COLUMN: Mean Green Could Mean Big Things for WAC
You didn’t think you were going to get off that easy, did you?
Talk of major conference realignment might be dying off when it comes to the Big 10 or soon to be Pac-12, but for the WAC and its attempts to move on without Boise State, the possibilities of expansion are just heating up.
Even before Boise State bolted for the Mountain West a few weeks ago the speculation began as to which program would replace the Broncos. The usual suspects – among them the University of Montana, as well as other Big Sky schools like Portland State and Weber State – were mentioned, as were various teams from Conference USA and other non-BCS conferences. Yet of all the potential candidates for joining the WAC, few schools could offer more to the conference than North Texas.
Yes, the Mean Green.
Dorky nicknames and three consecutive double-digit loss seasons aside, the University of North Texas could prove to be a diamond in the rough for a WAC conference that is desperate to prove it’s not just “Sun Belt North” when it comes to football success (or lack thereof). Sounds crazy, right? After all, North Texas hasn’t had a winning season since 2004 and is better known by many as the team occupying page 118 or so of a 120-page season preview magazine. Last I checked, the WAC was trying to replace its flagship football program, not bring up another rear-echelon school which constitutes no more than an afterthought for the average college football fan.
Oh thee of little faith. As any Aggie fan will tell you, to judge a program solely on its recent performance on the field is to overlook that University’s potential in the future. And when it comes to potential – on the gridiron or otherwise – North Texas has plenty to offer.
For starters, North Texas isn’t some out of the way, dust-bowl background school set in a small town which nobody has ever heard of. While not as well known nationally as some of the state’s other public institutions, UNT is among Texas’ largest in terms of student population, with a total enrollment of more than 36,000. It’s listed as one of the “Best in the West” colleges by The Princeton Review, and is considered a major research destination. Denton itself is a beautiful small city only a half hours drive from Dallas, making travel for visiting teams a smooth and relatively pain free experience compared to many other possible expansion candidates. Of course, the location also puts UNT squarely in the middle of arguably the most talent rich state in terms of prep football, a fact that you can bet current WAC coaches haven’t ignored.
Unlike some universities on the WAC’s expansion radar, UNT is in a position to compete immediately in the conference. True, the team hasn’t had the success it was expecting since the hiring of longtime Texas high school football mastermind Todd Dodge, but that doesn’t mean the Mean Green aren’t still a sleeping giant. Don’t forget that it wasn’t too long ago that North Texas claimed mastery over Sun Belt football teams, with 26 consecutive conference wins heading into the 2005 season. The team may have struggled in recent years, but given its location in a talent rich area – coupled with a commitment to build top-notch facilities – one has to think the school can’t stay down for long. Oh yea, and about those facilities. A new $78 million dollar stadium is set to open in 2011, and when completed is expected to be among the most energy efficient stadiums in the country. Not a bad proposition for a conference dominated by ageing stadiums and sub-par facilities that don’t fire up potential recruits.
UNT isn’t just a sleeping giant on the gridiron. Unlike several Big Sky schools which could find their non-football teams struggling in WAC play, there is reason to believe that multiple UNT teams could fit right in to the competitive environment of the WAC. The Mean Green Men’s basketball team makes the school especially appealing for expansion. The reigning Sun Belt champs went 24-9 on the hardwood last season, and earned their second NCAA Tournament berth in four years. Likewise, the school’s Women’s Soccer and Tennis teams have both made appearances in their respective NCAA tournaments in recent years.
Expanding the conference’s footprint to a new and talent-rich state should appeal to WAC commissioner Karl Benson, who also faces an impending crisis in the coming years with regards to the WAC’s television deal. Without Boise State as the national media darling of an American audience always willing to root for the underdog, the WAC’s deal with ESPN could find itself in jeopardy. Already it’s known that ESPN has the right to renegotiate the deal with the conference en lieu of Boise’s defection, and with the possible move of multiple conferences to conference-specific cable networks, ESPN could cut ties with the WAC once the contract expires in 2017. While a school like Montana could be immediately beneficial in terms of competition level, there is no way a market such as Missoula can come anywhere near the market of Dallas-Forth Worth which North Texas finds itself in.
If the WAC does approach North Texas, it won’t be the first time the conference has looked to expand its foot southward. In 2004 the WAC strongly considered the Mean Green, and although the conference passed on the program, Benson said that recent upgrades in facilities have made UNT a more attractive candidate six years later.
“As they have added facilities and added to their assets, one would think they are a stronger program than they were in 2004,” Benson said. “We have not done any real assessment and evaluation, but I am aware of their stadium project. They are making improvements.”
UNT seems committed to building its athletics programs into top flight Division 1 powers. Not only have they upped funding in recent years and expanded their facilities, but they’ve even gone ahead and made plans to hire a consultant to beef up the school’s athletic image. Furthermore, North Texas interim president Lane Rawlins is known as a program builder when it comes to NCAA programs, and helped put together Conference-USA while serving as president of Memphis in 1995. If there is anyone who can bring North Texas to a higher level, it’s him.
Benson is a smart man, and he’s weathered more conference realignment storms than any commissioner in college sports today. With the need to prove to the country that the WAC is still relevant even without its flagship program, he’d be remiss – if not completely out of his mind – not to invite North Texas to the table. With a similar commitment to rising over mediocrity and popular perception, UNT offers the WAC more than just another team with a funky nickname, but a real asset in terms of exposure and performance.
Adam Nettina is a senior History major and member of the Football Writers Association of America. You can follow him on twitter at twitter.com/AdamNettina