Mean Green

North Texas will host a camp for players who will be seniors in the fall Sunday. While the whole concept of a senior camp is pretty new at UNT, the practice has been around for a long time at other schools.

UNT hosted a camp last year and offered several players who attended it. Camps give a coaching staff a chance to get a look at prospects it is interested in and gives players who are still looking for a scholarship offer a chance to catch a coach's attention.

The list of players attending the camp is a closely guarded secret, like most recruiting information is, but there are a few players who have said they will be at UNT this weekend. A trio of players from Paris -- quarterback Quin Rollerson, defensive end Wesley Martin and wide receiver Ro Barr -- is expected to attend.

UNT has offered about a half a dozen players. The number should grow after this weekend.

UNT recruiting target Bryant Nnabuife of Blinn Community College is starting to draw a lot of interest from a host of schools.

UNT offered the 6-2 cornerback early, but is now one of four teams that has offered a scholarship, according to Rivals.com. Houston, Tulsa and now Southern Miss are also in the hunt.

Nnabuife appears to be one of the Mean Green's top targets. UNT has also offered his teammate, defensive tackle Sean Warren. It looks like UNT would like to take them as a package deal.

This is just a guess, but Sun Belt and Conference and Louisiana-Lafayette officials are probably doing the mambo in the streets after the Ragin' Cajuns softball team upset top-ranked Florida in the College World Series today. It's great for the league, which can always use a reputation-building win.

Speaking of the Sun Belt, the league is looking more and more like a safe haven for basketball coaches looking to rehab their reputations. First there was current SMU coach Matt Doherty at Florida Atlantic. Then Arkansas State hired John Brady after he was dumped by LSU and now FAU hires former St. John's coach Mike Jarvis. I'm all for recycling, but I wonder if the trend will be good for the league long-term.

I wrote a feature story yesterday on Jalie Johnson, UNT's all-time leading scorer in women's basketball who has returned the school as an assistant coach and picked up this tidbit. UNT had a recruit on campus and is in the process of trying to fill a couple of open scholarships. UNT needs a post player or two. New head coach Shanice Stephens has been thrilled with the interest recruits have in coming to UNT since she hit the road. It's a little late to be looking for players, but the future looks bright when it comes to UNT's next recruiting class.

Post your thoughts on the blog. Do you expect UNT to land Nnabuife or another top player before the beginning of the season?

There has been a lot of talk recently about the possibility of UNT putting in a student fee to help pay for a new football stadium.

I did a little asking around and got in touch with Josh Ness, UNT's outgoing student body president, who said a student fee for a stadium is a long way from becoming a reality.

"The athletic department hasn't approached us at all," Ness said. "I helped some students sit down with the athletic department. There have been some discussions about if the stadium plan is going to be successful, that students will have to be involved.

"The students are waiting to see what will happen. We know a stadium is coming, it's a matter of when."

UNT has already started raising funds for a stadium and a detailed binder has gone out to top-level boosters, a fact we detailed on the blog a few days back. UNT officials are on record as saying the project is at the top of their priority list after a number of other athletic venues were either upgraded or built.

Ness said there would be a few opportunities for UNT's athletic administration to push a fee through with a vote of the students.

"It would be a campaign with the student government and the athletic department," Ness said. "There are two chances to put one together, one in the fall and one in the spring."

Post your thoughts on the blog. Will UNT have to put a student fee in place to make a stadium to replace Fouts Field a reality or will the school be able to raise the funds through other means, including obtaining private funds?

There wasn't a whole lot going on in Mean Green land today, so I thought I would take some time to answer a few questions that have been posted on the blog the last day or so.

One reader wanted to know if UNT would pursue Kris Lott, the brother of walk-on wide receiver Alex Lott. The internet authorities on the subject don't have UNT listed as one of Kris' options. Minnesota, which has made a big push in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in recruiting recently, has already offered Kris a scholarship.

The younger member of the Lott clan would be a good catch. He is 6-1 and had over 1,000 receiving yards last year, but he appears as if he will land his share of scholarship offers from the Big 10- and Big 12-caliber schools. And wide receivers do not appear to be a priority for UNT in this recruiting class. The Mean Green is really short on defensive linemen as it is and Joseph Miller and Isaac Thomas will graduate after next season. If UNT doesn't land some impact defensive linemen -- and offensive linemen for that matter -- it could get scary for UNT. And remember, UNT doesn't have that many scholarships to give.

