The Memphis Coach

[fifty]

Didn't we have a $20mil donor for an ipf years ago?

[StallionsModelT]

LOL. Nothing would make me happier than to see SMU in a viable national conference with a program capable of competing with the major programs in this state. Lets look at the facts:

1) TCU/Baylor receive about $20-$30M more in revenue per year b/c of conference affiliation TV rights
2) TCU/Baylor have spent multiple weeks ranked in the Top 25 and play on national TV virtually every week
3) TCU/Baylor have both made substantial upgrades to their stadiums in the financial range of $500M combined.
4) TCU/Baylor have coaching staffs full of Texas legends that have the proven ability to close on top talent


What do we have? A tiny fan base in a tiny stadium playing on ESPN3 and the only time we are on national TV its being flat out humiliated by our former SWC bunkmates.

We can't compete with these schools and there is no arms race. Period. To think otherwise is sheer lunacy.

[Big12Mustang]

LOL. Nothing would make me happier than to see SMU in a viable national conference with a program capable of competing with the major programs in this state. Lets look at the facts:

1) TCU/Baylor receive about $20-$30M more in revenue per year b/c of conference affiliation TV rights
2) TCU/Baylor have spent multiple weeks ranked in the Top 25 and play on national TV virtually every week
3) TCU/Baylor have both made substantial upgrades to their stadiums in the financial range of $500M combined.
4) TCU/Baylor have coaching staffs full of Texas legends that have the proven ability to close on top talent


What do we have? A tiny fan base in a tiny stadium playing on ESPN3 and the only time we are on national TV its being flat out humiliated by our former SWC bunkmates.

We can't compete with these schools and there is no arms race. Period. To think otherwise is sheer lunacy.

Stop focusing on the others, focus on us. It takes time, I never said we will win a championship in 1 year. It will take time but it can be done. Big 12 contract expires in 2025, we have until then to field a top 25 squad.

[Big12Mustang]

Game is not over, it never is.

[Big12Mustang]

What do we have? A tiny fan base in a tiny stadium playing on ESPN3 and the only time we are on national TV its being flat out humiliated by our former SWC bunkmates.

We can't compete with these schools and there is no arms race. Period. To think otherwise quote]

What you mention is all fixable. Win games.

[StallionsModelT]

Game is not over, it never is.

LOL. I hate to break it to you but unless SMU becomes some crazy combination of Boise State/TCU over the last decade here pretty soon there isn't going to be any demand for us in the P5. Even if we went on some kind of ridiculous tear and started ripping off 10 and 11 win seasons I doubt we'd see our attendance jump by much except for the big non-conference SWC opponents. On a random Saturday here in Dallas you can watch UT, A&M, TCU, Baylor, Tech, OU, OK State, LSU, Arkansas who are nationally relevant and competitive. You think a ton of folks are gonna get all jazzed up to watch SMU-Tulane or SMU-Temple? No.

The solution for us depends on way too many variables to predict right now. The odds of SMU ever being in a Big 12 that already has TCU (unless Texas takes its act elsewhere) is virtually zero. Hell I would put higher odds of SMU being in the Big 10 or SEC than a Big 12 that still has Texas in it. We offer the Big 12 absolutely nothing they don't already have.

If I'm SMU I'm already planning for outside the box contingencies. I think we have the financial commitment to make a go of it in The American. Right now you can probably say that about half the schools in the conference. I think there might be another handful of likeminded schools in the MWC also. BYU also migt be enticed to join a conference that would effectively be the official "best of the rest" conference. Maybe the following:

West - SDSU, Fresno State, BYU, Colorado State, SMU, UH
East - UCONN, ECU, Cincinnati, Memphis, UCF, USF

Otherwise, you start getting creative. Who knows maybe go indy? At that point all bets are off. Start to think about playing a majority of your games away from home for a few years as money games just to keep the program going. A lot of programs are going to be in this boat. I just hope SMU is being proactive on this so that we aren't sitting here in 2024 with a bulldozed Ford Stadium.

[Big12Mustang]

Game is not over, it never is.

LOL. I hate to break it to you but unless SMU becomes some crazy combination of Boise State/TCU over the last decade here pretty soon there isn't going to be any demand for us in the P5. Even if we went on some kind of ridiculous tear and started ripping off 10 and 11 win seasons I doubt we'd see our attendance jump by much except for the big non-conference SWC opponents. On a random Saturday here in Dallas you can watch UT, A&M, TCU, Baylor, Tech, OU, OK State, LSU, Arkansas who are nationally relevant and competitive. You think a ton of folks are gonna get all jazzed up to watch SMU-Tulane or SMU-Temple? No.

The solution for us depends on way too many variables to predict right now. The odds of SMU ever being in a Big 12 that already has TCU (unless Texas takes its act elsewhere) is virtually zero. Hell I would put higher odds of SMU being in the Big 10 or SEC than a Big 12 that still has Texas in it. We offer the Big 12 absolutely nothing they don't already have.

If I'm SMU I'm already planning for outside the box contingencies. I think we have the financial commitment to make a go of it in The American. Right now you can probably say that about half the schools in the conference. I think there might be another handful of likeminded schools in the MWC also. BYU also migt be enticed to join a conference that would effectively be the official "best of the rest" conference. Maybe the following:

West - SDSU, Fresno State, BYU, Colorado State, SMU, UH
East - UCONN, ECU, Cincinnati, Memphis, UCF, USF

Otherwise, you start getting creative. Who knows maybe go indy? At that point all bets are off. Start to think about playing a majority of your games away from home for a few years as money games just to keep the program going. A lot of programs are going to be in this boat. I just hope SMU is being proactive on this so that we aren't sitting here in 2024 with a bulldozed Ford Stadium.

