For the past few years, North Texas fans have been keeping a close eye on lesser division athletics programs within the state of Texas. The threat of someone PASSING US BY is everywhere.

Texas State-San Marcos is enjoying recent 1-AA playoff success and renovating their already impressive stadium. UT-San Antonio hired national championship winning head coach Larry Coker to launch a new football program. And Westlake High School may have been angling to steal our head coach away (better luck next year, Westlake… Seriously.)

But the greatest threat on the horizon is Lamar University. Located in beautiful Beaumont, Lamar has already left the Mean Green in the dust. Not because of their get-it-done Athletics Director. Not because of their successful initiative to re-start the Cardinals football program for the first time in 20 years. Not because of the outpouring of financial support from their big donor fans.  Not because of their dedicated effort to drum up community support and local interest.

It’s none of those things. And North Texas fans who are jealous of Lamar’s significantly lower operating budget or their plum 1-AA conference affiliation are right to be paranoid about our precarious position at the bottom of the 1-A football ladder.

Because while our football program is almost tops in the NCAA in APR penalties, Lamar is putting the rest of our athletics department to shame. Looking at their APR report, Lamar already has FOUR PROGRAMS under penalty for academic noncompliance! We only have the one!

Lamar has already PASSED US BY in institutional academic failure!! And their football team doesn’t even start playing until 2010!!!

The threat is very, very real. If we don’t take swift, decisive action… The consequences for our entire athletic program could be dire. We need to start pressuring volleyball players to stay out late, drink heavily, and sleep in through class. If you know any swimmers or divers, try to steal their textbooks or sabotage their coursework. Anyone who sees the track team practicing… Aim some rocks at their heads.

Act now, people. And pray it’s not too late for us to catch up.