I wouldn't count Lott out, but I don't think he is at the top of the priority list.

Speaking of the Lotts, another reader wanted to know where the rumor came from that Alex was leaving the team. I have no idea. All I do is read my e-mail and chase rumors, a lot of which lead nowhere. I received enough questions about him that I thought it was important to address the rumor on the blog.

And now to the really important stuff. Another reader wanted to know why the Mean Green Blog is now blue. The powers that be changed the site to look like our regular Web site, and the Denton Record-Chronicle's official color is blue. It's in the section headers of the paper. No, it is not an SMU-driven conspiracy. The new design also leaves some room for advertising. As more of our readership goes on-line, we have to find a way to make money from our blogs and on-line content. That's why we ask that people post links to the blog instead of blog text on fan sites. The more people click through to the blog, the higher the advertising rates we can charge and the more we can show that there is an audience out there for UNT content. Once we establish that there is a large audience, it is easier to convince the company to continue to spend money on traveling to cover games and events in a time when airfare prices are going through the roof.

I received a few questions over the last couple of days on the status of Alex Lott, a walk-on wide receiver who made a big impression in spring practice.

The rumor was Lott had left the team. I put in a call to head coach Todd Dodge, who had his secretary call me back to let me know that Lott is expected back this fall. Dodge said earlier this spring that Lott has a chance to earn a spot among the Mean Green's top eight receivers who receive regular playing time.

Post your thoughts on the blog. Will Lott contribute this season?

New UNT women's basketball coach Shanice Stephens officially completed her staff Wednesday when the paperwork finally went through on UNT Hall of Famer Jalie (Mitchell) Johnson.

Johnson will be the third assistant and will be joined by veteran Division I assistant Erika Lang-Montgomery and Johnetta Hayes, the former head coach at Wiley College. Hayes is also a young coach.

Besides being perhaps the tallest women's basketball coaching staff in UNT -- and maybe Sun Belt Conference history -- the group seems to be a good mix. Lang-Montgomery has the experience Stephens will need on her staff as a first-time head coach, while Hayes and Johnson are young coaches who could be great recruiters. Hayes played at Rice, which could help UNT's recruiting efforts in Houston, while Johnson is a former Dallas-Fort Worth area high school standout who could help UNT recruit locally.

Hiring Johnson seems like a smart and some what bold move for Stephens considering the UNT graduate played for former head coach Tina Slinker, the woman she was hired to replace. It was also a smart one. Johnson will help bridge the gap from the old era of UNT basketball to what the school hopes will be a successful new one.

Post your thoughts on the blog. What do you think of UNT's new staff?

The Sun Belt Conference handed out its end of the year awards earlier this week. I mentioned on the blog that Western Kentucky won the Bubas Cup. Well, they won just about everything else as well.

The league handed out two postgraduate scholarships, two awards for sportsmanship and named two athletes of the year. Western Kentucky basketball standout Crystal Kelly was named the Female Athlete of the Year, while Denver tennis player Adam Holmstrom was named the Male Athlete of the Year. WKU won three of the six awards. UNT was shut out.

It is interesting to note that WKU won nine league titles this past school year, breaking their previous record of seven.

WKU is the first Sun Belt school to win conference titles in 50 percent of the sports they participated in (9 of 18). WKU won or shared Sun Belt Conference titles in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, women's cross country, women's swimming and diving, and soccer.

The following is a link to the Sun Belt's story on the awards it handed out:

This time around, the Hilltoppers lived up to their name.

It is also interesting to note that Louisiana-Lafayette is on the verge of advancing to the college world series. The Ragin' Cajuns knocked off in-state rival LSU in the regional and will now face Houston in the super regional. Beating LSU is a huge win for ULL and the Sun Belt.

Although this came down a few days ago, I got a chance to catch up with UNT soccer head coach John Hedlund to talk about his recruiting class that was rated best in the Sun Belt by Soccer Buzz magazine.

Be sure to pick up a copy of the paper tomorrow to see what Hedlund had to say and read about just how good UNT's class is. UNT has signed five of the top 500 players in the country. Post your thoughts on the blog. Do you expect to see UNT make it back to the NCAA soccer tournament behind its latest recruiting class?

