Everybody's Gut feeling about us making a P5 Conference?

[SMUer]

Pretty sure TV money is interested in the 6,500,000 DFW TV sets much more than the 15,000 people we are or aren't packing in Ford. We don't capture any of those eyeballs and I don't find the general fan responsible for that.

[Phxfan]

Well, if SMU can not figure out how to do outreach, then, that is a big deal. How about food banks in the poor side of town, with SMU students and friends giving out food? How about low interest loans or something. If SMU has drifted so far from the UMC, then maybe it is time to end FB. It sounds so self serving, but the UMC was about outreach. It seems like SMU has become separated from what they are supposed to be. YES, a church school. You folks have to figure this out. Are you some elite, out of touch, rich kid school? Are you part of what is left of the UMC? It's really up to you folks to decide. That will decide your FB P5 chances. Dallas is a Southern Baptist, evangelical area. So it probably won't be easy. But life is not easy, nor is FB nor the P5.

[Pony Boss]

That's a really long post with a huge assumption that people will show.

I haven't been around as long as many here (graduated 2003) but nothing I have seen to this point in terms of attendance, general fan interest, or alumni engagement leads me to believe we'll ever consistently draw more than 20k in the best of scenarios unless at least half of that is the other team's fans.

I agree with Stallion that the P5 conferences don't care about the excuses why, they just want butts in seats and season tickets sold.

95-205 from 1989 to 2014. Mention programs with that record that are able to fill 80% of their stadium.

[smupony94]

We will be the Rutgers of the PAC 12

[03Mustang]

Maybe that was the reason for Chad's dance routine

[orguy]

we've never been able to access that Methodist support like Baylor has the Baptist (or Notre Dame the Catholics) probably because we are not closely tied to the denomination like Baylor is. I wish I knew how to access that large potential fanbase-its worth considering a strategy-but its not likely

Used to get about 5-6,000 for Methodist Youth Fellowship Day but I don't think we even have that any more-those could be paying customers in future which is more than I can say about some of our strategies. Get the good people at HP Methodist Church to have their own tail gate area and invite other congregations each week-couldn't hurt none

SMU is not a "church school". Its a secular private school for all practical purposes just like many others: i.e USC, Tulsa, Tulane, Vandy, Creighton etc.

More Catholics at SMU when I was an undergrad than Methodists. A good thing frankly. Diversity is important in higher education. SMU aims to be a multicultural institution whether some on this board agree with that mission or not. If SMU is to improve academically then maybe they ought to take a page from the Vanderbilt playbook and recruit more Jewish students who on average have very high academic indicators as a group. Frankly, I am glad all the fundamentalist Christians in this state view SMU as "liberal". They can all go to EatMEu or Baylor if they want a more faith based experience.

That being said I think its fine anyone identify with SMU football or come to games. Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Mormons, Muslims, Pentecostals, Jews etc. Even heathens like me!

[Stallion]

Oh I know-and I generally agree but we don't have much to fear from Methodism which does not have a fundamentalist tradition. I'd take all the support from Methodist we can get-and we used to have a history of successful MYF support. If HP Methodist wanted to co-op SMU game day I'd say the more-the-merrier

[SMU_Alumni11]

we've never been able to access that Methodist support like Baylor has the Baptist (or Notre Dame the Catholics) probably because we are not closely tied to the denomination like Baylor is. I wish I knew how to access that large potential fanbase-its worth considering a strategy-but its not likely

Used to get about 5-6,000 for Methodist Youth Fellowship Day but I don't think we even have that any more-those could be paying customers in future which is more than I can say about some of our strategies. Get the good people at HP Methodist Church to have their own tail gate area and invite other congregations each week-couldn't hurt none

SMU is not a "church school". Its a secular private school for all practical purposes just like many others: i.e USC, Tulsa, Tulane, Vandy, Creighton etc.

More Catholics at SMU when I was an undergrad than Methodists. A good thing frankly. Diversity is important in higher education. SMU aims to be a multicultural institution whether some on this board agree with that mission or not. If SMU is to improve academically then maybe they ought to take a page from the Vanderbilt playbook and recruit more Jewish students who on average have very high academic indicators as a group. Frankly, I am glad all the fundamentalist Christians in this state view SMU as "liberal". They can all go to EatMEu or Baylor if they want a more faith based experience.

That being said I think its fine anyone identify with SMU football or come to games. Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Mormons, Muslims, Pentecostals, Jews etc. Even heathens like me!

How horrible for "fundamentalists", aka a person who believes in the Bible, would want their school to be more religious. I wish we had more religious traditions like celebration of lights and prayer at the football game than really just those two. I always saw SMU as a moderate institution and conservative compared to the nutcases at the west coast or northeast schools

[03Mustang]

Or the non conference opponent we recently added for next season....

[Pony Boss]

Or the non conference opponent we recently added for next season....

You're a kick in the nuts....lol

[03Mustang]

That was in response to the nutcase comment

[SMU_Alumni11]

Or the non conference opponent we recently added for next season....

Yeah wimpy green gets thrown with the nuts as well! Of course, their accreditation is questionable.

[03Mustang]

Not the one I was talking about

[SMU_Alumni11]

Not the one I was talking about

All the others are good and opposite of nutcases.. Well maybe not TCU

[Phxfan]

we've never been able to access that Methodist support like Baylor has the Baptist (or Notre Dame the Catholics) probably because we are not closely tied to the denomination like Baylor is. I wish I knew how to access that large potential fanbase-its worth considering a strategy-but its not likely

Used to get about 5-6,000 for Methodist Youth Fellowship Day but I don't think we even have that any more-those could be paying customers in future which is more than I can say about some of our strategies. Get the good people at HP Methodist Church to have their own tail gate area and invite other congregations each week-couldn't hurt none

SMU is not a "church school". Its a secular private school for all practical purposes just like many others: i.e USC, Tulsa, Tulane, Vandy, Creighton etc.

More Catholics at SMU when I was an undergrad than Methodists. A good thing frankly. Diversity is important in higher education. SMU aims to be a multicultural institution whether some on this board agree with that mission or not. If SMU is to improve academically then maybe they ought to take a page from the Vanderbilt playbook and recruit more Jewish students who on average have very high academic indicators as a group. Frankly, I am glad all the fundamentalist Christians in this state view SMU as "liberal". They can all go to EatMEu or Baylor if they want a more faith based experience.

That being said I think its fine anyone identify with SMU football or come to games. Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Mormons, Muslims, Pentecostals, Jews etc. Even heathens like me!

Agree, "church school" was the wrong wording. Secular is correct. Liberal as far as Texas. Liberal as far as Utah, ASU, UA, close to WSU. We do get a little left leaning in some parts of the west. AZ is so right wing, they may love Baylor/BYU. That won't happen, with the PAC. So SMU can fit the PAC, IMO. But they have to do something, not just in FB, BB, but to the kids out in the DFW area that are hungry. It is easy, and will do a lot of good, and it will bring recruits. Spend the $5M, it will come back. I don't want to preach, but folks, trade your BMW for a Ford. A Mustang maybe? I know it will be sad. But if you want to appeal to regular people, you have to sacrifice, a tiny bit. So, SMU has a good chance, if they can fill the stadium. Better chance if UH stays in the AAC. The latest ad by SMU is good, "no one is a lesser person". That is great. Can you make it real in Dallas?