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Last night, I was invited to Ford Stadium to hear coaches Rompola, Dement and Bennet discuss the absolute necessity of getting butts in seats this upcoming season. And obviously, I’m not just talking football here.

Down on the sacred turf of Ford Stadium, in 90 degree heat, the boys were running ‘voluntary’ windsprints, as Coach Bennet coincidently happened to be jogging circles around the concourse. The team looked in good shape and appeared to be REAL fired up. Sterling Harris (believe it or not) was consistently out in front when it was the O-line’s turn to run. Even after the ‘voluntary’ practice was over, much of the team, specifically almost the entire O and D lines stayed after to work technique.

I’m reporting this to let you know how everyone on the Hilltop seems to be doing what it’s going to take to build a winner. There appears to be only one missing link...

Butts in seats.

And that’s why we were there. There are about a hundred people who volunteered to contact local businesses to persuade them to purchase tickets for football, and men’s and women’s basketball. As I mentioned in another post, this should be a special year. Not only is there a new football coach, a new attitude, and a new commitment to returning championship ball (both the round kind and the pigskin kind) to the Hilltop, but this year, SMU is making a special effort to reach out to the entire city and welcome them as fans. There will be some terrific entertainment (in addition to some exiting football) at nearly every game this year. I already told you about Staubach for the Navy game. They’re also working on signing Robin Williams to do a comedy show after another game. There will be music concerts, wild promotional activities, a Mustang Maniac, all kinds of fun stuff going on. There will be some top flight entertainment scheduled for B-ball games as well.

So here’s the deal: SMU is offering tremendous package deals to area businesses. Football tickets, men’s and women’s basketball tickets, parking passes – the whole shebang in a couple of different packages – at a big discount. Businesses can write it completely off, yet it makes a perfect reward for employees, a great recruiting activity, and a terrific way to reward customers and vendors. If your business might be interested in purchasing some of these packages, please respond to me off-list at [email protected]

Every great city has a great university, and SMU is Dallas’ great university. Our mission is to welcome Dallas to the Hilltop and turn the entire city into fans. I think we all agree that game attendance is the crucial key: from team motivation, to recruiting, to funding The Commitment, to positioning ourselves favorably for conference alignment and whatever the NCAA does with Division IA classification.

So if you or your employer might be open to purchasing a few of the packages, PLEASE let me know. I’ll do all the groveling, just let me know who to contact. THANKS, and GO PONIES!

That's the kind of spirit SMU needs. Seeing folks like you who volunteer their time to help the program is inspiring. I won't make every game in Dallas, but I plan to be there at least twice, and you know I'll be decked out in blue and red when the Ponies come to El Paso.

Keep up the good work.

I would personally like to say thanks to you because as you said this is very important to the teams. And if we get people in the seats i believe that the players will be fired up and that the ponies will have great seasons in all sports! Thanks again

Ditto. There sure wasn't that kind of effort and volunteerism when I was in school. Keep it up!

Do those packages offer include tickets to the NCAA men's soccer Final Four, which is going to be held in Ford Stadium this year?

No they don't, but I've received several requests for soccer to be included, so I'll pass that info along to the ticket office. With the increased popularity of soccer amongst kids, and the Mustangs’ domination in that sport, maybe that should be looked at as an angle to pursue.

Here’s the info on the Corporate Package.
4 Football Season Tickets + Parking Pass
4 Men’s Basketball Season Tickets (sideline reserved) + Parking Pass
4 Women’s Basketball Season Tickets (sideline reserved) + Parking Pass

Package Value is $2,136

But the costs is only $1,500 (that’s around $11 a ticket).

Pretty darn good when you figure the Robin Williams show would normally run $175 a ticket, and you get 4 music concerts (Jessica Simpson, et al) and all the other stuff to boot.

Seriously folks, PLEASE follow up on these with your company. It’s about the best bang for the entertainment dollar there is. Excellent for employee perks, recruiting, client appreciation events, etc.

How much are soccer season tickets?

They don't sell season tickets for soccer. You buy unassigned seats at the game and sit wherever you want. No assigned seats.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by PonyTales:
<B>Do those packages offer include tickets to the NCAA men's soccer Final Four, which is going to be held in Ford Stadium this year?</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The NCAA isnt about to let anyone piggyback ticket sales on one of their events. They're beyond paranoid about that sort of thing. if its their event, any kind of playoff or tournament, then all the money is theirs, no combined sales, no combined promotions or advertising. Nothing. If you have any kind of advertising in a venue for one of their events it has to be covered or removed. Only advertising that they've sold can be visible.

Good job! I know (eventually) your enthusiasm will catch on. We need the Mustang Maniac fans of the past to load up their kids and grandkids and fill in the empty seats. If we can get'em there once, they'll be back. Phil Bennett has made a commitment and so has the team. We need to get behind these guys!!!