After nearly three years lost in the wilderness, SMU football has returned to relevance.

There are many people to thank for this, including the school’s administration, the athletic director’s office, the Circle of Champions (the group of boosters who laid down the money to hire June Jones) and of course June Jones himself.

My friends know that I don’t always agree with Jones and am often vocal about that, but even I have got to hand it to him: he’s done it.

Dr. Turner and Steve Orsini have given June the tools to succeed and he has put them to good use.

Each year our team gets better and better, and we continue to be on an upward trend.

This is an exciting time to be at SMU, but 2013 will be even more exciting because that marks the time when SMU will enter the Big East conference.

The Big East, an “automatic qualifier” for the BCS system, is an immeasurable upgrade over Conference USA.

The Big East is a truly “national” conference in the public eye. Even though the transition may be rough with the increased competition, simply being in the conference offers huge benefits.

Monetarily, the money distributed to each school is many times higher than Conference USA’s payout.

This money will be a huge asset to SMU’s growing program, hopefully allowing for things such as an aggressive marketing plan to bring SMU fandom to Dallas as a whole.

Currently in Conference USA, there simply isn’t enough money to support a marketing department.

Hopefully this infusion will further increase attendance and number of Mustang fans in general. The Big East is an incredible opportunity that opens so many doors.

I am one of the biggest fans of SMU football you will find. I am one of seven Mustangs in my family.

I attended my first SMU football game while I was only a few months old and have followed the team ever since.

I am so excited to see our team catapulted into the spotlight in an AQ conference.

Rather than playing schools no one has heard of, the Ponies will take on teams such as Boise State.

Being in the Big East offers SMU the chance to truly (re) make a name for itself and remind football fans everywhere that SMU has a pretty great team.

By joining the Big East, SMU has proven that it is back on track and is returning to its football roots.

As mentioned above, this incredible opportunity would not be possible without the help of so many people across the University. I, as a fan, am eternally grateful to everyone who has played a part in SMU’s conference realignment.

So many doors are opened because of this move, and it is a great time to be a Mustang.

On a lighter note…all those Big East mascots better watch out when Peruna comes to visit them. Wouldn’t want another Fordham Ram, now would we?

Brad is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering.