Celebrate SMU joining the BIG EAST

There will be a campuswide celebration of SMU’s milestone move into the BIG EAST conference at 2 p.m. Thursday, January 19, in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Commons.

Joining the BIG EAST is a significant accomplishment for all of us, building on SMU’s national rise in athletic competition and as a leading institution in academic instruction and research.

Our unbridled momentum reflects the re-emergence of our successful football program under the leadership of Athletics Director Steve Orsini, June Jones and other coaches, our student-athletes and our loyal fans and supporters.

The announcement that SMU will move into an automatic qualifying BCS conference in 2013 is also good for our community. As Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings wrote this fall in The Dallas Morning News, “SMU’s goal is important for Dallas and the region — even for those who don’t consider themselves football fans. For people like me who love football, this is a no-brainer. For others, the idea that we will become a smarter, richer and more fun city should be your motivation.”

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