There were a few Sun Belt Conference notes from the last few days worth mentioning, but before I get to them I thought I would mention that the blog has changed formats.

This is still the same old Mean Green Blog, but it now has a new look. You can still comment on all the entries, just like the old blog, which is something we encourage to get a discussion going.

Now, on to the good stuff.

The Sun Belt released its final Bubas Cup standings recently. UNT finished third in total points with 105.5. Western Kentucky won with 142.5 points, while Middle Tennessee was second with 135.5.

One can debate the validity of the standings because not all teams in the Sun Belt sponsor the same sports and points are based on how many teams participate in each sport. Women's tennis and golf actually weigh more heavily in the rankings than football. UNT's performance each year is based heavily on its traditionally strong track and cross country teams. When one counts indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country for both men and women, there are actually six sports in that category.

Middle and Western always dominate the standings and this year was no different.

On the basketball front, Arkansas State announced a few days back that it has signed shooting guard Brandon Ayers. What makes the addition of Ayers interesting is that he played for Paris JC, the same team that produced UNT signee Eric Tramiel.

Post your thoughts on the blog. Is third a good finish for UNT in the Bubas Cup standings?

The UNT men's basketball team just got done with its 2008 recruiting class and is already in the hunt for a couple of impressive players from the Class of 2009.

Rivals.com rates two players that have popped up in connection with UNT among the top 150 nationally. Reginald Buckner, a small forward from Memphis (Tenn.) Manassas, is rated No. 87 among players who will be seniors in the fall and has a scholarship offer from UNT. Ole Miss, Missouri, Bradley, Georgia State, Middle Tennessee, UTEP and Southeast Missouri have also offered Buckner, who is 6-8.

Houston Smiley power forward Augustine Rubit, who is ranked No. 147 among seniors, has also been offered by UNT. Tulane, Bradley, Santa Clara, South Alabama and Stephen F. Austin have also offered Rubit, who is 6-7.

Texashoops.com rates Rubit No. 23 on its list of the top players in the Class of 2009 and has the following evaluation of his skills:

"Thick paint player, good hands, finishes well at the rim, very good rebounder, works for position."

It's never too early to start looking ahead when it comes to prospects UNT's football and men's basketball teams are chasing, even though there is a lot of time left before the early signing period. Part of the fun of following recruiting is tracking players throughout the process -- how they play, who they are interested in playing for and where they end up when all is said and done.

Post your thoughts on the blog. Has UNT advanced its program to the point after consecutive 20-win seasons that it has a legitimate chance at signing a player ranked among the top 150 in his class nationally?

There are probably a lot of fans out there who have already seen the athletic department's promotional material soliciting donations for a new football stadium -- "Building Champions One Piece at a Time, The New Football Stadium."

But I thought it would be worth running through some of the highlights on the blog after we got a hold of a copy of the packet at the Denton Record-Chronicle.

The large color binder has everything one would expect, including a statement from the president and athletic director, a look back at some Mean Green history and a rundown of what UNT has accomplished in terms of improving its facilities over the last few years. It also points out why the university feels like it needs to build a football stadium as soon as possible.

What is particularly interesting are some of the details about the plans themselves. Here is what caught my attention:

-- The exterior of the stadium will include brick, glass and fabricated medal

-- The basic design will be a sunken horseshoe that will seat 30,000 and will be expandable to 50,000.

-- There will be a four-story tower on the west side that will include the press box and a club level

-- The plans include fan decks for private groups

Part of the pitch also includes the fact that the stadium could attract other events, including concerts and high school playoff games -- not to mention better nonconference opponents.

The fact that the stadium could host more than UNT football games appears as if it will be a key selling point to attract donors from beyond the athletic department, including those in the hotel and hospitality business who graduated from UNT.

Post your thoughts on the blog. When do you think the project will be finished?

Matt McCombs sent in a good question to the Mean Green Blog today on the status of Pearl River (Miss.) Community College tackle Nate Jenkins, who is trying to finish up his junior college coursework in time to be eligible to play for UNT in the fall.

Jenkins has one class left to take and will enroll in that class in the first term of summer school at Pearl River. That term should end in time for Jenkins to pack up and move to Denton for the start of fall practice.

After the events of the last week or so, I bet UNT football fans could use some good news. And since we are in the public service and information business on the Mean Green Blog, I went and found some.

