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Has anyone followed the job Calipari has done at Memphis?

He pulled off a great move to get top bball prospect DeJuan Wagner, he went and hired the boy's father, former NBA Baller Milt, as a consultant.

For top D-FW area recruits, SMU may want to try a similar move. The same goes for HS Coaches/ Former PRO's whose sons are budding stars.

Another way would be to have the great alumni business connections possibly give a better job to the parents of top recruits who are within reach.

These ways are shadey but another Dickinson-James Duo is needed.

I know he's a kind of obscure figure in Pony lore, but wasn't his name Dickerson? (Just picking on you, '06. Keep 'em coming.)

Actually, I like the idea. I know former SMU hoop stud Carl Wright (is that his name?) has a son who's a major player at The Colony, I think, and he needs to steer his son toward the Hilltop.

Also, is this the year that Coach Ringo's connections with area coaches begin to pay off? Our wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator is supposed to be pretty tight with a ton of high school coaches, in the Metroplex and around Texas, and he now has a full year under his belt opening doors and building relationships on behalf of SMU. Start landing the local hosses, Coach R.

[This message has been edited by SMU00 (edited 05-09-2001).]

how exactley did they get Dickerson and James?

Why doesn't SMU just do the same today?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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and more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

and in answer to your question, that is illegal and the NCAA watches us like a male-widow watches baywatch.

Go check out a book at the local library called <I>A Payroll to Meet.</I> It is a discontinued book so bookstores don't have it but most libraries do. Dirty Bird, fellow poster on the site, told me about it.

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Go Ponies!

[This message has been edited by ponystudent (edited 05-09-2001).]

who was behind the recruitment of Dickinson and James?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by smu'06:
<B>who was behind the recruitment of Dickinson and James? </B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I know it must be hard to remember from one post to the next, but it is DICKERSON!!

I am not sure exactly who the brains was, but I know that Former Texas Governor Bill Clements was a leader for a while. As far as the money goes, there was a VERY LARGE slush fund that players were paid through.

And smu'06, you better learn the GREAT Eric Dickerson's name. D I C K E R S O N, Dickenson is some writer.
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Go Ponies!

[This message has been edited by ponystudent (edited 05-09-2001).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ponystudent:
<B>
And smu'06, you better learn the GREAT Eric Dickerson's name. D I C K E R S O N, Dickenson is some writer.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sorry, it was a typo.

I just shot over here to check out the recruiting goods, and noticed the question posed by 06er as to how we got the Pony Express. Money had tons to do with it sure, but it James' case it was something much more valuable , he followed his girlfriend(now wife) to SMU. His aunt lives in Lufkin and that's what she told me. Eric said it all in his acceptance speech for the Hall of Fame when he quoted what Ron Meyer told him: "Come to SMU and I'll make you a rich man"(or something like that) you can listen to it if you go to the hall of fame web site and look up Dickerson's name. Just thought I'd drop in my two cents.

It was well known in that time frame that Ron Meyer felt good about getting James because his girlfriend had enrolled the year before. In Dickerson's case, there was a great quote attributed to Meyer: "take everything that anyone offers; but come see me last".

Pony Student. Just a few words. "A Payroll To Meet" was written by a guy who couldn't get anyone actively involved to talk. No athletes, coaches, alumni, or faculty/staff. It is a good introduction at best. I know. I was a student at SMU at that time. I was a freshman in 1983. I lived on the same floor as David Stanley. He was a drug addled loser, who was left further twisting by a screwed-up coaching staff. I knew a number of footballers at the time, and saw first hand at what an entirely average coach Bobby Collins was. Very weak recruiter also. We should have continued to dominate through the 1980s, but it all managed to unravel under Collins, with the whole episode coming apart when a number of ut alums in press got Stanley to rat on us. Never mind that ut, a$m, and MANY others were doing the same things (and worse.) Former Texas gov. Bill Clements was made aware of the situation that had evolved as a result of some overzelous alumni getting payola going. Part of why we were treated so severly was a result of major alums involved being kept anonomus. Plus, we were made to pay for sins of college athletics. NCAA would not, and will not, EVER threaten its big $$$ schools. Look at notre dame or alabama. When I was first in SMU, my step brother was playing hoops in LA. One of the biggest players in LA was recruited to lsu. They paid $$ to him and bought his mom a house in louisiana. We watched it all happen.

We can again get the good kids, but we have to rely on QUALITY. Show them what a good school SMU is, and show that the alumni and students care. SMU has a grand history. Don't forget it and let us use it to the fullest.

GO PONIES!

It does nothing to dredge up the events of the 1980s other than to bring negative images to mind. Nonetheless, A Payroll to Meet is a very well-written book that offers a clear insight into the events that led the athletic program to its current state.

Pony Pride, I agree that bringing up the past doesn't help. I've stated that. But, I don't agree about the book. It was not "well written." It was an outside view looking in, thankfully anyone close to the issues then NEVER spoke with the author. For anyone curious, it is merely a starting point.

Point well taken. Maybe a "starting point" is the better way to phrase it...