Mustangsabu wrote:If that is really true then we should just stop playing football. It's Texas. It's hot. We are really going to spend millions of $$ so that a minuscule subset of our students, students who but for the football program wouldn't be at the school anyway, can train in cooler temperatures.
Fund the academics for God's sake. Something the "university" can benefit from. According to the last Times World College Report, SMU ranks academically in the 350-400 range globally. That's shocking for a school with the resources of SMU.
Isn't it funded through the donations specifically targeted for Football?
Mustangsabu wrote:If that is really true then we should just stop playing football. It's Texas. It's hot. We are really going to spend millions of $$ so that a minuscule subset of our students, students who but for the football program wouldn't be at the school anyway, can train in cooler temperatures.
Fund the academics for God's sake. Something the "university" can benefit from. According to the last Times World College Report, SMU ranks academically in the 350-400 range globally. That's shocking for a school with the resources of SMU.
Isn't it funded through the donations specifically targeted for Football?
Mustangsabu wrote:If that is really true then we should just stop playing football. It's Texas. It's hot. We are really going to spend millions of $$ so that a minuscule subset of our students, students who but for the football program wouldn't be at the school anyway, can train in cooler temperatures.
Fund the academics for God's sake. Something the "university" can benefit from. According to the last Times World College Report, SMU ranks academically in the 350-400 range globally. That's shocking for a school with the resources of SMU.
Isn't it funded through the donations specifically targeted for Football?
It probably is but that is a whole other problem.
Honestly, until we see improvement from the schools outside of engineering, law and business, I don't see any one should bother donating there. Just my opinion. I rather donate to the sports programs because that's my main and pretty much only reason for coming back to campus. Outside of sports, I would only donate to Celebration of Lights. I wish the whole boulevard could be annually lit up and not just right outside Dallas hall.
What our administrations have never really understood is the importance of athletics to SMU. TCU got it and we didin’t/don’t. I went to SMU because of Doak Walker. My son went there because of the PonyExpress. I keep coming back to the campus because of athletics. Without that...Eh!
Arkpony wrote:What our administrations have never really understood is the importance of athletics to SMU. TCU got it and we didin’t/don’t. I went to SMU because of Doak Walker. My son went there because of the PonyExpress. I keep coming back to the campus because of athletics. Without that...Eh!
This is a dumb comment. You want to stop and add up all the money our university has spent on athletics? Moody redo - Miller event add on, Natatorium, IPF, Tennis, Lacrosse, golf, Football stadium plus countless additions and locker room redo's (if its been 12 months, its time for a new redo!), etc, etc. Its mind boggling for a university who is not in the top 5 conferences in the country. I think our administration is acutely aware of what athletics do for us, which is why we keep spending like drunk sailors to try to stay close to the hoop for any sort of future hope to join a real conference that will pay us a sustainable amount.
gostangs - in my mind, the administration is now full in - the problems is that some 15 years ago when TCU went all in we did not - the administration misjudged at that time the impact of the upcoming TV money - TCU did not and moved up accordingly and now is in the Big 12 - we slowly move forward and gradually by the time Chad arrived we committed fully to football and before that in Basketball when LB arrived - now with the IPF we are fully in - the problem is we are a little too late, hopefully when the new TV contracts are renegotiated we will be included in a major conference - right now the Big 12 is getting upwards of 30 million and we are getting about 3 - i will hop off the soap box now
I find the points made to be interesting. And honest.
When I think about it, however, I am dismayed that people choose to give more money to athletics than to the academic side. Shows a total apathy for the actual purpose of the university. Athletics should be an extension of the college experience not the focus. Students are there to be taught and to learn. And we wonder why SMU has a negligible global academic reputation...
