North Texas athletics director Rick Villarreal has a clear-cut opinion about NCAA's proposal to heighten the minimum standards for participation in Division I-A and he's not afraid to share it.

	North Texas and running back Kevin Galbreath hung tough with Oklahoma, the defending national champion, in a 37-10 loss last season.

He explains how the new standards would stunt the growth of many athletic programs nationwide. He outlines the budgetary crisis many schools currently face because of the country's economic free-fall and how the modifications would arrive at the worst possible time. And he summarizes the dilemma many lower-tier Division I-A schools grapple with: stacking a football schedule with "payday" road games against ranked opponents or formulating a cushy slate that would drain the school's prestige.

After pausing to catch his breath, Villarreal then states exactly what he's going to do about all this: "All we're saying is tell us the rules and we'll meet them. That's all you have to do."

North Texas is one of many Division I-A programs that currently do not meet the proposed requirements. The school boasts only 15 varsity sports, one shy of the proposed minimum. And despite winning the Sun Belt Conference title in the league's inaugural football season, the Mean Green football team drew just 13,248 fans a game in four contests at Fouts Field. North Texas played host for a fifth home game against Texas Tech at Texas Stadium in front of 20,853 fans. Still, overall attendance fell just shy of the NCAA's proposed condition of 15,000 per game.

For North Texas, a program that dipped into Division I-AA from 1983-1994, remaining in Division I-A has added importance. And while the school's shortcomings concern Villarreal, the first-year athletics director has every intention of sticking around.

North Texas will introduce another varsity sport and 12 more athletic scholarships before 2003, Villarreal said. In addition, the school is conducting a $38 million renovation of Fouts Field and is negotiating a naming rights plan for the stadium.

While Villarreal said he firmly believes North Texas will "draw 15,000 easily" next season, he has something else on his mind -- selling tickets for the New Orleans Bowl. North Texas plays Colorado State in New Orleans on Dec. 18. It is the first postseason appearance for North Texas since 1959, when it took on New Mexico State in the Sun Bowl.

The school has sold approximately 5,000 of its allotted 8,500 tickets for the New Orleans Bowl, according to Ron Maestri, executive director of the bowl. In order to bolster fan interest, North Texas has created several cost-efficient bowl packages for fans, one of which includes a roundtrip bus ride to New Orleans, two nights in a hotel and a game ticket for only $130.

	By the numbers
	Requirements	Proposal	North Texas
	Football scholarships	76.5	80
	Home games vs. I-A opp.	5	5
	Avg. home attendance	15,000	14,769
	Total varsity sports	16	15
	Minimum for men/women	6/8	6/9
	Total athletic scholarships	200	201
	Scholarship budget	$4 million	N/A

Villarreal also has decreased his expenses by busing the school band to the Crescent City. He estimates the total cost of the bowl will be around $300,000, of which the Sun Belt Conference pays $200,000.

While the possible changes in Division I-A eligibility requirements are a major concern for North Texas, Villarreal points to the New Orleans Bowl as an opportunity for the school to prove its merit.

"The only thing that was bad timing with the bowl was that six months ago we were trying to build a fan base, and we haven't had enough time to put that in place," he said. "We don't have those addresses and phone numbers of people to sell tickets to for the future. We simply don't have the fan base that I firmly believe we'll have eventually."

The challenge of promoting North Texas extends to the bowl organizers and Sun Belt officials, who have been scrutinized for allowing a 5-6 squad into the postseason. While the Mean Green's five victories do not qualify them for a bowl game, the Sun Belt member schools voted before the season to send the league champion to New Orleans at all costs.

"We've got a champion," Maestri remarks. "See how many games outside the BCS have a champion playing. And North Texas is ecstatic. Now for me to tell you that we're going to get 4,000 fans or 10,000 fans from them, I don't know. ... I hope we pack the place, but if we don't, we're not going to cry about it."

Upon return from New Orleans, North Texas will turn its attention to NCAA's proposal.

The rule changes could impact the Mean Green's football recruiting, which is currently in full swing. The chance of North Texas falling from Division I-A would most likely weigh on recruits' minds as they trim down their list of colleges.

But North Texas head coach Darrell Dickey said the possible setback has not been a factor.

"(Recruits) don't pay as much attention to that as they do to other things," Dickey said. "We've told them up front that we'll do whatever it takes to be in Division I-A. ... It might be in some of their minds, but it hasn't been brought up to me at all."

Now in his fourth year at North Texas, Dickey said the school's Division I-A status always has been a concern, but the issue had never emerged during meetings with recruits.

Sophomore quarterback Scott Hall said the program's eligibility did not cross his mind during the recruitment process. Hall added that he chose North Texas because it was the only Division I-A school that wanted him to play under center.

Although Hall has no intentions of transferring because of the school's possible demotion, he said a drop to Division I-AA would hinder the program's recent progress.

"We've made several great strides, and it would certainly be a big step backward toward what we're trying to accomplish," he said.

While the Mean Green's football recruiting may be unaffected by the league's proposal, scheduling is a different story. Like many programs in danger of losing elite status, North Texas has had to avoid "payday" road games and focus on bringing elite programs to play at Fouts Field.

The major flaw with North Texas' previous athletics administration was packing the nonconference football schedule with revenue-boosting road games that usually led to lopsided losses, Villarreal said. He then admitted his preliminary 2002 slate included possible road games at Texas, Baylor, Alabama, Texas Christian and Arizona.

"You can no longer go out and just get big checks for playing BCS schools," Sun Belt associate commissioner Tom Burnett said. "You have to find a way to play home games that are financially equal to playing BCS teams in September."

The Mean Green's schedule has been "moved around," in large part because of the NCAA's recent proposal. Villarreal confirmed that the school already has penciled in the required five Division I-A home games through the 2004 season. Other items on next year's agenda are acquiring a substantial television deal and boosting season-ticket sales.

More than 30 programs are at risk of losing their Division I-A eligibility, but North Texas officials say they don' plan to be a victim of the system.

"They can't say that since there are 85-year-old programs with great histories, nobody else can join," Villarreal said. "That's like saying McDonalds and Burger King are the only ones allowed to sell hamburgers."

Adam Rittenberg is a regular contributor to ESPN.com