Just before national signing day earlier this year, I reported on the blog that Pearl River (Miss.) Community College tackle Nate Jenkins had a whole lot of work to do in his final semester and over the summer to become eligible to play next season.

Since this is the time of year that grades come out, I gave Pearl River coach Tim Hatten a call to see how Jenkins was doing. Turns out he did very well in the spring.

"He's got just one class left to take," Hatten said. "He needed 18 hours and passed 15. Some guys when the light at the end of the tunnel gets a little brighter, they get a little more motivated."

Hatten said Jenkins will be done with his junior college classes by the end of June and should be ready to go when UNT opens fall camp. UNT is expected to plug Jenkins, who is huge at 6-4, 335, in at right tackle to replace Adam Venegas.

UNT could use the help after quarterback Giovanni Vizza was beaten in a way that is illegal is most states last year, when the Mean Green’s quarterbacks were sacked 39 times.

"There is no doubt that Nate can help North Texas out," Hatten said. "He could help a lot of teams in the country."

Jenkins is one of two junior college linemen UNT added in its last recruiting class. Gabe Hollivay, a guard from Itawamba (Miss.) Community College, also signed with the Mean Green.

Post your thoughts on the blog. Just how much better will UNT's offensive line be next season if Jenkins can finish up his work in junior college and play for the Mean Green?

I got a good question today on the blog, although it isn’t a very pleasant one to ponder. FanMan wanted to know where to place the blame for UNT coming up short on the APR report.

A lot of people have a hand in trying to keep athletes eligible and in school – from the students themselves to coaches to university support personnel. In this case, everyone appears to have done their job with the exception of some students who didn’t hold up their end of the bargain.

In the end, that problem stems from the athletes UNT recruited.

The UNT administration has added an academic center for athletes and academic personnel. Former UNT head coach Darrell Dickey used to hold study hall for his players who didn’t make it to class at the crack of dawn. Johnny Jones emphasizes academics just like Dickey did.

There is an old saying that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. This appears to be the case at UNT, which took some risks on athletes with questionable academic credentials who didn’t hold up their end of the bargain.

UNT appears as if it will take fewer of those risks in the future.

That’s definitely the way to go, but it does make me think back to some of the high-risk players that have done well at UNT. No one would touch Jonas Buckles other than UNT because of his academic situation. He graduated in four years and was a four-time all-conference selection at safety – not to mention a great all-around guy. Keith Wooden regained his eligibility at UNT after transferring from Arizona State and helped lead the Mean Green to the NCAA Tournament.

You just wonder with the APR if guys like Buckles and Wooden will get the shot they need in the future.

I ran across a tidbit I thought was pretty good blog fodder today. The Sun Belt Conference has its first football commitment for the Class of 2009.

What was interesting is which team was the first to get on the board. Take a guess.

Defending Sun Belt Conference co-champ and New Orleans Bowl champ Florida Atlantic, which has risen from nowhere to become an up-and-comer in college football?

Nope.

Defending Sun Belt Conference co-champ Troy, which went to a bowl game in 2004 and 2006 and has had a couple of first-round NFL Draft picks in DeMarcus Ware and Leodis McKelvin the last couple of years?

Nope.

UNT, the team that brought the whole early commitment craze to the Sun Belt?

Guess again.

Try South Alabama, a school that doesn't yet have a team and won't play its first game until Sept. 5, 2009. The Jaguars are building their program from scratch and landed 2009 prospect Keith Evans, a cornerback from Spanish Fort, Ala.

Evans appears to be a pretty good prospect. USA was the only team to offer him at this point, according to Rivals.com, but Alabama, UAB, Auburn, Southern Miss, Middle Tennessee and Samford were among the schools that showed interest.

In an interesting side note, USA also landed Richard Ross from Auburn High. Ross was a 2008 recruit who didn't sign last year.

Early commitments were a hot topic last year. UNT head coach Todd Dodge and most of the rest of the league's coaches say they find the players they are interested in and go after them no matter what point in the process the opportunity arises.

UNT has a couple of offers out at this point, but doesn't have a commitment yet and will face a few obstacles after a 2-10 season. Post your guess on the blog. When do you expect UNT to land its first player for 2009?

You wanted it. You asked for it. So we went on got it. UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal sat down with the DRC to talk about the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate report Monday. There will be a story in tomorrow’s DRC and DMN.

