Early history (1915–1917) In June 1915, Ray Morrison took on multiple roles at SMU as the coach for football, baseball, basketball, and track, while also serving as a math instructor. The football team was initially a member of the
Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) and played at
Armstrong Field. Due to TIAA rules prohibiting graduate and transfer students from playing, the first season consisted solely of freshmen. During this time, the football team was known as "the
Parsons" due to the large number of theology students on the team. SMU's first game was a 43–0 loss against future rival
Texas Christian University (TCU) on October 9, 1915. SMU won their first game on October 14, 1915, with a 13–2 victory over
Hendrix College. SMU finished its inaugural season with a 2–5 record. After winning two games in two seasons, Morrison left SMU for service in the United States Army upon the United States’ entry into World War I.
The return of Morrison (1922–1934) In 1922, Morrison returned to SMU in 1920 to work in the physical education department before co-coaching the team starting in 1922 with former
Vanderbilt teammate
Ewing Y. Freeland. For the 1922 and 1923 seasons, Morrison focused on the backfield and ends while Freeland focused on the linemen. The team became known as the "Aerial Circus" by sportswriters due to the team's use of passing on first and second downs, instead of as a last resort play. At the time, most teams utilized the forward pass five to six times in one game, while SMU did so between 30 and 40 times. By 1926, the team began playing its home games at
Ownby Stadium. In its first game at Ownby Stadium, the Mustangs defeated
North Texas State Teachers College 42–0, led by quarterback
Gerald Mann. The first Homecoming game was also played in 1926, resulting in a 14–13 victory over TCU. The team continued to have winning seasons until the 1932 season. The Mustangs won their second conference title in 1926, compiling an 8–0–1 record, and a third conference title in 1931, compiling a 9–0–1 record. In 1928, guard
Choc Sanders became SMU's first
All-American, as well as the first All-American from the Southwest Conference. After a winning 1934 season, Morrison left SMU to take over at his
alma mater, Vanderbilt, after the retirement of
Dan McGugin. and
Deke Houlgate, the namesakes for two of seven different systems used to choose a national champion at the time. For a chance to play in the
Rose Bowl against the
Stanford Indians football team for the unofficial national championship, SMU faced off against TCU, who featured two time All-American quarterback
Sammy Baugh. The Mustangs had three more winning seasons from 1936 to 1939. SMU failed to win the Southwest Conference title in 1940, losing out to the
Texas A&M Aggies who beat the Mustangs head to head. After a 5–5 season in 1941, Bell left SMU to serve in the
United States Navy during World War II.
World War 2 (1942–1944) With Bell in the Navy,
Jimmy Stewart took his place as head coach. In his three seasons as head coach, Stewart compiled an overall record of 10–18–2. Bell returned as head coach for the 1945 season.
Doak Walker era (1945–1949) of SMU 1948. Upon Bell's return as SMU's head coach, the team also gained
halfback and
placekicker Doak Walker. Walker won All-Southwest Conference honors his freshman year in 1945 and played in the
East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco. Walker did not play in the 1946 season due to serving in the
United States Army, yet re-enrolled at SMU and rejoined the football team for the 1947 season. The Mustangs posted a 9–0–2 record in 1947, winning their sixth Southwest Conference title. In the same season, the team played against the
Penn State Nittany Lions in the
Cotton Bowl Classic, resulting in a 13–13 tie. Walker threw a 53-yard touchdown pass and scored on a two-yard run in this game. Walker earned the
Maxwell Award during this season. During the 1948 season, the Mustangs won their seventh conference title, posting a 9–1–1 record. The team played in the Cotton Bowl Classic once more, defeating the
Oregon Ducks, who were led by quarterback
Norm Van Brocklin, 21–13, making it their first victory in a bowl game in school history. Doak Walker, winning All-American honors, also won the
Heisman Trophy, the only Mustang ever to do so. Additionally, the Mustangs permanently moved to the
Cotton Bowl for its home games this season, after playing only a limited number of games in that stadium in years previous. In their final game at
Ownby Stadium, the Mustangs defeated
Texas Tech 41–6. Due to Doak Walker's popularity and gate draw—also as an allusion to 1923 Yankee Stadium's "House that Ruth Built″ moniker referring to that stadium's likewise excess of capacity—the
Cotton Bowl became colloquially known as "The House that Doak Built". The 1949 season was both Doak Walker's and coach
Matty Bell's last as part of SMU's varsity football team and program. The team posted a 5–4–1 record. Walker won All-American honors a third time, the most for any football player in SMU's history. Bell continued to serve SMU as the athletic director; Walker played in the
NFL for the
Detroit Lions. Over the course of his career at SMU, Walker rushed for 1,954 yards, passed for 1,638 yards, scored 288 points, punted for a 39.4 average and kicked field goals and extra points. He is also the Mustangs' all-time leader in punt return yards with 750—that was during an "era" of NCAA
single-platoon substitution rules. Bell left the head coaching position at SMU with a 79–40–8 record, including three Southwest Conference titles, a bowl game victory, and a national championship.
