The SMU Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. The Mustangs were founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Oklahoma A&M.
The SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team representing Southern Methodist University (SMU) in University Park in Dallas County, Texas. The team competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The team will be joining the Atlantic Coast Conference on July 1, 2024.
Daniel "Sonny" Dykes is an American football coach, and a former college baseball player. He is currently the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU), and previously served in the same role at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 2018 to 2021, the University of California, Berkeley from 2013 to 2016, and Louisiana Tech University from 2010 to 2012. In his first season at TCU, he led the Horned Frogs to a win in the semifinal and an appearance in the National Championship game.
The 1989 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Forrest Gregg, the Mustangs were returning to competition for the first time since 1986. An NCAA investigation into continued misconduct in the football program had resulted in the Mustangs receiving the "death penalty", which resulted in the 1987 season being cancelled and indirectly resulted in the team not having enough players to field a team in 1988. After playing most of the past several seasons at Texas Stadium, the Mustangs moved back to their old home of Ownby Stadium on campus, where they had not played since 1948.
The Rice–SMU football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Rice University Owls and Southern Methodist University Mustangs. The game was first played in 1916, and since 1998 the winner was awarded the Mayor's Cup. SMU leads the series 48–41–1.
The 1995 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Tom Rossley, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 1–10 with a mark of 0–7 in conference play, placing last out of eight teams in the SWC.
The 1996 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Mountain Division of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Tom Rossley in his sixth and final season as head coach, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing fourth in the WAC's Mountain Division. This was SMU's first season as a member of the WAC after playing in the Southwest Conference (SWC) since 1918.
The 1997 Western Athletic Conference Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Mountain Division of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Mike Cavan, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, tying for second place in the WAC's Mountain Division. Ten years after the NCAA's 1987 "death penalty" on SMU football, SMU's 1997 campaign was the program's first winning season since the football program resumed operations in 1989. The Mustangs played their home games at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
The 2003 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach Phil Bennett, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 0–12 with a mark of 0–8 in conference play, placing last out of ten teams in the WAC.
The 2014 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach June Jones for two games and interim head coach Tom Mason for the remainder of the season. They played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, an enclave of Dallas and were members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 1–11, 1–7 in AAC play to finish in last place.
The 2015–16 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mustangs were led by fourth year head coach Larry Brown and played their home games on their campus in University Park, Texas at Moody Coliseum. They were members of the American Athletic Conference. The Mustangs finished the season with a record of 25–5, 13–5 in AAC play to finish in second place in conference.
The 2016 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, and competed in the West Division of American Athletic Conference (AAC). They were led by second-year head coach Chad Morris. They finished the season 5–7, 3–5 in American Athletic play to finish in fifth place in the West Division.
The 2017 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas, and competed in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by third-year coach Chad Morris during the entire regular season until December 6, when he resigned to become the head coach at Arkansas. On December 11, SMU hired Sonny Dykes as head coach, and he led them in their bowl game. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in AAC play to finish in a tie for third place in the West Division. They were invited to the Frisco Bowl where they lost to Louisiana Tech.
The 2019 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs were led by second-year head coach Sonny Dykes and played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, a separate city within the city limits of Dallas. They competed as members of the West Division of the American Athletic Conference.
The 2020–21 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team represented Southern Methodist University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mustangs are led by fifth-year head coach Tim Jankovich and play their home games at Moody Coliseum on their campus in University Park, Texas as members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 11-6, 7-4 to finish in 4th place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the AAC Tournament to Cincinnati. They received an invitation to the NIT where they lost in the first round to Boise State.
The 2021 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, a separate city within the city limits of Dallas, competed as members of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). The Mustangs were led by fourth-year coach Sonny Dykes—on November 29, it was announced that Dykes would leave the program to become the head coach at TCU. He finished at SMU with an overall record of 30–18.
The 2021 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team represented Abilene Christian University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Wildcats were led by fifth-year head coach Adam Dorrel and played their home games at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium, Abilene, Texas. The Wildcats played their 100th season in 2021.
The 2022 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, a separate city within the city limits of Dallas, and competed in the American Athletic Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Rhett Lashlee.
