Search the Community

Attendance will be SMU greatest challenge when it joins the Big East! SMU average attendance was a dismal 20,889 in 2011 and they played against primarily regional opponents. SMU will see increase competition for sport fans in DFW. The TCU joining the Big 12 and UNT is joining the C-USA in 2013. Both schools will be playing regional opponents with large fan and alumni base in the DFW area. UNT should see a significant increase in attendance. Just the opposite is true for SMU when it enters the Big East in 2013. In the Big East, SMU only has one competitor in central time zone, Houston. With the exception of Houston and Memphis, SMU 's next closet competitor in the Big East is nearly a 1000 miles a way. SMU will only play Houston every other year. With TCU joining the Big 12, the Hornfrogs will have four teams in the Big 12 within 200 miles. If schools like Oklahoma, TCU , Baylor are looking for an additional regional game, they probably prefer not to pickup an OOC game with a Big East school, for several reasons. First, the revenue sharing would be more favorable with a major-minor team. The Big East team is a competitor in the same media market and has a major media contract. The Big 12 does not want to give them any more media exposure or elevate the prestige of any Big East team. Major conference teams book OOC games with teams where they can reasonably expect a victory. The Big 12 will not provide the Big East will an opportunity to defeat a Big 12 during the regular season. It will be difficult for SMU in the future to book regional OOC with the Big 12. Most of SMU competitors in the Big East are not in the same region as SMU nor do they have a large fan or alumni base in DFW. Don't look for a large number of Big East fans travel thousands of miles to Dallas to attend a football game at SMU. The C-USA has created built in regional rivalries within the conference, these schools may be more interested in seeking "big money" high exposure games outside the region. Even if SMU's alumni and student body suddenly become energized, it would not have a major impact on attendance. SMU's alumni only number 112,000, with 40,000 in the DFW region. In 2011, SMU only had 6,221 undergraduate students. Gerald J. Ford Stadium may become a very very lonely place. I would expect that a game between SMU and UNT might actually become an annual event. Such a game would boost the attendance at both schools. TCU and SMU games will become a rarity. No regional rivalries except Houston within the Big East, the regional Big 12 schools will not schedule an OOC game with SMU, Regional major-minors looking for "big payday" games elsewhere and and a small alumni and undergraduate base in DFW, all add up to an empty stadium. So SMU where do expect to find the fans to fill your stadium?