20142014

In this issue

Life on the Hilltop

In Memoriam

1920s Football Jersey Ac-quired for Heritage Hall Dis-play

Nominate fellow Mustangs for Hall of Fame and SAM Award!

Coach George McMillion inducted into SWC HOF

Ponies in the Press

Upcoming Events

Fall Sports Schedules Cross Country

Football

Men’s Basketball

Men’s Soccer

Women’s Basketball

Women’s Soccer

Volleyball

Visit smumustangs.com for in-formation on all 17 Intercolle-giate Sports!

Lettermen’s Association Hosts Annual Fall Reunion The 2014 Lettermen’s Reunion was a success! The reunion took place on September 19th, in the South End Zone at Ford Stadium. The Lettermen’s Associa-tion honored Mr. Ray Hunt with the 2014 Honorary Letter Award. Dr. R. Gerald Turner, Athletic Director Rick Hart, and other SMU notables joined the Letter-men in honoring Mr. Hunt. The 2014 Honored Teams include 1983-1985 Men’s Basketball and 1999-2014 Women’s Rowing. Later in the even-ing, as a part of the Mustang Band’s celebra-tion of their new

band hall, Lettermen’s President Mitch Glieber presented an unoffi-cial honor-ary letter to the band,

the traditional Hub of SMU Spirit. With the band hall dedication and a block party to get the SMU community excited for the home opener against Texas A&M, there was lots of activity on the Hilltop. However, the celebra-tions did not end that night! The Lettermen recognized Mr. Hunt and the honored teams on the field during Saturday’s game. Congratulations to our honorees! We look forward to seeing you all back on campus again soon.

Come Cheer on SMU Football this Sea-son! This year, join us on the Boulevard for pre-game food and fun at the Good Sport Patio, presented by the Mustang Club and SMU Athletics. The Good Sport Patio is located at the northeast corner of Bishop and Binkley. Donors at the Mustang level and above re-ceive free admission for themselves and their immediate family as a benefit of their dona-tion. All others may register in advance for $10 here. All walk-ups are $15. Children 8 and under are free. The Mustang Club will also be on the road this season cheering on the Mustangs along with the Office of Alumni Relations. Registra-tion for all away games is open and may be accessed here. Away game tailgate events

are $15 per person. Children 8 and under are free. For information about tickets to home or away games, please contact the SMU ticket office at 214-768-GAME or visit our website. The remaining 2014 SMU Football schedule follows: Oct. 4: at ECU (Greenville, NC) Oct. 18: vs. Cincinnati Oct. 25: vs. Memphis (Family Weekend) Nov. 8: at Tulsa (Tulsa, OK) Nov. 15: vs. USF (Homecoming) Nov. 22: at UCF (Orlando, FL) Nov. 28: vs. Houston Dec. 6: at UCONN (Storrs, CT) We’ll see you at a Mustang football game this season! Pony Up!

Welcome to our new Lettermen’s Board members! Jeff Courtwright — Football 1981-1982 Mark Crites — Football 1982-1983 Reggie Dupard — Football 1982-1985 Tomasz Kwiatkowski — Basketball 2009-2011 Wendell Washington — Football 1995-1997

President’s Corner Mustangs, what a great year it’s been on the Hilltop! We’re hoping the heat and humidity of the summer will soon be behind us as we charge ahead into the fall sports season. It’s already been exciting watching our young men and women take the field and the court for the Mustangs. Men’s Soccer has already celebrated a significant win over Duke on Westcott Field ahead of opening conference play. Meanwhile, the volleyball team has recorded a program-best 11 straight wins and is receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches top 25 poll. The defending AAC Champion cross country team is off to a strong start with a first and a second place finish in their first two tournaments of the year, and we’re looking forward to conference play in football next month as well, led by head coach Tom Mason.

