RGTurner & MexMustang

[StallionsModelT]

Actually no I think there is going to be further realignment before the next TV renegotiation of the P5 happens --specifically the Big 12 in 2025. That's when we have to be in a position to get added to what might be a left-over Big 12 but with schools like Baylor, TCU, Tech, Kansas St, West Virginia, Houston--maybe Oklahoma St-maybe Kansas and likely UCF, USF, Cincy, Colorado St

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... r-contract

LOL. This article is beyond stupid.

And moreover, attendance is but one metric that will be a part of the equation in any possible realignment. Academics, location, financial commitment, powerful decision-makers, etc. will be equally if not more important than attendance. Oh, and WINNING. We might actually want to try doing that for a chance and before you spew BOWL GAME what I mean by winning is contending for conference championships. All the schools you cited (USF, UCF, Cincinnati, UH, SDSU, Boise,etc.) have had double digit win seasons or won their conference. SMU has not even come close to this. Coach Cliché left the program better than he found it. Hopefully Coach Dykes can get us over the hump and not pound his chest declaring MISSION ACCOMPLISHED in a season where his best win was against North freaking Texas.

[Stallion]

Right all of those long list of schools are ahead of us on the field from the broader perspective plus have more than 8,000 real fans. Where does that leave SMU? Should we send you to the Conference expansion negotiations so you can explain that really SMU fans have all these great excuses dating back 30-even 50 years-why nobody gives a damn about SMU Football. Should go over great!!!

[StallionsModelT]

Right all of those long list of schools are ahead of us on the field from the broader perspective plus have more than 8,000 real fans. Where does that leave SMU? Should we send you to the Conference expansion negotiations so you can explain that really SMU fans have all these great excuses why nobody gives a damn about SMU Football. Should go over great!!!

LOL. 30 years of following one of the ten most putrid college football programs is an EXCUSE. Its a REASON Coach Dodge. Having one of the smallest enrollments of any school playing D1A football isn't an EXCUSE. It is a REASON. Having never even sniffed a conference title since the Reagan administration isn't an EXCUSE. It is a REASON.

It is too bad you are too blinded by your own obsessions to see the truth. We all wish Ford was filled to the brim against teams we have no historic or geographic connection to. That simply is not a reality and will never be one unless we are winning games that matter. Beating North Texas and Arkansas State isn't doing that. That's treading water and honestly no better than anything June Jones did while he was here.

[StallionsModelT]

Right all of those long list of schools are ahead of us on the field from the broader perspective plus have more than 8,000 real fans. Where does that leave SMU? Should we send you to the Conference expansion negotiations so you can explain that really SMU fans have all these great excuses dating back 30-even 50 years-why nobody gives a damn about SMU Football. Should go over great!!!

Memphis had about 15K in the stands with a ranked team when we played them at their home stadium this year. Just give it a rest. Yes our attendance sucks but relative to our conference mates we are doing fine. Try winning games that matter. Chad did that once in three years before callin' the Hogs.

[Stallion]

And when you go explain that EXCUSE---opps-REASON-- to the Big 12 expansion committee they'll politely tell you Thanks You for the wonderful presentation-we think we're going in another direction.

[StallionsModelT]

And when you go explain that EXCUSE---opps-REASON-- to the Big 12 expansion committee they'll politely tell you Thanks You for the wonderful presentation-we think we're going in another direction.

LOL. Who is even talking about the Big 12?! All of those schools have won meaningful games, been in the Top 25, and won or competed for conference titles. They are relevant. The fact that we were even on the periphery of Big 12 expansion speaks to the fact that SMU has some cache out there in the realm that truly matters (college presidents, athletic directors, etc.) UH with over a decade of consistent winning is still sitting right next to SMU that has done absolutely nothing outside of a few seasons of mediocrity. The AAC is a great home for us and the majority of our conference mates. Predicting the demise of the Big 12 has been going on for the last 15 years and its still there. Something tells it'll still be there after 2025. But you go on ahead and blowhard if it makes you feel better I guess.

[Charleston Pony]

We all know our lack of substantial student/alumni support and our inability to attract t-shirt fans from the DFW area has been a problem for SMU and yes, it was a factor in our being left behind when the Big XII was formed and later when they added new members to replace those that bailed on them. That's what the expansion of television in college football has done to us. The problem is that none of us can offer solutions. Those who say "just win and they will come" must not have been around when SMU was winning SWC titles and competing at a national championship level. Even then we had trouble filling Texas Stadium against some opponents. The simple truth is that back then, we had the luxury of our opponents bringing half the fans (or more) for every home game. There aren't many small private schools that can compete with the larger public schools for attendance/interest and when I look at the next round of conference realignment, I think it's pretty easy to see that schools like UCF, USF, Memphis & Houston are probably going to be more attractive than SMU.

