B. Ray would all but insure that the Rajun Cajuns would keep their place in the SBC/Bottom 10 with his superb knowledge of the in's and out's of NCAA D1-A Inter-Collegiate football.

Just look where we've (realistically) been for most of the time of his leadership in Denton? Top 25? Not even close nor will we get close under present conditions as he keeps rubber-stamping all this on an annual basis; even sadder is how most NT Exes know in their heart of hearts that Darrell Dickey is not the man who will deliver us out of the bottom quadrant of NCAA D1-A (SBC/Bottom 10) but their apparent reasons for wanting DD to get to continue for even a 9'th seasons is-------because we owe DD another year. Come on now, do we of the University of North Texas really owe a known habitual year in and year out NT-basher anything, folks? Would your own bosse allowed you to hang around under similar (realistic) performances? How many of your own fellow NT Exes won't even come to Mean Green football games anymore because DD is being allowed to give us Dickey Ball and most unique radio performances? I can tell many who I know have (silently) given up on all this andI can guarantee you that that list will grow come this next September. Hellsbells! Even our own AD is trying to get the hell out of all this quagmire of a athletic program that shows even more signs of runnning further-------amuck.

............................................................................................................

BOBBY RAY, ARE YOU LISTENING? WELL, YOU NEED TO BE LISTENING TO ALL THIS BEFORE YOUR CONTINUED RUBBER-STAMPING OF ALL THIS CREATES ONE HELL OF AN ECHO CHAMBER AT FOUTS FIELD ON MEAN GREEN GAME DAYS IN 2006 (and beyond). FWIW, even that part has already begun, sir.

.............................................................................................................

So do we really owe such an employee one more year? Are some of you into the pain thing at UNT, what do they call it, S & M?smile.gif I do know we are going to be into S&MU the 2'nd game of next season (at our house) and they are ready to hand us our head on a silver platter. Yet some of you say we owe one of the worse ambassadors UNT has ever had on its payroll who dishes out his stuff on the DFW radio airwaves ONE MORE YEAR? This is just no longer the NORTH TEXAS I used to know who had alums with some semblance of self-respect, pride and a spirit of upward mobility in NCAA Division One, but many who are now involved with some of this kind of "stinkin' thinkin' they've allowed the BIGGEST STINKER IN UNT history to influence even them with his spirit of "low expectation" and total acceptance of SBC/Bottom 10 success or (now) shall we say non-success?

And don't give me this Bobby Ray thing of "he led the way with this novel idea of building our "Athletic Center" business because what the hell else were we going to build at UNT to keep our hand in play at the NCAA Division One table-- an outhouse? FWIW, SWT, ie, Texas State U has had their AC for about 4 or 5 years now. Seems we have other facilities to build at UNT that will only help us hang onto our NCAA D1-A dreams. <>*<> These are not luxuries we are building at the Mean Green Athletic Village, fellow Exes, but rather bare minimum neccessities so that we can even stay ahead of some NCAA 1-AA schools (such as are in the Southland Conference, FWIW, you know like, Texas State U)?

Even sadder is how many are buying into all this lower quadrant of the 119 member NCAA D1-A style of football that some of you coined as "Dickey Ball" several years ago; and a level that the last 8 years should sorta' be telling all that that is what we can continue to expect.

HAS DD SHOWN ANY PROPENSITY TO CHANGE THINGS THAT ARE SIMPLY NOT WORKING? wink.gif

I don't see a magic recruiting year happening even now that will change any of this in one more football season from what we've been seeing or reading of late on recruting reports. And where will all the magic come from that will suddenly turn our NT defensive line into a, uh, 2006 OOC schedule or even a 2006 football season "SBC world-beater?" Does FAU Coach Howard Schnellenberger (whose offense ran thru our NT defensive line like crap thru a goose) need to be so fore-warned by some of you who completely forget about Dickey Ball and non-stop radio bashings every time during this time of year? And don't forget that DD gets his 3'rd attempt to beat FAU in 2006--but for damn sure, in Mean Green Country we surely don't even bash that poor record of performance against a 1-AA school that only started its football football program 6 years ago, now do we?wink.gif

Many on this forum I predict this very time next year will wonder why we so unneccessarily wasted a most important year that could have been used to raise NORTH TEXAS football out of the doldrums of Dickey Ball and this SBC/Bottom 10 malaise that we now have AND...............all the "we po', proud and our backs are always against the wall at UNT" crapola we've heard now for 8 years runnning (and 99.9% of all that on the Metroplex radio airwaves to boot).

