HCCM - The Rebuttal

[redpony]

OK- in the past I have said that. I really wanted an AD with some fire and moxey. I just didn't feel hart had that and still don't. Anyway, no use to continue this discussion as we both have different opinions.
BTW- how many coaches have we lost in the last 12-18 months- many who were winners.

[mrydel]

Red and I know each other well enough. He has always called Hart Turner's puppet. Others have also.

[tristatecoog]

RGT doesn't seem like the type to outright lie. He also seems supportive of athletics. At least with his attendance. $50 million for an IPF is quite a check for less than impressive naming rights. How much did Crum give for the $13M hoops practice facility?

From Feb 2008 (before market collapse): SMU basketball has a new MVP: the $13 million, 43,000-square-foot Crum Basketball Center, where players and coaches can practice, strength-train, watch films and receive rehabilitation care. Dedicated today, the facility is made possible by a leadership gift from Sylvie P. and Gary T. Crum. Other major donors to the facility are David and Carolyn Miller, Vic and Gladie Jo Salvino, and the Embrey Family Foundation.

I'm making excuses. Did the natatorium take discretionary athletics funding away from an IPF?

[mrydel]

OK- in the past I have said that. I really wanted an AD with some fire and moxey. I just didn't feel hart had that and still don't. Anyway, no use to continue this discussion as we both have different opinions.
BTW- how many coaches have we lost in the last 12-18 months- many who were winners.

I agree that we disagree on Hart. But that is what makes us unique. Have a stiff drink and a relaxed evening.

[MustangStealth]

Chad can complain about the IPF til he's blue in the face, but attendance? He's not exactly helping. He dropped A&M. We have a promising start to his first season, beating UNT and hanging with Baylor and TCU past halftime, then lost to JMU during our Homecoming Centennial Celebration. We get some momentum after beating Houston, sitting at .500, and for Homecoming we get curb stomped. Every time we have a chance to bring in more fans, the team lays an egg.

[SMU_Alum11]

Chad can complain about the IPF til he's blue in the face, but attendance? He's not exactly helping. He dropped A&M. We have a promising start to his first season, beating UNT and hanging with Baylor and TCU past halftime, then lost to JMU during our Homecoming Centennial Celebration. We get some momentum after beating Houston, sitting at .500, and for Homecoming we get curb stomped. Every time we have a chance to bring in more fans, the team lays an egg.

Okay again I think it's fair to still blame June Jones for those crap games. The freshmen and sophomores that he is using is his and they are going to be well, inconsistent.

[JasonB]

IPF wasn't an outright lie. Some things happened economically and a major, major donor had to put things on hold.

Having said that, certainly could understand Chad looking around and thinking that rebuilding interest in the program is going to be more difficult than he thought. And other coaches are going to spin the IPF thing as Chad Morris lying, and he wants to get ahead of that.

We are still reaping what we sowed for 25 years. Those 25 years of fans aren't coming back until we are actually a GOOD team (i.e. don't get blown out when we play a big 12 team), and they aren't going to be loyal until we put together a handful of really good seasons.

[PonyKris89]

By "source" I guess he means every ponyfans thread ever?

If he is upset about attendance then he surely was not paying attention...
He needs to roll out some serious winning before complaining about it..

Kinda have my doubts about some of this tweet

[EastStang]

I was reading a Washington Post article about Jimmye Laycock, the William & Mary coach who has turned down P4 and 5 jobs to stay there at a much more modest pay scale. So we don't know what HCCM will do unto he does it. If he gets a winning record at SMU he'll have a dozen schools bidding. Or he might decide that we're a pretty good gig and stay for a lot of intangible reasons. He's our coach. Grobe won an ACC title at Wake Forest. Let me repeat that Wake Forest. That's a huge accomplishment. So do the Baylor powers trade him for. G5 coach with 7 wins and 16 losses. He is an up and comer but don't you think Baylor would snatch the Western Michigan coach first?

[Wild Mustang]

Respectfully, can we please stop talking about promises and an IPF? Talk of an IPF at SMU is nonsense.

Ultimately College Football is about winning games. SMU needs to win games. Can we please start talking about winning football games? Can we start talking about how we can get fans to games to fill the stadium?

Wins will bring the fans. Wins will bring the players. Wins will build momentum. Does an IPF win games? No. In time...wins will eventually help build an IPF. Why an IPF is part of any conversation right now with the state of our Football Program is beyond me. SMU is trying to establish a winning tradition with Coach Morris and Staff. We are trying to have a winning record. We are trying to get to six wins and go bowling.

[JoeKidd]

The always reliable anonymous source. Although I would be concerned we haven't broken ground on the IPF yet and the apathy of SMU students, alums and even allotta of those that do show up at games is astounding considering we live in Texas.

[JoeKidd]

And that's how the game is played-guess you don't pay attention much. SMU's alumni have been funding the athletic department at the highest levels of G5 for about 8 years now. We don't get to pass a student athletic fee, get state funding, cash 40 Million Dollar checks from a FBS Conference or have revenues from 40,000-60,000 season ticket holders-we will get the athletic program our alumni are willing to fund so than 200 SMU students can storm the field after beating a major rival. You can thank me for educating you so you don't sound so clueless in the future

"We don't get to pass a student athletic fee" - I have always wondered why we don't have this bundled into the student's tuition like every other major University.

[PonyFan32]

The IPF is important because it represents a lack of athletic support and competence from the president of the university. Saying it doesn't bring wins is a bit of a straw man. It's representative of a larger issue. IPF has been a recruiting tool for over a decade. It's beyond ridiculous that RGT didn't include it in the Second Century Campaign. Which is exactly how you run the risk of getting stiffed by the one donor you counted on to come through. By taking everyone else's money for other things and then trying to slide this in on the back end.

And please stop with the totally off base "where's your check?" Comments. Talk about elitist "your opinion doesn't matter unless you have money BS. I'd gladly donate some money as part of a larger effort to finish fundraising. Unfortunately my finances do not qualify me for a lead gift amount.

[gostangs]

So we think apathy is an issue, even though we haven't won in a meaningful way in 30 years and have not been in a decent conference in forever. We are lucky we have any fans. We have to earn them back with lots of wins.

5 wins isn't going to get noticed in Dallas. That is not yet a turn around. There is nothing for chad to be unhappy with at this point.

And those that say turner and our leadership are not into athletics are just stupid. We have raised millions and millions - over 100 million - in only ten years for basketball, swimming, tennis, lacrosse, football, new weight rooms and offices, golf etc. That narrative could not be more idiotic.

[ReedFrawg]

So we think apathy is an issue, even though we haven't won in a meaningful way in 30 years and have not been in a decent conference in forever. We are lucky we have any fans. We have to earn them back with lots of wins.

5 wins isn't going to get noticed in Dallas. That is not yet a turn around. There is nothing for chad to be unhappy with at this point.

And those that say turner and our leadership are not into athletics are just stupid. We have raised millions and millions - over 100 million - in only ten years for basketball, swimming, tennis, lacrosse, football, new weight rooms and offices, golf etc. That narrative could not be more idiotic.

IPF should have been prioritized over all of this junk except hoops.