Old Band Guy Speaks (Warning - A Very Long Post)

[Greenwich Pony]

First, I admit I am thrilled that we seem to be going to a Bowl game, ANY bowl game. Like everyone else here, I have been very patient with this program. I was starting to have serious doubts if it would ever happen. Go Ponies.

Second, what is the freakin' point of going to Hawaii with the MBand and Peruna?

1) The point of a bowl game seems to be to be an advertisement for the university- that's what the justiofication of all the athletics arms race seems to be. It is a PR function to show off how fun the school is. Having the MBand blaring Peruna and having Peruna on the sidelines features two fo the university's unique traditions and seperates us from, say, certain other small private Texan universities. So we have been given this opportunity and the administartion is going to waste it. Much as I loved watching the ponies this year, is it worth $2+ million dollars a year (for one coach) to go to all of this trouble to NOT show SMU's traditions?

1b) It may have escaped the administration's notice, but it has been a little while since we have been to one of these "Bowl" things. It might be good to show some enthusiasm and do it right as well as reward some of the organizations that have kept the flame burning. Like them or lump'em, the M Band has been there for SMU in it's darkest days and has been the only source of spirit on campus for many years. Let's face it, the cheerleaders don't show on to a fraction of events that the M BAnd does. Heck, they don't even attend all the revenue sports games. In terms of time, the student media are technically training for a job, and fraternities are not there for school spirit in the way that the M Band is- the M Band is there solely to support the Mustangs. And as another poster pointed out, the M Band is not the UT or Tech Bands, they are sending a fraction of the people that the big state university bands send.

2) The point of all this hoopla is to advertise to future students (and gain the "Flutie effect") and also to make the alumni feel good about the school and open their wallets. If they really are not sending the M Band and Peruna, someone should be fired. This is not hyperbole. Not only will SMU not get nearly the advertising benefit of a bowl game because of the lack of SMU's unique traditions, but I believe from reading a fair number of posts here, and from my own personal feelings that SMU will have wilfully squandered our money by screwing this up. All the good feelings of actually getting to see our ponies win after many years of support and lack of attention by the administration will be just tossed aside. As I said early, watching SMU at a bowl without Peruna and the M Band is just like watching Dallas Generic University. Or TCU. Why should I care? Why should I continue to send money to a university after I have graduated if they don't maintain the traditions that connect me to that place? I admit that I am not a member of the Circle of Champions, but I donate as much as a I can every year, and I live in New England- I don't get to see the kids play or the new buildings. All I get to see is Peruna when we get on national TV. And frankly, I gather I am not the only one.

[CalallenStang]

First, I admit I am thrilled that we seem to be going to a Bowl game, ANY bowl game. Like everyone else here, I have been very patient with this program. I was starting to have serious doubts if it would ever happen. Go Ponies.

Second, what is the freakin' point of going to Hawaii with the MBand and Peruna?

1) The point of a bowl game seems to be to be an advertisement for the university- that's what the justiofication of all the athletics arms race seems to be. It is a PR function to show off how fun the school is. Having the MBand blaring Peruna and having Peruna on the sidelines features two fo the university's unique traditions and seperates us from, say, certain other small private Texan universities. So we have been given this opportunity and the administartion is going to waste it. Much as I loved watching the ponies this year, is it worth $2+ million dollars a year (for one coach) to go to all of this trouble to NOT show SMU's traditions?

1b) It may have escaped the administration's notice, but it has been a little while since we have been to one of these "Bowl" things. It might be good to show some enthusiasm and do it right as well as reward some of the organizations that have kept the flame burning. Like them or lump'em, the M Band has been there for SMU in it's darkest days and has been the only source of spirit on campus for many years. Let's face it, the cheerleaders don't show on to a fraction of events that the M BAnd does. Heck, they don't even attend all the revenue sports games. In terms of time, the student media are technically training for a job, and fraternities are not there for school spirit in the way that the M Band is- the M Band is there solely to support the Mustangs. And as another poster pointed out, the M Band is not the UT or Tech Bands, they are sending a fraction of the people that the big state university bands send.