It’s been an exciting season for the student-athletes, but it’s also been a busy time for all our Letterwinners as well. Last weekend we hosted the annual Fall Reunion on the eve of our home football opener and welcomed more than 300 alumni and family back to the Hilltop. It was great to see so many of you back on campus as we honored the 1983-1985 men’s basketball teams and Fifteen Years of SMU Rowing! We inducted Ray Hunt, class of ‘65, as the newest Honorary Letter Award winner, and later on Friday evening, I had the pleasure of presenting The Mustang Band, the Hub of SMU Spirit, with an unofficial honor-ary letter on the occasion of their new band hall dedication. The new facility will be a special place for SMU spirit for many years to come, and it was a joy to share the band’s excitement with the rest of the campus community.

Be sure to check out the photos from the reunion on the Lettermen’s facebook page and our newly redesigned website at smu.edu/lettermens. We hope you will consider attend-ing a game or a Lettermen’s event this year and reconnect with old teammates and friends! You also still have time to activate your membership for 2014 and enjoy all of the benefits that come with staying connected to SMU and the Lettermen’s Association! You can sign up online or give us a call at (214) 768-4000 for more information.

Here on campus the band hall isn’t the only thing getting a facelift. The new Tennis Com-plex is nearing completion, with an opening date scheduled for later this fall, and an official opening celebration in early 2015. Perkins Natatorium, long time home of SMU swimming and diving (and previously, the home of SMU Basketball!) has finally come down, with a new facility expected to break ground soon on the East side of US-75. It’s sure to be a special facility for our swimmers and divers when completed.

If you’re in the neighborhood, I hope to get a chance to greet you on the Boulevard, in Ford Stadium or Moody Coliseum, or at another of our other athletic contests. Visit the new smumustangs.com for complete details on all sports schedules. As always—Pony Up!

Life on the Hilltop: Student-Athlete Welcome Back Event By Hanna Axene (‘15, Rowing) SAAC Vice President of Special Events With the kick-off of the 2014-2015 academic year at SMU, the SMU student-athletes quickly dove into their training and competi-tive seasons. As student-athletes, we have the opportunity to compete both on the field and in the classroom, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun along the way. The Student-Athlete Welcome Back Event at Dave and Buster’s in August was an op-

portunity for us to meet and get to know other student-athletes, play games, and use the tickets that we earned playing games for a great cause. Every ticket that the student-athletes earned—a total of 1,103,597—was collected and counted, and will be used to donate prizes to local children’s hospitals and youth organizations. Gabo An-donie, a member of the Men’s Swimming team and Vice Presi-dent of Community Service for SAAC stated, “We get to give back to the community by just having fun”.

The SMU Life Skills Department offers a multitude of resources to help Student-Athletes succeed; one of which is the

Ponies-2-Stangs Program for first year student-athletes. The first meeting of the year was held on September 14th. Athletic Direc-tor Rick Hart spoke to our freshmen on what it means to be a Mustang, and on making the transition from high school to colle-giate athletics successfully. Freshman Football player Inoke Ngalo commented that “Listening to our Athletic Director congratulate us on our achievement of becoming D1 athletes was cool. The meet-ing helped me realize the amount of resources we have in addi-tion to our coaches and our academic counselors.” SMU student-athletes will also get to listen to Felicia Hall Allen speak, toward the end of September about personal branding and net-working. The stu-dent-athletes at SMU are striving to make a lasting impact on Dallas, in their sport and in the community.

It’s that time again! Be sure to activate your 2014 Lettermen’s Membership to continue receiving great benefits from the Lettermen’s Association. Why activate? FREE parking at home football games (awarded on a per game basis to the first 100

replies to the parking invitation email).

Discounts at area hotels, SMU Bookstore and more.

Annual Reunion BBQ and Football Game.

Priority Points - Five (5) points per year of paid dues plus an additional 25 each fifth consecutive year.

Exclusive access to Lettermen's apparel.

Spring Mixer.

Stay up to date with SMU Athletics news, events and special ticket offers.

Reconnect with old friends and make new ones.

Contact the Lettermen's office for "anything SMU". We are here for you!

Cast your vote for - Silver Anniversary Mustang Award Recipient and the Honorary Letter Award Recipient.

Call or e-mail our office to activate your membership today!

