Interesting article in the Daily Campus

[PK]

It gives some insight in to the administration's understanding of the impact a successful sports program has on the University as a whole. I think they may finally be getting it.

http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/metr ... -1.3040877

[StallionsModelT]

Something needs to be done regarding attendance. Its embarassing to show up at Ford on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in one of the finest settings for college football in the nation and see us draw 15K in attendance. It has been covered over and over on these boards, but it really is the #1 issue facing our athletic department. Something needs to be done at the macro level to see how this can be improved. Certainly winning is a crucial element, but there are other variables that can improve attendance. I hope that Rick Hart has this as his top agenda item to tackle here at SMU.

[SMU89]

"Actually, the Mustangs sent more players to the league last year than any other school in Texas."

[East Coast Mustang]

SMT is right. Attendance is the $64,000 question. Putting up billboards that say, "Dallas' Team" doesn't make it so, although I would like to see us blanket 75, 635, and the Tollway with billboards for exposure from July-September.I like the addition of UNT to the schedule in the future, that will drum up local interest and put more butts in the seats. It's a shame we dropped Baylor but I understand why we did it.

What if we worked some deal with AA or Southwest where buying an SMU ticket got you extra bonus miles? I know AA does similar things for certain restaurants, shops, hotels, etc. That's not magically going to put 10,000 more people in Ford, but it's a start. We need to incentivize both inside the SMU community AND in Dallas simultaneously.

What if new alums got free tickets for their first season after graduating, and then an option to renew at a discounted rate for the following seaons?. I actually think we do something similar now where young alumni get season tickets for $99,which is a start. And then send them stuff every month about SMU sports, coaches' analysis of incoming recruiting classes, player interviews, etc to try and keep their interest in the program.

[StallionsModelT]

I fully acknowledge that a conference schedule of Rutgers, Temple, Connecticut, and Central Florida is not going to get people jumping out of their chairs to run over to Ford Stadium when they can sit back and watch Texas/Tech/Baylor/TCU/OU/OK State/A&M/LSU/Arkansas play against vastly superior opponents on national TV. That said, there is no reason we shouldn't average 25K a game at Ford regardless of who we are playing. SMU is a beautiful place, The Boulevard is amazing, the team is competitive, and Ford is a great intimate setting for college football without a bad seat in the whole stadium. If we can't successfully market that product in a metro area of 6 million people to get 25,000 to show up then we are truly lost. This has to be the #1 mission of our athletic department. Watching SMU on TV when half the stadium is empty is embarassing and only gives further ammunition to those who say we don't deserve to be playing at the highest levels.

[AusTxPony]

Aren't the alumni the major problem? I have many friends who are alums (mostly in Austin and Houston) and they have absolutely no interest in attending a game at Ford. This doesn't seem to be true for other schools like us. How can we encourage them or even shame them into coming? I would suggest working on ideas for getting them to games.

[sbsmith]

Aren't the alumni the major problem? I have many friends who are alums (mostly in Austin and Houston) and they have absolutely no interest in attending a game at Ford. This doesn't seem to be true for other schools like us. How can we encourage them or even shame them into coming? I would suggest working on ideas for getting them to games.

You might want to ask them why it is they have absolutely no interest in attending games at Ford and what they're opting to do instead. That would actually be a great question to ask all the alums that aren't season ticket holders.

[StallionsModelT]

Yes, I think our alumni is a large part of the problem. SMU was one of the worst programs in college football for 25 years. That means 25 years worth of alums spent their time on The Hilltop with a team that wasn't worth their time or attention. Even with the turnaround the last few years, it is going to be incredibly difficult to get these people back and attending games. I have seen the general interest in young alums to be significantly higher the last 4-5 years than when I was a student from 02-06. Why? We are winning more games and the program is actually worth the time to follow. I'm not sure anything short of a 11-1 or 12-0 type season will catch the interest of the "Lost Generation" from 89-06. I think there are a lot of those alums who came to SMU and never saw a single football game and couldn't care less whether we have a program or not.

[78pony]

"The Mustangs have a tradition of being one of the best teams in Conference USA, but their competition must improve for fans to really take notice."

One of the best teams in Conference USA...........? A tradition? I guess all things are relative but both assertions are stretching the limits of credibility for me (actually totally insane but...).


"Athletics is co-curricular and an important part of the student experience at SMU," said Brad Cheves, vice president for developmental and external affairs. "University leadership recognizes its importance and is invested in the process of raising our athletic profile."

Mr. Cheeves, this is as mild/silly/insulting an endorsement/position as I can fathom. So we are invested? Leadership recognizes its importance? So, I guess we have a defined goal, and a plan to get there? And we are how far along in this process? This is open-ended, non-commital dribble. By chance, have you and Jay Carney been sharing talking point concepts?

If you make teeny bits of progress annually for 25 years, and you are still where we are, then who other than diehard fans would realize that any real change has been made?

What's your timeline, Mr. Cheeves, and your final stated goal? If you have a blueprint to achieve a certain stated goal within 5-7 years, and you are successful, then outsiders will see long before the end that real progress is occuring (see school in Ft. Worth). IMO, our change has been so slow that it has not 'registered' to anyone other than those of us who are diehard and follow this program daily. And the level of change itself has certainly not been overwhelming. You have to make a statement that is both seen and heard. We have done neither very well.

[WordUpBU]

Outside opinion with some relevant #s.

SMU has around 40k alumni in DFW and only about 60k in Texas from what online sources of info I have found.

DFW is massive though so the number is probably smaller than that for Dallas alone and smaller still when women are accounted for as they % wise are less likely to attend without a guy bringing them. So lets put it at 30k nearby, 15k men, +5k for their wives, kids, etc gives a 20k realistic alumni pool.

Assuming 75% show up it's 15k. Assume 40% of the 7k undergrads show and it jumps to an expected 17.8k

What this means is SMU has to get Dallas (not just the park cities) to embrace SMU and show up. So inviting a different school district to come get reduced tickets each game (Disd, Richardson, Garland, Mesquite, TAPPS, Addison, you name it. Get them to sample it and it can grow assuming they have a good time here.

Just an idea.

[blackoutpony]

I sincerely appreciate WordUpBU's posts. They are almost always very insightful and make some good points (unlike cougar troll). Thank you for being productive

We understand the problems, its really the administration that doesn't or just doesn't really do anything about it. Really though, until we have 9, 10, 11 win seasons and don't choke those opportunites away (cough, cough, 2012) DFW isn't going to come out. Which goes back to the question of whether June can get us to those heights.... which I don't think he's willing to put the effort into doing.

[Greenwich Pony]

I also think the game day presentation much be much stronger. The Boulevard is great. We have some fairly unique fun traditions (M Band, Peruna) but they way we seem to run the presentation of games once people get into the stadium to be "family friendly" leaves us looking less than "big time." Now it has been awhile since I have been able to attend a game, but I remember that nothing seemed all that well coordinated and can certainly be a little more raucous.

[blackoutpony]

If you sell beer, they will come

[CalallenStang]

I also think the game day presentation much be much stronger. The Boulevard is great. We have some fairly unique fun traditions (M Band, Peruna) but they way we seem to run the presentation of games once people get into the stadium to be "family friendly" leaves us looking less than "big time." Now it has been awhile since I have been able to attend a game, but I remember that nothing seemed all that well coordinated and can certainly be a little more raucous.

It was a little better last year. Not great, but I don't remember any major complaints.

[PonyPlayer4]

I would love to enjoy a frosty one in the stadium..... that I actually bought in the stadium.