Attendance/Marketing Project

[RepublicanPNY]

None of these marketing theories matter. How many "Dallas" fans filled Moody before last year? Not many. Now the demographics at Mustang BB games are pretty broad. Put a legitimate contender on the field and the fans will show up.

Losing to A&M, Baylor, TCU and Tech on a routine/yearly basis followed by a mediocre 6-6 finish will not fill the stadium.

The masses want to be entertained and follow a winner. How entertaining has Junes offense been over the last 7 years? Records for passing yards/points scored? Justin Willis to Sanders was more entertaining!

[Johnny Utah]

Can someone explain to me why Hart needs to pay a consulting group to decide who to hire as coach? Isn't that what we pay him for. Seems like another huge waste of money... And who are these "experts"? I bet for several hundred thousand they create a PowerPoint presentation that consolidates the usual suspects resumes... Sad. Hart is such weak AD.... every time I hear him he sounds scared and clueless...

[SMU89]

Contact w/out contact

[blackoutpony]

Football dad, I sense you've been here for a year, maybe two. I've been to more games than you and seen what's been going on since 08 (which is nothing compared to a lot on here). I live halfway across the country since I've graduated and still come to 3-4 games a year. STFU about saying I don't "want to know the truth" about our alumni and fan base. You couldn't be more wrong. I was constantly the one of, if not, the only kid in my frat that actually went to the game, along with our ex football playing bro, while everyone else went back to the house or barley to keep drinking. I MORE than understand our problems.

I get that you want the best for your som, and I'm very glad you do, but chiding our small fan base when the product is horrible is pointless. Winning CONSiSTSNTLY against teams that matter will solve the problem with alumni. Dallas likes winners and not much else. We've had this [deleted] argument on here a million times and I'm sure we'll have it a million more. Want to know the only thing SMU hasnt actually tried to solve the problem? Win when it matters. Like SMUer says, even if those 2,000 (being generous here) come in from the blvd, that doesn't solve the problem at all. What a ridiculous thing to focus on....

I'll chide the fan base all I want, just like you chide the team and players. How bout you just focus on getting your frat buddies off the blvd and into the stadium. Remember, we have beer in the stadium now.

"Winning CONSiSTSNTLY (not sure what that word is?) against teams that matter will solve the problem". I think that has been debunked by at least a dozen people on this board alone. If you believe, as a non-P5 member, we should CONSiSTSNTLY beat Baylor, A&M and TCU, you are delusional. Although I suppose that will always provide the great excuse you need to excuse the poor attendance. Seems to me it would be much better to schedule TCU, UNT and 2 other winnable games, win the AAC, and finish with 10+ wins, but that strategy seems to always get shouted down by the 'teams that matter' crowd.

Good luck with that strategy and kicking off the season 1-3 every year. Seems even more embarrassing to me to have A&M completely take over our stadium and campus in a game we can't win vs. a game we can win in a half empty stadium.

I don't know, that's just me, as an actual football fan.

Man, you seem like one biter dude. Get my frat buddies off the blvd? Yes, becuase getting my 50 buddies into ford soleves the attendance problem. When will you understand that the blvd crew makes no difference and doesn't solve the problem? It's just another crap excuse. Oh well

I have NEVER had a problem with any of the players. I appreciate them being here. It's not their fault they simply can't compete, it's Junes for assembling the group and then tucking tail and running.

I also never said that we SHOUlD always beat P-5 teams with the OOC schedule we've had. I'm probably the biggest realist on this board, so I know thats not gonna happen. Since you're a dad, you don't want your kids team to get embarrassed like they have (duh), which is why you don't want that schedule. I"m not saying beat A&M, BU, TCU and Tech, but how about beat tech, pull one out against TCU and don't look rag dolls against anyone. I'm not even saying to play that schedule, but we only have 40,000 living alumni in Dallas, so to expect 75% of alumni and your student body to come to see SMU play cloud 9 university isn't going to happen. You need to get them to pay attention somehow and that comes with winning against relevance. UCF and ECU the past two years seemed to have figured that part out. TCU got itself into the big XII. Boise did it for the better part of decade. Utah did just fine. But yeah, let's blame the fans. Totally their fault.

[blackoutpony]

And one more thing if you really are "an actual football fan" or an actual SMU fan, you'd want us to play and beat good teams and not cry about the schedule.

[footballdad]

And one more thing if you really are "an actual football fan" or an actual SMU fan, you'd want us to play and beat good teams and not cry about the schedule.

I guess it's just the inability to let go of the PonyExpress days and the old SWC that anyone would still be comparing SMU to those schools, or any of the current Big 12. They're out of our league in more ways than one and that ship has sailed. We're in the AAC, winning the AAC is our reality. If we had the budget and fans and facilities to compete with those schools then bring em on. We don't. They're bigger and faster and stronger than us because they're in a different league. They're guys have 3,4 & 5 stars and ours have 2 & 3 stars for a reason...they're in a different league. I'm not crying about anything. You just apparently can't admit that SMU is not on the same level as TCU or Baylor or Texas or Tech when it comes to football. It's like AA, the first step to finding your cure is admitting the problem. Go ahead, just admit that we're not in their same league any more. I know you can't and probably never will which just proves my point.

