Competitive Disadvantage Part 2

[Stallion]

Texas Football commenting on SMU's signing of JCs in its last class states: Signing JC transfers is not a big deal at most colleges, but its rare at SMU. It's incorrect to say SMU doesn't accept JC transfers, a popular perception. The problem is that the school traditionally doesn't accept many of the class credits that transfers earn at junior colleges. (the courses aren't up to SMU's standards or don't match the curriculum offered there.) In essense, would-be transfers lose a large percentage of the credits they attained by coming to SMU. That predicament made transfers consider other Division 1-A options, which in turn put SMU at a COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGE. Cross town rival TCU , for instance signed five junior college transfers this year. That group includes two all-American cornerbacks and a defensive lineman who originally signed with Tennesseee.

[PonySnob]

I am not sure why SMU won't adopt the "TCU Model for Success on the Football Field". TCU is a perennial top 25 team now, wins conference championships, goes to bowl games - why wouldn't SMU fans want the same for their program? How many more years of football futility will there be on the Hilltop?

[Arkpony]

Perhaps the fans DO and it's the administration/faculty who just don't care

[Hilltopper]

I am not sure why SMU won't adopt the "TCU Model for Success on the Football Field". TCU is a perennial top 25 team now, wins conference championships, goes to bowl games - why wouldn't SMU fans want the same for their program? How many more years of football futility will there be on the Hilltop?

That was a "perennial top 25 team" that crawled out of Ford with a win last year? Squeaking by a winless team? That game showed that while TCU has enjoyed some success in recent years, and certainly are at a level to which we aspire, they hardly are among the nation's elite teams, and the game also showed that we were better than our record suggested. We have lots of work to do, to be sure, but to suggest that TCU is lightyears ahead of us is inaccurate. They've won a lot of games in recent years, and should be commended for their success (if the idea of directing praise toward the frogs doesn't make you lose your lunch, as it does to me.) But at the end of the year, we were better than an 0-12 team, and they were not a top-25 team.

[Sam I Am]

The devil is in the details. Transfering college credits seems like a small detail, but it can be a critical one. As for how good is TCU, they own us for now. The score last year doesn't matter. A loss is a loss, as in 0-12 for 2003. But this is a new year, and we have some new coaches on offense that should make an immediate difference. I'm ready for some success.

[Stallion]

TCU is without question LIGHT YEARS ahead of SMU. People who harp on close loses are losers. TCU who had pathetic teams in the 1980s gave the Pony Express some of the hardest fough victories in our 21 game winning streak-and without question we were LIGHT YEARS ahead of them at the time. That same type of BS had some of you predicting a victory over Tech last year due to our close loss the year before. The result was one of the most humiliating and embarrassing losses in the history of SMU Football. How did that work out for you?

[RGV Pony]

This thread brings up a good point. I was up in East Texas this weekend and heard a commercial for Kilgore College on the radio. The ad said that all credits earned at Kilgore are guaranteed to transfer to any public U. in Texas. Just for sh*ts & grins, I'm curious as to how many would transfer to the hilltop?

Now, this raises another question. Is Mr. Romo an exceptional student, or did he just sacrifice those credits earned at TJC?

[Mustangs35SMU]

I was up in East Texas this weekend and heard a commercial for Kilgore College on the radio. The ad said that all credits earned at Kilgore are guaranteed to transfer to any public U. in Texas. Just for sh*ts & grins, I'm curious as to how many would transfer to the hilltop?

I wonder that every time I see that commerical on TV

[RGV Pony]

* of course I meant Mr. Eckert (from Tyler), not Mr. Romo

[jtstang]

But at the end of the year, we were better than an 0-12 team, and they were not a top-25 team.

Better than 0-12? Now there's something to be proud of. Too bad we didn't get to play Army for the mythical ESPN botton-10 title, and actually prove that we were really 1-12 good. Pull your head out man.

[The PonyGrad]

The ad said that all credits earned at Kilgore are guaranteed to transfer to any public U. in Texas.

If I recall a recent conversation with someone who works as a community college counsellor correctly, he said that by state law all public universities in TX must accept all credits from community colleges in TX.

SMU really needs to look at this issue.

[Cheesesteak]

Stallion -

Like most participants on Ponyfans you want SMU to compete for championships on the gridiron. Fortunately, in my opinion, you are not at the helm of SMU's admissions policy team. Your subject "Competitive Disadvantage Part 2" is the latest testament to your philosophy on building a winner - embrace almost any Lowest Common Denominator within the NCAA's rules and regulations in an effort to get the best athletes. Previously, you (and others) were correct in specifically pointing out disadvantages built into SMU's horrendous self-imposed post-DP recruiting restrictions. Administrators severely tied the coaches' hands for over a decade and set the football program up for decline.

