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Facilities

Postby Mickey » Sat Jun 30, 2001 9:09 pm

Went by SMU this week and couldn't believe what I saw. Whoever is in charge of facilities should be fired.

1. Inside the stadium, there are grassless areas bordering the playing field because black mesh tarps were left on the grass for several weeks.

2. SOCCER CAMPS are being conducted inside the stadium!!!!!!!!!

3. The football practice fields are thread bare in several areas because the fields have been used for practice by the M and W soccer teams, and they are now being used for soccer camps. The soccer coaches have no interest in maintaining the football practice fields, only the soccer fields. I saw a girls camp running drills on the same area of the field for a week. Coach Vander Linden (sp?) didnt even have enough sense to move to a different part of the fields to save wear and tear. He obviously doesn't care.

4. The football training equipment on the pracice fields have not been stored since last August. This means that the equipment has been exposed to the elements for about a year. There is ample room to store the equipment in Ford.

If the budget is as tight as I have heard, it would be wise to extend the life of the fields and equipment with the proper maintenance.

If SMU wants to be a major college program, it should have major college policies. I would suggest that soccer practices and camps be conducted on the soccer fields not on the football fields and cetainly not in the stadium. The way it is now, Cavan gets to tell his recruits that the football team will have to share its practice facilities with women's and men's soccer teams.

The revenue sports ( football and mens basketball)should have top priority. They should not have to share facilitites with the minor sports.

The intramural fields should be for intramurals (unless the football team needs them in an emergency), the soccer fields for soccer, and the football practice fields for football. The stadium should only be used by the football team, and mainly for games with the exception of a few random work outs and scrimmages.

TOh yeah, before someone says that these are only practice fields and I am an idiot, they have already roped off the bad areas on the field so that no one can use it. If it is only a practice field then why bother to even do this.

I wonder if TCU football has to share its prctice fields with the soccer teams.

Wake up Copeland.
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Re: Facilities

Postby ponytalk » Sat Jun 30, 2001 10:26 pm

I am not disagreeing with you by any means. I think you are correct, especially about the field inside Ford.

But FYI, Schellas Hydamen (sp) has had some big offers to leave SMU and each time he has negotiated with Copeland and part of him staying is that the soccer teams get to use those practice fields a certain amount of time a year. I don't think an occasional soccer practice is harmful, but soccer camps? That is ridiculous. Who is using the intramural right now? Why cant they have the camps there?
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Re: Facilities

Postby Mickey » Sun Jul 01, 2001 2:37 pm

pony talk,

Thanks for your response. I have talked to several peolple lately on this issue and have even more disturbing news. Apparently the M and W soccer teams practice year round on Pettus Fields. I was told that in the off season the soccer coaches merely give the players the keys to the Pettus Fields to practice on their own without any coaching supervision. I can't understand why during the off seaon thay cannot practice at Wescott Field. The reason is that the soccer coaches don't want excessive use at Wescott Field, but they sure don't mind overusing Pettus Fields.

During soccer season, I have been told that the M soccer team practices every morning and the W soccer team practices every evening after the football team. This has led to overuse just like what occured on the intra-mural fields, which by the way has never recovered from the beating taken that first year after installation.

Like you, I also don't mind occaisional soccer practices on the football practice fields, but year round and twice daily during the season is not justifiable.

Regarding soccer camps. When I went by last week, there must have been 10 goals on the Pettus Fields and goals on the field inside of Ford as well. I am willing to bet my house that these goals have not been moved yet. The soccer camps can move the goals onto the Pettus Fields, but they can't take them off! That is how fields get overused, grass dies, and fields get ruined.

Regarding Coach Hyndmann (sp). He has a great gig at SMU. It will be very difficult for him to find a better siutation. Unlike SMU, the other D-1 schools don't give a lot of resources to soccer programs. FB and MBB always get the top priority because they are the major sports that generate revenue to help support the minor sports like soccer. I understand that most of the proceeds generated from SMU soccer camps go to the soccer staff and the soccer camp directors. I am talking BIG $$$. I promise that a soccer camp in Dallas will draw significantly more kids than a camp in South Bend. The M and W each have 3 camps during the summer and I would guess that at least 200 kids attend each of these camps. That is 1200 kids each summer. How much revenue does this generate? You do the math.

