The SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team that represents Southern Methodist University (more commonly "SMU"). Methodist announced on Friday afternoon that C.J. In 2008 SMU hired Steve Orsini away from the University of Central Florida (UCF) to be the SMU Athletic Director. Winning their fourth conference title, the Mustangs lost the Rose Bowl to Stanford 0–7. SMU stopped Oklahoma short of a potential game-winning two-point conversion with 1:16 left to play. SMU failed to win the Southwest Conference title in 1940, despite having the same conference record as the Texas A&M Aggies. However, the future of the trophy is unclear, as SMU left Conference USA for The American for the 2013 season, and no games have been played or scheduled since the 2012 meeting. During Meek's time as head coach, quarterback Don Meredith earned All-American honors in 1958 and 1959, with his .610 career completion percentage being the best of any passer in SMU history, with a tremendous running ability increasing pressure on opposing defenses. However, it is a storied one based on the fact that SMU is located inside the city of Dallas and Rice is located in Houston, the anchors of Texas's two largest metropolitan areas. TCU won the game, and the skillet and frog legs went to TCU. Doak Walker, winning All-American honors, also won the Heisman Trophy, the first Mustang to do so in school history. In the 1923 season, the SMU Mustangs achieved a perfect 9–0 record, winning their first conference football title in school history. A civil rights attorney stated a group of eight Black former Iowa players' demands in a letter to the university earlier this month, demanding $20 million and the firings of head coach Kirk Ferentz, offensive line coach Brian Ferentz and AD Gary Barta. Although finishing unranked in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, SMU was invited to its first bowl game in 25 years, defeating the unranked Nevada Wolf Pack with a final score of 45–10 in the 2009 Hawai'i Bowl, the team's first bowl win since 1984. The SMU defense held off Staubach's effort to rally his team for one last score, as the Mustangs pulled off the 32–28 upset. The Methodist University Music Department enabled me to be come a well-rounded educator and musician. Bedford was the first player to play in the National Football League, for the Rochester Jeffersons. The respective campuses are located 40 miles apart in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. On the next play, Roderick took a pitchout 23 yards to the 23. Ray Morrison returned to SMU in 1922, co-coaching the team with former Vanderbilt teammate Ewing Y. Freeland. In 1998 a traveling trophy, the "Mayor's Cup", was introduced to the series, and has been awarded to the winner each year. In 1918 both schools joined the Southwest Conference, and from 1926 they played every year except for 1987 and 1988, after the NCAA gave SMU's football program the "death penalty" following a cheating scandal. Furthermore, Forrest Gregg became part of the team in 1952, and became a two-time All-Southwest Conference player by 1955, later moving on to the NFL. [18], SMU has participated in 17 bowl games. In 2009, the athletic departments of the United States Naval Academy and Southern Methodist University created the Gansz Trophy in honor of Frank Gansz who played linebacker at the Naval Academy from 1957 through 1959 and eventually the coaching staff at SMU. SMU was eligible for the "death penalty" because it had been placed on probation in 1985 for recruiting violations. [14], SMU has won three national championships from NCAA-designated major selectors. TCU and SMU fans began the tradition back in 1946. Attorney for group of ex-players fires back at Iowa Hawkeyes. Blake Scott provided the game-winning score with a 14-yard touchdown reception with 23 seconds remaining on MU’s 100th play from scrimmage. [24], Announced schedules as of October 23, 2019.[26]. Hayden Fry became the eighth head coach in SMU's history in 1962. Notably, SMU and Rice are two of the smaller universities in NCAA Division I FBS. Fry found that player in Jerry LeVias. Since many potential student-athletes were poor, boosters would induce them to sign with SMU by offering them payments and expense coverage. At the time, most teams utilized the forward pass five to six times in one game, while SMU did so between 30 and 40 times. The Mustangs had three more winning seasons from 1936 to 1939. Fry and the school wanted to make certain that the player they recruited was not only a good athlete but also a good student and citizen and someone with the mental toughness to be one of the first black players in conference history. The Mission of SMU Athletics: In alignment with the educational mission of the University, we engage the community in meaningful ways and develop the resources necessary to graduate Student-Leaders and pursue championships. The schools have played on and off 39 times dating back to 1922 with three major hiatuses, from 1943 to 1973, from 1993 to 2005, and from 2007 to 2013.[21]. In 2013, both schools announced the series would be extended through 2025, continuing its current home-and-home format. On its way to a 4–7 season, SMU was given little chance to beat the Midshipmen. Navy joined the American Athletic Conference in 2015 which allowed for this game to become a yearly conference game. In 1966, LeVias made his debut, one week after John Hill Westbrook of Baylor became the first black player to play for a conference team. Moreover, David Powell became SMU's first Academic All-American winner in the 1952 season. The USA South Athletic Conference has five quarterbacks who have three or more years as starters under their belts, plus another who led D-III in passing last year.