Russell, Woodard, and Meek eras (1950–1961) Bell was replaced by
Rusty Russell in 1950. Russell previously served as quarterbacks and running backs coach from 1945 to 1949, and is credited with luring Walker away from the
University of Texas. In three seasons as head coach, Russell compiled a 13–15–2 record. After a strong first season, in which the Mustangs were ranked number one in the nation, the team suffered two losing seasons. Facing increasing scrutiny, Russell resigned as head coach after the 1952 season.
Kyle Rote, who filled Walker's place on the team, led the Southwest Conference with 777 yards rushing in 1949, and was named an All-American following the 1950 season. Quarterback
Fred Benners led the Mustangs to perhaps their greatest win of the decade when he completed 22 of 42 passes for 336 yards to beat Notre Dame, 27–20, in Notre Dame, Indiana on October 13, 1951. Benners connected on TD passes of 57, 37, 31 and four yards to four different receivers as the Mustangs beat the
Fighting Irish in what was one of the highlights in a 3–6–1 season. Furthermore,
Forrest Gregg became part of the team in 1952, and became a two-time All-Southwest Conference player by 1955, later moving on to the
NFL. Moreover, in 1952, David Powell became SMU's first Academic All-American winner.
Woody Woodard took Russell's place as head coach in 1953. Woodard compiled a 19–20–1 record in his four seasons as head coach for SMU, resigning after two consecutive losing seasons. During the 1954 season, wide receiver
Raymond Berry was elected as a co-captain, despite only catching 11 passes for 144 yards, winning All-Southwest Conference and Academic All-American honors, and later played in the NFL for the
Baltimore Colts. Woodard was replaced by
Bill Meek in 1957, who was coming off a
Missouri Valley Conference title-winning season with the
Houston Cougars. In five seasons with SMU, Meek compiled a 17–29–4 record. During Meek's time as head coach, quarterback
Don Meredith earned All-American honors in 1958 and 1959, his .610 career completion percentage the best in SMU history, along with a tremendous running ability that increased the pressure on opposing defenses. The 1960 season, though, proved particularly bad for the Mustangs, as they went 0–9–1, losing every game by more than 10 points with the exception of a game against
Texas A&M in which neither team scored.
Hayden Fry era (1962–1972) In 1962,
Hayden Fry became SMU's eighth head coach. The Mustangs hosted the fourth-ranked
Navy Midshipmen (including quarterback
Roger Staubach) on October 11, 1963, at the
Cotton Bowl. SMU, en route to a 4–7 season, was considered an underdog against the Midshipmen. Little-known sophomore
John Roderick rushed for 146 yards on 11 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 45 yards and two yards for the Mustangs. The SMU defense, led by Bob Oyler, Martin Cude, Bill Harlan, Harold Magers, and Doug January, sent Staubach to the bench twice with a dislocated left shoulder. Trailing 28–26 with 2:52 remaining in the game, SMU had a chance to pull off an upset. Quarterback
Danny Thomas threw to
Billy Gannon, who ran to the Navy 46. On the next play, Roderick took a pitchout 23 yards to the 23. After a pass interference penalty against Navy put the ball on the one-yard line, Gannon plowed over the right tackle for the winning touchdown with 2:05 left. The SMU defense held off Staubach's effort to rally his team for one last score, as the Mustangs pulled off the 32–28 upset. Despite a losing record in 1963, the Mustangs played in their first Sun Bowl since 1948 against the Oregon Ducks, losing 14–21. When Fry took the job at SMU, he was promised that he would be allowed to recruit
Black athletes.
