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Comet wrote:I discussed the campaign with some of the faculty. They all thought it was a joke and should be changed to "SMU is the Park Cities' team". I have to agree, SMU has absolutely **** outreach to non-rich DFW folks(aka the vast majority of people leaving within a 30 mile radius of our campus).

Larry Brown is our best hope of changing our perception anytime soon. Really got to start passing some tickets to local schools so kids of all ages interested in bball start becoming fans. Furthermore, the school as an academic institution needs to shed its reputation as a rich person only school. Reach out more towards community colleges, get non Park Cities high-schools to take more trips to the campus. Have SMU house more types of summer/educational camps of all types to get local smart kids integrated with the school. The school has to constantly reach out beyond its myopic local community and really ingrain some roots into DFW as a whole.

Sorry but most of the faculty are a bunch of egotistical nutjobs that think that they captivate everyone in their classroom with their lectures (excluding the teachers pet no one gives a [deleted]). If their slogan was (enter faculty name) is _____ (a lifeless classroom). So if they want to joke maybe they should take a look at their own classrooms). Secondly I know tons of transfer students and ex-military students and I can say we far surpass tcu (our comparison) in accepting "non-rich kids." We recruit the best kids with the best grades and unfortunately with high educational costs thanks to our "down-to-earth" faculty and deans we can only do so much. We don't get state subsidies so we have to ask kids to either pay or if they can't afford take out loans (which is a horrible idea unless you have a job lined up). So I think our school has done an excellent job in that regards. If anything blame the people who write about as calling SMU Dallas' elitist school.

SMU_Alumni11 wrote:

Comet wrote:I discussed the campaign with some of the faculty. They all thought it was a joke and should be changed to "SMU is the Park Cities' team". I have to agree, SMU has absolutely **** outreach to non-rich DFW folks(aka the vast majority of people leaving within a 30 mile radius of our campus).

Larry Brown is our best hope of changing our perception anytime soon. Really got to start passing some tickets to local schools so kids of all ages interested in bball start becoming fans. Furthermore, the school as an academic institution needs to shed its reputation as a rich person only school. Reach out more towards community colleges, get non Park Cities high-schools to take more trips to the campus. Have SMU house more types of summer/educational camps of all types to get local smart kids integrated with the school. The school has to constantly reach out beyond its myopic local community and really ingrain some roots into DFW as a whole.

Sorry but most of the faculty are a bunch of egotistical nutjobs that think that they captivate everyone in their classroom with their lectures (excluding the teachers pet no one gives a [deleted]). If their slogan was (enter faculty name) is _____ (a lifeless classroom). So if they want to joke maybe they should take a look at their own classrooms). Secondly I know tons of transfer students and ex-military students and I can say we far surpass tcu (our comparison) in accepting "non-rich kids." We recruit the best kids with the best grades and unfortunately with high educational costs thanks to our "down-to-earth" faculty and deans we can only do so much. We don't get state subsidies so we have to ask kids to either pay or if they can't afford take out loans (which is a horrible idea unless you have a job lined up). So I think our school has done an excellent job in that regards. If anything blame the people who write about as calling SMU Dallas' elitist school.

Oh man, I need to direct you towards some of the faculty I know. Some of them in particular could talk circles around most people here when it comes to sports, especially college sports. Many of them are season-ticket holders of various sports as well.

Please do. I lost my faith in the faculty after the majority I endured during undergrad particular in the economic and religious studies fields. Then of course your general academics. FYI, I'm not saying the business school doesn't have a share of its nuts. So far statically only engineering base courses I had was 100% reasonable. Just saying my opinion and perspective as a not too long ago alum. What does the faculty say of JJ? Just curious.

Rayburn wrote:

dbone wrote:Drives me nuts...Marketing 101...highlight or sell something that is already at least slightly believed.

Seems we should be saying..."SMU wants to be Dallas' Team."

Right. People all over Big D are mentally answering back to that slogan and the answer isn't good.

Hey, we're 6-6 -- just like the Cowboys!!!

Responding to the notion that SMU hasn't done any outreach beyond the park cities is ridiculous. In the Meadows School of the Arts, there has been an office and programs specifically designed for community outreach and diversity, there has been programs on site specifically targeting hispanic students as well as a Youth Summit hosted by Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. My children go to DISD magnet schools and SMU is a very popular choice of college that the students want to attend (including mine) I see a lot of SMU shirts on kids who go to TAG magnet and at Woodrow.

