Movie: Pony Excess

Eric Dickerson was once the most sought after player coming out of high school in the late 1970’s. Along with Craig James another blue chip recruit they came together at SMU in 1979. How two of the best recruits in the nation came together is just the beginning of “Pony Excess”. SMU was hailed as the best team that money could buy. The film covers the late seventies and early 80’s which was all about the cheating and probation and culminates in 2012 when SMU finally made it back to a bowl game.

Dallas was the biggest and most recognizable cities in America. Cowboys, Dallas the TV show, the SMU mustangs and football dominated the city. In the early 80’s SMU owned the best record in the NCAA from 81 to 84. The way they got there was quite literally on the back of top recruits Craig James and Eric Dickerson as well as head coach Ron Meyer who came to the program in 1976. In 1981 behind the pony express and Ron Meyer the small private school won the DI national championship. Which is Texas was all that mattered. SMU had it all money, power and now a championship. At the end of the 1981 ten win season Ron Meyer left to take a job in the NFL. When Meyer left SMU hired Bobby Collins the former University of Southern Mississippi Coach. In 1982 Dickerson finished 3rd in Heisman voting and SMU took its share of the National Championship. Between 80 and 84 SMU wen 49-9-1 the highest winning percentage in the NCAA at that time. But in 1987 SMU was the first school to receive the NCAA “death penalty” for repeat violations. SMU was eligible for the penalty because they were put on probation for 1981 violations. The 1987 season was suspended and for nearly 20 years SMU struggled to reach a winning record and were not a respected tea...

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...ay games so schools would not lose money, but SMU chose to cancel those games too. So in the end two full seasons were canceled. SMU lost 55 new scholarship positions over 4 years. As well as a handful of other sanctions SMU was made an example of what could happen and was used to scare other schools. For twenty years after the death penalty the school was not respected and never had a winning season. The film ends with the school in full rebuilding mode and making it back to a bowl game.

Sports corruption runs rampant in the NCAA and no other school has ever received a football related death penalty. Although there has been school that lose championships and schools that have wins stripped so why are these schools different? Money, and football are clearly more important that education and is a problem is both high school and college and has been for many years