Question: Any of you know any other NCAA D1-A school whose leadership would tolerate what has made many of you extremely pissed the last 8 years (while we still suck wind with an under .500 in "8" years head football coach. Many are laughing at us while they pass us by (and one DFW school whose colors are Red and Blue are probably at that top of that list). BTW, they are our 2'nd game of next Fall's football season and they beat 3 (almost) 4 bowl teams last Fall. Get ready for that one at Fouts Field, folks, because it ain't going be pretty. And while on the subject of SMU, some say only beating them (1 & 10?) will save DD's job for an unprecedent 10'th year of under .500? Well in that case, the case is now closed on how far all this has fallen in Mean Green Country.

Only at NORTH TEXAS, folks...............only at NORTH TEXAS...sad.gif

................................................................................................................

POST II: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS @ DALLAS (and more of the same)sad.gifsmile.gif

Actually, Mr. Ray and his bud, Chancellor Lee Jackson could better serve the UNT System by leaving athletics to athletics personnel and then they (sometimes during this century) can then have more time to try to get our system's pink elephant, ie, the UNT-Dallas campus to one day become a free-standing university; a project that they are way behind by the way.

The Texas Legislature is getting tired of all this with the UNT System, too, as I understand it. They keep having to stretch the rules for our UNT System officials to help them with our pink elephant campus (that presently and will in the future take monies away from our main campus and FWIW, that doesn't take a rocket scientist (or a DD supporter) to figure that out. Key Question: If big monies are suddenly raised for UNT-Dallas by UNT fundraisers from Greater Dallas contributors, why didn't our UNT-Denton fundraisers get even a portion of that 10, 20 or so years ago?

South Dallas County officials rumor has it has (for awhile) been having "legitimate" second thoughts in their choosing UNT (over the Texas Tech and TAMU Systems) for this south Dallas county 4 year university project. Any NT Ex/NT alum or NT novice would have been able to tell south Dallas-based Texas State Senator Royce West before they made their choice that UNT did not have the re$ource$ or overall financial endowment (and we still don't BTW) to pull off this south Dallas County pet university project of his.

IMO, these are just not the best of times at UNT, and things seemed to really start going south (as far as some of us are concerned) the day Dr. Norval Pohl announced his intention to relinquish his role as NT president. The wrong people at UNT are resigning and we are (as always) being stuck with those who will stay forever on the UNT payroll and the state of Texas teat while preventing this 32,000 enrollment university from going forward. If you ain't going forward, folks, then that usually means your going backwards.

If there were ever a time to recall a Board of Regent (if that would be possible), maybe this is the time for our North Texas Exes group to take on that as a worthy project before our NT BOR Chairman, Mr. Bobby Ray, has our NT football program playing at an intramural flag football level and has DD on a 10 year extension (still giving him an opportunity to reach .500 in wins/losses in Denton).

Any fool or jestor could look at (here we go again) the NT Football Media Guide and (hopefully) figure out for themselves as to where this football program has (realistically) been and where it is going for yet another (wasted) year. NOTE: If you think beating your sister in tennis matches for 4 years in a row is such a galliant venture in which to brag about, then you might think the same of our 4 bowl games as we were beating the SBC/Bottom 10/"Sisters" of the Poor to do (basically) the same thing. Get real with all this before you get completely lulled to a deep sleep (while others who are benefitting from all this silently chuckle with our naivety in Mean Green Country).

And for those of you who think DD to be the next Vince Lombardy (pleezzzzzzzzz), do yall really think he will beat (just out of 1-AA classification or are they really?) Florida Atlantic University in (only) our head football coach's 3'rd try this Fall? Myself and many others on this board and beyond do not think that will happen--chock it up as another wasted year of disguised success.

Hellsbells! DD didn't beat FAU the year he went to his, uh, "4'th" bowl game in a row, either, now did he? So come on some of you who are still living in Wonderland and who this time each year seem to completely forget about Dickey Ball as you think he's out there recruiting Parade All Americans; so get your heads out of your a$$e$ before Bobby Ray kills this athletic program (among other things) because he can't see the trees for the forest with these "would be" Texans from Kansas who kicks our alma mater (and NT Exes) around on the radio at every opportunity with Bobby Ray's apparent approval because it never stopped, now did it; and a coach who along with his KSU connection still pulled off a hiring coup on each and every one of us. Go home, Yankees! LOL!

Post Script To Bobby Ray:

Please do get out of the NT athletic department business, your extending of coach's contract's and let "your" alma mater (4'th largest in Texas) go forward beyond SBC/Bottom 10 annual rankings, Mr. Ray. It is absolutely no fun for many of us anymore who saw Top 20 rankings and high profile OOC wins in our student days, but now annually seeing pretty close to the Bottom of NCAA D1-A rung performances each year (and that even as as bowl team for crissakes)! Do you realize yet that the Tulsa loss last Fall was our worst home loss in NT football history?

