Serious Question about Students

[Big12Mustang]

Getting in the Big 12 and being ranked for 10 years straight would solve our attendance problems. See TCU.

[SMUer]

Legit D1 tackling wouldn't hurt either

[Big12Mustang]

Legit D1 tackling would hurt either

True that. Watching other games on Saturdays makes you feel bad when you actually see real offense/defense

[Big12Mustang]

I did see some offense last Sat. Hopefully we will see more and a hella lot more D against Cincy

[NewAgeMustange]

i don't know if it was a blessing or a curse, but that 20 minute storm took out our cable/internet till sunday evening so I saw nothing but box scores. I really wanted to watch some football last weekend.

I remember them doing a YA happy hour during half-time one game.That had a great turn out from what I remember, I would take part in free drinks anytime.

[Brooklynhite]

In the late 70's (Mustang Mania era, before the Pony Express) when we played in Texas Stadium, students would travel by (beer keg) buses all the way out to God forsaken IRVING, and the student section was packed, everyone went to the games! The make up of the student body was an equal mix between Texans and out of state students, so that wasn't a problem. The team was doing okay - just okay - although there was always the hope we could pull off an upset over a big boy team. Ironically, I was always concerned about the crowd size and was embarrassed when there were only 30,000 or so SMU fans in the stands (in such a big stadium). Friends tell me I frequently made the (seemingly unrealistic) comment that "I wish we could move football back to campus, to Owenby Stadium."

I think decades of futility did something to the mindset within the student body of there being a "social" reason to attend the games (and let's face it, that is a mighty important factor, even if it sounds rather dilettantish to some of the hard core sports fans on this board!). But as many here have noted, the success of the basketball team has changed that dynamic with students, so it conceivably could with football too, although it will probably be a longer slog (both turning the team around, and then convincing the students to leave the boulevard and go into the stadium).

[Puckhead48E]

Next season, the coach makes a point to be involved in Mustang Corral and then visits every fraternity and sorority and asks them to attend the games in force. This is followed by Turner "asking" them to attend (if he uses the same kid gloves he did with them in the late 90's, they will get the point). Once you get them there, you have started winning the battle.

Oh, and please tell me how packing a 5K and some odd number seat facility for a winning team where local bigwigs and celebs are trying to get in has anything to do with attendance for football at SMU since 1985?

[whitwiki]

DONT STUDENTS ATTEND BASKETBALL GAMES AND STAY UNTIL THE END?

2 hours vs 4

[NewAgeMustange]

honestly I think that if you moved student groups more towards the stadium with where their tents are that would help.

Also dinner with the new coach, I think I had more fraternity dinners with lori white and doherty then jj. I don't remember him ever coming by a house.

[Big12Mustang]

Don't look for excuses, Big 12/SEC programs in Texas pack their houses and students stay the whole game.

[mrydel]

I want our students to support the team but it is time to stop complaining about their attendance. I laughed watching UCF last night and thinking if we had their student population and only 1/3 of them went to the game we would have a packed house. The students are not an attendance problem, there are not enough to matter. The students are a support problem and if we can give them a product of which they can be proud as has been done with basketball, they will come.

Attendance needs to be solved within the entire
Dallas area.

[NewAgeMustange]

Don't look for excuses, Big 12/SEC programs in Texas pack their houses and students stay the whole game.

* students looked packed in, but they could have spread out.

"Packed house" two Big XII programs playing each other. If anything the students that showed up to the ICE bowl game last year show that students do care. We do need to get the entire city involved, preferably by winning.

[PerunasHoof]

Agreed MRydel. The students aren't really the problem. The difference between when I went to school and the past year or two has been night and day. I went from 02-05 and we barely filled up one section, which included the band I believe, for a quarter. At the TAMU and TCU game the students filled three sections and most didn't leave until the games were way out of hand. If were winning, or competitve, I think they stay.

We need to fill the rest. That's going to make more of a difference than 1,000-2,000 more students coming to the game

[PK]

Don't look for excuses, Big 12/SEC programs in Texas pack their houses and students stay the whole game.

* students looked packed in, but they could have spread out.

"Packed house" two Big XII programs playing each other. If anything the students that showed up to the ICE bowl game last year show that students do care. We do need to get the entire city involved, preferably by winning.

Don't know when this photo of a TCU vs OU game was taken, but it wasn't this year. This year the students were doing a white out and they filled the whole student section between the goal lines...and they stayed until the end of the game at which point they rushed the field (we aren't the only ones to do that sort of thing ). BTW, it was a really good game to watch.

[Stallion]

that picture was TCU v OU and its not even game time because the Cheerleaders are forming line for the player entrance