UNT lost five football scholarships and a men's basketball scholarship to the NCAA tool, which measures a school's ability to keep athletes in school and eligible.

I won't go through what Villarreal had to say now. I have to give you guys a reason to buy the paper or hit our Web site later tonight.

What I will mention now is that UNT really seemed to come up on the short end of the stick when all was said and done, despite the fact that vast majority of its athletes are also good students and its coaches emphasize academics. We have explained over and over again how the APR works, but here it is one more time. Athletes earn one point each semester for remaining in school and another for remaining eligible. As long as a team earns 92.5 percent of its points (thus the 925 benchmark) it won't incur scholarship penalties. If a team falls below 925 and has an athlete drop out while he is ineligible (thus going 0-for-2 on points), that costs a team a scholarship.

What doesn't make a whole lot of sense is how schools receive waivers. Schools that are under-funded or whose athletes graduate at a rate 10 percent higher than their student bodies are exempt from scholarship reductions. Only the graduation rate for athletes is a projection based on their school's APR score. That seems like a bit of a stretch considering the NCAA has only been collecting APR scores for a few years. The system also penalizes schools like UNT that have good overall graduation rates for its student body.

Villarreal was a good sport about providing the information, especially when an editor asked for an extra number early this evening to add to the story.

Any way, it's worth picking up the paper to see what Villarreal had to say about where UNT has been and where it is headed. The future appears as if it will be a lot brighter considering the moves UNT has made to make sure it's athletes are faring well in the classroom and its coaches are bringing in the right type of athletes.

Be sure to come back over the blog to post your thoughts on what Villarreal had to say.

A source close to the situation has told the Denton Record-Chronicle that UNT Hall of Famer Jalie Mitchell has joined the women's basketball team's coaching staff as an assistant.

Mitchell confirmed last week that she interviewed for the position. She was in meetings with head coach Shanice Stephens and the rest of the staff Monday afternoon.

UNT's staff of assistants will include former Wiley College head coach Johnetta Hayes, former Wichita State assistant coach Erika Lang-Montgomery and Mitchell.

Mitchell played for UNT from 1998-2002 and is the Mean Green's all-time leading scorer with 1,764 points.

For more on Mitchell, check back on the blog and be sure to post your thoughts. Are you happy to see a UNT legend come back to join the staff?

Now that the three-day marathon that is the Sun Belt Conference track meet is over, I am back with a deeper tan and a load of tidbits for the Mean Green Blog.

The first item of the day has to do with perhaps the favorite topic of the UNT faithful -- football recruiting. Rivals.com reported today that the Mean Green has offered a pair from Blinn JC that play defense, which was somewhat of a lost art last season at UNT.

Defensive tackle Sean Warren's only offer thus far is from the Mean Green, although Troy and SMU are also on his list. He has the size to be an impact player at 6-0, 292.

The other player is cornerback Bryant Nnabuife, who stands 6-2 and has 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash. A total of eight schools are recruiting Nnabuife, but only UNT and Houston have offered a scholarship thus far.

The only other player UNT had offered was Plano athlete Rex Burkhead, who dropped the Mean Green from the list of schools he is considering that includes a host of national powerhouses, including Alabama, Auburn, Nebraska and Cal.

As usual, the UNT softball team was at its best in the Sun Belt Conference tournament. The Mean Green lost its first game this year before coming back to win a pair of elimination games. UNT’s run finally came to an end today against Louisiana-Monroe.

The loss ended the best season in school history that saw UNT post a 27-33 record. That might not sound all that great, but no other team in the history of the program won more than 22 games. UNT posted that mark under first-year head coach T.J. Hubbard, who added players like Mallory Cantler, Mariza Martinez and Courtney Bradshaw to UNT’s roster. All three were among UNT's best players in their freshman seasons. Cantler was an all-conference pick.

There is little doubt UNT took a step forward this season under Hubbard, which bodes well for the future of the program.

I have a feeling most UNT fans are tired of hearing about the football and basketball teams' APR scores, but there was one really interesting tidbit that came up at the Board of Regents meeting today.

I wasn't there, but our man on the scene Dan McGraw said that UNT officials noted that the school did have its original penalties from the NCAA reduced. UNT was supposed to lose eight scholarships in football and two in men's basketball.

UNT will have some obstacles to work through just losing five scholarships in football. Eight would have been even worse. Losing two scholarships would have been tough in basketball as well.

