Rivalries...
One of the complaints, concerns, for us has been a lack of a genuine rival, or rivals. We know that the UL-Xs want to be our rivals, and in one measure, they are. But, they do not measure up and they are both relegated to our past. Our time in the Big West and then the WAC left us on a geographical island, and with the ever-changing membership....especially the loss of the EWAC...we were never able to develop a proper rivalry. Yeah, we despised Nevada, Hawaii, Boazy, and especially Fresno, but no real rivalry developed beyond the obvious struggle for the conference title.
USM has become a rivalry, of sorts. Not sure how the Mustard Buzzards see it, but from my POV, they have become a rival, beyond the importance of the game regarding who wins the West Division of CUSA.
Now...here is UNT. We don't have much of a history with UNT, back to their days as North Texas State, even though we shared conference membership at times, like in the old Southland Conference. But, this is now and I see us sharing conference membership with UNT for the foreseeable future. I had thought, and still think, there can be some "angst" between us and UTSA. We've already seen some bad blood....mostly because they are punk thugs. But, simply not liking someone is not grounds to establish a rivalry.
A rival, to me, has two key components:
1) You don't like them.
2) You respect them.
And, you only respect them when they best you on the field of competition, fair and square. When you know they will always be a "tough nut to crack" no matter what kind of seasons both sides are having. And when they achieve success beyond what they do in direct competition with you. In other words, they develop a resume' on their own merit...not merely being a thorn in your side.
Is UNT a "rivalry" in the making? It has that potential.