SMU Mustangs - History - 1980s

1980s

1980 • The Mustangs parlayed their talent into an 8–4 record and the school’s first national ranking (20th) since 1968. • The 1980 Holiday Bowl featured two teams with distinctly different offensive philosophies. SMU relied on the running of Eric Dickerson and Craig James, while BYU boasted an explosive aerial attack led by QB Jim McMahon. Both teams combined for more than 900 yards in total offense in a game which came down to the final play. After trailing 45–25, BYU mounted one of the most amazing comebacks in college football history. As time expired, McMahon found Clay Brown in the end zone for a 41-yard TD pass, sending the Mustangs home with a heartbreaking 46–45 defeat. • Ted McLaughlin was named track and field coach at SMU. McLaughlin would lead the Mustangs to three national team championships (1983 indoor and outdoor, 1986 outdoor), the most by any coach in school history. • Michael Carter wins first individual indoor national championship for men’s track and field with a shot put of 76–5½. • Men’s swimming has streak of 23-straight SWC Championships end with second place finish. The Mustangs would go onto finish second at each meet until 1994 when they finished third. The team finished second at the meet its final two years in the SWC.

1981 • A 10–1 record in 1981 vaulted the Ponies to their first conference title in 16 years as a new quarterback took over the reins of the Pony Express. Lance McIlhenny was the perfect leader for SMU’s option attack, using his running ability and leadership capabilities to guide the Mustangs to a 34–5–1 record after taking over as the starting quarterback in the seventh game of his freshman season in 1980.

1982 • After Ron Meyer was named head coach of the New England Patriots prior to the 1982 season, Southern Mississippi coach Bobby Collins was named the Mustangs’ new head coach. Dickerson, James and McIlhenny led SMU to an 11–0–1 record and number-two ranking in 1982, including a 7–3 victory over Pittsburgh and its star quarterback, Dan Marino, in the 1983 Cotton Bowl Classic. SMU was the only undefeated football team in the nation that season, but Penn State, with one loss, was named the national champion after defeating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. • Despite coming from different backgrounds, Eric Dickerson and Craig James shared similar success before arriving at SMU. Both led their high schools to undefeated 15–0 seasons and state championships as prep seniors in 1978. Once at SMU, they became the heart of one of the most prolific backfields in college football history – “The Pony Express.” • One of the most memorable plays in SMU football history took place on November 13, 1982, when Bobby Leach took a cross-field lateral on a kickoff with 17 seconds left and raced untouched for a 91-yard touchdown to give the Mustangs a 34–27 win over Texas Tech. The play helped preserve the Ponies’ undefeated season and forever branded Leach with the nickname of “Miracle Man.” Leach currently serves on SMU’s Board of Trustees. • Rhonda Rompola, a transfer from Old Dominion, becomes SMU’s first women’s basketball All-American. Rompola would later return to SMU as an assistant coach and the most successful head women’s basketball coach in school history.

1983 • The SMU men’s track and field team won the 1983 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor team championships. Four SMU individuals claimed national titles in 1983 – Michael Carter, Keith Connor, Sven Nylander and Robert Weir. Carter captured an incredible seven of eight possible NCAA shot put titles during his SMU career, which also saw him excel in football. Carter played nine seasons professionally for the San Francisco 49ers. He also earned a silver medal in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Conner’s 57–7¾ in the triple jump is the current NCAA outdoor record. Weir 35-pound weight throw of 76–5½ still stands as the NCAA Indoor Championship record. • SMU lost to Alabama, 28–7, in the 1983 Sun Bowl in El Paso. • Steve Lundquist wins 100 Breast at NCAA Championships for fourth-straight year – the first men’s swimmer to do so at SMU. • Men’s tennis finishes second at the NCAA Championships – its highest finish. Dennis Ralston named NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year.

