Tubbs For Davis

[Hoop Fan]

sure they can influence, right along with the AAU coach and the kids parents. The high school coach is only one of three major influences on a kid. Not to mention friends and peer pressure being another, often underestimated influence.

[Charleston Pony]

guys, the DISD coaches can talk up Coach Tubbs and cause more kids to take a look at SMU, but if the atmosphere at Moody wasn't so much like playing in a morgue, more kids just might be impressed when they do visit. Oh...and it wouldn't hurt to get that practice facility built and give Moody a facelift.

[KnuckleStang]

Yes, the lack of a practice facility and the aesthetics of Moody, all that stuff matters. But it wouldn't matter NEAR as much if the place were consistently full of people and loud. It's the overall impression of apathy that dooms us more than anything in recruiting. Moody is set up to be extremely inhospitable place for a visiting team. Our fan base and students just don't take advantage of it. Cameron Indoor is a dump, and their diehard fans view that as a source of pride. At SMU, nobody cares, so why should the recruits?

As for the DISD coaches, they ARE encouraging their players to choose SMU and Tubbs; the kids are just choosing other options. Look on the bright side. At least they're considering us now, which they didn't do much of before. I guess that's something.

[abezontar]

would it be an NCAA violation if we went out and paid people twenty bucks to come to the game? Say you literally bought 4500 fans (want to leave room for those of us that actually want to be there), that would be 90000 a game, and there were 17 home games this year so for the season (men's only) that is 1.53 million, to add to the 3 million athletic deficit we already have, but if it convinces good athletes to play ball here, then hopefully they would start winning and in a few years you could stop paying and start charging because there would be a demand to see the hot college bball team.

yeah, there is a question in that run-on

[couch 'em]

great ball players are egoists. I saw we pepper south dallas with billboards of individual players, with lots of "bling". Come to SMU - get your face on a billboard in front of your "homies"

[abezontar]

Why don't we advertise more in south Dallas, or for that matter all over Dallas? I never see anything, anywhere advertising the university at all, except for the occasional plug for the MBA school on NPR, no billboards, no tv ads, nothing

in addition to raising money for moody upgrades and a practice facility we need to be raising money for some advertising campaigns and an advertising endowment fund.

[EastStang]

I've got a better idea to build a crowd, of course the Highland Park and University Park and student body won't like it. Free food and a place to sleep in Moody for the homeless. Yes, you'll need lots of lysol after they leave, but a warm place and free food and you'll have hundreds of them. And if they stay awake during the game, they get a free bottle of Mad Dog 20/20.

[abezontar]

I like it, sit them all behind the opposing team's bench so they have to deal with the stench and the fear of getting attack by a psychotic aids ridden vet. We could even have them fight at half-time and put it on bum-fights.com

Or better yet, instead of doing the "big-shot" as an individual event, why not make it a group event, like have the fraternities, sororities, and other student groups do it, then they might support the program with their attendence more.