My issue with your approach is that in a desire to see SMU football win you always seem willing to drive academic standards lower if gridiron success is a possible result.

SMU like other NCAA members has the right to set its academic and administrative standards anywhere above the bare NCAA minimums when athletic scholarships are involved. Some BCS schools like Notre Dame set high standards and others (certain SEC institutions, for example) fiercely hug the lowest standards allowable.

I don't recall any of your previous posts championing anything other than SMU mirroring whatever some competitor is doing that gives them some real/perceived advantage as long as it doesn't bring NCAA investigators to the Hilltop.

An LCD approach is suitable for NFL teams (do whatever you can afford to do within league rules/guidelines) because the team/organization (revenue, franchise value, championships) is the whole entity.

SMU's leadership, I believe, is working to improve SMU on the field and in the classroom/lab/dance studio.

SMU competes with many average/good private universities and large flagship-type state (lower costs and access to tremendous resources) universities for improved quality ratings every year. Academic and institution prestige battles are part reality and part perception...SMU must prevail in both battles to advance.

SMU football has been given many significant tools during recent years (Ford Stadium, Pettus Fields, Loyd ASC, new coaches, The Boulevard, recruiting restrictions eased (campus visits allowed before being approved for admission, etc. etc. etc.)) and should with very few unique exceptions follow the university's general transfer credit guidelines.

Outside the athletics department, SMU constantly needs to attract transfer students due to attrition in previous freshman classes. Accordingly, SMU is generally flexible with accepting community college credits. Maybe SMU values junior college and community college credits differently or maybe the JUCOS in the Mustangs' most recent class took transfer-worthy courses and genuinely belong at SMU where there are few places to warehouse academically deficient student-athletes.

Regarding TCU, I attribute their turnaround to Coach Fran and the momentum he built. Like him or not, he is a winner. I am familiar with his approach to recruiting which he continues at Texas A&M (JUCOS from CA, TX, MS to compliment talented HS athletes). The JUCO defensive lineman that originally signed with Tennessee might be a late academic bloomer or something in the opposite direction. Tennessee has exceptionally lenient admissions standards for HS athletes they recruit and they are experts at keeping them in the system. Going from a Tennessee scholarship to a JUCO might say something.

Coach Bennet is the first SMU football coach in a generation that has been given the tools to compete and win in the WAC or CUSA.

From now forward, it is up to the coaches to get it done.

I believe that SMU Football will start making meaningful improvements on the field in 2004 and become a winner in 2005 or 2006.

Going forward, SMU football can prevail without a LCD approach.

[PlanoStang]

I was up in East Texas this weekend and heard a commercial for Kilgore College on the radio. The ad said that all credits earned at Kilgore are guaranteed to transfer to any public U. in Texas. Just for sh*ts & grins, I'm curious as to how many would transfer to the hilltop?

I wonder that every time I see that commerical on TV

I transferred 60+ hours in engineering from Kilgore College to Smoo in
the seventies.

[couch 'em]

Cheesesteak-

What is wrong with the "LCD"? Everyone coming to SMU has different requirements on them. If you are a science/engineering major, you take real chemistry. If you are liberal arts type major, you take 'chemistry for liberal arts'. That class is also known as "a joke". It is set up this way because those students are here to focus on their liberal arts major, and pick up some chemistry knowledge on the way. Science majors are here to learn about science, and pick up a little liberal arts on the way. Football players are here to learn about football. They also should pick up a little other stuff on the way. Football is their major (ok, not litterally, but alot of them, no, not all, have majors like 'advertising' which isn't exactly what I'd call 'academically rigorous'). What is wrong with this. If you love music, focus on music. If you love math, focus on math. If you love sports, focus on sports. Let in good scientists even if they are weak at english. Let in good dancers even if they are weak at physics. Let in good athletes even if they are weak at other fields.

[gostangs]

I have never been able to understand how people can fool themselves over consectutive years on this issue. LCD is fine with me - we get no points from anyone for being the little school in Dallas who looses the right way. If you choose to play a game - don't expect to win by tying one hand behind your back - you ply to win. If you don't like the game or don't like the way other people play the game, even though they are inside the rules - then get out. Cheessteak - you are operating in la la land - I appreciate your desire for quality - but what about the last 15 years is escaping you? We need to play [deleted] the field and play LCD off the filed or we will be run off the field. Nobody who wins in 1-A football does it with true student athletes - they are all basically non student athletes - there are no exceptions.