(08-10-2013 10:25 AM)RUNVSFD MINER Wrote: Lots of "let me convince you why we should be here" threads by newbie schools. They're in the conference, the sales pitch can be put to rest.
Even though I don't know much about MT, FIU, FAU, WKU, and UTSA, I can say that most of us won't really care much unless rivalries develop.
To maintain, or improve CUSA's position prior to realignment, I see the newbies in 3 categories:
Tier 1- ODU and Charlotte. Their following, market, history, excitement level about new fball are all great indicators of what is to come. I also see them as offsets to some of the schools we lost.
Tier 2- UNT, UTSA, MT, and WKU. Plenty of potential. Some of have shown they can do well, and draw well. But they seem to be either fball or bball oriented. Would like for them to have both, 35-45K in fball, and 7-10k in bball during good seasons.. I don't know if their stadiums are even big enough to handle these numbers (except for UTSA's city facility which is also a convention center). Stadiums that seat under 30K are not going to meet what the conference needs to keep up with the MWC and yAAC.
Tier 3- FIA, FAU. I'm crossing my fingers, but I just don't see them making a huge jump. IMHO, this is where CUSA is really hoping something develops.
I think College Football Hall of Famer Hayden Fry and his coaching tree disciple and former Iowa assistant coach, ie, UNT HFC Dan McCarney will get North Texas back to what a few of you will remember was a pretty damn good NCAA D1 football program that scheduled and beat P5 schools when others similar at our level (G5?) back in that day couldn't even get on many of their schedules. Fact is, the Big Boys were not scheduling too many G5 type schools that had not been NCAA D1 since the 50's and 60's. Without wanting to be too smug here, but what level was your school operating at in the 1950's, ie, an era that sports scribes call the beginnings of NCAA Division 1's modern era? NOTE: Of course, I'm not referring to any of you that were in the Southwest Conference with this.
UNT also received Top 20 poll rankings which will at least blow one part of your category level theory as to what we as UNT alums will expect from now on with no exceptions. In fact, no one at North Texas is going to be content until we reach that entire Mean Joe Greene (60's) and Coach Fry (70's) eras across the board level of NCAA D1-A success again. With that in mind, is there a category for that level of success when that happens, except for what Southern Miss has very successfully attained in CUSA for a number of years which is what I would coin as a mega-level or catagory? USM is without a doubt the bell cow of this new Conference-USA. La Tech will be a mover and shaker, too.
This...
North Texas may be new to CUSA but we aren't new to having had NCAA D1 FBS level success and a level that is only recently new to others at this point; in fact, for that matter, some just up from the Sun Belt have a bit over a decade of membership at this level. Athletically of late, though, UNT has been living beneath our dignity and expectation based on past NCAA D1 success.
Coach McCarney had approx. 500 Texas HS football players (many with pedigree) and about 1,100 parents, coaches, etc, along with those approx. 500 at his Friday Night Lights program at Apogee Stadium couple weeks ago. As a multi-decade follower of Mean Green football, I can assure you that his recruiting now in its 3'rd year is taking off.
When Coach Mac was hired, he had already lost that year of early recruiting so at present he only has 2 recruiting classes on campus and as other Texas-based schools in CUSA or the AAC will tell you early recruiting is where its at in the Lone Star State. It is my understanding that few of these kids will change their minds on their early commitments, too.
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