ESPN way too early bowl predix - we're listed

[sbsmith]

I think 32,000 is very reasonable and there are many lessons we can learn from basketball. We are essentially playing in a conference were only 3-4 teams are good and the rest are horrible, yet we were able to have sellouts and fan excitement all throughout the season and even in the NIT. It is the same for football, only 3-4 teams are really good and the others are horrible. We play a good Cincinnati, Houston, UCF and possibly a resurgent USF and UConn this year. Maybe ECU will be good as well. It should be a tradition that students go to the game, regardless if we play Memphis or Texas Tech. Boise packs their stadium for every game vs. a midmajor Mountain West Conference...why not us?

The lessons we can learn from basketball are to get a coach that can recruit well, engage the fans and beat teams people in the city have actually heard of before. We won't come near 32,000 until all of those happen.

[sbsmith]

Just admit I'm right. June Jones made things way, way better than anyone had in thirty years. Is it good enough? NO. Do we stop here? NO. But he really improved things. It's ok to admit that. It's not glorifying anything to admit the truth.


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Yes he "improved" things (thanks to a model his predecessors didn't have) but now we're headed right back to where we started. Attaining mediocrity then letting us become lousy again wasn't the plan so why bother glorifying or appreciating the mediocrity just because it was better than what we had?

[Big12Mustang]

I think 32,000 is very reasonable and there are many lessons we can learn from basketball. We are essentially playing in a conference were only 3-4 teams are good and the rest are horrible, yet we were able to have sellouts and fan excitement all throughout the season and even in the NIT. It is the same for football, only 3-4 teams are really good and the others are horrible. We play a good Cincinnati, Houston, UCF and possibly a resurgent USF and UConn this year. Maybe ECU will be good as well. It should be a tradition that students go to the game, regardless if we play Memphis or Texas Tech. Boise packs their stadium for every game vs. a midmajor Mountain West Conference...why not us?

The lessons we can learn from basketball are to get a coach that can recruit well, engage the fans and beat teams people in the city have actually heard of before. We won't come near 32,000 until all of those happen.

UCF is the Fiesta Bowl champ who beat Baylor. Cincy, UConn and USF have been ranked consistently in the Big East and had been to BCS games (USF was #2 at one time), people know who Cougar High, TCU, Baylor, UNT and A&M are. We have a really good schedule. It is really a golden opportunity that June and the boys can take advantage of this year...if we do well (especially OOC) it would set us up real good.

[sbsmith]

UCF is the Fiesta Bowl champ who beat Baylor. Cincy, UConn and USF have been ranked consistently in the Big East and had been to BCS games (USF was #2 at one time), people know who Cougar High, TCU, Baylor, UNT and A&M are. We have a really good schedule. It is really a golden opportunity that June and the boys can take advantage of this year...if we do well (especially OOC) it would set us up real good.

No one in Dallas cares about AAC teams, last year's conference home game attendance should have made that clear.

[ponyinNC]

UCF should have more national buzz starting this season, especially after their Fiesta Bowl win, but you're correct - I don't think that will translate to that many more tickets sold for the game unfortunately.

[Grant Carter]

Just admit I'm right. June Jones made things way, way better than anyone had in thirty years. Is it good enough? NO. Do we stop here? NO. But he really improved things. It's ok to admit that. It's not glorifying anything to admit the truth.


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Yes he "improved" things (thanks to a model his predecessors didn't have) but now we're headed right back to where we started. Attaining mediocrity then letting us become lousy again wasn't the plan so why bother glorifying or appreciating the mediocrity just because it was better than what we had?

There is a huge difference between glorifying and appreciating something. Lumping them together is pretty silly.

[Big12Mustang]

UCF is the Fiesta Bowl champ who beat Baylor. Cincy, UConn and USF have been ranked consistently in the Big East and had been to BCS games (USF was #2 at one time), people know who Cougar High, TCU, Baylor, UNT and A&M are. We have a really good schedule. It is really a golden opportunity that June and the boys can take advantage of this year...if we do well (especially OOC) it would set us up real good.

No one in Dallas cares about AAC teams, last year's conference home game attendance should have made that clear.

But that's an SMU problem. Apparently no one in SMU cared when we had SWC teams playing here either...it is a problem that needs to be addressed.

[Peruna94&07]

I was here for the Phil Bennett and June Jones teams, and the difference in how the program felt was from here to heaven. It became cool to watch a game again.
I will be happy if we make it to a bowl next year, everyone notices when you go bowling. What we need is for our fans to stop whining and boycotting June and sit their butts in Ford...that is if we want that P5 invite...

It became cool to watch a game again?? Did you go to any games year? The atmosphere was no different/better at games in 2013 than games in the Bennett years. If you look at conference attendance from JJ's first year compared to 2013, it's proof that SMU football has less interest now than it did to begin the JJ era.

2008 Average conference home game attendance (JJ's first year) - 15,809
2013 Average conference home game attendance - 15,612*

* actual attendance at the UConn game was maybe 5,000 and UCF game was maybe 1,000

We're all happy we've made it to a few bowl games but to suggest the interest/atmosphere in SMU football is better now is not true. The simple fact is we cannot compete with the schools in Texas that people care about (Tech, UT, A&M, TCU, Baylor). We do not recruit anywhere near well enough to stay on the field with those guys. Facts are facts.

Don't forget we essentially lost a game in attendance because of the ice bowl

[SMUer]

We only have 60,000 living alumni in DFW...think about that for a minute...if only 15,000 show up, that's still 25% of all natural fans. I'd bet that is as good or better than big name schools. Our problems aren't about good-for-nothing alumni, we are just small and need to recruit non-natural fans in DFW.

[ponyboy]

Or emphasize recruiting students from DFW rather than Cali or Illinois


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[malonish]

Or emphasize recruiting students from DFW rather than Cali or Illinois


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But those would get taken in the first round.

[SMUer]

So we can get 17,000 vs 15,000 fans!?! Think bigger!

[LA_Mustang]

Don't forget we essentially lost a game in attendance because of the ice bowl

Not really. We were credited for 12,589 as the official attendance of the UCF game. I seriously doubt we would've had 13,000 even if it was 60 and sunny.

[Stallion]

Right most on this board were predicting 8-10,000 butts in seats even before the poor weather

[couch 'em]

Or emphasize recruiting students from DFW rather than Cali or Illinois


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So how would that help? Get the living alumni's parents living in Dallas to go?