I also understand that the FB team is conducting off season agility workouts on the field at Ford because they can't get on the Pettus Fields. Apparently the eastern most field (the main practice field) has been cordoned off on the northern half of the field because of over use. This has forced the FB team to practice in Ford. This will only lead to overuse of the Ford field. By the way, the FB team was working out on the track and on Wescott Field, but they had to move because of complaints from the soccer coaches about tearing up Wescott Field with football drills. Incidentally, I have heard thet the football workouts are going great and are significantly more intense under Faucett than under Jost. Supposedly, Faucett has several strength coaches interning under him and on some days they have eight strength coaches supervising drills.

The soccer teams have NO interest in supporting FB and even have an adversarial attitude toward FB. The S coaches insist on using the Pettus Fields, yet have no desire in reciprocating nor in helping maintain Pettus Fields.

Regarding the football camps. There has been a lot written lately about the recruiting benefits of football camps. SI, the Sporting News, and summer football magazines have all written on this subject. This is the first year that SMU has really had a football camp because they never had the facilities in the past. I understand that the response from the campers this year has been FANTASTIC.

Cavan supposedly tried to have a camp last year but had no field as the Pettus Fields were not completed at the time. Last year's camp was held at Wescott Field, but it was so restricted that it was not that succesful. The soccer coaches insisted that they run only minimal drills, and did not allow the camp to utilize sleds and dummies and other football training eqpt. Lets see, soccer can use the football fields, but football can't use the soccer fields.

I support soccer. My kids play soccer. I have been to soccer games and they don't even draw 4 figures in attendance. I have been to many games where there were only 2 figures in attendance. At $3 a ticket, little concession revenue, and no parking receipts, soccer cannot be considered a revenue sport, nor will it ever have the potential to be a revenue sport.

Had the BCA game not been screwed up, SMU would have had a chance to earn a $1Million pay check with a % of the gate and a % of the concessions. That is easily more than the soccer programs have made accumulatively since their entire existence at SMU. Even though the BCA game didn't happen, I only mention this as an illustration as to what a solid D1 FB program means as a source of revenue.

In order to get out of this presnent budget crunch, SMU has got to start generating crowds at the FB and MBB games. To do this, we have to get our priorities straight. I have had people ask me about SMU, but I have never had anyone outside of Dallas ask how the soccer team is doing. This shows you what people are interested in.

Final question- Do the other D1 football programs have to share fields with the soccer programs. I know they don't at TCU and NTSU.

Ford, Pettus and other should be asking Copeland about the misappropiation of money and priorities.
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Re: Facilities

Postby Guest » Sun Jul 01, 2001 3:33 pm

I agree with everything that has been said over the soccer situation. By the way, it's Van Linder.

The field equipment that you are talking about is either too heavy, not worth the effort because the piece is already crappy, or it is all weather and there is no need.

The budget crisis is simple. Turner made a 22 million dollar mistake, and athletics has to pay for it. While he could go to the board of regents and get the money that the entire school needs, Turner does not have the cojonase, spelling? to admit he made that mistake. He knows it would mean his job.
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Re: Facilities

Postby SMUPonyFan » Sun Jul 01, 2001 3:49 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by M-MAVERICK:
<B>The budget crisis is simple. Turner made a 22 million dollar mistake, and athletics has to pay for it. While he could go to the board of regents and get the money that the entire school needs, Turner does not have the cojonase, spelling? to admit he made that mistake. He knows it would mean his job.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


I am starting a new topic on this...see "Budget and Turner" topic.


