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For those of you who say we'll wind up with a D2 guy b/c of whatever reason, here's what an Assoc. AD from an SEC school had to say when I asked him about the SMU job:

"The SMU job would without a doubt be a dream job. The Dallas area,
academic reputation of the institution, and the strong backing of the
alumni and boosters are very, very appealing. However, SMU will be
looking for a "sitting" AD; probably, with ties to either the
University
or the state of Texas. SMU's athletic director salary is actually one
of the top paid AD salaries in the country, and will be in great
demand"

and upon follow-up: "Thanks again for your kind words, and best wishes on filling the AD position. Someone will be quite lucky to land that job."

Of course, school officials are generally diplomatic and won't bash jobs at other schools, especially ones who will apply for other jobs down the line. Take the comments for what they're worth, but it's nice to hear things "from the outside."

I guess by strong backing from alumni/boosters, he meant two things: 1) The 1500; and 2) big $$ from the likes of Ford, Hunt etc. over the years (I won't go into the big $$ from other sources)

Who is it?

And, what is implicitly wrong with hiring someone from D2? Wouldn't you want the best candidate?

Nothing is wrong with hiring a D2 AD if they are the best candidate for the job. However, doing so would fuel people's rhetoric (like Stallion in particular) that the SMU "model" is flawed somehow and that the program doesn't have university support. Thus continuing the stream of BS from people that don't know what they are talking, but think they do. By the way, I admit that I don't as I am not on the selection committee. I don't care where the next AD comes from as long as they are the best possible candidate. I have a feeling that the next AD will enjoy success and we will be looking at Copeland in a few years as the AD that laid the foundation for that success.

I agree that there might well be a great candidate in D2 or D3 or D8, but if we go that route, the skeptics will scream that we've been shopping at a discount store.

Dement-ed wrote:I agree that there might well be a great candidate in D2 or D3 or D8, but if we go that route, the skeptics will scream that we've been shopping at a discount store.

Rumors like this just fuel discontent. I would be all for an assistant at a school with some success. The problem is that BCS school experience means very little at SMU. Why? Because at Arkansas or Auburn you already have an established program with a huge fan base.

An A.D. at a D2 school would have already faced many of our current issues (declining fan base, athletic deficit, hostile academics). He would also probably be very ambitious, and willing to take on some of the sacred or scared cows of SMU athletics. The downside of this kind of A.D. would be that he would be very demanding, and our current coaches would be on a very short leash (look at the guy at Kansas with Mangino).

i think the guy is being 'diplomatic' & polite - nothing else.

i would venture to say its much like the head coach job when phil took it:
"have you lost your mind - phil???!!!"

Look, when motivated, the alumni of this school can move mountains. The money to build Ford once the Ford check came in was raised effortlessly. This school raises ridiculous amounts of money all the time. The fact is that enthusiasm for SMU athletics has been run into the ground. It can be turned around.