Good grief Charlie Brown.

[Blvd_Stang]

Opponents matter and going to the BIG 12 would likely solve the attendance problem. But that's putting the cart ahead of the horse. We aren't getting invited into P5 until a P5 conference is desperate or we are winning WITH butts in the stands.

Now I think to myself, why would I go to a local college game with two teams I couldn't give a [deleted] about. Comes down to three factors:

1) The home team has a good product (fun football to watch)

2) Is it easy to get to the game (and leave the game)?

3) What else is happening at the stadium that makes it a fun experience?

It seems we are only focusing on #1 (which is the most important) and completely ignoring #2 & #3. It will take heavy investment into #2 & #3 to get us into P5 in my opinion.

Dallas mayor loves us so #2 could be solvable to some degree. #3 is solvable with money... Put a sick beer garden in the endzone area, musical artists at halftime & after the game, hire influencers / celebrities to come to the games, donate money to local orgs for every ticket bought, attack this thing head on!

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

Bringing in music groups is not going to increase attendance. My thoughts are more family events like face painting, balloon animals, free cotton candy, free hot dogs and free popcorn, etc..

Yes that's why the grassy hill at Ford is vital to keep.....hardcore X&O SMU football fans on here may not understand...but we need non-football focused Mom's and kids that want to attend games. If the kids have a good time, Mom is happy. I guess they are going to put a big football operations complex in the south endzone and I know that is important...but I almost wish they would put a carnival down there...with petting zoo, more kid games, special kid foods..slurpees, ice cream, cotton candy, popsicles, have that whole endzone as a giant kid zone....it would make the kids and Mom happy and yet they are still inside the stadium and connected. We must remember there are people in the stadium that are not concerned with the game and that's in all stadiums.

We're not going to fill our stadium with Mustang fans.

I agree. If we ever enlarge the stadium it will only be for visiting fans and the ticket sales visiting fans produce. I think if we went 12-0 our stadium would be large enough playing who we play that don't bring many fans. And thats not to say a packed 32K Ford would not be a lot of fun.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

Whoa, this is weird. It's been a very long time since I've posted anything. For what it's worth, my first year at SMU was Mike Caven's first year as coach and (I believe) our second year in the WAC. We went 6-5 and would have gone to a bowl game except that we blew it against an 0-10 TCU in the last game of the season (which I unfortunately attended at the old craphole Amon Carter stadium). That was my intro to the ongoing soap opera of SMU football. Since then I've seen us play in I think three different conferences. I've seen Caven show promise, bomb, and get fired, Bennett show promise, bomb, and get fired, Jones show even more promise, bomb, and quit, Morris show promise, bail, and then bomb at Arkansas, and now Sonny Dykes show greater promise than all the others. Having said that, I would be very surprised if Dykes doesn't get hired away at the end of this season. He will have opportunities for a huge guaranteed contract at a P-5 school. He would be a fool to toss that away and gamble on the fact that he could pull SMU out of the G-5 and ultimately get the same thing here. But whether Sonny stays or goes, I wish him nothing but the best. The last few years have been more fun watching SMU than at any other time I can remember (not old enough to remember the halcyon days of the early 1980s). And in the end, that's what its all about.

Will SMU get into a P-5 conference someday. . . who knows. We have a lot going for us, but we also have a lot working against us. SMU is not an obvious choice for any current P-5 conference. But the dominoes are constantly falling and who knows what the future holds. Personally, I think the Big-12 without UT and OU is a dead conference walking. It won't last. And when it collapses we'll see where the dust settles.

Those comments are probably not at all useful. But they are my two cents. Don't hate on Sonny and don't despair for old SMU. When I think of what the campus looks like today compared to when I first arrived in 1997, our school has made unbelievable strides. . . and that includes athletics, which for a long time I never thought I would see.

[Water Pony]

"Those comments are probably not at all useful. But they are my two cents. Don't hate on Sonny and don't despair for old SMU. When I think of what the campus looks like today compared to when I first arrived in 1997, our school has made unbelievable strides. . . and that includes athletics, which for a long time I never thought I would see."

Welcome back 1983 Cotton Bowl.

I share your comments above and pragmatism. I am hoping Sonny recommits to the Hilltop with big help from our donors and administration to pay him and his staff commensurate with a P5 program and renovate and enhance Ford Stadium and its experience.

If there was ever a time to pull out all stops, this is the moment.

