The University of North Texas is bracing for a fight, not on the field, but in the high-stakes world of coaching retention. With Arkansas zeroing in on Eric Morris as one of its top candidates to replace Sam Pittman, powerful UNT boosters have launched an aggressive fundraising push to keep their rising star in Denton.
Veteran North Texas beat reporter Brett Vito, who has covered the program for more than 25 years, revealed that multiple influential boosters have gone on the record confirming their efforts to fortify the program’s financial defenses. Their target? Accumulating enough donor firepower to fend off interest from two major programs: Oklahoma State and Arkansas.
And the push isn’t theoretical, momentum is building.
A Regional Tug-of-War With Arkansas in Mind
While North Texas and Arkansas aren’t rivals on the field, there’s a territorial pride element at play. The Mean Green don’t want to see their coach walk a few hours east to take over a program that, while historically proud, is currently deep in a rebuild.
The feeling around Denton is clear: If Morris leaves, it should be for a perennial top-15 or top-20 job, not a rebuilding SEC program with an unstable donor alignment and inconsistent administrative backing.
North Texas’ Plan: Pay Big to Keep Morris Home
UNT leadership has reportedly given its athletic department full permission to offer Morris whatever it can legitimately assemble: salary, staffing pool, NIL support, revenue-sharing considerations, in order to keep building the momentum he’s generated.
Based on current fundraising projections, North Texas is prepared to offer:
- A package that would make Morris the highest-paid coach in the AAC
- A salary more than triple his current compensation
- A national top-tier Group of Five coaching package
- Expanded resources for assistants, support staff, and NIL operations
Booster Dillon Lovelace, son of longtime donor Don Lovelace, summed it up clearly to Vito:
"“Morris deserves a compensation package — including revenue sharing, NIL money, assistant and support staff pay, and his salary — that ranks at the top of the Group of Five nationally. He deserves a package that will make it very difficult for him to leave Denton for places other than a perennial Top 15–20 job.”"Dillon Lovelace
Why Staying at UNT Might Be More Attractive Than Arkansas
Unlike at Arkansas, where the donor landscape is fractured, North Texas boosters appear unified and eager to invest heavily in the football program. That cohesion creates a powerful pitch that could make it hard for Morris to leave for anything but the best of the best scenario.
At UNT, Morris could be the highest-paid coach in his conference by a wide margin. In the SEC, he’d be near the bottom of the financial hierarchy, surrounded by richer, more resource-loaded competitors. The odds of winning 10+ games are far higher in the AAC than at Arkansas.
North Texas sees an opportunity to become the next Group of 5 powerhouse with great recruiting backgrounds. As one of the AAC’s top program, UNT could frequently position itself as the Group of Five’s New Year’s Six representative, with a realistic shot at future 12-team playoff berths and even more opportunity with the talk of CFP expansion on the horizon.
For Morris, the sell from Denton is simple: Stay here, be a giant, and build something special until the right fit comes his way or jump into the SEC grinder where success is uncertain and the patience for rebuilding is limited.
Arkansas Faces an Uphill Battle
Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek is serious about Morris. But he’ll be walking into a battle that UNT’s boosters have already begun fighting with open wallets and strategic urgency.
The Razorbacks offer SEC prestige and a massive stage, but their recent instability, on the field and in the donor suite, makes the pitch harder. Meanwhile, UNT is presenting Morris with the chance to become the wealthiest coach in the AAC and a program-defining figure in a rapidly evolving Group of Five landscape.
As the Razorbacks ramp up their coaching search, North Texas is making one thing abundantly clear:
If Arkansas wants Eric Morris, they’re going to have to pay up and fight harder than they expected.