What's Wrong w/ Copeland?

[HixsontoLeVias]

Top 20 Men's golf team..Top 30 Women's Golf team...Men's tennis with national ranking..Top 20 Men's & Women's "football" teams...How many Olympians?..20-25? WHAT?? Revenue sports...?? NEW, SOUTHERN, more vital conference next year (trust me, you will "get into" Memphis/UAB/Houston/Tulane more than Hawaii / FSU)...GREAT! Ford Stadium...not bad....The hiring of your bball savior in Jimmy Tubbs....seems to me that this Copeland fella is doing a GREAT job.....oh, I know we don't have a basket weaving major yet, and we don't offer kinesology to date..who's fault is that? Quite frankly, La Tech and Mississippi State can have those majors....Copeland has done some solid things over the last 3-5 years to take this athletic program to the next level...my hats off to the man...how about a contract extension? BTW, what about the Georgia Tech model..?? Long Live David Dykhuizen.

[Johnny Rock]

Copeland has failed miserably in his football and basketball hires. Why is it that we rotate coaches every few years and still keep the same athletic director who hires the coaches in the first place? SMU's lack of success in the 'revenue' sports cannot be attributable to one person, i.e., coaches or athletic director. SMU's problems run much deeper. However, it is time to rehaul the athletic department. Let's wait and see how Tubbs does before you call him a 'savior.' If I recall, he has yet to land a top local prospect. SMU is still being outrecruited for the top ocal players despite his presense. I do admire Copeland for all of the crap he dishes out to students and alumni regarding the direction of the athletic program. He is almost as worse as a used car salesman.

[EastStang]

I think the jury is out on Copeland. I like the things mentioned in the opening post of this thread, but the hiring of Cavan and Dement were on his watch. Yet, Dement was a protege' of Coach K, and a thus was not considered a risky hire at the time. However, Dement never achieved what was expected of him and the team quit on him last year (which is both a coach and player problem). Bennett looks like a good hire but the jury is still out on him. Lastly, Copeland forsaw the NCAA attendance issues and navigated us into a more regional schedule to avoid those problems. Note San Jose/Rice game had 4,500 in attendance at SJS and Boise only drew 10,000 here last year. We could have had that problem this year, but were able to get a good attendance from TT to cover us for the entire year.

[ponyte]

In the 1980 SMU-UT game, there was only one SMU pass completion...to David Dykhuizen. That is the game where SMU, unranked, defeated #2 UT in Austin.

[ClassOf81]

HtL: this thread has been hashed out many times. Re-opening the topic with Johnny Rock or PonySnob around is like allowing a drug addict to run free in the evidence room of a Coast Guard station in Miami. Talk about fanning the flames....

For what it's worth, I still think Copeland has done a very good job overall, and will have the last laugh when the players Tubbs and Bennett are bringing in start winning. Suddenly all the skeptics will be lauding Copeland's wisdom. Stay the course, have faith and GO PONIES!

[jtstang]

Let's wait and see how Tubbs does before you call him a 'savior.' If I recall, he has yet to land a top local prospect.

I think we should also wait and see before you declare him a bust--and as for top local prospects, I guess you forgot about Hopkins, who Tubbs recruited.

However, anybody that thinks the SMU athletic program, which like it or not is judged by its revenue sports like everybody else, has been "taken to the next level" over the past 3-5 years, is hopped up on acid or something.

[Diehard Pony]

NEW, SOUTHERN, more vital conference next year (trust me, you will "get into" Memphis/UAB/Houston/Tulane more than Hawaii / FSU)...GREAT!

Just to clarify once again, Copeland gets little to no credit for C-USA. Brittan Banowsky (C-USA's commissioner) has lived in Highland Park for years; is a close personal friend of Gerard Turner; and wanted to move C-USA's offices to Dallas. He also likes SMU as a program and it's heritage.

Banowsky wanted SMU in C-USA in '99 when they admitted TCU, but his hands were tied because of the Malin investigation. The fact that Mike Cavan had the Ponies off to an 0-6 start at the time probably didn't help either.

Bottom line is that Copeland gets very little if any credit for C-USA.

[Water Pony]

Class of 1981

You nailed it. The post and Johnny Rock (or future PonySnob) response were predictable. I support Copeland because of the items mentioned but our results are still very much a work in progress.

BTW, until we upgrade the Natatorium, I am less than thrilled with non-revenue sports especially after eliminating Men's Track and Field. But, FB rules in Texas with BB a important second.

[WorldStang]

There are not too many AD's that would have done any better than Copeland has in the last few years. This program in Basketball and Football was strapped with who they could even recruit! We were years behind what we could have been because of Pye.. and the rotating coaches chair in football made it tough too. Don't kid yourself though.. there's not too many other AD's that could have done any better with the cards that were dealt.

Do I agree with every move he's made in the past.. not at all. But you look at what he's done as of late. Phil Bennett is giving this football team a very solid foundation for the future. We're going to C-USA and I'm sure Tuner helped with that.. but don't tell me that Copeland had nothing to do with it, I know for fact that's wrong.

Tubbs will get so much more out of the basketball team than Dement ever could because you have players who believe in him. I've spoken to a few of the players and they're more than excited about where they're going with Tubbs. Top Dallas recruits are finally looking at SMU again because they are being told of the transformation taking place at Moody under Tubbs by their high school coaches.

Why any of you would complain given the state of where we were versus where we are and where we're going is beyond me. I know everyone gets impatient.. I am too at times. But Dement is gone, Cavan is gone.. our players are happier with the direction we're going for the first time in several years.. and some groundwork is there.

Sure.. Tubbs still needs to produce.. but aren't you excited to know of the possibilities versus the notion of another season with a Dement-ed Defense?

[jtstang]

In the 1980 SMU-UT game, there was only one SMU pass completion...to David Dykhuizen. That is the game where SMU, unranked, defeated #2 UT in Austin.

I recall a "miracle" touchdown pass from Lance McIlhenny to Bobby Leach that was deflected off a UT DB--I think it was the same game. The DMN headline the next day was "SMU Lances Texas"...

[ponyte]

The UT in 1980 was McIhenny's first start. Bobby Leach was not even on the team in 1980. The pass that is refered to as the "Miracle" touchdown was in a game other than the 1980 game against UT. The 1980 game scoring (SMU) consisted of a couple of field goals by Eddie Garcia, one long TD run by Craig James and an interception return by James Mobley for a TD. UT mangaed a couple of field goal and it was the first time UT had been shut out of a TD in Austin in many a year. David Dykhuizen had the only SMU reception that game (his claim to fame in that 1980 UT win so to say).

[Diehard Pony]

The Bobby Leach catch against Texas occurred during the Oct 23, 1982 game in Austin that the Ponies won 30-17 as part of their undefeated season. Ironically, Bobby is now my stockbroker.

I consider it the best SMU game I have ever attended, and I have made a DVD of it from the VHS I recorded while at the game.

[jtstang]

The UT in 1980 was McIhenny's first start. Bobby Leach was not even on the team in 1980. The pass that is refered to as the "Miracle" touchdown was in a game other than the 1980 game against UT.

I stand corrected. I guess it was the '82 game I recall.

[ponyte]

No need to "stand corrected." It was just an opportunity for me to spout useless SMU football history (trivia) in ever too great detail.

[The PonyGrad]

Just to stir the pot on Cavan... I am not sure whether he could have turned the program around with the recruiting restrictions he had. He started off decently even with those restrictions. The heavy undertow eventually took him down. As a result he had to go to regain momentum in the program.

I think under other circumstances Cavan and Shuman could have gotten it done.