2) The point of all this hoopla is to advertise to future students (and gain the "Flutie effect") and also to make the alumni feel good about the school and open their wallets. If they really are not sending the M Band and Peruna, someone should be fired. This is not hyperbole. Not only will SMU not get nearly the advertising benefit of a bowl game because of the lack of SMU's unique traditions, but I believe from reading a fair number of posts here, and from my own personal feelings that SMU will have wilfully squandered our money by screwing this up. All the good feelings of actually getting to see our ponies win after many years of support and lack of attention by the administration will be just tossed aside. As I said early, watching SMU at a bowl without Peruna and the M Band is just like watching Dallas Generic University. Or TCU. Why should I care? Why should I continue to send money to a university after I have graduated if they don't maintain the traditions that connect me to that place? I admit that I am not a member of the Circle of Champions, but I donate as much as a I can every year, and I live in New England- I don't get to see the kids play or the new buildings. All I get to see is Peruna when we get on national TV. And frankly, I gather I am not the only one.

Please forward to Orsini and Turner. Great post.

[MustangIcon]

These posts are all fine and dandy but the big band proponents are not addressing the issue at hand here- where does the money come from? Sorry, but the athletic department, which operates at an enormous loss and laid off many staff members this past year, doesn't have the money to spend on sending the band to Hawaii.

If you are passionate about this cause then get off your [deleted] and do something about it! Numerous posters have volunteered to help fundraise for this effort. Some of these posters are folks I have had the privilege to fundraise with for SMU in the Morgan Campaign. They work tirelessly to raise money for the school that they love, specifically focused on the athletic department. If you have that same drive and passion for SMU, and specifically the M Band, then do the same.

[Balatro Diabolus Ex]

These posts are all fine and dandy but the big band proponents are not addressing the issue at hand here- where does the money come from? .

This is a valid question, and I think I've come up with an answer: Use the Bus fare! They raised a quarter of a million dollars ($750 per bus, for 200 busses) for the "June Jones Bus Brigade" that was supposed to used to bring 10,000 kids to the Tulane game. Since there were only a small fraction of that many kids at the game, that means most of that money for busses was never used. There must be at least $200,000 left over. So, use that money to take the band to the Bowl.

There you go. Problem solved.

[couch 'em]

One of our alumni at Meadows wrote a dynamic (but alas, recorded only) fight anthem that could get the crowd in a feverish pitch for the team,

Didn't want to get involved in this thread, but this is silly.

A fight song affects the crowd because of the meaning behind it, not the music itself. The above referenced "fight anthem" is just another generic fight song that sounds just like most of the others out there. Come on.


Also, I knew at least one music major in the early 2000s that felt he had to lie to his professors about being in the band to avoid persecution.

[CalallenStang]

where does the money come from? Sorry, but the athletic department, which operates at an enormous loss and laid off many staff members this past year, doesn't have the money to spend on sending the band to Hawaii.

The band is not part of the athletic department. It is part of the Division of Student Affairs. This is not a question of whether the Ath. Dept. has money. Rather, it is a question of whether the athletic department chooses to ask the Division of Student Affairs to help sponsor the band's trip to the bowl game.

Icon, the band's boosters (Diamond M Club) do raise money for the band every year. They have huge campaigns and are able to provide scholarship support for most of the band's members each year -- scholarship support which supplements the university's minuscule budget given to the band every year. If the Diamond M Club did not raise money every year, the Mustang Band would be much, much, much smaller (if even in existence).

The insinuation that the band's supporters are asking the university for something that they, themselves, are not willing to provide would be laughable if it did not border on insulting.

[couch 'em]

Are the 80's banned boosters banned from being band boosters?

[The Spaz]

Are the 80's banned boosters banned from being band boosters?