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Re: Facilities

Postby PK » Mon Jul 02, 2001 12:02 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Mickey:
<B>I understand that most of the proceeds generated from SMU soccer camps go to the soccer staff and the soccer camp directors. I am talking BIG $$$
</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

From what I read in the DMN last week, unlike most schools where the summer camps mean big bucks for the coaches, at SMU the camp proceeds are going into the Athletic Department coffers. Whether or not this applies to all the soccer camps or not I don't know. I know we all want a much much better football program, but let's not start tearing down and criticizing the sucessfull programs we do have. Part of the reason for having a varied athletic program is the same as the reason for having a varied academic program...to make the college experience a well rounded one. I agree though that it sounds like the facilities management could use some work.

The soccer program is one of the main reasons we are rated in the top 30 of colleges in the Sear's Cup. I know some don't think much of the Sear's Cup, but if you look, we are in good company...a better football program would raise our status even more!! That's not bad for a small private university!!
SMU's first president, Robert S. Hyer, selected Harvard Crimson and Yale Blue as SMU's colors to symbolize SMU's high academic standards. We are one of the few Universities to have school colors with real meaning...and we just blow them off.
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Re: Facilities

Postby Mickey » Mon Jul 02, 2001 4:20 pm

PK

Thanks for your response.

Good question. Are the camp proceeds going to the Athletic Department or the specific program? I think most of the money generated is going to the specific sport.

I was not criticizing soccer. I support soccer, but the revenue sports should get top priority. Even though soccer is our most successful sport, it does not generate any revenue, nor does it generate much interest from the public.

The Pettus Fields should be for football. Wescott Field should be for soccer. Ford Stadium should be used for football games unless it is anextraordinary event like Soccer Final Four which will occur at Ford this fall.

If more fields are needed for the football and soccer fields, the intra-mural fields should be used. Additionally, my kids have attended college camps where the campers were transported every day to auxillary sights such as city parks, grade schools, jr. highs, and high schools. Why can't SMu use auxillary sights? This applies to basketball gyms for basketball as well.

You are right, we have a facilities management problem. Hence, the various sports have to cooperate with other. I dont't think soccer is doing that. They do not need to practice on Pettus or Ford fields and not allow the football team to practice on Wescott.

Again, Ford and Pettus for football. Wescott for soccer. Auxillary sights for camps as needed.
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Re: Facilities

Postby Water Pony » Mon Jul 02, 2001 4:36 pm

PK is right on. Being negative on other programs, serves no purpose. If we get to the point that all must defer to FB and MBB, then we will lose what makes SMU a quality school with the right balance for Student Athletes, alumni and friends. Strong Football and Basketball with good non-revenue sports are not incompatiable. Look at Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Texas, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Michigan, etc.
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Re: Facilities

Postby ponytalk » Mon Jul 02, 2001 5:17 pm

in response to the above posts:

56 million dollars was donated for a football stadium and facilities. The world is not fair, and I am sorry to the soccer teams, but the money went toward a football practice field. If someone wanted to donate some fields for soccer they would have. Sorry guys, but football should get the priority if that is what the donors put the money towards.
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Re: Facilities

Postby Mickey » Mon Jul 02, 2001 6:34 pm

Water Pony:

I am not being negative on the other programs. I want them to be strong and they do add a lot to the student athletics. However, the two revenue sports (FB and MBB)are the only two sports that have a chance of generating revenue that can support the other sports. These sports also get the most notoriety from the general public.

Right, look at Stanford, Duke, NU, UT, Tenn, ND, Michigan, they are pretty damn competitive in FB and MBB. I can assure you that FB and MBB get top priority at those schools, and as such are able to help subsidize the non revenue sports.

We agree. SMU needs to be highly ranked in the Sears Cup every year. The non revenue sports are important, but not on an equal footing with FB and MBB. I am only pointing this out because soccer teams should not be allowed to utilize facilities designated for FB. I bet the FB teams at Stanford, UT, Duke, NU, Tenn, ND, Michigan, etc. dont share facilities with the soccer teams. Cavan needs to recruit and say that Pettus Field is where you will practice for the next 4-5 years, and it will be exclusively for football.

They built Wescott for soccer. The FB team doesn't use Wescott, so the soccer team doesn't need to use Ford or Pettus. The money for Ford and Pettus was for FOOTBALL.
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