In MemoriamIn Memoriam

1920’s Football jersey to be displayed in Heritage Hall Gerry York, Lettermen’s board member and SMU historian, recently obtained a special piece of SMU history from an alumni family. This jersey, originally worn by Henry J. (Choc) Sanders, was donated to SMU by Sanders’ son. Sanders played for SMU in 1928 and 1929, and was SMU’s very first 1st team All-America selection. The nick-name of “Choc” was given to Sanders from teammates who thought he looked like a Choctaw Indian. Though he had no Choctaw herit-age, Sanders liked the nickname so much he decided to keep it. This jersey has been exquisitely preserved, so the next time you’re near Ford Stadium stop by Heritage Hall to see this great piece of Mustang history.

Calling all Letterwinners! NOW is the time to submit your nominations for the SMU Athletics Hall of Fame and Silver Anniversary Mustang Award! Nominations can be made by any SMU Letterwinner who has activated his/her membership for the year. The criteria for nomination for Hall of Fame members in-cludes: 1. Competed/coached at SMU for at least 2 years 2. (Athletes) Awarded a varsity letter at SMU 3. Completed their collegiate eligibility at SMU and made

satisfactory progress toward graduation 4. At least 5 years have elapsed since they last competed or

coached for SMU 5. Gained national distinction through superlative perfor-

mance in athletics, either at SMU or subsequent to com-peting for SMU

6. Established a personal reputation for character and citi-zenship which reflects favorably upon the university.

The Silver Anniversary Mustang Award is given annually to a former letter winner who has not been an undergraduate student at SMU for a minimum of 25 years. Nominees should be individuals that have brought honor to SMU, made contri-butions that have lasting and positive effects on his or her fellow citizens and has been a model citizen in his or her community. Nominations may be submitted to lettermen@smu.edu or through our website, smu.edu/lettermens.

John Roderick (8/21/44—2013) – A Track and Football letterman, Roderick played a crucial role as a wide receiver in the Mustangs’ historic win over a Roger Staubach-led Navy team in 1963. On the track, Roderick also set a Southwest Conference Freshman record in the 100 yard dash with a 9.3.

Verde Dickey – (8/13/32—1/15/14) Dickey, a baseball letterman and a 1953 graduate of SMU, was an All-Southwest Conference catcher for the Mustangs and played alongside SMU Hall of Fame Pitcher Tommy Bowers. Adelbert Bartek – (4/28/33—11/28/13) – Bartek, a track & field letterwinner, competed as a member of a very good Mustang mile relay team in the early 1950’s with his twin brother, Albert. Gary Ferguson -- (9/20/36—1/2/14) – Ferguson, class of 1960, was a four-year letterwinner who went on to play professionally for the Cardinals. Tommy Armstrong -- (7/2/33—7/9/14) – Armstrong was a track and football letterman in the early 1950’s at SMU. Leo Fikes – (1928—6/25/14) - Fikes, a football letterwinner, played alongside Doak Walker on a SWC championship team in the 1940’s. Dr. Walter (Smithy) Keller – (9/1/35—7/22/14) - “Smithy” played football for SMU from 1954-1956 and

served as co-captain of the 1956 team. Walter W. Roberds, Jr. – (6/20/25—8/27/14) - Roberds played football for the Mustangs from 1946-1950, as a right guard for the two-time SWC Champions. Joel Krog — (3/9/35- 9/20/14) – Captain of the 1956 Final Four team, passed away on Saturday, September 20, 2014, at the age of 79. Krog helped the Mustangs to the 1955 and 1956 Southwest Conference Championships. He had game highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds in the 84-63 regional final win against Oklahoma City. "Joel loved the game of basketball," said Bob Prewitt, who was the SMU assistant coach from 1949-1967 and head coach from 1967-75. "He was a great competitor and a great team-mate. He will be missed."

