Athletics
SMU's athletics teams are known as the Mustangs and participate in the NCAA's Division I, with the football team competing as a member of Division I FBS. With June Jones arrival on the hilltop, the Mustangs have now gone to back to back bowl games & been the C-USA Western Division Champion 2 years in a row. SMU has been a member of Conference USA (C-USA) since 2005, when it left the Western Athletic Conference. Before that, the Mustangs participated in the now defunct Southwest Conference. The football team plays at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the SMU campus.
SMU's closest rival in athletics is Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas. In football, SMU and TCU compete annually (with the exception of 2006) for the Iron Skillet. In 2005, a nationally unranked SMU beat then 24th ranked TCU for SMU's first win against a ranked team in 19 years (since October 1986).
SMU also competes annually with Rice University in football for the "Mayor's Cup", a traveling trophy that has been created to enhance the Rice-SMU rivalry, which dates back to 1916.
The Doak Walker Award, an annual collegiate award given to the "most outstanding college running back", is named after SMU Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker.
The SMU football program has also produced many professional football standouts, such as Don Meredith, Doak Walker, Kyle Rote, Eric Dickerson, Jerry Ball, and Craig James. Mustangs recently in the National Football League: cornerback Kevin Garrett (Carolina Panthers), defensive back Alvin Nnabuife (Green Bay Packers), defensive end Justin Rogers, who was selected in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots and played for the Dallas Cowboys. Five Mustangs are currently active in the National Football League: wide receiver Aldrick Robinson (Washington Redskins), defensive back Bryan McCann (Baltimore Ravens), wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders was drafted in the third round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010, corner back Sterling Moore (New England Patriots) and kicker Thomas Morstead was drafted in the fifth round by the New Orleans Saints in 2009.
From 1980–1985 SMU had one of the strongest programs in Division I-A (now FBS). They posted a record of 55–14–1, and finished these seasons ranked No. 21, #7, No. 2, #19, and No. 8 in the nation. These "winningest" years were due to repeated recruiting violations. These violations are characterized by university coaches and administrators teaming with others in the civic and college football arena to purchase students whose only purpose was to bolster the schools football rankings. These repeated violations over a period of five years did not go unnoticed by the NCAA.
On February 25, 1987 the NCAA administered the "death penalty" for repeated, flagrant recruiting violations. Components included cancellation of the entire 1987 season, a two-year ban from bowl appearances, a two-year ban from television appearances, a limit of seven games, all on road, in the 1988 season, a loss of three assistant coaching positions for two years and a loss of 55 new scholarships over four years. Players were allowed to transfer without sitting out one season, per standard requirement. SMU responded to the combination of these conditions by canceling the 1988 season outright.
On November 11, 2006, redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Willis broke the single season touchdown pass record held by Chuck Hixson (21). Willis threw for three touchdowns in a 37–27 loss to the University of Houston, setting the new single season record at 23. At the end of the season, Willis set the new record at 26. He also broke the SMU single season touchdown record accounting for 29 touchdowns. He was named to the Freshman All-American team at quarterback.
On Monday, January 7, 2008, June Jones was named the head football coach at SMU. He brought a record of 76–41, all at the University of Hawaiʻi, where he won more games than any other coach in school history. He signed a five-year contract worth $10 million. The Mustangs went 1–11 in Jones' first season in 2008, but dramatically improved in 2009. The 2009 team finished the regular season at 7–5, earning the program's first bowl berth since the scandal. The Mustangs defeated Nevada in the Hawaiʻi Bowl, which also marked Jones' return to the stadium where he had coached before coming to SMU.
On December 7, 2011, it was confirmed that SMU will be joining the Big East Conference along with Boise State University, San Diego State University, University of Houston and University of Central Florida. They will begin to play in all sports in the Big East starting in the 2013–14 season.
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