Next Women's Sport to be Added?

[Water Pony]

My understanding is that the school will be adding another Women's Sport in the near future. What should the criteria be? Size of team rosters, facilities, student demograhics? Here are some candidates:

Softball: No possibility of an on-campus field, no room. Student demographics? Maybe.

Lacrosse: Field to play on? School lacks sufficient intramual fields and I imagine Westcott will be limited to soccer and Track & Field. A shared field could be upgraded though

Equestrian: Big squad with 30-40 participants and would require a off-site facility for training and shows. Demographics might be excellent.

Other candidates?

[EastStang]

I would think LAX or field hockey would best fit our demographic, "preppy". Softball is more pedestrian. Is equestrian an NCAA sport? I don't think it is. Is Rodeo is a college sport? We could have a quarterhorse team and some bull riding women. Yee ha.

[PX]

Only a dozen D-1 schools offer womens Equestrian as a varsity sport, but 2 of them are reasonably close to us, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.
Lacrosse is interesting, but we'd be the only Div. 1 team west of Ohio, or south of Virgnia.
As far as fitting into this region, softball is the best choice, but also the most expensive in regards to aquiring a field and equipment, travel, etc. So, I vote for Water Polo. San Jose and Hawaii have teams we can play, and we already have the pool.

I wouldnt worry about fitting the team to our preppy demographic. Our fans arent going to support any womens sport, wether its basketball or a "country club" sport like tennis or swimming. So it doesnt really matter if a new sport fits the schools image.

[Water Pony]

Thanks EaStang and PX:

I love Water Polo (look at my handle) but the team size isn't very big. I agree that Softball would be a long shot and expensive with an expensive field needed off campus.

Women's Lacrosse is a stretch with no regional competitors. Vanderbiblt is the closest Varsity Program.

Equestrian Teams are a small but newly emerging NCAA Div. 1 program. A plus is the team size of 30 or 40, which is easy to fill with 90+% walk-ons and will rely on off-site facilities which already exist in north Dallas.

The goal of Title IX is to increase the number of women participants in a College. I didn't know that OSU and Texas A&M were varsity, but that fits nicely. Most Equestrian programs are Club Teams, like our Men's Lacrosse, which is having a break-out year but will never go varsity because it is a Men's Sport. Good discussion.

[FloridaMustang]

It's a shame that there's no room to build much of anything at SMU anymore. Once this latest campaign's goals are complete, I'm not sure where SMU will be able to build.

[No Quarter]

Equestrian sounds interesting, but what would the requirements be for gymnastics in terms of scholarships, walk-on interest, coaching costs, facilities?

[HorsePower]

I heard from someone inside the athletic department that equestrian is going to be added, in 2004 if not next year. They'd use a ranch/stable somewhere just outside Dallas, from what I gather.

[Water Pony]

Thanks, HorsePower:

had heard similar comments attributed to a Varsity Equesrian Coach in an SEC school recently. Sounds like the Athletic Department has been researching the possibilities. Question, does SMU have a Club Sports Equestrian Team to build on or is it a "green field" opportunity.

In addition to Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, Kansas State and West Texas A&M also have varsity programs. Good competition. Just to add English riding (Jumping and Flat) would add close to 40 women student athletes from novice to Open.

In NCAA proposals, Men are permitted to compete but expected to ride as individuals, but not for team points. Only Sailing is open to men and women. Interesting dynamics.

[MrMustang1965]

EastStang: Yes, rodeo IS a college sport. My alma mater, Sam Houston State University, has a team and has won the national championship.

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"Winning ain't everything...but it's a lot more fun than the alternative!" S.M.U. SPIRIT: IT STARTS NOW!

[EastStang]

On the NCAA website, I do not see rodeo. I did see lacrosse, rifle, skiing, field hockey, equestrian, bowling, gymnastics and water polo. For lacrosse, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Northwestern and the University of Denver are the closest Div. 1 schools. A women's rifle team could be interesting, just keep them away from fraternity row. In all seriousness, Water Polo would probably be a good fit with existing programs, and who knows, in a tough match a couple of our All American women's swimmers could help out. I remember one time our swim team took took on a nationally ranked A&M water polo team for grins and tied them. Our speed was something they were not prepared for. Their stamina was telling later in the match. Otherwise Equestrian might be the easiest to start since many riders have their own horses. Given that our mascot is a Mustang, it would be the most fitting.

[This message has been edited by EastStang (edited 03-31-2003).]

[Water Pony]

Actually, riders don't bring their own horses. At some point, the school either owns or makes arrangements with a local stable to have horses available for training and for Horse Shows. What makes this competitive is the policy that riders don't use their own horses and must compete on horses they "pick from a hat". For Title IX purposes, Equestrian Teams use 40+ riders for each discipline, English and/or Western. Demographically, SMU would only need to build an English saddle team, while adding approximately 40+ student athletes. According to someone in the Athletic Department I spoke to recently, Equestrian is a serious option for next year. Only a few scholarships would be required. And, yes, as Mustangs or Ponies, this sports fits us well. Also, Texas A&M, Okla State and West Texas A&M are varsity programs and natural regional competitors.