Best thing we can do is keep chipping away and hope Sonny can keep some positive momentum in the program. We have some attractive home games (TCU, Houston, Memphis & Navy) that hopefully will draw well but SMU needs to promote the games with HBU & Cincy and dramatically reduce ticket prices to at least try to get decent crowds out for those games. If next year's team can somehow find 6 wins and return to a bowl game, I'm going to remain hopeful SMU football can continue to improve but I do not expect any quick fix like what happened in bball.

[mustangxc]

While Sonny Dykes was not my first choice, I have full confidence in his ability to achieve the same level of success we experienced under June Jones and Chad Morris. I even think he can lead us to 8-9 wins. However, SMU's biggest issue in raising the level of the program to greater heights is attendance. The biggest issue with attendance is our generalized snobby/elitist attitude as perceived by the general public. What can we do to change that? COMMUNITY SERVICE!!! SMU is used to throwing money at its problems, but this is one that requires our full engagement. We need to attract students that are big on community service and engage our alumni to help build equity in the Dallas community. We may even need to pay some of our employees to do outreach in the community. USC was in the lower echelon of the top 50 US News rankings in the late 90s and in 1999 Time Magazine named it the college of the year 2000 due to its amazing efforts in community service in the area surrounding the university which is anything but affluent. As soon as that happened applications spiked and they went from a 50% acceptance rate in 1999 to a 25% acceptance rate the following year. These statistics were quoted to me at an acceptance party hosted in Houston in March of 2000. It will not happen overnight, but if our university makes a big effort to help the Dallas community I am sure we will be able to fill our 32,000 seat stadium for 6 home games each season no matter who the opponent is. Right now Dallas sees us as "them" and we need to change that perception to one of "us".

[Pony81]

Actually no I think there is going to be further realignment before the next TV renegotiation of the P5 happens --specifically the Big 12 in 2025. That's when we have to be in a position to get added to what might be a left-over Big 12 but with schools like Baylor, TCU, Tech, Kansas St, West Virginia, Houston--maybe Oklahoma St-maybe Kansas and likely UCF, USF, Cincy, Colorado St

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... r-contract

LOL. This article is beyond stupid.

And moreover, attendance is but one metric that will be a part of the equation in any possible realignment. Academics, location, financial commitment, powerful decision-makers, etc. will be equally if not more important than attendance. Oh, and WINNING. We might actually want to try doing that for a chance and before you spew BOWL GAME what I mean by winning is contending for conference championships. All the schools you cited (USF, UCF, Cincinnati, UH, SDSU, Boise,etc.) have had double digit win seasons or won their conference. SMU has not even come close to this. Coach Cliché left the program better than he found it. Hopefully Coach Dykes can get us over the hump and not pound his chest declaring MISSION ACCOMPLISHED in a season where his best win was against North freaking Texas.

[mtrout]

It will not happen overnight, but if our university makes a big effort to help the Dallas community I am sure we will be able to fill our 32,000 seat stadium for 6 home games each season no matter who the opponent is. Right now Dallas sees us as "them" and we need to change that perception to one of "us".

Will this work?

Welcome, Dallas

0f41f5bbb2a76a65f8db1190d5cfd064--pony-mustang.jpg (89.92 KiB) Viewed 1969 times

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

If people would just try the experience of our Soirees once...

[1017 Mustang]

While Sonny Dykes was not my first choice, I have full confidence in his ability to achieve the same level of success we experienced under June Jones and Chad Morris. I even think he can lead us to 8-9 wins. However, SMU's biggest issue in raising the level of the program to greater heights is attendance. The biggest issue with attendance is our generalized snobby/elitist attitude as perceived by the general public. What can we do to change that? COMMUNITY SERVICE!!! SMU is used to throwing money at its problems, but this is one that requires our full engagement. We need to attract students that are big on community service and engage our alumni to help build equity in the Dallas community. We may even need to pay some of our employees to do outreach in the community. USC was in the lower echelon of the top 50 US News rankings in the late 90s and in 1999 Time Magazine named it the college of the year 2000 due to its amazing efforts in community service in the area surrounding the university which is anything but affluent. As soon as that happened applications spiked and they went from a 50% acceptance rate in 1999 to a 25% acceptance rate the following year. These statistics were quoted to me at an acceptance party hosted in Houston in March of 2000. It will not happen overnight, but if our university makes a big effort to help the Dallas community I am sure we will be able to fill our 32,000 seat stadium for 6 home games each season no matter who the opponent is. Right now Dallas sees us as "them" and we need to change that perception to one of "us".

