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How long will the next basketball coach get before he must have a conferenct title, ncaa bid, etc? Dement had almost nine years before he was cut loose. In football - the team has performed even worse than it did for the previous coach the past two years. What kind of expectations will be placed on the coach by Copeland?

Why don't you email him and ask!

50's Pony...wake up on the wrong side of the bed?

PonySnob, I think it depends. If we get another "Dement" who can produce winning records and high grad rates, lord knows how long he would be here. But I would say that Copeland will geive this new guy 5 or 6 seasons to see what he can do. That is, unless, he completely runs the program into the ground....I guess my answer is that it depends...

I am trying to see what kind of expectations that the "1500" have as well as any other alumni. At some point, shouldn't we be able to expect to win finish as a top 1 or 2 school in the conference, win championships, and play in the post season? This statement also pertains to football as well. I would certainly hope that the football team has reached the "bottom" in terms of product on the field and regarding the number of people at games. In hoops, this season looked very promising at the beginning, but it has ended up being one of the worst in the last decade. Do the majority of SMU fans/alumni have any expectations of their athletic programs ever being respectable?

Why don't you ask the Administration - seems to me they don't care about winning. If they really did we'd have a chance to compete...We, the fans have no idea what they are thinking and we can't compete or expect to win any championships the way things have been going...

The only positives I see the last 5 years:

1- new stadium
2 - tailgating on campus

At some point, I would think that the administration would realize that fans/alumni are demanding results given the fact that the stands are always empty.

You would think but I don't think they see it that way. Not a priority. This is the turning point and they have a chance to redeem themselves, otherwise things are going to get worse - we ARE at the bottom now so nowhere to but up I guess. We have the worst football team in Division 1 and a basketball team that has not seen the dance in a decade.

Woe is me! "...things are gonna get worse." "...haven't been to the dance in a dozen years." How can you stand yourself? There are positives and negatives in SMU athletics, but all one can read at ponyfans.com is the incessant wailing of a bunch of negative, unhappy, miserable old men. It's never gonna be the way it was, but when we get back to the top it sure as hell won't be because of the majority of the people who post here.

Puuleeze buddy, you are so superior...

I have stated the reality of the situation. Fans are falling off every year my friend. It's not too much to ask for a winning season and compete for the top every ONCE in a while is it. BTW, I am not a grumpy old alum, just a po'd young one.

Bergermeister wrote:Woe is me! "...things are gonna get worse." "...haven't been to the dance in a dozen years." How can you stand yourself? There are positives and negatives in SMU athletics, but all one can read at ponyfans.com is the incessant wailing of a bunch of negative, unhappy, miserable old men. It's never gonna be the way it was, but when we get back to the top it sure as hell won't be because of the majority of the people who post here.

When are we going to get back to the top? Currently, we have the worst team in division 1 football and a basketball team that has not been to the NCAA tournament in over a decade. The biggest problem with many SMU fans/alumni is that they do not have high expectations for the athletic department.

SMU's new coach will inherit a roster that is capable of winning next year. Maybe not the WAC title. UTEP will be even stronger next year, but SMU will return enough talent to be a very tough team at Moody and will be capable of beating a lot of WAC opponents on the road.

This could be a great job for somebody, but next year's recruiting class is going to be critical if any new coach is going to improve from his 1st to 2nd year on the job. Unless Rack and Reay develop significantly, next year has "talented big man needed...who can contribute IMMEDIATELY" written all over it.

UTEP is loaded, but whether they are better next year will depend at least in part on whether Coach Gillespie (and his recruiting machine) are still in El Paso, or whether the rumors are true and he's coaching in College Station.