[bubba pony]

2) Is it easy to get to the game (and leave the game)?

the Dart light rail cost $2.50. you can park at all stations for free. you can avoid traffic jams before and after the game. a short walk, or free bus, from the Dart station to SMU stadium. This is a wonderful option. Maybe a free dart ride with an SMU football ticket will entice people to try it.
I have used dart and it is great.

[Charleston Pony]

Personally, I think the Big-12 without UT and OU is a dead conference walking. It won't last. And when it collapses we'll see where the dust settles.

Have to disagree. While I don't see any of the Big XII leftovers being attractive to other P5 conferences, I do think they are a stronger version of the AAC that will cover 3 time zones. If college football ever gets to the four 16 member "super conferences" that many pundits were predicting once TV took over in the 90's, then yes, the Big XII is out of that equation but they would likely be the "best of the rest" and their cherry picking the AAC's best football programs has put them in a good position to survive long term. They are in a good position to expand to 14 or even 16 schools by continuing to cherry pick from the MWC or AAC.

[ALEX LIFESON]

Understand for those who are like me, "the new guys", we watched June's collapse after rumors, and Chad walking off for us to get mauled at a crappy bowl game. We've always felt that we are about to flip it into 3rd gear only for the whole transmission to fall through.

Welcome to "battered pony syndrome". Believe me, it is real. So '11 there is no shame in what is a 25 year plus fact. Over the years I have known several friends that were true Mustang fans croak "waiting for things to turn around in the next few years".

True story.....I also know friends that stepped in that casket, still hoping for that "turnaround".

[Charleston Pony]

When I see that SMU coffin it reminds me of the Cleveland Browns fan's obituary that read "and when I go, I want some Browns' players to serve as pall bearers, so they can let me down one more time"

[Webmaster]

"Those comments are probably not at all useful. But they are my two cents. Don't hate on Sonny and don't despair for old SMU. When I think of what the campus looks like today compared to when I first arrived in 1997, our school has made unbelievable strides. . . and that includes athletics, which for a long time I never thought I would see."

Welcome back 1983 Cotton Bowl.

I share your comments above and pragmatism. I am hoping Sonny recommits to the Hilltop with big help from our donors and administration to pay him and his staff commensurate with a P5 program and renovate and enhance Ford Stadium and its experience.

If there was ever a time to pull out all stops, this is the moment.

Agreed. And that's becoming my point of contention with our current leadership. There are things we have direct control over and things we don't. SMU is well on the way to bringing down $1.5B in the Ignited campaign. Can anyone tell me that success in that initiative won't be achieved quicker and easier with and enthusiastic alumni base? Of course it will!

We can't arm bar out way into the B12, but we can immediately boost our profile in one of the (alleged) key metrics when conferences vet potential members, which is paying our coach and coaching staff. And the bigger/longer the contract, the more that will boost our profile in the eyes of our potential conference mates. Same goes with certain athletics capital improvements that are currently on the table.

SMU has made more mistakes since the DP than I can catalog. And they can't be undone. What can be done, TODAY, is make positive steps forward. And that is what's required of good leaders.

[EastStang]

When I see that SMU coffin it reminds me of the Cleveland Browns fan's obituary that read "and when I go, I want some Browns' players to serve as pall bearers, so they can let me down one more time"

If that was on Twitter, I'd retweet it. Classic. I remember going to a Sears when their ads were "Sears has everything". I saw tombstones and said, "Wow they really do have everything.".

[Glenn Sosbee]

We’re 7-1 and the sky is falling. Only on the Hilltop.

[Charleston Pony]

We’re 7-1 and the sky is falling. Only on the Hilltop.

In fairness, none of those 7 wins have come against a team with a winning record. We won't get an opportunity to do that until UCF

[Glenn Sosbee]

Fair enough but other team’s unsuccessful records are their problem.
I refuse to apologize for contributing to their losing records.

[FIVE-O-FAN]

Joel Klatt on the Ticket yesterday talked at length about what Patterson, and the football success, did for the school academically. When they became a nationally recognized program, TCU began receiving more applicants as a result of the exposure. This allowed TCU to raise their academic standards which were not high at all at the time.

I know SMU admin is committed to academics. I also think that they have shown an interest in being more competitive in sports. What I don’t think they see is that the two can be correlated. It is not the zero sum argument of academics vs athletics. The two can coexist and benefit one another. An investment in athletics can positively impact academic standing by raising the school’s level of exposure and increasing interest in attendance.

This is an argument for investment in athletics that I have rarely seen.