John Roderick, Class of ‘63, 1944‐2013

Verde Dickey, All‐SWC Catcher, 1932‐2014

Football Darius Joseph— Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List; Bilet-nikoff Award Watch List Taylor Lasecki— Rimington Trophy Watch List Stephon Sanders—Butkus Award Watch List; semifinalist, 2014 Wil-liam V. Campbell Trophy Men’s Basketball Sterling Brown—Global Sports Academy U.S team team member—2014 Men’s Basketball Goodwill Tour Ben Moore—Global Sports Academy U.S team team member—2014 Men’s Basketball Goodwill Tour Yanick Moreira—Angola National team—2014 FIBA World Cup

Men’s Golf Ben Baxter— US Amateur participant Bryson Dechambeau—PING All-Region, Second Team All-American, Palmer Cup team participant, World Amateur Team Championships participant, US Public Links Quarterfinalist, US Amateur Round of 16 Austin Smotherman—US Amateur Qualifying Tournament Winner, Tangle Ridge Golf Course in July, US Amateur Participant Men’s Soccer Idrissa Camara--- September 15-19 AAC Weekly Honor Roll Colten Habecker—AAC Honor Roll Ben Joseph— September 22-26 AAC Rookie of the Week Andrew Morales—Preseason All-AAC by College Sports Madness Michael Nelson—AAC Honor Roll Damian Rosales—Preseason All-AAC by College Sports Madness Jacob Speed—Preseason All-AAC by College Sports Madness Men’s Swimming & Diving Team—AAC Team Academic Excellence Award Bryce Klein—USA Diving National Championships High Point Award winner (3rd 1m, 2nd 3m synchronized)

SMU’s Coach George McMillion named to SWC Hall of Fame

The Southwest Conference Hall of Fame, a branch of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame located in Waco, TX, has announced its 2014 class of inductees. Among the newest induc-tees is legendary SMU swimming coach George McMillion. “Coach Mac” began his coaching career at SMU in 1957. In 1971, he took over the head coaching role and remained over the Mustangs until 1988. In 2012, McMillion was

inducted into both the SMU Athletics Hall of Fame and the Tex-as Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame. During his tenure at SMU, Coach Mac lead the men’s swimming team to eight consecutive conference championships and was named conference Coach of the Year four times. He coached 78 All-Americans, 15 NCAA Champions, and four Olympic medal-ists. He also coached the US National Team in 1978, 1982, and 1983.

Coach Mac is a 1955 graduate of SMU. During his time as a stu-dent on the Hilltop, he captained the men’s swimming team and lettered in 1952-1954. In 1998, he was honored by the Letter-men’s Association with the coveted Silver Anniversary Mustang Award, given in recognition of service and commitment to the community with a positive and lasting impact. Coach Mac and his family remain enthusiastic supporters of SMU Athletics and are frequent visitors to the Hilltop today. The other eight inductees include: Nolan Richardson (Arkansas), Walter Abercrombie (Baylor), Otis Birdsong (Houston), Harold Solomon (Rice), Jill Sterkel (Texas), Mark Johnson (Texas A&M), James Cash (TCU) and Andre Tillman (Texas Tech). An induction ceremony and luncheon will be held at the Om-ni Hotel in downtown Fort Worth on Monday, October 20th, at 11:30 AM. Visit www.tshof.org/events to reserve event tickets and to learn more about this event.

What better way to celebrate 100 Years of SMU Athletics than with the complete history of SMU Athletics? Purchase In Honor of the Mustangs: The Centennial History of SMU Athletics today! Availa-ble through SMU’s DeGolyer Library, this limited edition publication includes a comprehensive history of SMU Athletics, authored by official SMU centennial historian Darwin Payne. Purchases may be made online or by contacting the SMU Lettermen’s Association at lettermen@smu.edu or (214) 768-4000. Don’t miss out on this incredible history of the SMU Mustangs!

NEW Lettermen’s Apparel On Sale Now! Sports Mesh Caps

100% Polyester Sports Mesh

6 panel, Medium Profile

Structured Crown & Pre-Curved Visor

Adjustable Self-Material strap with Velcro® Closure and PVC Pull-Tag

Call the Lettermen’s Association to order for fall delivery!

Celebrate the achievements of SMU student-athletes this quarter!