Jerry LeVias became the first Black player signed to a football scholarship in the Southwest Conference, and played his first game for SMU in 1966, one week after
John Hill Westbrook of
Baylor became the first Black player to play for a conference team. Fry faced backlash for recruiting a Black player, receiving hate mail and threatening phone calls. However, he stated that his treatment was minor compared to the more severe harassment LeVias faced. During the 1966 season, Hayden Fry lifted SMU back to national prominence; SMU was ranked ninth in the nation and won its first conference championship in 18 years, its seventh overall. Fry also won Conference Coach of the Year. SMU lost in the
Cotton Bowl to the
Georgia Bulldogs 9–24.
John LaGrone, who earned conference honors from 1964 to 1966, was the first Mustang player to be selected as both an All-American and Academic All-American when he was honored following the 1966 season. During the 1968 season, combined with quarterback
Chuck Hixson, LeVias helped lead the Mustangs to a 28–27 win over Oklahoma in the
1968 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, giving SMU its first bowl victory since the 1949 Cotton Bowl. SMU and Oklahoma combined to score 35 points in the fourth quarter. SMU stopped Oklahoma short of a potential game-winning two-point conversion with 1:16 left to play. LeVias was selected as an all-conference player as a senior for the third time. Fry's Mustangs had a 12–20 record over the next three years, from 1969 to 1971. That led to uncertainty about his leadership, and rumors began to swirl after the Mustangs started the 1972 season with a 4–4 record. The three-game winning streak that followed was not enough to save Fry's job. After a 7–4 season in 1972, Fry was fired, which robbed the Mustangs of a bowl berth. In his 11 seasons at SMU, Fry compiled a 49–66–1 (.422) record.
Dave Smith era (1973–1975) After Fry's departure,
Dave Smith, a former assistant coach under Fry, took his place as head coach. Coming off a 7–4 season with
Oklahoma State, Smith had two consecutive 6–4–1 seasons with SMU, with his final season resulting in a 4–7 record. In three seasons with SMU, Smith compiled a 16–15–2 (.485) record. Smith was replaced by
Ron Meyer in 1976.
Ron Meyer-Bobby Collins era (1976–1986) on the left talking to media before game.|207x207px Coach Ron Meyer joined SMU in 1976 after a successful tenure at UNLV. Coach Meyer was notable for his recruiting tactics, including visits each year to the homes of 70 or more of the top recruits per year. His most notable recruits were future
NFL running backs
Eric Dickerson and
Craig James before the 1979 season, as both their high school teams went 15–0 and won state championships. Combined with blue chip running back Charles Waggoner, the three backs were nicknamed the "Pony Express" running attack and shredded opposing defenses in the option offense led by quarterback
Lance McIlhenny. In 1981, the Mustangs' performance earned them recognition by the
National Championship Foundation as one of its five co-national champions. Coach Meyer left to become the head coach of the
New England Patriots in 1982, and SMU hired Coach
Bobby Collins, then head coach at the
University of Southern Mississippi. Dickerson finished 3rd in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1982, and the team claimed a share of its second consecutive national championship, being selected by Bill Schroeder of the
Helms Athletic Foundation as his last-ever selection, in addition to consensus-champion
Penn State; the Mustangs finished second in both the AP and coaches polls.
"Death Penalty" and decades of rebuilding (1987–2007) In 1987, SMU became the first and only football program in collegiate athletic history to receive the "
death penalty" for repeated serious violations of NCAA rules. The NCAA forced SMU to cancel its football program for the 1987 season because the university had been paying some of the players—approximately $61,000 was paid from 1985 until 1986. It later emerged that SMU had been keeping a
slush fund to pay players since as early as the mid-1970s and that athletic officials had known about it as early as 1981. SMU was eligible for the "death penalty" because it had already violated recruiting rules, and had been placed on probation in 1985. Since many potential student-athletes came from lower socio-economic backgrounds, boosters had been inducing them to sign with SMU by offering them payments and expense coverage. Several key boosters and SMU officials deemed it unethical to discontinue payments once initiated, as some boosters had contractually agreed to fund certain athletes for their entire tenure at SMU. There was also the potential of disgruntled football players "blowing the whistle" on SMU should the payments be discontinued. When the sanctions were handed down, SMU had three players – all seniors close to graduation – receiving payments. Not long afterward, SMU announced that football was canceled for the 1988 season as well after school officials received indications that there would be too few experienced players at the school to field a viable team, as most of the team had left the university and transferred to other institutions.