[couch 'em]

If the band boosters, who are old banned boosters, get the band the band death penalty for improper payments, it could get really hairy.

Banned band's banned band boosters banned?

[Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex]

These posts are all fine and dandy but the big band proponents are not addressing the issue at hand here- where does the money come from? Sorry, but the athletic department, which operates at an enormous loss and laid off many staff members this past year, doesn't have the money to spend on sending the band to Hawaii.

If you are passionate about this cause then get off your [deleted] and do something about it! Numerous posters have volunteered to help fundraise for this effort. Some of these posters are folks I have had the privilege to fundraise with for SMU in the Morgan Campaign. They work tirelessly to raise money for the school that they love, specifically focused on the athletic department. If you have that same drive and passion for SMU, and specifically the M Band, then do the same.

Um, the ones who are "passionate about the cause" are the ones keeping the band alive. When you have a small base of alumni that are supporting it and a university that refuses to give them access to some of the big name donors, there's only so much that they can do. As much as the Diamond M Club would like to pay for a trip to Hawai'i, it has more pressing needs such as paying for scholarships and trying to raise money for a new band hall.

[Greenwich Pony]

A poster above asks a very valid question. Since the band is not part of the Althetic department, why should the athletic department have to pay for it?

The answer is, it does not. However, the university should. This is why:

We have been told that the importance of having a D-1 program is that is is good PR for the university and that it brings the university community together by providing the "unique collegiate experience." That is the justification for spending millions of dollars on these facilities and teams. Fine. Flutie effect and closer alumni relations. Understandable.

The M Band (whatever you think fo them) is arguably the most unique aspect of SMU; there is literally nothing like them anywhere else in college sports. They have a unique set of uniforms, march high step (or at least they used to) and play real jazz and big band swing. Nobody picks on Ohio State for their 1950's uniforms, or the Aggies for their Hitler Youth impression (okay, the Aggie band is impressive, but it is not more "in touch" with the times than ours, and frankly the M Band has a harder gig). Just because it is not part of the Athletic department doesn't mean that it is not integral to the experience and that the administration should not "pony up" whatever it tales to get 96 guys and a doll and Peruna to the game to maximize our advertising efforts (look how fun SMU is, students get to go to bowl games) and better alumni relations.

If the point is to be a student activity and just send the team to Hawaii, then I propose that we find student activities that all students can participate in and save SMU the trouble and the cash. We are not getting the ROI that we have been promised for supporting these teams. We have spent something like $68 million on facilities alone in the last decade, and lord knows how much on coaches and other costs, that could be put to better use elsewhere in the university.

And please note, I really do support our athletic program. I believe we should go to Hawaii- we should send the kitchen sink and do it right, if being in bowl games is so important. After all we have invested a huge sum to do it, and Lord knows when we will go again. We have been told we will be top 25 in everything we do. How many top 25 programs are traveling to bowl games without their bands and mascots? The same goes for any NCAA appearances we make. Because after all, the point is to show of SMU's traditions and culture and look like a fun place to spend four years.

[mustangnation]

A poster above asks a very valid question. Since the band is not part of the Althetic department, why should the athletic department have to pay for it?

The answer is, it does not. However, the university should. This is why:

We have been told that the importance of having a D-1 program is that is is good PR for the university and that it brings the university community together by providing the "unique collegiate experience." That is the justification for spending millions of dollars on these facilities and teams. Fine. Flutie effect and closer alumni relations. Understandable.

The M Band (whatever you think fo them) is arguably the most unique aspect of SMU; there is literally nothing like them anywhere else in college sports. They have a unique set of uniforms, march high step (or at least they used to) and play real jazz and big band swing. Nobody picks on Ohio State for their 1950's uniforms, or the Aggies for their Hitler Youth impression (okay, the Aggie band is impressive, but it is not more "in touch" with the times than ours, and frankly the M Band has a harder gig). Just because it is not part of the Athletic department doesn't mean that it is not integral to the experience and that the administration should not "pony up" whatever it tales to get 96 guys and a doll and Peruna to the game to maximize our advertising efforts (look how fun SMU is, students get to go to bowl games) and better alumni relations.

