Got this from DD's site. Don't know the exact source. If UNT is willing to lose out on a $500K payday that represents a large portion of their revenue for the season---and it sounds like they are---then why can't LSU, recipient of a flood of cash just from increased merchandising revenues after the 2003 national title, "tighten the belt" a little and give the damn team a fighting chance to go 10-0 this season? Simply put, a UNT game on Oct 29 means 9 games in 9 weeks. Not even mighty "three-peat" contender USC could make that run unscathed. UNT sets deadline on LSU. North Texas athletic director Rick Villarreal has set a Thursday deadline to reschedule the postponed game with No. 5 LSU. As of Tuesday, he said finding a solution is a 50-50 proposition. Two plans are being considered for the Sept. 3 game postponed because of Hurricane Katrina, and each requires help from other schools. Plan A called for UNT to play in Baton Rouge, La., on Oct. 29. The game against Louisiana-Monroe, scheduled for Oct. 29, would be played Nov. 19, and Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette would move their Nov. 19 game to Nov. 26. The flaw in that plan? Monroe would have back-to-back open weeks in October. Plan B also called for UNT to play LSU on Oct. 29 while moving the Monroe game to Oct. 22 and a road game at Louisiana Tech to Nov. 19. That idea was complicated by news that Tulane, displaced from its New Orleans campus and the Superdome, will relocate to Louisiana Tech, in Ruston. "That might have been a possibility yesterday, might not be today," Villarreal said. "If this had been five months ago, we probably could have gotten something done. The right thing to do is try to move the game." UNT is due a $500,000 payday for playing at LSU, a giant piece of the athletic department budget. It's a shortfall Villarreal is prepared to face. "I'm not going to go play Dec. 12 just to make the budget work," Villarreal said. "If we have to tighten our belts a little bit to get around this, that's something we'll do."
No doubt, tighten the belt and forget this scrimmage, unless the App. State game doesn't count, which would mean a potentially 9-0 season.
I just don't see LSU letting this home game get away, if there is one thing that drives this administration more than anything, it's home game money. If we don't play, it'll be because of UNT's AD/admin, not ours.
North Texas athletic director Rick Villarreal has set a Thursday deadline to reschedule the postponed game with No. 5 LSU. As of Tuesday, he said finding a solution is a 50-50 proposition. It doesn't sound to me like NT is very committed to finding a solution. :dis:
That's what I was thinking. I suggest the UNT AD visit campus for a day and see what Skip's dealing with.
I still haven't googled this up article yet. Are we sure this is an acurate statement? And is the deadline today or next thursday?
The reason the deadline was set is that NT had to finalize plans for Homecoming on Oct, 29th and we needed time to make changes if needed. Louisiana Monroe is the team that is holding up this deal. NT is more than happy to move our Homecoming game and play at LSU on Oct 29. NT has already moved games twice this year to accomodate fellow SunBelt members but when we need some help from our conference mates they are not so willing to help. Football: UNT-LSU reschedule nearly done Details for game to be finalized by this morning 09:16 AM CDT on Friday, September 9, 2005 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer North Texas is finalizing a deal that would allow the Mean Green to reschedule their game against LSU, UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said. “We are working out the last details and will know by morning,” Villarreal said Thursday night. “We have everyone on the same page and are waiting on the last phone call. It’s a matter of dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s.” Villarreal declined comment on the exact scenario that would allow UNT to play its game against the Tigers that was scheduled for Sept. 3. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina forced the teams to postpone the game. UNT has considered multiple solutions to reschedule the game, including the following changes: * UNT and LSU would reschedule their game for Oct. 29. * UNT would move its game against ULM to Nov. 19, a bye week for the Mean Green. * ULM would then push back its game against Louisiana-Lafayette from Nov. 19 to Nov. 26. The problem with that scenario is that it would leave ULM with back-to-back open weeks. ULM athletic director Bobby Staub said he is hesitant to make the change because of the effect it would have on his team. A second plan mentioned could have UNT play LSU on Oct. 29, ULM on Oct. 22 and Louisiana Tech on Nov. 19. Villarreal originally set a Thursday deadline for LSU the game to be rescheduled. That deadline was pushed back, but all of the teams involved want to get the deal done as soon as possible. “We hoped we would have had this done, but we’ve run into a couple of challenges,” said Dan Radakovich, a senior associate athletic director at LSU. “It’s something that we are working feverishly to finish up because time is of the essence.” LSU already has lost one home date when Saturday’s game against Arizona State was moved from Baton Rouge, La., to Tempe, Ariz. The loss of the ASU home game only added to the importance of playing the UNT-LSU game in Baton Rouge, to both programs. UNT has signed a $500,000 contract to play the game. LSU was expected to draw a capacity crowd of more than 90,000 and would also receive a financial boost from playing the Mean Green. Villarreal said the game would still be played in Baton Rouge. “We hate that everyone has had to go through this,” Villarreal said. “LSU has already lost one home game and people are going through a lot in Louisiana. To go over there and play a game will be great.”
