A note on Memorial Day\u2019s history. It supposedly began on May 30, 1868 when then Commander and Chief John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic proclaimed it to honor fallen union soldiers of the Civil War.<\/p>\n
However, the Department of Veteran Affairs credits a Georgia woman, Mary Ann Williams, for creating the idea.<\/p>\n
By 1890, every union state adopted the holiday. Eventually, World War I and World War II gave it a national tone. From 1868-1970 it was always celebrated on May 30. But in 1971, Congress voted to change it to the last Monday in May.<\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
A couple of notables involving SMU athletic facilities:<\/p>\n
Update on the Garry Weber Endzone Complex<\/p>\n
>In case you forgot, between suites, seats and SRO Plaza tickets, the capacity is about 1,200.<\/p>\n
>There are five suites. However, three of the five can be combined into one.<\/p>\n
>The sales cycle has started. SMU has converted the deposits into tickets. SMU is sold out of suites, loge boxes and tabletop seats. There are club and plaza tickets remaining.<\/p>\n
>As for the Crum basketball practice facility that opened in 2008, there are no plans for any major renovations except for just routine items. I asked given that facility\u2019s age. That 43,000 square-foot facility was built for $13 million.<\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
There are only two letters in the word if. I and F. Together they form one powerful word, and that was the word that always kept SMU from breaking through in South Dallas.<\/p>\n
When Sael Reyes<\/a><\/strong> moved to DeSoto from East St. Louis in January 2023, he had no idea what an SMU was. Naturally, SMU and the \u201cif\u201d meant nothing to him. He would learn why later.<\/p>\n The 6-1, 190-pound 2025 safety caught SMU at the time it continued rehabbing its relationship with Dallas and South Dallas County. Before he enrolled, Reyes went to head coach Claude Mathis\u2019 office.<\/p>\n It was the January contact period. Coaches could visit schools. The first people Reyes met were SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee <\/a><\/strong>and defensive coordinator Scott Symons<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n While not knowing the depth of the fracture, all Reyes could go by was what he knew from that meeting. Then what developed over these last 17 months is the result of why he is the latest member of the Mustangs\u2019 2025 recruiting class. He\u2019s also a salesman.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up I wanted to be a leader,\u201d Reyes said. \u201cAnd while a lot of people can think of SMU as a lower school, you can tell they want to be one of the best teams in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir recruiting in the ACC. Their facilities are top tier with Texas A&M and Texas. I\u2019ve been to A&M many times and Texas five times. Seeing them compete facility wise, staying at home and building something means a lot.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Reyes should know a lot about Texas\u2019 two largest schools. His older brother Antonio Johnson<\/a><\/strong> played for Texas A&M and is now in the secondary for the Jacksonville Jaguars.<\/p>\n Reyes knew he was a P5 recruit. So did everybody else. While SMU coaches kept in contact with him before Sept. 1, 2023, chances of landing Reyes before that date were slim.<\/p>\n Before then, he talked to other people who had known the strained relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cThey kept saying, \u2018if SMU could keep all the kids in Dallas, it could be special,\u2019\u201d Reyes said. \u201cBut that was the big if. In the AAC I feel like any school there don\u2019t get to play Georgia to play for a national championship.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Reyes\u2019 story is anecdotal yet important to understand why it matters. The flip of a letter in your conference affiliation thanks to the flip of one vote from NC State represented the end of \u201cif\u201d. \u201cIf\u201d was out. \u201cYes\u201d was in. Rebuilding the relationship turned out to be the foundation.<\/p>\n Not only has SMU course corrected its relationship south of I-20, it\u2019s attempting to build a fence around it. Hence, the State of Dallas recruiting tag line.<\/p>\n Of course, Mathis has seen both sides of this SMU-Dallas relationship since he made his first run at DeSoto in the 2000s and early 2010s. Between 2015-16 he served as Chad Morris\u2019 <\/strong>running backs coach.<\/p>\n Mathis lived the SMU struggles. He knew the frustrations. The academic fight. The financial level of support. The then-facilities holocaust.<\/p>\n However, it simply came down to this: \u201cIt had to do with relationships. Those guys felt the way I did. SMU never came out there. They were invisible.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Then the thaw began. During Mathis\u2019 time, SMU could admit just about every recruit it needed to admit. However, there were always a handful considered borderline.<\/p>\n Those became meetings with professors to determine if those prospects could hold up academically. While the SAT may not have shown it, discussions went into a player\u2019s character, relationships with teachers and how involved they were in community service.<\/p>\n Most of the time, the professors greenlighted those recruits. It impacted the team. Some of those turned out to be difference makers.