When Brett Daniels ran track and cross country for SMU, he spent his Sunday afternoons just like every other college athlete, watching the Dallas Cowboys play football. Years later, his connection with SMU sports has led him from the Mustang ticket office to assistant director of public relations for America’s team, a job where players like Nate Newton and Michael Irvin are more than just infamous troublemakers, but rather personal friends.

“One of the greatest things about this job is getting to know the players,” Daniels said. “These guys might not always be seen as good people in the community, but knowing them on a personal level has allowed me to build great friendships.”

Lifetime friendships are not the only assets Daniels has gained through his experiences with the Cowboys. Working with the team has provided many memorable moments.

“An excitement builds up each week as we prepare to put on a major event,” Daniels said. “It’s not just a desk job. It’s a lot of excitement, variety and dealing with people.”

Dealing with people is what Daniels does best. Former colleague and friend, SMU professor Chris Anderson, says Daniels’ people skills are what brought him to the top, from a small town in Oklahoma to a front office at the Dallas Cowboys headquarters.

“He’s an honest guy and he has a small ego,” Anderson said. “Beyond that he’s just likeable.”

Daniels believes experience with the organization, not his personality, is what qualifies him for the position.

“I feel like I’ve done a good job,” Daniels said. “The experiences I’ve gained through Superbowls, playoff games and crisis have helped me get here.”

Daniels’ road to success was not easy. He began his career working long hours for little pay.

“I just got into it because I enjoyed the work. In my developmental days, I worked for four different people the first four years,” Daniels said. “My first year, I was a full-time intern and made about $10,000 the whole year.”

Those days are long gone. Daniels says the profession has undergone dramatic changes throughout his career.

“Technology has changed,” Daniels said. “Things in ’94 and ’95 were a lot different than now. Now we have digital cameras, digital pictures and things like that. We’ve changed a lot of what we do in that aspect.”

However, technology is not the only change Daniels’ career has endured. Following the team through its ups and downs, he admits the atmosphere was different in the mid-’90s, when Dallas was home to “America’s team,” before controversy surrounded the Cowboys.

“There was just a lot more attention and focus back then,” Daniels said. “In our hay-day, we were almost more like a bouncer at a bar. There was so much attention, we didn’t have to find stories, whereas now, we don’t have to pick and choose between those who have requests.”

Though the attention brought more excitement to his career, Daniels says the main aspects of his job have remained the same.

“It’s obviously more fun to win,” Daniels said. “But job-wise, it’s not easier or more difficult.”

But Daniels admits the job is difficult at times.

“It’s a seven-day a week job,” Daniels said. “One thing to keep in mind with the glitz and glamour of sports and entertainment is that the majority of those people work when their customers don’t. You work when everybody else is off.”

Despite his career’s demands, Daniels has managed to balance the job with an active family life, though he spends a lot more time working during football season.

“I see him and his wife walking his dog during the off-season,” Anderson, who lives just down the street in their Highland Park neighborhood, said. “During the season, I don’t see him as much.”

Neighbors might expect to see a lot more of Daniels in the future, as Anderson was quick to announce the awaited arrival of the new addition to the Daniels family.

“They’re expecting a baby anytime,” Anderson said.

It would seem that Daniels’ dreams have come true. A successful career and new family are all one could ask for, but Daniels admits his journey has only begun.

“I still want to move up,” he said. “Now I’m only assistant director, but someday I’d like to have the final say.”

And as he sits across the table in the quiet conference room of Cowboys headquarters, he is certain his link to SMU sports is the reason he’s sitting there today.

“I was just in the right place at the right time. Running track and cross country at SMU is how I found out these jobs even existed,” he said. “There’s no doubt SMU is what got me here.”