Preview Mags starting to appear in stores

[couch 'em]

I'd like to see a football and basketball degree added. They would be similar to dance and music programs in that a significant portion of their degree relates to achieving excellence in their field. I'm surprised no school has tried this. I guess the NCAA has a rule against it, or that accrediting bodies will not sanction it.

Wouldn't that require you to study strategy and tactics, and thus constitute organized practice, causing athletes to exceed the max number of practice hours?

You could still have a major in "professional athletics" and study contract negotiation, motivational speaking (to prepare for future coaching career), physiology, nutrition, business..... Sounds legit to me....

[abezontar]

I also didn't know there were that many needs. I had the opportunity to visit with Coach Jones today and he told me that we are in the process of instituting a tutor program. I was surprised to learn we did not already have one. BTW, light turnout at the New Braunfels camp today. I counted 43 and I didn't see anyone that I thought was good enough, although there were a couple of decent QBs. Swope and Bordano were there, but did not participate. Coach said they had about 200 in Dallas and over 100 at Kilgore and Houston so the camps overall were successful.

What happened to the LEC?

[rich59]

MexMustang, you have some interesting revelations. Something to add to your observations. A number of years ago, in the 90s, I happened to play a round of golf, in Crested Butte of all places, with a fellow who played football at Ole Miss and later in the NFL. I won't mention his name, for his privacy and because he has a rather well known name around Ole Miss. This was right after Turner came to SMU from Ole Miss. I mentioned, during our round, that we had gotten the president at Ole Miss, Gerald Turner, to come to SMU. He said, "You can have him, he ruined the football program at Ole Miss." I did not ask him for details but I recalled that the football program at Miss. had gone down hill. Needless to say, that revelation dampened my enthusiasm for the new president and I have reflected often on that converstion since then.

[Mexmustang]

I've heard the same thing. President Turner has done a good job in alot of areas, but re-gaining control over the faculty and success in athletics, continue to be moumental failures under his watch. New buildings are fine, a new practice facility for basketball, a new stadium for football, but the wins aren't there and that is essentially the only measure of athletic success.

[PonyKai]

Oh, please. What was he going to do when he got here? Ruin this football program? We were just flying so high when Turner took over, and then he had to go and ruin it all.

[Stallion]

I think you need to be patient to let the changes finally pushed through in recent years work. They will show over 3-5 years not in Years 1-2. There may be small areas for improvement but come on-we signed about 6-8 kids this year alone who were academically borderline plus some BCS transfers and plenty of JUCOs. We are seeing the same type of thing in Basketball recruiting. I don't think that its really too much of a valid excuse anymore and I for one refuse to make it anymore based upon the players I see SMU signing. If there were real significant problems I would think they would be in the transfer hours area because the NCAA requires a program to follow its university-wide policy on such things. Therefore, Turner couldn't just make exceptions applicable only to athletics for example.

[Mexmustang]

Agreed, but he is responsible for not improving it--yet. Copeland was his hire and we sat there mired in obscurity for a number of years without any improvement. Regardless, I still don't think he has succeeded in reigning in the powers of the faculty and put their interests in balance with the rest of SMU's constituencies. Stallion, Turner has been here for a great deal longer than 1-2 years (14th year). Your right in what you said, but I am just saying that his success should be judged on more than how many engineering buildings he can fund, it should be the total university, including athletics.

I do believe student life at SMU suffers from the lack of athletic success. There is no singular event such as a winning program in basketball or football that can bring together the various segments of the university. Call it school spririt, the love of SMU or whatever. I don't know if students will drink less or take fewer drugs, but I do believe I needed something to get give me an outlet for my emotions at 18 besides chemistry, girls and beer.

[Stallion]

Well all I'll say is that I outlined about 10 years ago a list of 10-15 issues which needed to be rectified before SMU was competing on an even playing field. That level was never the lowest common denominator that some suggested I was proposing. It was a good faith adherence to NCAA minimum qualification standards w/o the bad faith "getting around the rules" things that are done at some schools like using players from diploma mills etc.

I certainly agree that it took long to get there but I joined the Mustang Club in 2008 specifically because of tangible evidence which I identified that each category of the issues I had identified had been addressed. I've never believed in relying on miracle turnarounds-most are simply the result of better recruiting in the Coach's predecessor's last years and in marked improvement in recruiting including JUCOs.

I believe the only way to build a strong established program is with better recruits. Recruit well for at least 3 years and count to 3-4 after the first good recruiting season. I believe Jones' first class is completely unremarkable-and that most freshman who played last year were given a position rather than earning it. The 2008 Class was a modest step in the right direction. So we are still looking at 2011-2012 or so if recruiting continues to improve before SMU's program is truly strong. Getting a few key JUCOs or Division 1A transfers could expediate that period.

The changes addressed in early 2008 or so can be more fully analyzed in say 2012-2013 which is 4-5 years after the first real recruiting class under that Model

That being said anything is possible in CUSA where very mediocre teams go bowling every year but that's not the standard I am looking at which Top 25 or at least BCS competitive ie TCU and to some extent even Tulsa or ECU. In other words a team that can get on the field with a decent BCS teams and be competive and win its share.

[Dooby]

Agreed, but he is responsible for not improving it--yet. Copeland was his hire and we sat there mired in obscurity for a number of years without any improvement.

Turner did not hire Copeland.

[Mexmustang]

My mistake, I thought Turner was here when he was hired.

[Bergermeister]

I think you need to be patient to let the changes finally pushed through in recent years work. They will show over 3-5 years not in Years 1-2.

Exactly.

[Longtime]

Most Ole Miss fans don't hold Turner in high regard because he fired a successfull football coach there.

Of course, that coach was also found to be violating NCAA rules, but to SEC fans that doesn't matter.

[Longtime]

From a recent DMN profile of Turner:

After stops at Pepperdine and the University of Oklahoma, he became chancellor of the University of Mississippi in 1984 at 38.

The campus had evolved since James Meredith fought to enroll in 1962, but some students and alumni still waved Confederate flags at football games and the band played "Dixie." In a state where a third of the population is black, the percentage of black students wallowed in the single digits.

Dr. Turner appointed several blacks to high-level positions, and he took other steps to send a message of inclusion, his supporters say.

"He did more for race relations at this university than any single person at that time," said John R. Bradley, an Ole Miss law professor and a faculty senate chairman during Dr. Turner's tenure. "I really admired him for that. He was not necessarily doing the politically popular thing."

Football fueled more controversy. Shortly after Dr. Turner arrived, the NCAA put Ole Miss on probation for earlier recruiting violations. Dr. Turner fired the longtime football coach when the NCAA lodged a new round of recruiting violations in 1993. Fans booed him at games.

Strong fundraiser

When Dr. Turner's supporters list his strengths, they usually start by saying he can raise a lot of money. Ole Miss' endowment grew from $8 million to $64 million during his tenure, and he led two big fundraising campaigns.

[Dooby]

Turner is bullet-proof.

[jtstang]

Turner is bullet-proof.

Of course, he delivered the Dubya Liberry.