The Pure and Simple Facts

[Original Frank]

Fact One:
The SMU administration needs to step-up and create a workable athletic/academic platform upon which athletics can be allowed to return to a competitive basis. This is indisputable.

Fact Two:
SMU's lack of athletic-friendly majors and heretofore unwillingness to make certain academic concessions to support a competitive athletic model creates huge discrepancies in our ability to compete on the field. Again, I think we can all agree on this.

Fact Three:
SMU could immediately help itself by making certain allowances as related to the above two facts in regard to the recruitment of JUCO players that might provide immediate help in Ftball and Bball. Some might challenge this as a sound strategy, but - if you overlook the academic issues - such an action would likely result in improved athletic performance.

Fact Four:
SMU is a small private institution in a large metropolitan, entertainment-saturated market populated by a huge population of large public school graduates. Even if SMU would draw a larger percentage of its alumni base than the big public shcools, SMU will never, ever have the numbers to support attendance to rival the state schools that put out 10,000 grads a year. Further, most locals who did not attend college tend to add additional support to the large state schools (at the expense of the private schools), further exacerbating the discrepancy in attendance base. This is a numerically indisputable fact.

Fact Five:
The "SMU Model" of athletic competition is clearly broken and it needs attention by the university's higher-ups to fix it.

Fact Six:
Irrespective of Facts One through Five, Mike Dement is a poor basketball coach. Irrespective of all the excuses made for poor play and regardless of Stallion's focus on the larger problems, anyone who knows bball can see in every game that he is outmanned on the bench by the opponent's coach. His teams are poorly coached in fundamentals, they have no offensive strategy, the defense is consistently poor, hi demeanor is harsh, all his teams have quit on him at some point, and the situation is not getting better. I herby grant all of items One through Five, but Dement is still a bad coach and recognition of this fact does not need to conflict with agreement on the other problems of the university's athletic programs. In other words, agreeing with Stallion and believing Dement should be fired are not mutually exclusive.

Fire him now simply because he is a very poor bball coach. Nothwithstanding all else, this is also an indisputable fact. As stated before, why would anyone really want to go to the game on Saturday? Even if they play much better - and I certainly expect some sort of rebound - there is nowhere to go this season for it is already lost.

Fire Dement now!

[Arkpony]

Well said!

[PlanoStang]

Beating TT,(no not #1, but the #18 variety), also a ranked Purdue team ( don't recall where they are at the moment), and scaring ranked Wake Forest at home in one season with the rest of his history at Smooo makes the Demented guy at least a good coach. Maybe he needs some "teaming" classes.

I agree with most of what you said though.

<small>[ 01-21-2004, 09:01 PM: Message edited by: PlanoStang ]</small>

[HighfalutinHorse]

..I'd ONLY agree with #4 and maybe, #6...those are not facts, and they are certainly not agreed to by all, trust me...BEAT LA TECH!

[Vitale]

Originally posted by HighfalutinHorse:
..I'd ONLY agree with #4 and maybe, #6...those are not facts, and they are certainly not agreed to by all, trust me...BEAT LA TECH!

There you go - the primary focus right now should be on beating LaTech! Come out Saturday afternoon and be LOUD - the Ponies need all of us.