The Sun Belt arms race
7:47 PM Fri, Feb 11, 2011
Brett Vito
North Texas is building a new $78 million football stadium. It sounds like Troy is going to come pretty close to keeping pace by building a new end zone facility for what might be the nicest stadium in the Sun Belt at this point. I was told the last time I was out there that plans would be unveiled this spring some time.
And don't forget, Troy is also getting out of what amounts to the high school gym it plays in now to move into a new area that is already under construction.
Middle Tennessee just got a $1 million donation to renovate its women's basketball offices for by far and away the Sun Belt Conference's best team in that sport.
Western Kentucky recently expanded its football stadium.
Florida Atlantic is building a new stadium.
Florida International has a new stadium in place. And no, recruits don't care what the press box looks like or where the visiting radio team broadcasts from. If you don't believe me, check out the class FIU just signed.
UNT also recently picked up a $1 million donation for facilities.
And today, Louisiana-Monroe announced it is ... drum roll please ... building a 23 feet tall by 49 feet wide video board at Malone Stadium.
Give Monroe credit. The school has one of the smallest budgets among FBS programs, but it's trying.
What I find interesting is the bigger picture here. There is a lot of money being spent around the Sun Belt these days.
I have noted several time just how much money UNT is throwing at the big pink elephant in the room that is its football program. There's no doubt it will help, but I wouldn't expect the rest of the Sun Belt to just sit back and concede anything.
A lot of schools are investing. That will be good for the long-term health of the Sun Belt, and it certainly will give UNT some competition down the line.
I was talking with a UNT booster the other day about what UNT has to sell in football and whether or not it will put UNT at the top of the league when it comes to what it has to sell to recruits. That new stadium and the athletic center will be nice.
I just wouldn't discount every other school in the league and what it's doing to enhance its resume, especially schools like FIU and Troy.
At this point, they have the one big selling point that UNT doesn't in football. Those schools have won football games, championships and bowl games. Plus Troy sends a ton of guys to the NFL.
UNT is definitely in the Sun Belt arms race, but it's still that -- a race that seems to be heating up daily, one replay board at a time.
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