Why Independent?

[squire]

If you can't join the Big 12, why join CUSA 2.0, or Weak West.
Go independent, custom schedule some: Big 12 games, higher profile winnable games (bad majors), local rivals, high interest teams that can fill Ford (OK nothing can do that. Yet.) , and maybe even one game as an SEC punching bag.
Sacrifice the TV money, and create some local and maybe national excitement around the program. Then let the conferences come to you for the all mighty Dallas media market.
Not a perfect idea, but beats yet another conference schedule drawing 5,000 home fans and some opponents no one cares about. Think outside the box.

[SMU_Alumni11]

Only problem is: isn't all the BCS conferences OOC at the beginning with maybe one game thrown on before their last conference game? The scheduling would be a heart attack as we would have to make sure everyone agrees to play us and the other is if we travel and have no income in from tv nor any bowl sharing how do you support that program? Especially when we know ticket sales will suck unless we played Texas (haha they never will) or Alabama etc

[covok48]

This has been discussed to death on the boards and it's a bad idea all around. We have;

1) Trouble filling our stadium now (and in the past)
2) Have no national following and...
3) Aren't even the best team in the metroplex
4) Have a history of losing (the only time we won consistently is when we were cheating)
5) We are a horrendous road team and...
6) Losing those body bag games will not raise our profile
7) Name one network that will carry our games (in this day of TV set $$$ driving football alignment)
No $$$ from bowl tie ins or TV contracts
9) It will signal that we are decommiting to football (on our way to I-AA or drop football)
10) It will appear desperate that we offer nothing to a potential conference and have no alignment prospects


Please please read the old threads on this topic. None of what you suggest will materialize and things would be even worse thank they are now.

[RGV Pony]

Good post covok.

Yall 'member back in June's first couple of years we were sooo sure just getting back to a bowl would be the story of the year and fans were gonna hop on the bandwagon

[EastStang]

That would be the death of SMU football. We might get BYU, Navy, Army on the schedule in October, but other than those teams, conference schedules make it almost impossible to schedule an October date. And basically Big XII, Big Ten, SEC, Pac 12 schools will require two or three to one. You might get Missouri or WVU. Illinois or Indiana or Maryland might like to travel to Texas to recruit. But you won't get the Big Dogs for a 1 and 1.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

I don't think they were an independent, but this strategy is basically the same one that the University of Pacific in Stockton, CA. followed for the last few years before they cancelled football altogether. They would travel around the country playing traditional powers on the road in non-conference matchups and would get paid X dollars per game for their trouble. Old UOP would usually lose these games by about 40 or 50 points and walk away with a big check. In the end, it did not work and UOP cancelled football in 1995.

[mr. pony]

If you can't join the Big 12, why join CUSA 2.0, or Weak West.
Go independent, custom schedule some: Big 12 games, higher profile winnable games (bad majors), local rivals, high interest teams that can fill Ford (OK nothing can do that. Yet.) , and maybe even one game as an SEC punching bag.
Sacrifice the TV money, and create some local and maybe national excitement around the program. Then let the conferences come to you for the all mighty Dallas media market.
Not a perfect idea, but beats yet another conference schedule drawing 5,000 home fans and some opponents no one cares about. Think outside the box.

I'm with you, squire.

[Alasdair]

If we did, I'd like to schedule
1. TCU
2. Baylor
3. Rice
4. Houston
5. BYU
6. Navy
7. UNT
8. another SWC school
9. Tulane
10. Tulsa
11. TxSt
12. Notre Dame

[mr. pony]

This has been discussed to death on the boards and it's a bad idea all around. We have;

1) Trouble filling our stadium now (and in the past)
2) Have no national following and...
3) Aren't even the best team in the metroplex
4) Have a history of losing (the only time we won consistently is when we were cheating)
5) We are a horrendous road team and...
6) Losing those body bag games will not raise our profile
7) Name one network that will carry our games (in this day of TV set $$$ driving football alignment)
No $$$ from bowl tie ins or TV contracts
9) It will signal that we are decommiting to football (on our way to I-AA or drop football)
10) It will appear desperate that we offer nothing to a potential conference and have no alignment prospects.

Now, there's a booster! Thanks for that vote of confidence, covok. Will you be contributing to next year's media guide?
One thing I especially can't abide, though: "The only time we won consistently is when we were cheating?"
Uh, the only teams not officially caught cheating when we were winning were Rice and Arky, I believe. Better phrased, sir: "At least we got our money's worth."

[Stallion]

Baylor didn't have any Football recruiting violations during that time-they did a little later in BB under Jim Haller and then Dave Bliss. Arkansas had some football issues in the 1990s with I believe an employer/students work scam in Dallas-the Arkansas booster was Ted Harrod

Otherwise, covok pretty much nailed it-there is no way in hell SMU could survive as an Independent.

[LHS81]

I could have sworn Baylor Football had NCAA violations back in the 80's

[max the wonder dog]

I could have sworn Baylor Football had NCAA violations back in the 80's

Every major conference team had recruiting violations in the 1980s (well, maybe not Rice or Vanderbilt), but not everyone got caught.

[WordUpBU]

I could have sworn Baylor Football had NCAA violations back in the 80's

Every major conference team had recruiting violations in the 1980s (well, maybe not Rice or Vanderbilt), but not everyone got caught.

In football there were 3 SWC teams that didn't have any.

Baylor
Arkansas
Rice

[Comet]

That time of the year when the crazies think SMU could actually pull off independence.

[ponyinNC]

this idea is so freaking stupid I have to speak up.

Anyone who thinks we can or should go indy needs to get their head examined.