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Mr. Hart,

I've spent the past day or so reflecting on the beginning of our football season and tried to look at it through the lens of the future of the program. I tried to filter out the raw emotions of another frustrating, embarrassing loss on national television and focus on what that loss says about the current state of things and where we might be headed. Unfortunately, doing so has left me at a loss for positives. I see a program that claims to want to be in the upper echelon of college athletics. To that end, I see the efforts of coach Brown to build his basketball program to compete at that level. Then I am struck by coach Jones' either unwillingness or inability to do the same. With all due respect to coach Jones and sincerest appreciation for his efforts to bring the worst program in America to a level of respectability deemed unfathomable before his arrival, the fact remains that 6 years into his tenure we are stuck in neutral with no sign of a path ahead.

There are two undeniable facts, both of which you are well aware: the first is that the college athletic landscape continues to shift with an ever expanding separation between those who want to compete at the highest levels and those who either can't or don't. The second is that this separation, and the revenue and reputation that comes with it, is driven first and foremost by football. The window to stay at the top is closing, and for SMU to make the argument that it belongs at that level becomes increasingly hard to substantiate when year after year we play upper echelon conference teams and look completely unprepared. This speaks to recruiting, to game preparation, and ultimately execution. All of these things fall on the head coach on game day, and for all the effort and talk about engaging the fan base and improving the game day experience, the simple fact is that it is unreasonable to expect the casual fan to adopt a sub-par team as their own in a market filled with multiple ways to spend their entertainment dollars.

It also comes down to the true commitment of the university from President Turner, to the Board of Trustees, to the AD's office to ensure that all of our coaches have the resources they need to consistently compete at the highest levels. I know significant efforts have been made to address what in the past were glaring issues in the recruitment and retention of student athletes, but I would be curious if I were to ask coach Jones "what do you need to make that next leap?" what his answer might be and whether or not SMU has risen to the challenge. The optimist in me chooses to believe that the answer overall is yes, but Friday night's result lead me to question at exactly what level (or levels) have failures occurred and what is being done to rectify them. You have taken on a job that will be a unique opportunity to excel but one with a history of unnecessary challenges being thrown in your way. In many ways, you and coach Jones have that in common. I am not sure he has it in him at this point to overcome those challenges; I am hopeful that you will find the strength to take on those things that are holding the Mustangs back from taking their next big leap. Mediocrity is not a goal, and those who accept it as such are destined to destroy a legacy of excellence at SMU both on and off the field.

Arkpony wrote:Well said. I hope he responds.

78pony wrote:RyanSMU98, that was extremely well stated. Thanks for what was obviously a lot of time and effort.

No doubt Ricky H will respond. He does to all my letters. I suspect he will thank you for your letter and concern and support. Followed by a "we are constantly evaluating our staff, procedures, blah-blah-blah in an effort to allow SMU to compete at the highest level...

It will say nothing because this man, our AD, is not empowered to say or do a thing. This is rgt's puppet. rgt had enough of Orsini's sass and back talk and boom, he was gone. Make no mistake, turner runs this entire show and I hope that if you didn't, you will consider sending him a copy of this letter, along with brad cheeves (turner's caddie).

Stallion wrote:Ah the Open Letter to AD

It must be September

We need more critical thinking on February 2 (National Signing Date) rather than September 2

These results shouldn't come as such a surprise based on the results of February 2 and yet it seems to hit Ponyfans hard like a brick every September 2