SMU athletic director Rick Hart gets excited quite easily these days. Whether he’s thinking about the celebration from almost a year ago when SMU joined the Atlantic Coast Conference or what’s coming up on the football field outside his office, Hart shows his emotions clearly.
Even so, Hart admits he can’t really connect with the donors who waited for nearly forty years for the Mustangs to become important again after the severe punishment known as the death penalty imposed by the NCAA. He wasn’t around in 1987 or for the 25 years that followed.
Hart didn’t experience the alumni who distanced themselves from the program due to embarrassment after the recruiting violations, or the reaction nearly ten years later when SMU wasn’t included in the Big 12, which led to the end of the Southwest Conference.
So, as the Mustangs start their season on Saturday at Nevada and then play their first ACC game at home on September 28 against No. 10 Florida State, there will be many who wondered if these days would ever come.
While they might not expect a return to the glory days of running backs Eric Dickerson and Craig James and quarterback Lance McIlhenny, having a spot at the big table is certainly appreciated.
“I can’t even predict what that’s going to look like, feel like,” Hart said. “Just for the people who do have the point of view and perspective.”
David Miller, chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees, is one of those people. Although Miller, a former SMU basketball player, was living in Denver when the football seasons of 1987-88 were canceled, he was always connected.
Now he’s among those who helped SMU get back into a major conference.
“This is a transformational opportunity for SMU,” Miller said. “It’s an opportunity not only to enhance our athletic programs. It’s an opportunity to, I think, reposition the university’s overall brand.”
