The Southern Methodist University (SMU) Mustangs soccer program claims three national titles in the nearly 100 years the sport has been played at college in the Dallas, Texas area. The three national championships are of:
- 1935
- 1981
- 1982
While SMU has never received the distinction of a national soccer championship from the most respected polls generated by the Associated Press (AP) or Coaches Poll or even the more recently created Bowl Championship Series (BCS) system, the university claims that soccer national championships based on designations provided by alternative sources.
When it comes to the highest level of college football, the National College Athletics Association (NCAA), which organizes tournaments and formally recognizes a national champion for all other college sports, has refrained from officially crowning a national soccer champion. university at the highest level. Before 2006, the highest level of college football was called Division 1-A. Since 2006, the term Division 1-A has been replaced by Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). With respect to Division 1-A and, more recently, Division I FBS, the NCAA only states that “various voting organizations provide a final ranking.”
Despite the fact that the NCAA hosts a tournament and proclaims an eventual national champion at the Division II and Division III levels of college football, the governing body of college football has chosen to refrain from officially declaring an FBS ( formerly Division-IA) national. champion. Due to this fact, several universities have chosen to claim national titles for historic seasons despite consensus opinions to the contrary.
In 1935, SMU’s football program went 12-1 in a season that concluded with a bowl victory after beating Stanford 7-0 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Three different organizations declared the SMU team led by head coach Madison Bell the best in the country. Those three organizations were (1) Dickinson, (2) Houlgate System, and (3) Sagarin Ratings.
In 1981, the Dallas-based institution of higher education claimed a second national championship after a 10-1 season with coach Ron Meyer, where the Mustangs did not end their season with a bowl game. The low-key organization that declared SMU the best college football team in the country after that season was the little-known group called the National Championship Foundation.
In 1982, Bobby Collins led the SMU Mustangs to an 11-0-1 record over the course of a season that concluded with a thrilling 7-3 Cotton Bowl victory over the University of Pittsburgh. Future NFL Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson led the team that finished second in the AP and coaches polls.
Although Penn State was widely accepted as the national champion with a substantially tougher schedule than SMU, Penn State’s program finished with an 11-1 record. The lone loss to the University of Alabama at No. 4 gave an organization calling itself the Helms Athletic Foundation reason enough to declare SMU National Champion because the Mustangs finished with a draw and no losses, while Penn State had a loss. in week five of the 1982 Season.