If the point is to be a student activity and just send the team to Hawaii, then I propose that we find student activities that all students can participate in and save SMU the trouble and the cash. We are not getting the ROI that we have been promised for supporting these teams. We have spent something like $68 million on facilities alone in the last decade, and lord knows how much on coaches and other costs, that could be put to better use elsewhere in the university.
.

I would be willing to bet that most if not all of the $68 million you are talking about was donated from alumni/boosters for sports and the school spent very little. These donations would probably not have been made if they were not for sports. I am just not seeing how of all the band alumni they cannot raise enough money to send the band to Hawaii. Why does the band not hit up all of the band alumni for the past 50 years and try to raise money? 50 years x 40 members per year x 50 dollars(average)= $100000. The school may try and come up with something if you come to the table with $100k. If you expect them to foot the whole bill then you are living in dreamworld.

[Balatro Diabolus Ex]

50 years x 40 members per year x 50 dollars(average)= $100000. The school may try and come up with something if you come to the table with $100k. If you expect them to foot the whole bill then you are living in dreamworld.

Were their 40 members per year? I would have put the number closer to 20, and possibly fewer in the last decade. And, I think if you go back 50 years you're going to find more than a few who are no loner on this earth.

[Greenwich Pony]

Good point. Probably most of that $68 million would not have been brought into the school. But okay, we'll say 20% would be. That's still $13.6 million, that's a new building or a bunch of endowed chairs. And while JJ's salary is also coming from outside donations, SMU does spend and lose money on it's athletics program, like most other D-1 schools. If I am not mistaken, SMU eats a few million every year. The justification for spending all this money is to publicize the school. If we are not sending anything more than the football team, then it is not performing the function as it should and we are not getting ROI on the long term investment. Most all top 25 programs do send their bands, spirit squads and everything else they can throw into the stadium to provide that collegiate atmosphere which looks so good on brochures and websites.

If we have to do this half-donkey'd, then why are we doing this at all? If all of this money is donated, then why are we asking our alums to flush money down the toilet? Again, if athletics is an advertisement for the university, then we should do it right, and send the M Band and Peruna. If it is in fact just another a student activity (like, say, the M Band or other student clubs), then perhaps the university needs to look at why we spend so much money every year on a student activity for essentially so few students.

And finally, I have to stand up for the M Band. Those kids have been the SMU Kamakazi Spirit organization- they are always there, gung-ho, no questions asked, and they do it with virtually no school support. We all have been to games in the past- home games- where the M Band was the only significant student support for the team. They are everywhere. I don't know the relationship of the band alumni club with the rest of the university, but it is clear that the band has been the red-headed stepchild of the university for years. The SMU community and the university owes that organization a great deal for keeping the flame going through just miserable years of inexcusable athletic ineptitude and expecting the M Band alumni (which is a small group- the band is NOT UT's size) after all the contributions they make to keep the band alive is asking way too much when they have operating expenses (bands are not cheap to run) and they are trying to fundraise for a new badly-needed band hall. But the band's woeful lack of university support is something of a seperate issue.

Let me make this clear- I do support the SMU Athletic program. I want us to succeed and I want everyone to see how special a place SMU is.

[Greenwich Pony]

Oh, and one more thing- the bowl thing does work. I remember watching the Cotton Bowl v. Pitt, and that was my introduction to SMU. And it looked like a cool place to go to school- from the team uniforms (love the blue jerseys and the clean look) to the band, the cheerleaders (Wow) and even the Shetland pony mascot (Nobody rides it? Cool!). I grew up deep in ACC country and had not heard of SMU, and probably would not have heard of it otherwise. It just looked cool- and I was hooked as a kid. We haven't had that kind of advertising in a long time- and so when we get the chance, let's not screw it up. We as a university and a community are better than that.