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Not good.

Matt Stepp ‏@Matt_SteppTOC 12 Dec

So I asked yesterday why #SMU isn't hosting #txhsfb playoff games this yr and the consensus answer from coaches is they are terrible hosts

Rebel10 wrote:Not good.

Matt Stepp ‏@Matt_SteppTOC 12 Dec

So I asked yesterday why #SMU isn't hosting #txhsfb playoff games this yr and the consensus answer from coaches is they are terrible hosts

I understand it is via Twitter, but I'd want to know specific reasons before responding further.

The coaches did not give specifics. But that is what they said.

This is something that should be easily rectifiable and should be done starting today. I assume this is under the care of Hart and correcting situations like this will be a way that he can show his leadership as AD. This problem did not occur under his watch, but it is his job to repair the damage done.

You would have thought that our football coaches would have had a good enough relationship with the Texas high school coaches that they would have found this out earlier and rectified the matter before it came to this.

Rebel10 wrote:You would have thought that our football coaches would have had a good enough relationship with the Texas high school coaches that they would have found this out and rectified the matter before it came to this.

I imagine we lost that when we dropped the liaison position whenever that was. Bad thing to do especially coupled with our lack of area contact. I do not agree with the attendance incentives because that is futile at SMU. But this is a reason for the AD to call the coaches in on the carpet and see that things are done properly to solidify connections with Texas high schools, especially in DFW area. I expect to have the playoffs back at Ford next year unless there is a reason we do not want them there.

this is just unacceptable.

is it me or does SMU just do everything completely wrong with regards to building community support?

I mean seriously, all I ever hear about is how we dropped the ball yet again.

to his credit, LB seems to be doing a good job in this area.

It should be pointed out that SMU played home games on 2 of the most important playoff Saturdays-I don't know the reason though. I remember some complaints on high school boards concerning parking at games at Ford. There is also some more competition with for example the Allen facility. Its too bad whatever the reason because last year SMU had the best playoff schedule I can remember. Ford makes a lot of sense for games between North suburbs (Allen, Plano, SLC) v Southern Suburbs (Desoto, Cedar Hill, Skyline)

That may well be the reason but if there is a survey saying we are not good hosts, that is bad. I do not do the "email" thing very often, but I have emailed Hart in regard to this in order to see what we are doing about the situation. Good relations with the HS community is a must, and our stadium, though small is attractive and can be a selling point to potential recruits.

there were some stories a few years ago that SMU required high schools to pay extra for stuff like use of video boards instead of writing it off as high school relations. Isn't there some zoning or municipal restrictions on the number of events that can be held during a particular week too-if so that could have played a part since SMU had 2 home games

@Clint_Bolt if you have a choice between a site that's going to be hospitable and one that's not..you'll choose the site that's hospitable

@Clint_Bolt I also think lack of parking and poor access hurt SMU but every coach who answered mentioned SMU being poor hosts

@Clint_Bolt schools want to play at a place they are treated well..coaches are a diff breed sometimes the most mundane things matter to them

Parking might bother the high school fans, but for college games UT's and TCU's parking situations for instance are no better than ours and they pack their houses. Provide something the fans want and the parking issues go away.

Parking really is more of a structural space issue but not being good hosts is a relationship issue. You can have bad parking and still be good hosts. If they said we are not good hosts it has to do with how they were treated not where they parked.

This just goes back to the major problem with this staff, and JJ in particular. There seems to be no effort to develop relationships with local HSs, and this is in year six. I would be curious to know how many of the area HS coaches have ever met JJ.

No point to playing in Ford. The Allen Stadium is better in every way for high school games. Unless you need the extra 10k seats.