SMU commit makes Texas Top 100

[SMU2007]

We never have given him the fan support he deserves. That's tough on anyone, player or coach. He pulled off a miracle and we seemed not to notice, to have another gin and tonic and muster up a golf clap or two.

You are joking right? What support does a 6-6 mid major conference team that has been 100% irrelevant for 20 years and has essentially 0 "signature" wins garnish from the Dallas public? I think students and alumni have provided an expected amount of support given the lack of a crap all but the diehards give about any of our opponents not named tcu.

[mustangxc]

I think June is right to complain about the lack of support and the fans are correct in their assertion that if he won more he would get more support. The fact of the matter is that even if we won back to back BCS national championships our attendance would barely get to 50,000. We might not even get that much support, probably closer to 40,000. That is something that the coach needs to be aware of and not let it bother him. If you want big crowds and die hard fans, SMU is not the school for you.

[SMU2007]

I know everyone on here is an avid smu fan, but this is the extreme minority. Beating east Carolina or Marshall to become eligible for the whogivesacrap bowl doesn't move the needle for 95% of our "fan base". We need to beat relevant teams, or go undefeated again the midgets if we want anyone to notice.

[SMU2007]

Tcu has certainly improved their attendance problem. I wonder why.

[ponyboy]

Let us know when you're done talking to yourself.

[lwjr]

Tcu has certainly improved their attendance problem. I wonder why.

Careful SMU2007 your truthful comments are upsetting people, again.

[SMU2007]

Don't spoil the pep rally. If we say enough nice things, the team will do well!

[jpe747]

I hope we win all of our games. But, SMU has had attendance problems since Daok Walker days. I remember sitting in Texas Stadium watching SMU when they were as good as football teams get and thinking 'why don't more people in Dallas support the Mustangs'. WINNING IS PARAMOUNT; we all know that. But, 40,000 may indeed be our top number. To really be successful we need to figure out how to attract fans. We need to get people in the stands and keep them there. You want to attract the best players? Filling Ford Stadium up with fans would certainly help level the competition.

[Pony81]

This topic has been beaten to death but......
I remember coming to SMU as a freshman in 1977 and watching us play Rice in the Cotton Bowl in front of about 5,000 fans.
In 1980 - my senior year - we were filling Texas Stadium ( admittedly with a good amount of opposing team fans).
But that experience is a constant reminder that SMU has a small hardcore following ( the 5,000) and if it wins then Dallas gets behind it and will go to games. Remember the late 70s was one of the heydays for the Cowboys- people had choices.
TCU wins and Ft. worth is behind it plus it has the huge advantage of playing conference teams with a strong local alumni group. TCU won the Rose Bowl, beat OU in Norman and ran the MWC table. All before joining the Big 12. They deserve their following. They earned their following.

June came for the $2 million - plain and simple. He knew the situation. To complain about a lack of support when he has an uninspiring offense, beats nobody, goes 8-5 at best, and gets blown out by our former SWC conference mates ( OK we beat TCU once), is not a recipe for a thriving fan base.

I like June. I don't like the ASU fiasco but I appreciate what he has accomplished at SMU. Now SMU and the COC need to manage his retirement and leave a quality staff in place to build the program.

HC - Phillips at 1.5 mil
DC- Mason at .750 mil
OC - Mumme at .5 mil

[sbsmith]

This topic has been beaten to death but......
I remember coming to SMU as a freshman in 1977 and watching us play Rice in the Cotton Bowl in front of about 5,000 fans.
In 1980 - my senior year - we were filling Texas Stadium ( admittedly with a good amount of opposing team fans).
But that experience is a constant reminder that SMU has a small hardcore following ( the 5,000) and if it wins then Dallas gets behind it and will go to games. Remember the late 70s was one of the heydays for the Cowboys- people had choices.
TCU wins and Ft. worth is behind it plus it has the huge advantage of playing conference teams with a strong local alumni group. TCU won the Rose Bowl, beat OU in Norman and ran the MWC table. All before joining the Big 12. They deserve their following. They earned their following.

June came for the $2 million - plain and simple. He knew the situation. To complain about a lack of support when he has an uninspiring offense, beats nobody, goes 8-5 at best, and gets blown out by our former SWC conference mates ( OK we beat TCU once), is not a recipe for a thriving fan base.

I like June. I don't like the ASU fiasco but I appreciate what he has accomplished at SMU. Now SMU and the COC need to manage his retirement and leave a quality staff in place to build the program.

HC - Phillips at 1.5 mil
DC- Mason at .750 mil
OC - Mumme at .5 mil

You can't possibly think that's a quality staff.

[Pony81]

I think Phillips is a quality recruiter - witness our success recruiting Houston.
Tom Mason has done a magnificent job with our defense.
Mumme certainly has street cred when it comes to the offensive side of the ball.

We may get lucky and find a former NFL coach who can bring a staff but I'm not holding my breath.

June has plateaued and will be retiring. If we can't lure an experienced coach who brings a quality staff AND we don't build around our existing staff then we are left with the " diamond in the rough" Mike Cavan / Phil Bennett type which is a complete crap shoot.

[sbsmith]

I think Phillips is a quality recruiter - witness our success recruiting Houston.
Tom Mason has done a magnificent job with our defense.
Mumme certainly has street cred when it comes to the offensive side of the ball.

We may get lucky and find a former NFL coach who can bring a staff but I'm not holding my breath.

June has plateaued and will be retiring. If we can't lure an experienced coach who brings a quality staff AND we don't build around our existing staff then we are left with the " diamond in the rough" Mike Cavan / Phil Bennett type which is a complete crap shoot.

Phillips is a diamond in the rough (possibly even a cubic zirconia in the rough), he has even less experience than Cavan/Bennett had when they took over here. Not to mention that the guy couldn't even land the HC job at his own alma mater or at FAU. We'll be able to do much better than June's leftovers for the next staff.

[Charleston Pony]

I hope we win all of our games. But, SMU has had attendance problems since Daok Walker days. I remember sitting in Texas Stadium watching SMU when they were as good as football teams get and thinking 'why don't more people in Dallas support the Mustangs'. WINNING IS PARAMOUNT; we all know that. But, 40,000 may indeed be our top number. To really be successful we need to figure out how to attract fans. We need to get people in the stands and keep them there. You want to attract the best players? Filling Ford Stadium up with fans would certainly help level the competition.

in the post Doak era, SMU has struggled (without the help of visiting fans) to draw more than 30,000. Ford Stadium is perfect for us. I just hope we eventually field teams that can fill Ford regularly with mostly our own fans and that we will see overflow crowds stretched out on the south end zone lawn. That's my wish for SMU football. Landing more Texas Top 100 players will help us get there