All I really care about at this point is Hart getting lucky enough to hire a great coach and staff to lead these fine young men. If you and all your friends never come to another game the rest of your life that's fine by me.

[Grant Carter]

I'm probably the biggest realist on this board

You forgot to add best looking and most modest. What do you base this statement on?

[East Coast Mustang]

blackoutpony also is putting the finishing touches on a cure for Ebola

[Rebel10]

Can someone explain to me why Hart needs to pay a consulting group to decide who to hire as coach? Isn't that what we pay him for. Seems like another huge waste of money... And who are these "experts"? I bet for several hundred thousand they create a PowerPoint presentation that consolidates the usual suspects resumes... Sad. Hart is such weak AD.... every time I hear him he sounds scared and clueless...

Doesn't cost several hundred thousand dollars. A couple of years ago I remember one school said that they paid around 28,000 for a search firm.

[Big12Mustang]

This scheduling dilemma is the just like the chicken and the egg. It has to be a mix of both, but just start off with a moderate OOC (TCU, UNT, FCS, Non B12, low tier P5) and set sights to win the conference and at least go 2-2 or better in that sched. When we have figured out our recruiting debacle and can deliver TCU a can of whooparse at least every 2 years, then shoot for going undefeated in that kind of schedule. Mix it up every couple of years and sub the P5 for Tech and beat them. But for now, while we have a team in recovery it won't help to play BU, Tech, A&M and TCU for OOC just yet.

[Big12Mustang]

And one more thing if you really are "an actual football fan" or an actual SMU fan, you'd want us to play and beat good teams and not cry about the schedule.

I guess it's just the inability to let go of the PonyExpress days and the old SWC that anyone would still be comparing SMU to those schools, or any of the current Big 12. They're out of our league in more ways than one and that ship has sailed. We're in the AAC, winning the AAC is our reality. If we had the budget and fans and facilities to compete with those schools then bring em on. We don't. They're bigger and faster and stronger than us because they're in a different league. They're guys have 3,4 & 5 stars and ours have 2 & 3 stars for a reason...they're in a different league. I'm not crying about anything. You just apparently can't admit that SMU is not on the same level as TCU or Baylor or Texas or Tech when it comes to football. It's like AA, the first step to finding your cure is admitting the problem. Go ahead, just admit that we're not in their same league any more. I know you can't and probably never will which just proves my point.

All I really care about at this point is Hart getting lucky enough to hire a great coach and staff to lead these fine young men. If you and all your friends never come to another game the rest of your life that's fine by me.

Yes footballdad, they are currently out of our league, but it doesn't mean we will always be out of the big boy leagues. Realignment is unoredictable and sometimes those expansion candidate decisions are made in less than a week (TCU and Big 12). We really need to upgrade the product on the field significantly as how ECU, UCF, Boise, Utah and TCU did, and that is by showing commitment to football and to winning the damn games. The "fans will come when we beat teams people care of" excuse is illogical and not applicable right now. Our immediate concern is to win big in the G5 so we can start building a fanbase outside of SMU like all the aforementioned programs have done and to bring back our estranged alumni to the games.

[smusportspage]

Can someone explain to me why Hart needs to pay a consulting group to decide who to hire as coach? Isn't that what we pay him for. Seems like another huge waste of money... And who are these "experts"? I bet for several hundred thousand they create a PowerPoint presentation that consolidates the usual suspects resumes... Sad. Hart is such weak AD.... every time I hear him he sounds scared and clueless...

"Hart is such weak AD....I don't think so, not by a long shot. Besides, that statement seems very wrong coming from a person that uses the avetar that you do. He does not need guns to help him do his talking. I do respect your right to use guns to do your talking, just don't think Hart would need them.

[RyanSMU98]

For all you folks complaining about how impossible it is for us to compete against the Big 12(ish), here's some perspective: Freaking North Dakota St. (an FCS school) has a better record against that conference (NDSU is 2-1 against Big 12 and Big 10, respectively) than our Mustangs. An FCS school in the middle of f-ing nowhere North Dakota. Just let that sink in for a sec. Say what you want about our talent level, but there is not one legitimate excuse that we have to not be able to field a team that can at least be respectable against our former SWC mates. For those questioning whether that should be the standard: OF COURSE IT SHOULD!!! If we can't find a way to make a game of it against the teams that supposedly represent the powers of college football, what the hell are we doing?? This isn't about reliving the glories of the past, it's about living up to the expectations of a competitive program. If that is too much to ask, then shut the damn thing down.

[CA Mustang]

For all you folks complaining about how impossible it is for us to compete against the Big 12(ish), here's some perspective: Freaking North Dakota St. (an FCS school) has a better record against that conference (NDSU is 2-1 against Big 12 and Big 10, respectively) than our Mustangs. An FCS school in the middle of f-ing nowhere North Dakota.

Actually, it is five straight wins. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=400547840

[redpony]

This isn't about reliving the glories of the past, it's about living up to the expectations of a competitive program.

Exactly- and if we can't be competitive then how the he!! can we ever expect to move up to one of the P5 conferences. They will want teams that are competitive as well as teams that have a following.