“We are not going to Conference USA just to compete orplay, we are going to win championships.”
That’s a quote from SMU athletic director Jim Copeland. Iguess SMU football has adopted the, “If you can’t beat‘em, leave ‘em,” approach.
For most SMU teams, winning championships — be it C-USA orthe WAC — won’t be anything new. Women’sbasketball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, track andfield, cross country, women and men’s swimming and diving andmen’s tennis all have many recent WAC championships undertheir weight belts. Volleyball and men’s basketball, men andwomen’s golf and women’s tennis all headed to the WACtournament last year to vie for the title of conferencechampion.
If we’ve forgotten anyone we are deeply sorry, but thepoint we’re trying to make is that Copeland merely stated theobvious: winning championships is a foregone conclusion for Mustangteams.
So why must everyone — not Copeland in this case, butcampus critics who can’t quit talking about the poorperformance of football — continue to dwell on thatteam’s losing season? Ed Board promises there are other teamson campus who have winning success in their endeavors. There areproven champions that deserve our support and recognition surroundus.
Of course were going to Conference USA for championships!That’s the SMU way!
More importantly, the move makes logical, financial and academicsense. By joining C-USA, athletics will save almost $200,000 intravel expenses each year (or, to put it in perspective, about onefootball player scholarship’s worth of money spread over afive-year career with home game hotel stays, banquets, charteredplanes and summer school).
Plus, the more localized conference will help athletes becausethey won’t miss as much school. And it will help fans becausethey can travel more easily to away games.
I’m sure the athletes aren’t so jazzed about thefact that they have to give up the trip to Hawaii, but the changeis ultimately for the best.
The greatest aspect of the move concerns, hopefully, the changein attitude about balancing academic and athletic life.
SMU is not a huge state school with unlimited resources and60,000 students, so we need to stop thinking we should act likeone. We, like many of the other schools in the new conference, area private institution with high academic standards. Athletictradition, high standards of academic excellence and winningchampionships comes easy to the likes of SMU.