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember going to those meetings with Chad,\u2019\u2019 Mathis said. \u201cI knew the standards were hard. Thank God the university could see the same things in those players that we did. But if they didn\u2019t work out, we weren\u2019t going to be penalized for it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n In today\u2019s SMU football world since last September, the university raised $100 million a week after it became an ACC member.<\/p>\n Only eight years earlier it was a groundbreaking event when SMU committed $1 million into its recruiting efforts. Those were handwritten letters, travel, and aggressive use of social media for starters.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had to step up and keep up,\u201d Mathis said. \u201cThey really did a good job. The AD [Rick Hart<\/strong>] made sure we could do it right. We met with alums. We showed them the vision. That led to the new locker rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n Lashlee credits his predecessors for making this job easier. It matters.<\/p>\n Go back to when Reyes arrived. The first college coaches he saw were from SMU. Then refer back to Mathis\u2019 invisible comment.<\/p>\n No member of this staff needs a GPS. The drive from SMU to DeSoto, Duncanville, Cedar Hill, Red Oak, and the surrounding area is routine. Nearly 40 percent of SMU\u2019s 2025 commits are from this area.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been to SMU four times,\u201d Reyes said. \u201cTwo games, an unofficial visit and then the official visit. I\u2019ve been through this with my brother. And I saw the different treatment from others on his visits.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, just seeing the changes on my OV and how it wasn\u2019t just love. They were showing it was about treating everyone the same. It was real.\u201d<\/p>\n Said Mathis: \u201cThe shift has been they\u2019ve won. They\u2019ve got the facilities. Recruiting is about winning. You have to be against the big names. The ACC is a huge factor. These boys can frickin\u2019 play. They\u2019ve done a helluva job with them.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Now, a look at other SMU sports\u2026.<\/p>\n >You can follow the SMU men\u2019s golf team\u2019s efforts in the NCAA tournament on this provided link<\/a> <\/strong>or our thread<\/a><\/strong> set up by Jordan Hofeditz.<\/p>\n >For the SMU women\u2019s track team<\/strong>, Funminiyi Olajide<\/strong> will be competing at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships following her long jump performance at regionals on Friday in Fayetteville, AR. Her first jump of 6.70 meters broke her own school record and secured her spot with a fifth place finish at the NCAA West First Round.<\/p>\n \u201cFunminiyi qualifying to NCAA Finals with the fifth best jump out of the East and West Firs Round is significant,\u201d Head Coach A\u2019Havahla Haynes<\/strong> said. \u201cShe was arguably in one of the best long jump competitions that a First Round has seen. Coach Austin and Funminiyi have worked so hard to get this season right and build off of the Indoor Championship.\u201d<\/p>\n Olajide will continue her season at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday, June 6th. The long jump is slated for a 7 p.m. start time.<\/p>\n Two others concluded their seasons. Whitney Williams<\/strong> finished her collegiate career running 54.22 in the 400.\u00a0Freshman Kirin Chacchia<\/strong>\u00a0ran a time of 1:02.05 in the 400 hurdles for her first regionals appearance.<\/p>\n > SMU women\u2019s golf<\/strong> wrapped up its 2023-24 season with a 24th\u00a0place finish last week at the NCAA Championship from Omni La Costa Champions Course.\u00a0The Mustangs recorded back-to-back top 25 national finishes for the first time since 1991-92. Emily Odwin<\/strong> was the highest-finishing Mustang with a 64th\u00a0place showing. Odwin carded a 75 in the third round to move up nine spots on the leaderboard. Her best round of the Championship came in a middle round 73. In nine starts this season, Odwin recorded six top 20 finishes.<\/p>\n Lee was named honorable mention All-American as announced by\u00a0the Women\u2019s Golf Coaches Association on Friday. She broke the SMU single-season scoring record with an average of 71.32 in 2023-24, good for -0.68 below par on average.\u00a0 Lee posted a team best 26 rounds of par or better in 38 rounds during the campaign.<\/p>\n >SMU rowing<\/strong> was selected to the NCAA Championships as winners of the American Athletic Conference Rowing Championships. The Mustangs join 10 other conference winners along with 11 at large selections heading to the Championships on May 31-June 2. SMU is seeded No. 21.<\/p>\n Last season at the NCAAs, the Mustangs finished in ninth, the best mark in program history. They scored 85 points, the most by an AAC squad.\u00a0 They finished the season as the ninth ranked team in the Pocock Coaches Poll. The NCAA Championship runs from Friday, May 31 through Sunday, June 2 at\u00a0East Fork\/Harsha Lake in Bethel, Ohio (hosted by Marietta College and the Cincinnati USA Sports Commission).<\/p>\n Let\u2019s make it a great week. Pony Up!<\/p>\n The post What was he Thinking?<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A note on Memorial Day\u2019s history. 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The Mustangs came into the day in 30th\u00a0place among the field. They gained ground during the back nine with low scores from Mackenzie Lee<\/strong> and Ellie Szeryk<\/strong>. The Mustangs climbed six spots into a tie for 24th\u00a0with Oklahoma State. The top 15 teams earned a spot on Monday.<\/p>\n