DALLAS (AP) — SMU coach Rhett Lashlee knows the Mustangs didn’t get any preseason first-place votes for their debut in the Atlantic Coast Conference, nor does he think they should have.
The school is coming off its first league championship since the Pony Express days, in 1984, a boost that should help the Mustangs in their return to a power conference.
Well aware of what’s in store with a week-to-week rhythm that will be more much challenging than the American Athletic Conference, Lashlee is confident just the same.
“We have a new challenge in front of us, and we haven’t done anything,” Lashlee said. “In a good way, yeah, it feels different, but not like everybody is kind of tight. We’re going to find out where we stand. We don’t know. I like our guys, and I’m excited to watch them get to compete with this schedule.”
After the breakup of the Southwest Conference following the 1995 season, SMU bounced across three leagues over the next 28 years, the last 11 in the AAC, capped by a victory in the conference championship game.