Most of us, Mr. Ray, just do not share the same enthusiasm you seem to have with DD and in your seeing him meet all your (apparent) very low NCAA D1-A goals for NT football. How much longer will all this continue, sir?

AND Mr. Ray.........just what in the wide world of sports kind of legacy are you truly trying to leave behind at your alma mater anyway? Just our football program being the best of the worst is going to do it for you?

............................................................................................................

CAN YOU BELIEVE THESE NT FACTS? WELL..........BELIEVE IT!

At any rate, DD's last 2 predecessors (Dennis Parker & Matt Simon) were both released from their NT coach's contracts right after each of their recruiting seasons which mean't several weeks after the football season had actually ended.

So it really never is too late to do the the right thing that will ultimately give our alma mater a realistic chance to remove ourselves from our Bottom Quadrant NCAA D1-A existance and move forward in NCAA D1-A, football.

For the life of me, in 30 plus years of following NT football, I've never seen any head football coach at UNT of which a very large number of its alums and fans were so displeased and had such confrontational feelings with and so ready to see a most unhappy NT employee move on (& only for the ultimate good of "our" school) than this scenario with DD. It is truly a most unique situation for an NCAA D1-A school to be in.

>>>>>>>>>>>> IN A NUTSHELL THIS IS WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN IN A PERFECT UNT WORLD (which we now know is hardly a perfect one): Anyway, DD's present recruiting class needs to (now) be evaluated by an outside, unbiased recruiting Texas HS/Texas D1-A collegiate observer not connected to UNT in any way, and then after he tells us what many already sorta' know with how this new recruting class is shaping up (as we fight to even try to beat 1-AA schools for many of our new recruits) the right thing needs to be done ASAP. This could all become a very expensive venture if we don't because (even moreso) there is too much discord and confrontational attitudes with DD as our head football coach among the Mean Green troops.

...........NT leaders just simply need to release Dickey from his contract and with new, positive leadership that we can still actually get at UNT to come in and give our present MEAN GREEN football players an honest and realistic chance to be successful beyond the SBC/Bottom Quadrant of NCAA D1-A in their remaining year(s) at the University of North Texas. If for no other reason, they deserve such coaching and discipline that history tells us they will not get in one more year with DD.

Folks, you know as much as I that we can (and have) done better than what we're getting and we don't have to settle with what some call success (that no one outside UNT seems to call it). We just all need a new fresh beginning so we can hold on to our present Mean Green fans and gain new ones that we will not be successful in doing any of the aforementioned until we do make a change. Do we need 9, 10, 15 years of Dickey Ball so he can get to .500 that coaches such as Mike Price have pulled off at UTEP in less the 3 years (with Top 25 rankings in that time as well)? BTW, UNT hold the all time series W/L over UTEP in football, so do we deserve less than UTEP?

.............................................................................................................

PS II; And to Rick Villarreal, I don't blame you one iota for wanting to get the hell out of Dodge where you are not allowed to do your job while you helplessly have to watch other UNT powers bully their way around with some kind of ego trip that has all but created an impossible situation that no "NCAA D1-A" athletic director would ever want to come to UNT to work under such impossible circumstances.

Yet, RV, I think UNT is still the proverbial "sleeping giant" that someone (maybe you) will one day have the patience to create and work the forumula it is going to take to wake up our Jolly Mean Green Giant (and beating mainstream NCAA D1-A football schools on a regular basis would be a pretty damn good way to start). wink.gif

Have A Nice Day smile.gif

Edited by PlummMeanGreen
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Guest GrayEagleOne

I'm sure that it's frustrating to Rick to try to penetrate a market dominated by professional sports and the Big XII and I can sympathize with how he feels. I don't read anymore into it than his answering questions that were asked of him. It would be my opinion, too.

I've never understood why Dallas and Fort Worth have all of the TV stations in the market. Well, there are actually a few stations located in the suburbs but you wouldn't know it from looking at their telecasts. If I had truly deep pockets, I would buy one of the Metroplex UHF channels and move it to Denton and aim it at Denton County's half-million people. I feel sure that it would garner more viewers than any other UHF station in the area. I would have a local news staff and cover North Texas and area high school sports. I think that there are enough businesses in Denton and Lewisville for a full slate of advertisers.

I'm too far away to get KNTU but I do read all of the online media. I'd still watch a Denton TV station much of the time if one were available. Oh, technically Denton had a TV station. KDTN, Channel 2 was licensed to Denton but no studios were established. Instead, the used the Dallas PBS outlet, Channel 13. I don't think that PBS would be the way to go, however, even if that station could be resurrected. I hate to see a station spending a fourth of its air-time trying to raise money so that it can stay in operation.

Anyone interested? Rick Villareal would love it.

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