Forrest Gregg, an SMU alumnus who had been the head coach of the
Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, as well as the Cincinnati Bengals who he coached to a Super Bowl appearance, was hired in 1988 to help rebuild the team. The two-year gap in the program meant that Gregg had to begin with an undersized and underweight lineup. The Mustangs struggled for 20 years to recover from the effects of the penalty and the scandal. Gregg compiled a 3–19 (.136) record in his two seasons. He moved on to be SMU's athletic director from 1990 through 1994. Following the collapse of the Southwest Conference after the 1995 season, SMU joined the
Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1996, where they remained through 2004. SMU moved to
Conference USA in 2005. The Mustangs had three more head coaches, and only one winning season, through the completion of the 2007 season.
C-USA era (2008–2014) in a 2009 contest. In 2008, SMU hired Steve Orsini away from the
University of Central Florida (UCF) to be SMU's athletic director. Orsini then hired
June Jones from the
University of Hawai'i as head football coach – the team's fifth coach since 1989. In Jones' first season at SMU, they had a 1–11 record. In 2009, Coach Jones' second season at SMU, the Mustangs made a turnaround, with a regular season record of 7–5. Despite finishing unranked in the
2009 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, SMU was invited to its first bowl game in 25 years, and defeated the unranked
Nevada Wolf Pack with a final score of 45–10 in the
2009 Hawai'i Bowl, the team's first bowl win since 1984. In 2010, the Mustangs again compiled a regular season record of 7–5, with a 6–2 in-conference record to earn their first chance at winning a conference title in 26 years, securing a berth in the
Conference USA Championship game. SMU lost the conference title game, 17–7, against
UCF. Once again unranked in the
2010 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, SMU was invited to its second consecutive bowl game, the
2010 Armed Forces Bowl, where it lost against the unranked
Army Black Knights. Following
Texas A&M's move to the
SEC in August and September 2011, SMU made it known that they would like to replace Texas A&M in the
Big 12. SMU's interest in the Big 12 was never reciprocated, and the Big 12 instead added
TCU and
West Virginia University. SMU went on to win back-to-back bowl games in the
2012 BBVA Compass Bowl (for the 2011 season) and
2012 Hawaii Bowl. SMU ended the Jones era in 2014 the way it began: with a 1–11 season. The Mustangs won the last game of the season against the
University of Connecticut on December 6, 2014. June Jones' record at SMU was 36–43 (.456) and in the timespan, SMU was invited to 4 bowl games, in which they went 3–1. Jones was replaced by
Chad Morris in 2015.
Chad Morris (2015–2017) in
2018. SMU hired former
Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris as head coach and announced his hiring on December 1, 2014. His first season resulted in a 2–10 record, a slight improvement from the 2014 season. SMU continued to improve in Morris' second season, finishing 5–7. In his 3rd season, Morris was able to lead the Mustangs to bowl eligibility and a 7–5 record in 2017. However, Morris accepted the head coaching position at Arkansas in the weeks prior to the bowl game, and SMU was forced to move quickly to hire a new football coach in light of the approaching bowl game. Chad Morris had a 12–22 (.353) record while at SMU.
Sonny Dykes (2017–2021) Sonny Dykes was hired as the new football coach of SMU on December 11, 2017. The Mustangs were defeated by
Louisiana Tech 51–10 in the DXL
Frisco Bowl. In the 2019 season, the Mustangs got off to an 8–0 start. On September 21, they defeated cross-town rival TCU. On September 29, the Mustangs were ranked in the AP top 25 for the first time since October 25, 1986. Sonny Dykes went 30–17 (.638) while at SMU, and was invited to four bowl games, with 2 being cancelled.
Rhett Lashlee (2021–present) Rhett Lashlee returned to SMU as the head football coach on November 29, 2021. Lashlee previously served as offensive coordinator for the Mustangs, including during the record-setting 2019 season. In 2024, the Mustangs would finish the regular season 11–1 (8–0 Conference), earning them a spot in the
ACC Championship Game, where they lost 34–31 to
Clemson. They would then play in the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff for the first time ever in 2024, where they lost in the first round to
Penn State, 38–10. Applications to SMU were up 56% in 2025 over 2024, coming on the heels of the school joining the ACC and the football team earning a berth in the College Football Playoff after the 2024 season. == Conference affiliations ==