Say goodbye to our 3rd best recruit!

[East Coast Mustang]

Sorry but I think we have better job numbers than Harvard and that's the only statistic I care about.

Huh?

[SMU_Alumni11]

Sorry but I think we have better job numbers than Harvard and that's the only statistic I care about.

Huh?

Couch'em comment. I remember seeing Harvard PhDs etc on the streets begging for money so I know it's harsh for the Ivy League

[Grant Carter]

How this guy didn't see that we are the second smallest school in the FBS and a stadium that maxes out at 33-34k is beyond me.

What do you mean? I would say he did see that and that is why he went looking for a better game day atmosphere. At least, that is basically what he said right?

[couch 'em]

Yeah, it's tough to compete for recruits with schools like Tech and Oklahoma State.

Look, JJ should have never used it as an excuse or complained about it the way he did, but the attendance for the UCF game last year after beating TCU was atrocious. It truly looked like a HS game. The stadium was half full on a beautiful day. Thing is, Ford could be an awesome atmosphere if it were packed. I remember RG3 saying one of the loudest college stadiums he played in wasn't Texas or OU...it was UConn. UConn! He cited how close to the field the fans were or something.

$64,000 question- how do we get students and the community interested in SMU football and in the seats? It's easy to say winning, and that's certainly the most important thing, but the 2011 UCF game proved it's not the end all be all. There was no excuse for that game not being well attended. None.

The UCF game was counter programmed against a historic baseball game and another major event I can't recall. The stadium had the typical SMU alum crowd with no general public.

Sure it was an important game for us, but it was still a game agaist a team the general public has never heard of for lead in an irrelevant conference.......of course nobody who doesn't post on ponyfans had any idea how important the game was considering our non-marketing in 2011.

[Alaric]

Yep.

(And you will never see the field at either place). Enjoy.

So what makes you think that? I don't think either of those schools offer kids to fill out their scout team rosters. They both have lots of options

[Cougar King]

Do you guys bash every recruit who decommits or doesnt choose SMU?

[Pony ^]

If i had the options to play at a bigger school with bigger crowds, I would absolutely take that. Lets all be honest here. Nobody wants to play in front of a small crowd...even if they aren't playing. It's all about the experience

[Pony ^]

I'd rather have the opportunity to beat Texas or Oklahoma than Rice and Tulane. Harsh reality.

[jpe747]

Back on subject (goodby #3) we do need a men's track team! That cost us on this recruit and has most likely been a problem with others.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

East Coast Mustang has it right. If I had to pinpoint the exact moment when the June Jones experiment at SMU went south, it was when the team ran out of the tunnel to a half full stadium that day against UCF. June checked out from that moment on. But June isn't from here and he has a huge ego. I don't think he was prepared for what a small fish he and his program would be in the Dallas pond.

Attendance absolutely is the $64,000 question at SMU. It always has been. And fixing it is no easy task. Every coach and every AD at SMU since the 1960s has faced this problem. And with the exception of Mustang Mania for like 2-3 years in the late 1970s-early 1980s, no one has been able to solve it. This is Dallas. SMU alumni are vastly outnumbered in our own town by the alumni of UT, A&M, TTech, Arky, and probably a dozen other schools. The Ponies will always be up against MLB, NBA, and Big-12 or SEC showcase games at JerryWorld or the Cotton Bowl. How does a school like SMU compete with that? It's a really, really tough nut to crack. I don't pretend to have the answer. But until SMU figures it out, we will continue to lose recruits like Paul every year.

[East Coast Mustang]

Yeah, it's tough to compete for recruits with schools like Tech and Oklahoma State.

Look, JJ should have never used it as an excuse or complained about it the way he did, but the attendance for the UCF game last year after beating TCU was atrocious. It truly looked like a HS game. The stadium was half full on a beautiful day. Thing is, Ford could be an awesome atmosphere if it were packed. I remember RG3 saying one of the loudest college stadiums he played in wasn't Texas or OU...it was UConn. UConn! He cited how close to the field the fans were or something.

$64,000 question- how do we get students and the community interested in SMU football and in the seats? It's easy to say winning, and that's certainly the most important thing, but the 2011 UCF game proved it's not the end all be all. There was no excuse for that game not being well attended. None.

The UCF game was counter programmed against a historic baseball game and another major event I can't recall. The stadium had the typical SMU alum crowd with no general public.

Sure it was an important game for us, but it was still a game agaist a team the general public has never heard of for lead in an irrelevant conference.......of course nobody who doesn't post on ponyfans had any idea how important the game was considering our non-marketing in 2011.

Well the following week TCU played an awful New Mexico team on the same night as a World Series game in Arlington and drew almost 34,000. In comparison, we officially drew 22,000 (looked more like about 16k) against an ALCS with the defending CUSA champs in town.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

Right, and the fact is that there is a big-time professional or college sporting event in the DFW area that conflicts with almost every SMU home football game. I looked at my earlier post and noticed that I didn't even mention the NFL or NHL. The fact that SMU is competing for butts and eyeballs against bigger and more powerful sporting enterprises will never change unless the campus is moved from Dallas to Texarkana. If SMU wants big-time football, that is simply going to have to be overcome. Many have tried, almost all have failed. I wish I had the answer. But after watching this thing for many years, I've come to realize that it is a really tough problem for football (perhaps less so for basketball. We'll see).

[LHS81]

Better get used to it. SMU just lost another commit.

[sbsmith]

Better get used to it. SMU just lost another commit.

Dickerson will be next.

[SMUer]

Our offense lulls me to sleep most games, the on-field product is not up to snuff.