Poised on the brink of greatness...

[MrMustang1965]

...is where SMU finds itself right now.

The chance to name an AD who will kick-start revenue generating sports on The Hilltop.
The chance to have a winning season in football in 2006.
The chance to get the student body involved in the athletic program again.
The chance to have a first place women's basketball team.
The chance to have the GWB Library on The Hilltop.
The chance to shed the 'death penalty' phrase whenever SMU is mentioned.

How will the dice roll for the Mustangs?

Gentlemen - and ladies - place your bets!

[D1Football]

Good luck
Does SMU really care care about winning?
Fight On!

[westexSMU]

MrMustang1965, Very well said.... It is time to move forward. We have got to pull for Turner, Ford, Hunt Etc...... to make the right choices.

[Water Pony]

...is where SMU finds itself right now.

The chance to name an AD who will kick-start revenue generating sports on The Hilltop.
The chance to have a winning season in football in 2006.
The chance to get the student body involved in the athletic program again.
The chance to have a first place women's basketball team.
The chance to have the GWB Library on The Hilltop.
The chance to shed the 'death penalty' phrase whenever SMU is mentioned.

How will the dice roll for the Mustangs?

Gentlemen - and ladies - place your bets!

Thanks for the post, assuming the best, not the worst. At the risk of being a sunshiner, SMU needs to look forward, not back. Looking back creates the illusion that our situation can't be fixed.

With that said, the university needs to decide if it wants and, more importantly, values the role of athletics, especially Division 1A.? Your comment about the student body is very central to the issue. Turning their apathy into an asset needs to be Job One.

The football team is becoming competitve, but expectations are greater than that, especially on this board. The BB Team hasn't captured the momentum yet. Renovating Moody is a priority (as is improving Westcott and the all important addition of a new aquatic facility.)

So the question is: do we see ourselves in the same breath as USC, Miami, BC, Notre Dame (e.g. high powered privates), academic/athletic identity like Vanderbilt, Stanford, Northwestern, Duke, etc. or the Tulanes, Tulsa, Rice's. The alternative is 1AA.

So, what is the question we need to answer? That will determine who we recruit as AD and what the adminstration expects and demands.

Good post.

[Charleston Pony]

actually, more like TCU

[Flatlander]

I agree with so much of it, disagree on a different item- SMU sits at a time when it can reach out to the City of Dallas and try to establish itself as a team that the families can support. Not only the 'Parkies' kids, but the families of Dallas that can't afford $65 per ticket for a family of four....I think that the opportunity to reach out to those that have felt shunned by SMU for so long is here.

It dang well should be when the AD has to 'reach out' to the actual student body to support their peers.

[MrMustang1965]

I agree with so much of it, disagree on a different item- SMU sits at a time when it can reach out to the City of Dallas and try to establish itself as a team that the families can support. Not only the 'Parkies' kids, but the families of Dallas that can't afford $65 per ticket for a family of four....I think that the opportunity to reach out to those that have felt shunned by SMU for so long is here.

It dang well should be when the AD has to 'reach out' to the actual student body to support their peers.

Flatlander: agreed...SMU *must* reach out to the families that are looking for entertainment at a discount price.

Suggestion: SMU needs to work out a deal with DART. Ride to the game for $2 round-trip. Endzone tickets for $3. It's a $5 deal. Family of 5 comes to see an SMU game for $25. Best entertainment dollar for value in Dallas!

However, it's the PERCEPTION of coming to SMU for a football game that needs to be changed! Make SMU football the program for the 'everyman'.

Dallasites need to be reminded that SMU is a Div. 1-A school and a member of Conference USA. The history of SMU football needs to be outlined for a new generation.

Of course, winning games to get the media's and public's attention doesn't hurt, either. And I'm confident that SMU will win more games in 2006 than it did in 2005.

[westexSMU]

[quote="Charleston Pony"]actually, more like TCU[/quote] That has got to be our goal for now. It is realistic and manditory for us to compete in the DFW area. If we succeed, then maybe we will move toward TCU's goal of being one the top football programs in the country. To be honest even with the death penalty,we should have had a better program than TCU by now. When TCU AD Windigger resigned about 10 years ago, they made some good choices for a new AD, football coach, and everything has kind of gone their way since.

[stangerredblue]

Some good ideas in there. We should really go after families, and have a great entertainment value. There are thousands of empty seats, lower the prices significantly, until our image and product improves. (supply and demand)

[LawSchoolPony]

I completely agree that w/ a little marketing (and continued improvement on the field), SMU could really gain some popularity for the football games by just telling people about how cheap the games are!!!

Its is 1-A football, in a decent conference w/ a decent pre-game atmosphere,...for INCREDIBLY CHEAP TICKET PRICES. My parents pay more for our high school games than our SMU tickets.

With some better marketing, I think we could really see a rise in Dallas interest in SMU football games...

[SoCal_Pony]

At the risk of being a sunshiner, SMU needs to look forward, not back. Looking back creates the illusion that our situation can't be fixed.

They had better do both. To ignore the past is to ignore the fact that since the death penalty, out of 120 teams, SMU ranks #116. That is not due to coaching or lack of support from students and alumni or even the DMN. It is due to a failed model.

Turning student body apathy into an asset needs to be Job One.

It is unrealistic to think student apathy will change dramatically if we cannot compete. I do think it will be extremely illuminating to see how our new AD tackles attendance for our ’06 home schedule, which is undoubtedly the absolute worst SMU has had in its entire football history.

[jtstang]

We must be looking back and learning from past mistakes in planning the future.

[ponyplayer]

We must be looking back and learning from past mistakes in planning the future.

Study the past if you would define the future..................................

[LonghornFan68]

I'm looking forward to this year for SMU, maybe even moreso than UT. I think SMU has a chance to turn some heads this year and I fully expect them to. The schedule is set up perfectly for it.

[WildHorse]

I'm inclined to agree with you, LF68, but I want to see the quarterbacks play in the spring first.