1984 • SMU capped a 9–2 regular season with a 27–20 victory over Notre Dame in the 1984 Aloha Bowl in Honolulu. It was the first meeting between the two schools in 26 years. • Seven SMU athletes earn medals in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. SMU men’s basketball player Jon Koncak helps the United States team win a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics. Koncak played for the U.S. under legendary coach Bobby Knight. Steve Lundquist earned two gold medals for the United States in swimming (100 breaststroke/400 medley relay) at the 1984 Games. Other SMU medalists at the 1984 Olympics were Michael Carter (silver – track and field), Ricardo Prado (silver – swimming), Amy White (silver – swimming) and Keith Connor (bronze – track and field). • Schellas Hyndman was named men’s soccer coach at SMU. Hyndman, known worldwide as a 10th-degree black belt in the martial arts, is also an excellent soccer coach. He would go on to record his 200th win at SMU in 1997 and his 300th win overall the same year. In 1999, Hyndman appeared on the national television show You Asked For It, demonstrating his martial arts expertise.

1985 • Jon Koncak, who would later go on to a productive NBA career, is named second team men’s basketball All-American. He was just the second Mustang to earn All-American honors. • Women’s swimming goes undefeated in dual meets for the first time. • ATP Tour Professional Richey Reneberg named NCAA Rookie of the Year.

1986 • SMU receives the so-called “Death Penalty” on its football program, shutting down the program for the 1987 season. Although SMU could have competed in 1988, University officials cancelled that campaign. (See Southern Methodist University football scandal.) • SMU legend Doak Walker is elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Walker starred for the Detroit Lions from 1950–55. • SMU men’s track and field team won the 1986 NCAA Outdoor team title, marking the third national championship in the program’s history. • SMU players Reggie Dupard and Rod Jones are each selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. It marks the only time in school history that two Mustangs are drafted in the opening round. • The SMU women’s soccer team begins competition under coach Alan Kirkup. Kirkup led SMU to an impressive 15–3–2 record in its inaugural season. • Women’s track and field starts at SMU. • Diving coach Jim Stillson named U.S. Diving National Team Coach (1987–91). He would also make SWC history by being named Men and Women’s Diving Coach of the Year – the first a coach has been named coach of the year in a men and women’s sport in the same year. He would repeat the honor again in 1988 and 1989. • Men’s tennis Richey Reneberg named Collegiate Tennis Player of the Year he would be named ATP Tour Newcomer of the Year as a professional.

1988 • SMU is given permission to play a seven game road schedule, with no home games, but chooses not to participate in 1988 due to the fact that they could not form a competitive team . Forrest Gregg returned to accept what he called “the ultimate challenge” when he was named as the Ponies’ head coach on January 14, 1988, after having coached the Green Bay Packers since 1984. • SMU’s Kevin Robinzine (U.S.) earns a gold medal in the 1,600 meter relay. Robinzine is one of eight SMU representatives in the 1988 Olympic Games.

1989 • Women’s tennis player Jennifer Santrock was the Volvo/ITCA National Player of the Year (she was also named the Southwest Conference’s Female Athlete of the Decade). Santrock earned her third and final All-American award in 1989. • Former SMU golfer Payne Stewart earned more than one million dollars on the PGA Tour (the second most that year) and won the 1989 PGA Championship. • The Mustangs first season back on the football field, SMU fields a team composed of 74 freshman, 16 of whom were starters . Quarterback Mike Romo who, on February 10, 1988, became the Mustangs’ first signee since 1985. Romo engineered one of the most exciting wins in Mustang history when he led SMU from a 17-point deficit in the final five minutes to defeat Connecticut, 31–30, in just the second game of the 1989 season. He completed a four-yard pass to Michael Bowen on the game’s final play to give the Ponies their first win since 1986 . • Jason Wolf set an NCAA freshman record when he caught 61 passes in 1989. He also led the Ponies in scoring (50 points), and his 61 receptions are the fourth-highest total in SMU history. • After playing their home games in Ownby Stadium from 1926–1948, the Mustangs returned their home games to the on-campus facility in 1989. SMU hosted Rice in the season opener on September 2, marking the return of Mustang football to Ownby exactly 40 years and 11 months after SMU’s last game there. • Diving coach Jim Stillson named NCAA Men’s Coach of the Year.