a question for SMU administration and fans ( long rant )...
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2005 11:08 pmFirst, I have been a long-time fan/student/supporter of SMU...this is not an indictment of the current sorry state of affairs, but a legitimate and heartfelt question.
When will SMU be allowed to compete with the other Division 1 programs in Texas and the nation ?
I was a student during the rise of Mustang Mania...a VERY poor team in 1976 developed into a competitive one by 1980. Virtually everyone here (and in the nation of college football fans) is aware of the violations that were ongoing during this time...a terrible price was paid, and continues to be paid as if some continued penance is due.
During the Pye administration, a model was established that restricted the recruitment of certain athletes that were deemed an academic risk...all in the name of rebuilding the image of our institution. I would contend that the issues leading to the DP were more of an alumni/administration/trustee/coach issue than strictly one of recruiting players that were potential candidates to ask for or receive illegal payments. Now almost twenty years hence, what is the point in continuing to go to the gunfight with only three bullets ?
I am aware of the faculty influence in the area of athletic recruitment...but I never remember a single voice of dissent in 1981 when university coffers were being filled with revenue from a near full Texas Stadium...applications for admissions were increased...additional programs were funded through the increased revenue ( both academic and athletic ).
All of this is old news...I am just tired of seeing my school, my team continue to view itself as something it is not. SMU is not competitive in Division 1 football...we are not the Harvard of the Southwest...we are fine university with selected excellent programs that, well, pretends...
I want better than mediocre...I want to compete.
Needed to vent..time to work on the sermon for Sunday...
long live Choate, Kelcher, and any one else that sought for more than status quo ( Latin: "the mess we are in" )
When will SMU be allowed to compete with the other Division 1 programs in Texas and the nation ?
I was a student during the rise of Mustang Mania...a VERY poor team in 1976 developed into a competitive one by 1980. Virtually everyone here (and in the nation of college football fans) is aware of the violations that were ongoing during this time...a terrible price was paid, and continues to be paid as if some continued penance is due.
During the Pye administration, a model was established that restricted the recruitment of certain athletes that were deemed an academic risk...all in the name of rebuilding the image of our institution. I would contend that the issues leading to the DP were more of an alumni/administration/trustee/coach issue than strictly one of recruiting players that were potential candidates to ask for or receive illegal payments. Now almost twenty years hence, what is the point in continuing to go to the gunfight with only three bullets ?
I am aware of the faculty influence in the area of athletic recruitment...but I never remember a single voice of dissent in 1981 when university coffers were being filled with revenue from a near full Texas Stadium...applications for admissions were increased...additional programs were funded through the increased revenue ( both academic and athletic ).
All of this is old news...I am just tired of seeing my school, my team continue to view itself as something it is not. SMU is not competitive in Division 1 football...we are not the Harvard of the Southwest...we are fine university with selected excellent programs that, well, pretends...
I want better than mediocre...I want to compete.
Needed to vent..time to work on the sermon for Sunday...
long live Choate, Kelcher, and any one else that sought for more than status quo ( Latin: "the mess we are in" )