It makes me think that a lot of the complainers on pony fans really don't know what they are talking about.

You might start by correcting problems you might have in you Journalism Dept.

The guys name is Clark....not Cook

That would help.....

Comet wrote:

SMU_Alumni11 wrote:Oh man, I need to direct you towards some of the faculty I know. Some of them in particular could talk circles around most people here when it comes to sports, especially college sports. Many of them are season-ticket holders of various sports as well.

If you could pull one like this out of your hat, I'd be surprised.

Rayburn wrote:

Comet wrote:

SMU_Alumni11 wrote:Oh man, I need to direct you towards some of the faculty I know. Some of them in particular could talk circles around most people here when it comes to sports, especially college sports. Many of them are season-ticket holders of various sports as well.

If you could pull one like this out of your hat, I'd be surprised.

Are people really that shocked that there are faculty who are avid sports fans??

I'm sure they are out there but I never had one.

My profs were generally not interested in sports but not anti-sports. Of course thats in the engineering school which maybe isn't typical.

I had an awesome philosophy prof. who reminded me a lot of The Dude. Loved our sports, went to every game, hammered students who didn't go. greatness all around.

Two of my best friends are college professors. One is not a sports fan at all, the other is an ex-basketball player who is a complete academic anomaly (i.e. more of a regular guy). I rub elbows with a few of their colleagues at get-togethers and I will tell you that these people hate sports (particularly the women). One of the instructors I have met at these things was a Green Bay Packers fan, and he was the ONLY one who cared at all. My sport-loving prof friend says most of his colleagues are Marxists more interested in organizing the faculty and the staff to wage war on the university than get caught up in the diversion of sport. Judging by the posters on the walls of the faculty offices and the cartoons on their doors, he's right.

I played football in college (not SMU) 30-years ago and a few of my profs would talk ball with me, but most were indifferent, not hostile. In my graduate years, I can't remember any profs that were sports fans, except an Englishman who loved to talked Rugby with me. My wife is a sports fan who went to SMU 30-years ago and said most of her profs were at least indifferent. My brothers (one of who played football), my brothers-in-law (one of whom played football, the other basketball) all report the same thing. My eldest son is in college now and he gets a strong anti-sports vibe from his instructors. Within the last five years I had a brief working relationship with one SMU professor who brushed aside my attempts to gauge his interest in Mustang football.

Does June do anything to reach out to the faculty? Invite them to practice or stand on the sidelines? Maybe invite some faculty to have lunch/brunch with the team? Does SMU football have a "faculty member of the week" award and recognize them on the video screen?

I believe Larry Brown does something to show appreciation to the faculty. Smart. A little kindness goes a long way.

The "Dallas' Team" marketing campaign is one the smartest things we've done in years. Don't debate whether it is currently true or not, recognize that this is where we need to go if we want to recruit better in Dallas; if we want to increase attendance; and ultimately if we want to convince a conference that we bring something to the table because Dallas at large follows us. The "we're not snobs" era is over. We must have kids in Dallas and the surrounding suburbs want to play here. Like Miami, the Dallas area produces more D1 football recruits than most states. In hoops, some of the best players in the country come from here every year. We don't need to get all of them, but we need to get some. Starting by having them attend games as kids, attend camps as kids/teeangers, and have their families feel welcomed, a part of, and proud of the school is what we need to focus on and this campaign does this. The exciting golf project south of I-30 also does this. Miami got good when the really awesome football recruits started identifying with the U because they wanted to show the world that kids from Miami were the best in the country. We can try to duplicate this for kids in Dallas, and I think the "Dallas' Team" campaign is a start.

With respect to professors, many support the sports teams and the good ones understand that the best way to continue to increasing the profile of our student body and university is to get more competitive in football and/or hoops (see, Duke, BC, Miami, Wake Forest, etc.) Increased visibility gained through on field/court success increases applications, which increases test scores, which increases academic standing. It's not rocket science.

We need a billboard describing the day, time, and channel the bowl will be on TV.

Pony^ wrote:http://www.smudailycampus.com/sports/marketing-campaign-aims-to-make-smu-dallas-team-1.2962567

Sorry, I had to stop reading before I finished the first sentence of the article. It described fans as "Rowdy" and Moody as "packed." Story lost all credibility at that point.