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mrydel wrote:

PonySnob wrote:

mrydel wrote:Memphis was our whipping boy just a few short years ago. They turned their program around quickly. There is no reason we cannot do the same with the right leadership, which I am cautiously optimistic that we now have.

We did beat them badly twice, but they own the series.

Sure but you can see where we were dominating them for two years then they came close on the third and zoomed past us while we floundered. We need to make the same move they did under Fuente.

It seems that's been done now with dykes.

As I recall, Memphis joined the AAC in 2014 and they had to do some selling to Aresco to convince him that they were worthy. That is about the same time that Fuente arrived on the scene. Memphis did improve and proved to be worthy of membership. That is when they started to dominate us. Hopefully now we will do the same with Dykes.

2007 was Bennett's last year, we went 1-11 that year. 2008 was Jones's first year and we went 1-11 that year too.

SMUstang wrote:

mtrout wrote:Does smu athletics have goals? Seems to me like we have far better goals for our fundraising efforts than our athletics programs.

Yes!

Getting the Dallas community to support us

Graduate students to be assets to their community

Win conference championships (there are other sports besides football)

We have built first class facilities for our students and athletes

just to name a few

And yes we are very good at fundraising for the school at large. Anything wrong with that?

Other AAC teams have us beat in the football facility arms race. SMU facilities look nice but are they functional? We live in a mega bubble / echo chamber.

I’m worried we won 8 games in a row and think we made it. On Sagarin we’re #5 in the AAC.

Thank the lord for m soccer and m golf.

I'm frustrated too, but optimistic.

If Dykes stays, I think he has a chance to build a team that is a year in and year out competitor for the Top Five G5 teams. I think we're ahead of schedule this year. But he likes Dallas, he likes the school, and he understands what his task is. Remember when he was at La Tech, he built a pretty good program. However, the problem in the G5 world is that good coaches get snatched up and retreads get hired. Will Taggart keep FAU on the rise for example? If Dykes treats this job as a great long term job, he will have a great career, build a winning team in a large media market (with potential endorsement perks there), and end up with a solid career won/loss record. I get the feeling that he saw what P5 life was like and it wasn't very good.

Hopefully he will stay. If SMU treats him right I think he will. If the AAC continues to improve like it has in 2019, and with good TV coverage with ESPN, etc., it looks favorable.

We actually have a plan in football for the first time in ever.
It's quite clear to see how well the entire program functions -- on and off the field.
I wasn't happy with the way we stumbled to the finish line, but next season has the potential to be even more special than this year was.
We went from middling G5 program to one that was in the conversation for the NY6 bowl. I feel like Sonny has the pieces in place to have us consistently competing for that NY6 bowl bid.

It is a fine time to be a Mustang football fan. In addition, it is great to see some folks in the Athletic Department and Marketing trying to be proactive and contact fans after games. Add to that the e-marketing of ticket packages (still a work in progress) and we are beginning to look like a program that is ascending.

My hope is that we will be champions again before my expiration date arrives.

EastStang wrote:I get the feeling that he saw what P5 life was like and it wasn't very good.

He saw what life was like at a P5 also-ran, he hasn't seen what life is like at a P5 elite.

I doubt he will be offered by a P5 elite. If he is, he should take it.

we just had our best season since 1984.

With new NCAA endorsement rules coming out for 2021, the new SMU/Dallas theme (major brainstorm by Sonny), could help attract players to SMU. Dallas is a top 10 media market. A player with skills could get lots of opportunities to sell jerseys, endorse products in a major market, and make some scratch. Sure, players in Alabama will get national attention, but once you get to schools like TT, Baylor, TCU, KU, KSU, or Okie State, you suddenly have another part to the equation. What are my immediate money making opportunities here as opposed to SMU where I got an offer? Yeah,the blue bloods will still get their players, but schools like KY, MSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, most ACC teams except (Miami, Clemson, FSU and UNC) may find recruits looking at their financial opportunities. We may be back in the game we always excelled in.

" We paid players before it was cool "

Morrison, Bell, Collins and now Dykes. The best football coaches in SMU history.

You left out Ron Meyer. maybe not the best calling plays but at recruiting and enthusiasm (and success) he was great!