UNT officials were able to get some appeals through that helped reduce the hit the athletic department took in both sports.

Questions continue to roll into the Mean Green Blog on UNT’s APR score, the penalties it received in football and men’s basketball and a few other aspects of the process. I am trying my best to run down all the answers. Here is what I came up with today:

The most often asked question is why UNT received such harsh penalties while other schools with programs that have lower scores were not punished as severely. One factor is the number of 0-for-2 athletes UNT had during the last four years. Athletes earn a point for being academically eligible and another for remaining in school. Schools lose a scholarship for each 0-for-2 athlete if it is under the 925 benchmark set by the NCAA. UNT had multiple athletes leave the school while ineligible and didn’t make it over the 925 mark. Other schools either didn’t have 0-for-2 athletes, were granted waivers or made it over the 925 mark.

As I already mentioned, some schools received waivers if their estimated graduation rate for athletes is 10 percent higher than its student body or because they showed that they are under funded.

Another question that came up today is whether student athletes’ actions in the 2006-07 school year affected UNT’s score. The answer is yes. The report ran through that 06-07 school year. If a player left UNT in the spring of 2007, he cost UNT a point toward its score, two if he left while ineligible.

And finally, a blog reader wanted to know how all UNT’s sports fared. Here is a list:
Men’s cross country – 929
Men’s golf – 961
Men’s indoor track – 938
Men’s outdoor track – 951
Women’s basketball – 979
Women’s cross country – 977
Women’s golf – 977
Women’s soccer – 990
Softball – 942
Women’s swimming – 969
Women’s tennis – 967
Women’s indoor track – 979
Women’s outdoor track – 979
Volleyball -- 984

As usual, UNT’s soccer team led the way. When it comes to the APR, we spend a lot of time talking about what teams don’t do well. It’s worth the time to point out that John Hedlund’s team not only wins year in and year out, it is also consistently one of the school’s top performing teams in the classroom.

And for a parting shot, I thought this quote from UNT director of compliance Daryl Simpson was a key point in today's story that might have been overlooked. UNT might have a hard time getting out of the hole it is in and over the 925 mark, which means each 0-for-2 athlete UNT has will come back to haunt the athletic program.

“We are definitely headed in the right direction,” Simpson said. “But once you start off in a hole — we have been around 915 all four years — it’s going to take a couple of years to get out of it. It’s a four-year average. Can I say next year we are not going to have penalties? I don’t know. It’s an average that takes a couple of good years and dropping off a couple of bad years to correct.”

It has been a tough week for the Sun Belt with the release of the NCAA's Academic Progress Report that ended up costing several programs scholarships. UNT lost five in football and one in men's basketball, Florida Atlantic and Florida International lost three each in football, while FIU and South Alabama lost one each in men's basketball.

As if that wasn't tough enough on the league, the NCAA came down like a ton of bricks on FIU today, putting the school on probation for four years for rules violations. FIU will now be on probation until May 19, 2012.

The following is a link to the Associated Press story:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=3385865

One of the Mean Green faithful posted a comment -- make that a question -- on the blog today, and since we encourage that sort of interactive activity here on the Mean Green Blog, I thought I would try to answer.

The question had to do with the scholarship penalties UNT suffered as the result of its APR score and why other schools with lower scores were not penalized or penalized as harshly.

To tell you the truth I had the same questions when it came to how the penalties were handed out, so I went to the man with the best handle on how the process works that I know of -- Daryl Simpson, UNT's director of compliance.

Simpson said that there are a number of ways that schools can appeal the penalties they receive.

One way in which a school can appeal penalties is through a chart that takes an athletic department's APR score and estimates the graduation rate that score equates to. The APR is based on an athletic department's ability to keep athletes in school and eligible. If the graduation rate based on a school's APR score is 10 percent above the school's overall graduation rate that school will not be penalized by the NCAA.

That rule doesn't help UNT because the school has a high graduation rate for its general student body.

Another rule that can get a school out of hot water is based on its funding level. If a school can prove that it is under funded, it can avoid penalties.

That rule doesn't help UNT because it is in a good financial situation compared to some other schools out there.

Schools can also appeal individual student's cases. UNT went this direction in basketball because it only needed one more point to get to 925 only to be denied.