100% this. SMU's issues attracting fans, "top recruits," and even play on the field are endemic to SMU's current culture.

We've peaked as a school and football program with the way we are currently.

[78pony]

Because he's attacking a straw-man in Turner who he blames on multiple SMU boards for every single problem that has ever existed in SMU athletics. Turner really isn't responsible for the W-L record of either the Bowl bound Football team or the NCAA Tournament Basketball team. Turner deserves plenty of blame for taking too long to clear academic barriers that remained until 2008 admittedly but that required changing school administrative regulations, appointing new faculty and leadership and building a brand new College of Education at substantial expenses to the university. He did successfully destroy the last remaining remnants of a long list of academic restraints in the SMU Academic Model which made it impossible for SMU to compete with its natural and traditional rivals.

Turner is responsible for 3 straight great hires in Larry Brown, Chad Morris and Jankovich and now one that quite frankly is rather yawn inducing. I think its fair to say many thought he pulled a coup in signing June Jones-although I personally think they were looking at all the wrong criteria for a successful coach at a private school in Dallas. June Jones is responsible for being a lazy, incompetent recruiter which literally set this program back for half a decade. Now at least SMU seems to be more properly focused on the proper traits that are required to be a successful program in Dallas, Texas.

Turner is responsible for fund raising for school and athletic improvements. Despite the [deleted] he has been quite successful in raising oh I dunno lets throw out $275,000,000 (unadjusted for annual inflation-so much much more in 2017 dollars) for athletic facility improvements since 2000-which is 1/4 of our school endowment. Athletic improvements 1954-2000 essentially nothing worthwhile or worth mentioning.

Turner isn't responsible when only 8,000 fans want to attend our games, he's not responsible for the fact it took 3 years rather than a few months to obtain funding for the IPF. The real problem since 2008 has not been Turner--its been SMU's alumni, family and friends don't care too damn terribly much about College Football. SMU fans are tying our Coaches' hands behind their back in recruiting by their apathetic support of the football team on game day which chases off more top football prospects than you can imagine. The Pony Express never would have existed without Mustang Mania which filled the stands prior to the date they signed their Letters of Intent.

Let’s see. RGT arrived in 1995. Case closed.

[deucetz]

SMU lacks a vision for academic success. We do less with more. We keep up with the other Texas schools beside Rice, which makes us mediocre. Rice is a year younger with no Med school. Stop the excuses. SMU is all Flash no substance.

In terms of football, I may just become a TCU t-shirt football fan during bowl games. At least they don’t embarrass themselves during big games. I hope Sonny does a good job and makes no excuses—air it out, have a staunch defense, and keep a strong run game.

[footballdad]

While Sonny Dykes was not my first choice, I have full confidence in his ability to achieve the same level of success we experienced under June Jones and Chad Morris. I even think he can lead us to 8-9 wins. However, SMU's biggest issue in raising the level of the program to greater heights is attendance. The biggest issue with attendance is our generalized snobby/elitist attitude as perceived by the general public. What can we do to change that? COMMUNITY SERVICE!!! SMU is used to throwing money at its problems, but this is one that requires our full engagement. We need to attract students that are big on community service and engage our alumni to help build equity in the Dallas community. We may even need to pay some of our employees to do outreach in the community. USC was in the lower echelon of the top 50 US News rankings in the late 90s and in 1999 Time Magazine named it the college of the year 2000 due to its amazing efforts in community service in the area surrounding the university which is anything but affluent. As soon as that happened applications spiked and they went from a 50% acceptance rate in 1999 to a 25% acceptance rate the following year. These statistics were quoted to me at an acceptance party hosted in Houston in March of 2000. It will not happen overnight, but if our university makes a big effort to help the Dallas community I am sure we will be able to fill our 32,000 seat stadium for 6 home games each season no matter who the opponent is. Right now Dallas sees us as "them" and we need to change that perception to one of "us".

100% this. SMU's issues attracting fans, "top recruits," and even play on the field are endemic to SMU's current culture.

We've peaked as a school and football program with the way we are currently.

The culture is exactly as you'd expect from an elitist, private institution. The culture is a point of pride, carefully crafted over decades. The culture is what attracts the wealthy students and families, who willingly pay the inflated prices for entry into the private club. Give that up for a few lowly fans and recruits from the Dallas community...