Re: Why TCU and Tulane? Why Not SMU?
Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2023 1:29 pm
Mustangs_Maroons wrote:TCu is becoming a destination of choice for both recruits and transfers. The difference between our football program and theirs will only increase from here. It’s very disappointing all the wasted opportunities we’ve had. As far as Tulane, who here wouldn’t trade our last twenty years for the season they just had now? Their momentum is trending way up and ours is flat to declining…
TCU is reaping the benefits of a full generation-plus of donor-driven leadership by folks who refused to accepted administrator excuses. They got serious at a time when SMU was just happy to have a high school caliber stadium on campus.
Prime example: https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/J ... s/TCU.aspx
Beyond the stadium - which is far ahead of where SMU will be even post-Weber complex - Gary Patterson knew he could count on donors for other investments that didn't come with a plaque. Yeah, he had to agree to the stupid statue, but irrational check writers like Fertitta and Boone Pickens and the Ishbia guy at Michigan State are what catapult programs forward rather than letting nature take its course. If SMU has them, they need to be (re-)engaged and activated, which may only be possible with new leadership that hasn't pissed them off.
Bottom line, if SMU's biggest stakeholders want the same outcome as TCU, they will match the commitment and show that SMU doesn't have to choose between football, basketball, and academics.