SMU? What does SMU offer? It offers mostly empty football stadiums, mostly empty basketball arenas and limited recent achievement in either sport. A third consecutive plus-.500 season and third consecutive minor bowl bid is being viewed as a big deal, which seems plausible since the Mustangs previously hadn’t gotten to a bowl in the post-Death Penalty era. But given that 20,894 on average showed up to view this juggernaut -- officially, anyway -- it doesn’t appear the people of Dallas care all that much about the program’s turnaround.
SMU basketball, tragically, is worse. The program hasn’t earned an NCAA bid since 1993. There are high school teams drawing better than SMU’s current 1,596 per game. The Mustangs never have had a winning record in Conference USA; last year’s .500 mark was their best. Unlike Houston, which has Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney in its past, SMU’s greatest player is probably Jon Koncak. Or maybe Jeryl Sasser. Or Quinton Ross.
There is nothing that suggests SMU can make the Big East better. There’s nothing that suggests SMU has anything at all to offer.
The BE is taking SMU based on its academic standing and with the hope that the school has the potiential in progress to return to its historical sports stature. Kate is right that we really do not have that much to offer at this point. Side issues are for a better future TV contract bringing in the Dallas market and opening up Texas to BE recruiting. For SMU opening up NYC, Balitmore and WDC for basketball. Also, SMU closely profiles most of the BE private colleges particularly on the basketball side of the house. I think the BE is taking a bit of a gamble on SMU, but the BE is desperate for a football conference so you have 2 fairly desperate interests joining forces.
We are a growth team, we have more potential than schools like UCF, or any of the smaller schools in the Big East now. Sure things are bleak now, but the fact that our budget is huge for non-AQ team. Our alumni literally funds the program, how many colleges can say that... We have great academics like people have said. We are like a small company going public... give it time and we can be the next microsoft.
SMU_Alumni11 wrote:We are a growth team, we have more potential than schools like UCF, or any of the smaller schools in the Big East now. Sure things are bleak now, but the fact that our budget is huge for non-AQ team. Our alumni literally funds the program, how many colleges can say that... We have great academics like people have said. We are like a small company going public... give it time and we can be the next microsoft.
uhh, UCF will soon have the largest enrollment in the state of Florida...a campus that has ENORMOUS growth potential, and a very fertile recruiting area. I think the rest of your analysis is spot-on, but UCF could very easily become a BEAST in Florida.
stable-boy for the four horsemen of the apocalypse
SMU_Alumni11 wrote:We are a growth team, we have more potential than schools like UCF, or any of the smaller schools in the Big East now. Sure things are bleak now, but the fact that our budget is huge for non-AQ team. Our alumni literally funds the program, how many colleges can say that... We have great academics like people have said. We are like a small company going public... give it time and we can be the next microsoft.
uhh, UCF will soon have the largest enrollment in the state of Florida...a campus that has ENORMOUS growth potential, and a very fertile recruiting area. I think the rest of your analysis is spot-on, but UCF could very easily become a BEAST in Florida.
Oh dont get me wrong, I think UCF is great. I was just saying relative to Dallas and SMU. I know they are a great school and will make the USF v UCF rivalry a great one. Also once I can travel more, cant wait to go to Mickey Mouse land, never been as sad as that is.
Regardless of the BE move, which is great, we still need to do some Russ Potts-style marketing if we're ever to get off the ground in Dallas! Why they refuse only God knows?????????
BRING BACK THE GLORY DAYS OF SMU FOOTBALL!!!
For some strange reason, one of the few universities that REFUSE to use their school colors: Harvard Crimson & Yale Blue.
I agree but when we get that invite, we need to pay or encourage the media outlets in dallas to let the city know we need their support. We mean business and our stadium and blvding is legit and they should be there to celebrate. Also, beating Pitt in the eyes of shorthorns might not matter, but to the rest of the non-AQ teams, BE and Dallas it means a whole lot.
Prediction: in five years SMU will be one of the best teams in BE. In ten years SMU will be one of the best teams in the country...top 20 year in and year out. BOOK IT!!!