Not hating on you or anyone...it just pisses me off that our fans have these losing attitudes. Anything can happen, only thing we can do is win games and see where that takes us. We aren't relevant because we are losing, simple as that. Win and the story changes and people will come watch us play Anyone.

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

You've all felt it when you're sitting in Ford Stadium in the fourth quarter and it looks like a 3A high school playoff game crowd.

You are so right about this.
That's one of the things that hurts badly.

It's embarrassing as hell when you bring friends to SMU games
or even when visiting teams fans see our pathetic turnout in the
latter part of games.

[03Mustang]

Game is not over, it never is.

LOL. I hate to break it to you but unless SMU becomes some crazy combination of Boise State/TCU over the last decade here pretty soon there isn't going to be any demand for us in the P5. Even if we went on some kind of ridiculous tear and started ripping off 10 and 11 win seasons I doubt we'd see our attendance jump by much except for the big non-conference SWC opponents. On a random Saturday here in Dallas you can watch UT, A&M, TCU, Baylor, Tech, OU, OK State, LSU, Arkansas who are nationally relevant and competitive. You think a ton of folks are gonna get all jazzed up to watch SMU-Tulane or SMU-Temple? No.

The solution for us depends on way too many variables to predict right now. The odds of SMU ever being in a Big 12 that already has TCU (unless Texas takes its act elsewhere) is virtually zero. Hell I would put higher odds of SMU being in the Big 10 or SEC than a Big 12 that still has Texas in it. We offer the Big 12 absolutely nothing they don't already have.

If I'm SMU I'm already planning for outside the box contingencies. I think we have the financial commitment to make a go of it in The American. Right now you can probably say that about half the schools in the conference. I think there might be another handful of likeminded schools in the MWC also. BYU also migt be enticed to join a conference that would effectively be the official "best of the rest" conference. Maybe the following:

West - SDSU, Fresno State, BYU, Colorado State, SMU, UH
East - UCONN, ECU, Cincinnati, Memphis, UCF, USF

Otherwise, you start getting creative. Who knows maybe go indy? At that point all bets are off. Start to think about playing a majority of your games away from home for a few years as money games just to keep the program going. A lot of programs are going to be in this boat. I just hope SMU is being proactive on this so that we aren't sitting here in 2024 with a bulldozed Ford Stadium.

You make fair points, but just a few years ago you were on the polar opposite and never would have believed we would be where we are now (to the negative) with June Jones. You know the posts from 2008-2010 I am talking about.

We may be done, we may not. We have a good AD, have some financial commitment, and as basketball has shown we can draw the interest if we have a quality product. Cool it with the hyperbole and the "best of the rest" proposals and let's see where this goes.

No one posting on this thread is in any level of control anyway.

[SMU_Alumni11]

I really think the best way to get into the Big 12 or a P5 conference is simply bribery of epic proportions. Like most said, unless we make a magical tear that gets dallas to throw their affliations to the side and join us, we aren't going to be in the Big 12 or really any P5. I know the bribery thing is silly, and it is. Theres really no hope of getting in a traditional way.

[Charleston Pony]

Game is not over, it never is.

Anything can happen, only thing we can do is win games and see where that takes us. We aren't relevant because we are losing, simple as that. Win and the story changes and people will come watch us play Anyone.[/quote]

Well give you a pass because you are young, but SMU will have to do a lot more than just win games to attract a competitive following. Even at our pinnacle in the days of the Pony Express, we didn't draw much of a crowd against "anyone". Even in those days, we depended on our public school conference mates to help fill the stadium.

[fifty]

Did texas a&m draw 110,000 in 1983?

[Big12Mustang]

Game is not over, it never is.

Anything can happen, only thing we can do is win games and see where that takes us. We aren't relevant because we are losing, simple as that. Win and the story changes and people will come watch us play Anyone.

Well give you a pass because you are young, but SMU will have to do a lot more than just win games to attract a competitive following. Even at our pinnacle in the days of the Pony Express, we didn't draw much of a crowd against "anyone". Even in those days, we depended on our public school conference mates to help fill the stadium.[/quote]

SMU was relevant for around 6 years with 3 of them being really great years. It took TCU 15 years to pack their 45k stadium and some key wins. We played off campus, how different would it be if the success we had in the pony express era was today and on campus, especially with how big the sport is today, bigger than it has ever been. By the way, if TCU played in Jerry world every game, the publics would bring 60-70% of the crowd like in that LSU-TCU game...and TCU still brought around 30K to an off campus site. Same would happen to us.

[mrydel]

SMU was the best in the nation for about 5 years and I take great offense to you qualifying those as the only relevant years. It just shows your ignorance of our history. Best you just stay out of this conversation.

[Big12Mustang]

SMU was the best in the nation for about 5 years and I take great offense to you qualifying those as the only relevant years. It just shows your ignorance of our history. Best you just stay out of this conversation.

Calm mrydel. I understand the history of the program, I was referring to the 80's which is what the previous poster was mentioning.