From the inauguration of President Jay Hartzell to the premiere of “Thunder On: The Resurgence of the Mustangs,” Friday, Sept. 12, had the makings of a monumental day in SMU history. David B. Miller, chairman of the SMU Board of Trustees, would ensure that it was historic— but not for the reason SMU fans would have anticipated.
“I want to start by telling you that ‘Pony Up’ has died a natural death,” Miller said.
As Miller introduced the documentary detailing SMU’s rise from the Death Penalty, he condemned the most recognizable slogan on the Hilltop, ‘Pony Up,’ to its grave. The backlash was immediate— students, alumni, and fans took to social media to protest the decision.
The proposed replacement for ‘Pony Up’, and the phrase utilized frequently by Hartzell, Athletic Director Damon Evans, and other new campus leaders before the official announcement, is ‘Go Mustangs.’ Other potential slogans include ‘Thunder On’ and ‘Mustangs Run.’
Though the recent outcry surrounding the phrase gives ‘Pony Up’ the perception of a century-old tradition, the slogan entered the SMU vocabulary in 2007. That July, SMU Athletics introduced the phrase as part of a marketing campaign, and it quickly gained traction among the SMU faithful. ‘Pony Up’ became the SMU fan’s greeting, farewell, and celebration— a common ground between all Mustangs.
“I learned ‘Pony Up’ whenever I came here on my Destination SMU tour,” sophomore Melayna Murry said. “It became a big thing… I loved to meet other alumni and to tell them that I was going to SMU and they would say ‘That’s great, Pony Up,’ and I could say it back. It felt like a really great rite of passage to ‘Pony Up,’ and I think it’s a really important part of becoming a Mustang.”
On the school website under Spirits and Traditions, SMU lists ‘Pony Up’ alongside far older traditions, including Homecoming and “Varsity”. Despite the slogan’s comparative youth, ‘Pony Up’ holds just as much weight as other traditions. For Cox Senator Owen Bartosh, ‘Pony Up’ reflects the upward trajectory of the university.
“It has accompanied our rise for the past 20 years… that’s why it’s so important,” Bartosh said. “Not that it’s 100 years old, or that it’s as old as Peruna, but that it has brought a sense of urgency and a sense of value to our university in a time when all we are doing is growing. It’s very important to maintain our commitment to that same trajectory- you don’t stop pedaling your bicycle halfway up a hill.”
Upon his arrival to the Hilltop, Hartzell issued a statement via both the SMU Dallas and his personal Instagram, announcing his excitement for joining the university. Hartzell ended his speech with ‘Go Mustangs,’ as opposed to the ‘Pony Up’ farewell that SMU’s 10th president, R. Gerald Turner, would traditionally offer.
The change, though originally subtle, became glaringly obvious in the coming months, as the slogan became extinct in SMU Athletics marketing. According to the Sports Business Journal, the #PonyUp hashtag hasn’t appeared on a post on X from SMU Athletics since May. At last, Miller confirmed the suspicions on Inauguration Weekend. The decision was made collaboratively, as school leaders such as Hartzell, Miller, Evans, football Head Coach Rhett Lashlee and men’s basketball Head Coach Andy Enfield wished to aim for a more intimidating appearance.
“We are Mustangs,” Miller said. “That advertisement that we ran during the ACC basketball tournament of the wild mustang coming from the Atlantic Coast was really powerful… that’s the way we want to be perceived.”
“It’s ‘Hail to the red and the blue, we’re the Mustangs of SMU,’ so our mascot is what it is,” Lashlee said. “I think our school, our program, is going to promote us as the Mustangs, because that’s who we are. It’s the Mustangs playing, not the Ponies.”
Ironically, Lashlee quoted the ‘Pony Battle Cry’ as part of his reasoning, adding to the debate of whether SMU are the Mustangs or Ponies- or if they can be both. The official moniker, the SMU Mustangs, contradicts the literal, living mascot Peruna, who is a Shetland pony. Bartosh said that ‘Go Mustangs’ and other phrases have a place at SMU, but ‘Pony Up’ does too.
“I don’t think that anyone believes that we are against new ideas,” Bartosh said. “But it’s all about keeping ‘Pony Up’ having a seat at the table. We want to make sure ‘Pony Up’ remains in that mix. It doesn’t have to be the only thing, but it’s vital it remains in the mix.”
Bartosh was one of many students to express their desire to uphold the Pony Up tradition. He and Pre-Major Senator Nicholas Cusson authored a Senate Proclamation to protect the slogan, which was passed unanimously days after inauguration weekend.
“We’ve developed a lot as a school. We’ve joined the ACC, R1 Research status,” Cusson said. “A lot of just incredible accomplishments have been accompanied by that phrase, and as a lot of students have pointed out, it’s a very symbolic phrase for everybody.”
Evans attended the Student Senate meeting and promised that ‘Pony Up’ wasn’t gone for good. In a similar vein, Lashlee stated in a press conference that “if you say Pony Up to me, I’mma freaking say ‘Pony Up’ back.” To many, including Murry, the concessions came off as appeasement efforts.
“I think after they received that backlash, they may have kind of backtracked on it and not completely abolished it.” Murry said. “They heard the voice of the people saying they wanted ‘Pony Up’ to stick around.”
To the dismay of Mustang fans, young and old, it is quite possible that, despite the student pushback, the ‘Pony Up’ era is reaching its end. Born amidst the worst stretch of football seasons in school history, the phrase became the rally cry of a university desperate to return to glory. The glory has arrived – but ‘Pony Up’, as we once knew it, may very well be gone.
