Southern Methodist University's football program is proving there is life after death.
A decade ago, the NCAA levied unprecedented sanctions on SMU - the so-called "death penalty" - which required the Mustangs to drop the sport for a full season in 1987.Ten years later, as BYU ventures to Dallas to face the Mustangs in the WAC-opener for both schools on Saturday, SMU is still recovering from the effects. At the same time, SMU is experiencing a rebirth of sorts in 1997.
"It's a situation that a lot of people on campus and in the community were embarrassed about," said SMU sports information director Jon Jackson. "It's taken time to heal those wounds."
The road back to respectability has been long and filled with detours. Since football was reinstated in 1989, the Ponies have won just 19 games and fans haven't exactly returned in droves. It has been more difficult than merely starting over. For ten years, the program has carried a stigma that is hard to erase.
Few remember that not so long ago, SMU was a college football powerhouse.
Following that crushing 46-45 defeat to BYU in the 1980 Holiday Bowl, the Mustangs posted records of 10-1 in 1981, 11-0-1 in 1982 (when they finished No. 2 in the final polls), 10-2 in 1983 and 10-2 in 1984. During those glory years, SMU built the reputation for a strong running game, producing backs such as Craig James and Eric Dickerson.
Ultimately, though, SMU's phenomenal success led to its downfall. Throughout the 1980s, the Mustangs found themselves in hot water with the NCAA and were frequently on probation. Boosters funneled money and cars to recruits and players on a regular basis.
The joke was that the city of Dallas had two professional teams: the Cowboys and the Mustangs. SMU started to stand for Scandal-Monger University and had more corruption than the former prime- time soap opera, Dallas.
Finally, on Feb. 25, 1987, the NCAA shut SMU's program down due to repeated violations. It is something the NCAA had never done before and hasn't done since. As part of the sanctions, nine SMU boosters were ordered to disassociate themselves from the program for life. SMU was held up as an example of all that was wrong with college athletics, and it paid a steep price for its improprieties.
Even when the Mustangs were allowed to rebuild, the NCAA drastically limited the number of scholarships they could hand out.
And because the backlash on campus during those first few seasons was so strong, the pendulum swung to the opposite extreme and SMU struggled to sign top-notch athletes.
In the last few years, though, SMU football has showed faint signs of making a comeback. In December, the school hired Mike Cavan, a former University of Georgia assistant who turned programs around at Valdosta State and East Tennessee State. And fans have rallied behind the charismatic Cavan.
Some fans have bought into his philosophy, literally, as a group of prominent alums have contributed millions of dollars to the program. In June, SMU announced it will build a $54 million, on-campus stadium and weight room facility scheduled to be completed by the year 2000. Cavan has been one of the catalysts behind the change in attitude.
"The guy can light up a room," Jackson said. "People like his commitment and enthusiasm. He talks about winning championships, and that's what people want to hear."
Of course, this turnaround in attitude starts at the top. In the past few years, SMU has brought in a new president, Gerald Turner, who is a staunch supporter of sports -unlike his recent predecessors -and a new athletic director in Jim Copeland (who was the AD at Utah in 1984 and 1985). The pair has provided vision for the program. As a result, morale about the football team hasn't been higher around the campus since the early 1980s.
Heading into the BYU game, SMU is 1-2, having lost big at home to Navy last week after a big win against Arkansas. But SMU officials believe SMU can eventually return to prominence.
"The word that wasn't used around here for a long time was winning, and that's important," Copeland told USA Today.