Stephanie Gentile
Contributing Writer
With the excitement following the SMU basketball program and the opening of the new Moody Coliseum this year, students are taking advantage of this enthusiasm to create an official new student group.
Today, 150 of the most spirited SMU students making up “The Mob” are eager to support the SMU basketball team as the new Moody Coliseum opens in less than a month.
The Mob is the official student spirit group for SMU Athletics.
It is named after Head Coach Larry Brown. He is nicknamed “The Godfather” and students are his “Mob.” For $49, SMU students can join The Mob and get all kinds of benefits: premium courtside seating, limited edition T-shirts and giveaways, exclusive private events with Coach Brown and the team, and the first opportunity to obtain post-season tickets.
Students can sign up for The Mob by going tosmumustangs.com/TheMob or emailing [email protected].
“Students have been looking for a way to be more spirited at SMU basketball games and we hope that The Mob gives them that avenue and makes Moody one of the toughest places to play in college for opposing teams,” said Skyler Johnson, director of promotions and game day experience.
Students are excited for The Mob to create a community and family, something SMU has not seen before. Ryan Kaul, a senior Mob member, has been a dedicated and passionate SMU basketball fan for the past four years, but this year is different.
“It [The Mob] will hopefully build into something that the university can be proud of,” Kaul said. “It is a way of blurring together all different frats, sororities, non-Greek affiliated and clubs together. This is the beauty of The Mob.”
The Mob will make its official debut next month when the newly renovated Moody Coliseum will open, just in time for conference season.
Moody Coliseum undertook renovations beginning in August 2012. This $47 million renovation includes a renovated main entry lobby, expanded concourses with raised ceilings, club seats, loge boxes, private suites and group suites, new event space, offices, team locker rooms and meeting space and an expanded volleyball locker room suite.
The arena that could previously hold 9,000 fans will now accommodate 7,021.
This 2,000-seat decrease is an attempt to completely fill the stadium. Tyler Scott, a senior Mob member, agrees with the decision to minimize the number of seats.
“As long as SMU basketball continues to win,” Scott said. “A brand new coliseum with fewer seats will increase demand to go to a game and hopefully become a rowdy packed-house environment, only sparking more enthusiasm in our players to continue to win.”
There are 725 tickets for students at each game.
A new ticket policy is also being put into effect. This policy requires students to pick-up their complimentary game tickets in advance. This helps to ensure that the seats will be filled on game day in support of student-athletes and a national television audience. Section 112 will be reserved strictly for The Mob.
Seating in all other student sections is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The SMU basketball team agrees that both The Mob and the new Moody will help with its performance. Nic Moore is a redshirt sophomore who transferred here last year from Illinois State University. He sat out last season due to transfer rules, but this season leads the team as point guard. Moore is ready to give SMU students what they have been waiting for.
“I just want y’all to come out and support us, y’know Pony Nation, SMU. We are gonna give y’all a show if you ride with us,” said Moore in an interview for Ponyfans.com.
The students in The Mob are also expecting a strong performance out of their Mustangs this year.
“I am hoping for a solid finish in the American Athletic Conference with a trip to the NCAA Tournament in March,” Scott said.
“A winning record, a post season birth in either the NIT or NCAA, and hopefully a strong foundation for years to come,” said Kaul about his expectations for the team.
These students think that Brown is a major part of the change and success that will follow the team this season.
“Passion, drive, intensity, prestige, awareness. I can go on and on. Larry Brown has been a miracle for SMU as an entire university. He has shown he cares about Dallas and cares about SMU and believes in the future of the Mustangs as winners in all that we do. He has also greatly connected with the student body and inspired more students to be aware of what is occurring with SMU basketball,” Scott said.
The countdown has begun: only 26 days until Moody opens Jan. 4 — with The Mob in attendance.
