Student Attendance/Enthusiasm Key for Recruiting

[ponyboy]

That would be a big difference at either venue.

Touche.

[CalallenStang]

We will be having a viewing party on the Rotunda for the Rice game.

Why not just road trip it? More fun to be there in person.

For the students who are not fortunate enough to be able to road trip to the game, I think a viewing party is a pretty cool idea.

That said, I will be in Houston.

[mrydel]

Nice to see ndsonofhype18 try to alienate the last group of fans that do attend the games by insulting them.

pretty sure he never said anything insulting to fans going to the games. unless you consider being called a pre '83 alum to be an insult...

I took it as a direct insult. If anyone thinks Ford will fill by getting the students to show they are wrong. Surely we are all smart enough to count the number of students and count the number of seats and come to that conclusion. Yes, the students should be involved and that is an important part of college football spirit and energy. But filling Ford will not come from within the campus but rather by drawing in those from outside. Bringing in convicted drug dealers as a promotion is probably not the message we want to send as an institution of higher learning either. I like hearing that the marketing department is actively pursuing avenues to get the students involved, but I hope they will do a "Mustang Mania" Dallas area promotion also. It is we pre 83 (and even we pre 73) alums that will help fill the stands along with localites that want to come and see exciting football on a beautiful fall afternoon. I do not think the players will mind if the spectators are 8 or 80 as long as they are there and cheering for SMU.

[smaniac38]

I got a question, how was student attendance pre death penalty? If it was good when we were winning then it will be good when we win in the future. Otherwise SMU needs to relax with the SMU police carding every kid who doesn't look 35 and maybe some of the students will feel comfortable enough to stick around for the game.

[mrydel]

I got a question, how was student attendance pre death penalty? If it was good when we were winning then it will be good when we win in the future. Otherwise SMU needs to relax with the SMU police carding every kid who doesn't look 35 and maybe some of the students will feel comfortable enough to stick around for the game.

When I was there (68-72) student attendance was pretty good. Overall attendance was almost as bad as now. The reason for the good student attendance was that the games were at the Cotton Bowl, the Fraternities and Sororities had buses along with other buses for normal students. There were usually a few kegs on the buses for the passengers. Of course there was no leaving at half time since the buses stayed until after the game. There were some I am sure that spent the entire game on the bus but for the most part student attendance was very good. Again, however, the Cotton Bowl with a crowd of 17,000 sure looked awful empty, or just plain awful. It was not until the Mustang Mania campaign that attendance actually improved to a point that could be considered good. SMU, however, since I have been a part has never had what would be considered great attendance unless the opposition brought 40 or 50,000. I do not advocate alcohol in Ford, but it did factor into students attending in my day.

[couch 'em]

There were usually a few kegs on the buses for the passengers.

I do not advocate alcohol in Ford, but it did factor into students attending in my day.

What was the behavior of the students after riding over on a keg-bus probably as drunk as possible? Enthusiastic?

[mrydel]

There were usually a few kegs on the buses for the passengers.

I do not advocate alcohol in Ford, but it did factor into students attending in my day.

What was the behavior of the students after riding over on a keg-bus probably as drunk as possible? Enthusiastic?

I do not remember (guess why). I do recall, however, that we all escorted our "pregnant" dates. We learned quickly that the security folks checked purses for alcohol, but never "patted down" a pregnant woman. Lots of booze in the "womb".

[SMU2007]

When I was there (68-72) student attendance was pretty good.

wow. you are old.

[mrydel]

When I was there (68-72) student attendance was pretty good.

wow. you are old.

and yet still a die hard fan.

[ndsonofhype18]

Nice to see ndsonofhype18 try to alienate the last group of fans that do attend the games by insulting them.

I absolutely didn't insult anyone in my post. Included in my reference to the pre-1983 alums is my dad, the only person I know who is a bigger pony fan than me). All I'm saying is that a major factor in bringing talent to the program comes from the clear existence of student enthusiasm and support. I'm a sophomore at ND and we just got top RB Cierre Wood (#3 rated player in the country) to commit. He said a major part of his decision came from the incredible response from the student body. My buddies and I made a couple signs during his visit and hung them outside of Alumni and Dillon Hall. There's no denying the important role of the students. One of the biggest reasons I didn't end up going to SMU was because I have never been impressed with the fan atmosphere (save for Tulsa @ Moody a few years ago when we lost in OT, SMU's loss @ TCU knocking us out of bowl contention, and opening day at Ford Stadium).

Also, it looks like I ruffled a few feathers suggesting the Snoop Dogg performance. If you read my original post, I wasn't serious about bringing him in although he did perform during USC's football season last year. It's funny you voiced your disagreement with bringing in a rap act because the pep rallies are for students, not pre-1983 or even 73 alums. Sadly (no joke), Bruce Springsteen isn't as cool as he once was...

I'm actually the student rep for Notre Dame Athletics planning pep rallies and garnering student support for other less publicized varsity sports. We're forming a student group to welcome recruits to campus during visits after our clear success with Cierre Wood. I would suggest that SMU take notes from ND's PR program for football and look to Duke/UNC (like we are) for a good framework for successful basketball marketing. This season we're having the first ND Basketball pep rally in recent memory (and yes, we're booking rap acts for the show).

Can't wait to see what the former SWA marketing guy comes up with this season. Should be some very interesting changes coming soon.

[mrydel]

Can't wait to see what the former SWA marketing guy comes up with this season. Should be some very interesting changes coming soon.

If you are talking about SMU, that guy quit and went back to SWA.

[ndsonofhype18]

that's news to me - it's pretty clear SWA needs him more than SMU anyway haha.

[mrydel]

He followed up "Pony Up" with "Pony Up Yours" after just a short time on the job.

[Alaric]

promise free tuition to all DISD elementary kids if they attend all homes games pending a stellar SAT

[ndsonofhype18]

haha "Pony Up Yours" - i love it.

I'd be interested to see Hawaii's attendance numbers during JJ's tenure. I'm sure their situation closely mirrored SMU's today.