Schools can also appeal based on the progress they have made toward reaching the APR benchmark and improving their academic program. UNT appealed its football penalty based on the investment it has made in an academic center and academic personnel dedicated to athletics. The NCAA didn't rule in UNT's favor on that one either.

So when it comes down to it, UNT has a lot going for it in terms of the graduation rate of its student body, the funding it has to work with and has had good APR scores in the past.

Most of the time those assets are something to sell. This time it ended up being what did UNT in.

Post your thoughts on the blog. How much will these penalties hurt UNT?

There will be a story in tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle that will go over where UNT stands after the release of the NCAA's APR report.

Here is a quick and important point: UNT will take its scholarship penalties next season through attrition. In other words, the Mean Green will have 80 players on scholarship in the fall instead of 85. Five players who were scheduled to come back, but have since left due to injuries or other factors will not be replaced with another scholarship player.

UNT will still have a full allotment of scholarships to give in its next recruiting class, although with only a handful of seniors on the team, it could be a small group.

UNT will not fill its final open basketball scholarship for its 2008 class.

UNT has just released full details of its performance on the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate report.

As we reported in the Denton Record-Chronicle yesterday, the men's basketball team will lose one scholarship.

UNT took a far bigger hit in football with five scholarships lost. For more, check back on the blog and tomorrow's edition of the paper.

The UNT men's basketball team will lose a scholarship today when the NCAA releases its annual Academic Progress Rate report, a source close to the situation has told the Denton Record-Chronicle.

The APR measures a school's ability to keep its athletes in school and eligible. Each team is also rated on an individual basis. There will be a story in tomorrow's edition of the paper that goes through the specifics of how the APR works, but the general formula is each athlete earns a point for remaining in school and another for remaining eligible. Programs are not penalized as long as they earn 92.5 percent of the possible points. Players who transfer out while ineligible are particularly costly for programs with smaller rosters because those programs lose two points on the basis of one player's actions.

UNT has already used three of the four scholarships it is supposed to have for its 2008 recruiting class. The fourth will now go unused.

UNT head coach Johnny Jones went on record when he announced his three-man class that includes Paris JC forward Eric Tramiel, Arkansas-Fort Smith point guard Dominique Johnson and Arlington Grace Prep forward Ben Knox that he believes he had addressed all of his team's needs in recruiting.

UNT essentially lost a spot it could have used on a high school player to develop for the future.

The tough part about the APR hit for UNT is that Jones does a great job of keeping the players who stick with him on track to graduate. Calvin Watson and Kendrick Davis graduated and a host of other players, including Ben Bell and Rich Young are about to earn their degrees.

The problem with the APR is that if a player decides to transfer and slacks on his academic commitment, he can hurt the program he is leaving. That turned out to be the case with the UNT men’s basketball team.

UNT did very well as a whole a year ago when all of its programs met the APR standards after the NCAA made its final adjustments. Tomorrow we will find out how the athletic department did this year.

A source close to the situation has told the Denton Record-Chronicle that new UNT women's basketball coach Shanice Stephens has settled on her first two assistant coaches.

They are former Wichita State assistant coach Erika Lang-Montgomery and Wiley College coach Johnetta Hayes.

Lang-Montgomery has more than a decade of experience as an assistant on the Division I level, while Hayes is a younger coach and Houston native who graduated from Rice.

The following are links to their bios from their last jobs. Post your thoughts on both on the blog.

http://www.goshockers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=61202&SPID=2852&DB_OEM_ID=7500&ATCLID=639710&Q_SEASON=2007

http://www.wileyc.edu/athletics/teams.asp?SportTypeID=4&SportYear=2008

I did a little double-checking on the way the contract for new UNT women's basketball coach Shanice Stephens is written this afternoon. It didn't make a whole lot of sense that Stephens would receive a five percent pay increase on Sept. 1 before she had coached a game, even though that is the way the contract is written.

My suspicions were correct. That raise will kick in after Stephens completes her first year on the job.

The former Clemson associate head coach's contract includes a base salary of $137,500 and a $15,000 stipend for appearing on UNT's coaches' radio show for a grand total of 152,500 for her first year.

She will also receive a courtesy car.

There will be a story in tomorrow's paper that runs through the numbers again and will also include some figures the guys over at the Bowling Green Daily News provided me about what Mary Taylor Cowles earned while leading the Hilltoppers to the conference's regular season and tournament titles last season.