PonyFans.com

Pressure on Bennett rises as losses mount and ticket sales dwindle


08:08 PM CST on Friday, November 4, 2005

By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News

UNIVERSITY PARK – When a sparkling Ford Stadium opened in 2000, SMU had more than 10,000 season-ticket holders. This year, in the midst of a seventh consecutive losing season, the Mustangs' season-ticket base has dwindled to fewer than 5,000.

Booster and fan frustration appears to be mounting – raising this question. Is today's game against winless Rice, which holds the nation's longest losing streak at 13, another must-win game for SMU coach Phil Bennett?

[an error occurred while processing this directive]
"I have very seldom put a whole lot on any one game, and I'm not doing it this year," athletic director Jim Copeland said Wednesday. "Not winning consistently bothers me. We have to get over the hump and win consistently where we win five or six games every year."

SMU president Gerald Turner and trustee Lamar Hunt both said they are concerned with the season-ticket trend. Both say they have seen progress on the field but want to see more wins.

Bennett has won only eight games in four seasons at SMU, which is 2-6 this season. SMU has shown signs of progress, upsetting rival TCU on Sept. 10. Five games have been decided by seven or fewer points, with SMU losing three on the last possession. SMU has suffered only one blowout loss, 66-8 at Texas A&M.

In 2004, only one game was decided by fewer than seven points, a 41-35 overtime win against Tulsa. Also, SMU suffered embarrassing losses of 44-0, 59-7, 44-10, 41-10 and 42-0.

"Of course I would like to see more wins," Turner said. "Ask Phil that question. Our team is a lot better. For the exception of the Texas A&M game and the Tulane game, we've been competitive in every game."

Bennett, who receives a base salary of $450,000, is under contract through 2008. He said SMU's record should be better.

"Every win is a must-win game," Bennett said. "We get evaluated every week."

Copeland said he is not sure what would make him happy.

"But if we play out well, I'd be pleased," he said. "I can see at times where we are better than we have been as a team. But there are other times we don't look good."

Some longtime SMU season ticket holders are growing restless.

"The team has to start showing the progress in terms of wins and losses," said Ted Gaertner, a 1967 graduate and season-ticket holder since 1989. "I'll be with them regardless. But that's how our fans are. They prefer to support a winner. If not, they will stay away."

In 1999, when SMU played at the Cotton Bowl, it had 2,200 season-ticket holders. The next season when Ford Stadium opened, 10,362 season tickets were sold.

Now, there are only 4,621 season-ticket holders.

"Being in Dallas, you can find different things to do. But we have to find a way to get 32,000 people in this stadium each week," said Shawn Heilbron, associate athletic director for sales and marketing.

SMU's average attendance is 19,838, 89th among the 117 Division I-A schools. Today's game marks homecoming. Last year, SMU drew 12,677 to its homecoming game against Tulsa. The last time Rice came to Ford Stadium, 11,856 fans showed up.

"I think the ultimate measure in the long run is wins," Hunt said. "But coming with that is progress and a win over, say Tulsa, that wouldn't have been nearly as much progress as the win was over TCU. That's just how life is and how you are measured."

Article is easily as important for what it says and what it doesn't say.

Playing good opponents and winning our share is the big thing. But I'll tell you another problem and its Ford Stadium. Yea, thats right, our great stadium has a flaw. The revenue-generating luxury boxes and club seats that sit behind the glass. I dont know how many people stay up there out of sight, out of mind and silent, but it might be as many as 1000 of our best fans. We dont have a critical mass of fans as it is and the atmosphere really suffers. The noise and enthusiasm was actually better at the Cotton Bowl overall and I think it is because of this. Not only does it effect the team by removing any sort of home field advantage/presence, but I think it also wears on the fan base. When the atmosphere is not fun and lively, its easy to find other things to do.

I fully realize there is no solution for this any time soon, but these people might as well be at home watching on tv.

I respectfully disagree. The atmosphere in Ford is much better. The thing is, you just have to get people into the upper deck of the stands. The sound in Ford as far as fan noise carrying is actually pretty good. Particularly if you can get people stomping their feet and jumping in the upper deck. If you could get 20k consistently, it would be a nice home field. The losing is sucking the life out of the place.

Copeland say's "5 or 6 wins"?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? That's setting the bar pretty LOW!!! With our 12 game slate next year, we should EXPECT at least 9 wins! Man our bar is low!!!

I too have wondered about all those fans up there behind the glass and silent. I don't think it helps, but I also understand some of these folk$ wanted it that way.

Think TCU's plan 8 years ago was to win 5 or 6 games a year?

I think they like the access to the open bar, which is unavailable for the rest of the stadium

Of course, after watching 4 years of SMU football and seeing only 8 wins maybe they prefer to make their drinks doubles+

mr. pony wrote:Think TCU's plan 8 years ago was to win 5 or 6 games a year?

No, but when they went 1-10 (let's not talk about that one), do you think that would have been OK with 5 or 6 wins? Of course they would. They didn't stop there, and hopefully we won't, either. Sitting here with two wins and three games to go, I'd be ecstatic with five wins this season, although obviously the odds are against a three-game winning streak at the end of the season. But if you tell me we can win another game or two this year, and 5 or 6 next year, and .... all I'm saying is I'm OK with 5 or 6 wins -- as a starting point. Considering where we've been, that's a damn good starting point.

BEAT RICE!

THE FANS IN THE BOXES

WILL NOT STAND OR CHEER ANYWAY.

And it's actually not that quiet behind the windows of the club seats -- it can get pretty lively in there. But like the rest of you, I wish the windows were open so they could add to the noise level in Ford Stadium.

Oh yeah! it's pretty wild in there!......one time I saw someone move in there! It was crazy!

The problem is not fans in the club level, but the lack of fans everywhere else. Put a winning team on the field and you get a packed stadium.

Also, I find myself not getting too excited during games because I have an expectation that the team will find a way to make a key mistake. The fans that are there are constantly getting let down by the mistakes on the field, and therefore become passive. An expectation of winning as opposed to losing will do wonder for our fans pyche. At least it would for me.

Articles with pathetic quotes from our Athletic Director don't help. I feel for Bennett. His AD is hanging him out to dry.

Remember how Ford stadium was the draw in 2000? Remember how competiting in the WAC was going to give us a better chane to win. This year the regional schedule in CUSA was the hype. PR sells a few tickets, but the product on the field is what matters mostl. It's a wonder that SMU has any fan base left at all. When and IF we get a top notch winning QB, maybe the stands will fill back up again. Until then, it's hungry heights for all of us.