$20

Ryan Koops—AAC Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award Track & Field Lucija Cvitanovic—17th NCAA Heptathlon; 5th in European Cup (representing Croatia) Tova Magnusson—12th in NCAA 3000m Steeplechase; Second Team All-American Helena Perez—AAC Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award Cross Country Team—Ranked 22nd in USTFCCCAA preseason poll Karoline Skatteboe—Won Bear Twilight Invitational, set school 4K record (13:38.4) Rowing Miranda Zsigmond—All-AAC First Team Savannah Moody—College Rowing Coaches Association Second Team All-Region Volleyball Team—AVCA Team Academic Award; Set program record of 11 straight wins Janelle Giordano—USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team mem-ber, Global Challenge and European Tour

Caroline Young—1 of 30 National Candidates for Senior CLASS Award; AAC Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 8 Women’s Soccer Lauren Guerra—September 22-26 AAC Rookie of the Week Shelby Redman—20th Career goal Women’s Swimming/Diving Team— AAC Team Excellence Award Isabella Arcila—College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American Honorable Mention Ursa Bezan—College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American Honorable Mention Nathalie Lindborg—College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American Honorable Mention Nina Rangelova—set Bulgarian National Record in 50M free-style; College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American Women’s Tennis Team—ITA All-Academic Team

Join Us at Upcoming Events this Fall! October 2014 4th: SMU at ECU, Greenville, NC, Time TBA. Join SMU fans at Carolina Ale House before the game. Let us know you’re coming here.

9th: Tackles and Tex-Mex with Coach Tom Mason at the Miller Event Center at 11:30 a.m. Admission is $25.00—space is limited! Contact mus-tangs@smu.edu or 214-768-2582 to register. Valet parking available.

18th: SMU vs. Cincinnati, Time TBA, Ford Stadium. Register for the Good Sport Patio presented by the Mustang Club and SMU Athletics here (donors at the Mustang level and above do not need to register)

13th: The PwC SMU Athletic Forum—Panini America Luncheon Featuring Landon Donovan. $75 for individual tickets here.

22nd : The PwC SMU Athletic Forum—Red Mountain Resources Luncheon featuring Archie Manning. $75 for individual tickets here.

25th: SMU vs. Memphis, Time TBA, Ford Stadium. SMU Family Weekend! Register for the Good Sport Patio presented by the Mustang Club and SMU Athletics here (donors at the Mustang level and above do not need to register). Family weekend activities can be viewed here.

November 2014 8th: SMU at Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, Time TBA. Join the Mustang Club and Office of Alumni Relations before the game! Registration is $15 here. 14th: SMU BB vs. Northern Colorado, 6:00 pm CT, Moody Coliseum (Women’s); SMU BB vs. Lamar, at 8:30 pm CT at Moody Coliseum. (Men’s) 15th: SMU vs. USF, Time TBA, Ford Stadium. Homecoming Weekend! Come back to the Hilltop and celebrate the spirit of SMU. Register for the Good Sport Patio presented by the Mustang Club and SMU Athletics here (donors at the Mustang level and above do not need to register) 16th: SMU vs. UTEP, 2:00 pm CT, Moody Coliseum (Women’s) 22nd: SMU vs. Eastern Washington, 6:00 pm CT, Moody Coliseum. (Men’s) SMU vs. Eastern Washington, 2:00 pm CT, Moody Coliseum. (Women’s) 22nd: SMU at UCF, Orlando, FL, Time TBA. Join the Mustang Club and Office of Alumni Relations before the game. Registration is $15 here. 25th: SMU BB vs. Arkansas, 6:30 pm CT, Moody Coliseum (Men’s) 26th: SMU BB vs. Texas Southern, 7:00 pm CT, Moody Coliseum (Men’s) 28th: SMU BB vs. Florida A&M, 7:00 pm CT, Moody Coliseum. Women’s Basketball hosts the Mustang Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 28-29. 28th: SMU vs. Houston, Time TBA, Ford Stadium. Register for the Good Sport Patio presented by the Mustang Club and SMU Athletics here. (donors at the Mustang level and above do not need to register) 30th: SMU BB vs. Monmouth, 6:00 pm CT, Moody Coliseum (Men’s)

Contact us at (214) 768-4000 or lettermen@smu.edu with your suggestions, comments, and questions!