Beyond The Bowl: Historic Turnaround Has Mustangs Facing Foward

SMU’s Sheraton Hawaii Bowl trophy sits in a corner of the Mustangs football office: clearly visible, but not the focal point. Intended or not, the trophy’s unobtrusive placement is a not-so-subtle reminder of how the mindset of SMU football has changed.

For as magnificent as SMU’s historic 45-10 win was over heavily favored Nevada, it’s now history, and SMU is facing forward. And perhaps no team in the nation has more reasons to look ahead as do the resurgent Mustangs, who return eight offensive and seven defensive starters from last year’s 8-5 team.
The Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl, it seems, was the appetizer for what many believe will be feasts to come.
“I always believed we could turn it around quickly here,&rdquo head football coach June Jones says without a hint of boasting.
And despite winning only one game in his first season at SMU in 2008, Jones stuck to a simple formula: Teach players to play for each other, not for themselves, and the victories will come.
“Probably five of our eight wins were against teams that were better than us,” Jones says of the Mustangs’ breakthrough 2009 season. “But when you come together and learn to sacrifice for each other and believe in each other, you can do great things. I think this past year, probably more than anything, proved that.”
Certainly the Hawaii Bowl offered proof that SMU could compete on a national level, but it also served as a booster shot to Mustangs fans and the program’s recruiting efforts.
“I suspect most football fans in America watched at least some of our game on Christmas Eve, which provided great visibility for SMU,” says Paul Rogers, Dedman School of Law professor and SMU’s athletics representative to the NCAA. On the strength of its prime-time broadcast and widespread national print coverage, the bowl game generated more than $30 million in publicity value for SMU.
“Visibility begets more visibility,” Rogers adds. “Because the team played so well on such a large stage, we’ll probably have more television exposure next year. That will continue to help recruiting, fundraising and every aspect of the program.”
Mustang fans are right to be optimistic … Continue reading.