DALLAS — Andy Enfield went from Florida Gulf Coast‘s “Dunk City” and the Candy 16 to Los Angeles and now to Dallas to enter the the SMU program this is headed to the Atlantic Coast Convention with a 36-year drought since profitable an NCAA match recreation.
Enfield mentioned he wouldn’t be in Large D if the Mustangs weren’t about to journey into that basketball-rich league.
“Uh, no,” Enfield mentioned when requested simply that. “We were extremely happy at USC, and I had an incredible staff, players, great support from the administration, and we lived at the beach. So not bad at all.”
Enfield used to be officially presented at the SMU campus on Tuesday, a future later being formally rented and about 10 days later college officers going to California to satisfy with the then-Trojans teacher who used to be on the govern in their checklist to supremacy them into primary convention play games. The journey to the ACC turns into professional July 1.
“He shared the high expectations we have for our program, and he embraces that,” SMU athletic director Rick Hart mentioned. “He’s done it at a school like ours, in a city like ours, and in a conference like the one we’re headed to.”
Next taking Incorrect. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast to the Candy 16 in 2013, in best the second one season that faculty used to be eligible for the NCAA match, Enfield spent the while 11 years at USC, the place he went 220-147 with 5 NCAA match bids, together with an Elite 8 look in 2021. The Trojans had been 15-18 this season with Bronny James as a freshman, finishing a run of 4 consecutive campaigns profitable greater than 20 video games.
SMU hasn’t been to the NCAA match since 2017. The Mustangs utmost made the nationwide quarterfinals in 1957, after they needed to win best as soon as to get that a long way in a 23-team farmland. They had been 20-13 this season, and teacher Rob Lanier used to be fired a future later a loss to Indiana State within the first around of the Nationwide Invitation Event.
“Building anything is difficult, and we know the challenges,” Enfield mentioned. “We’re here as a coaching staff to develop the players that are here, fill in the roster with some transfers and then recruit high school players as well as transfers in the future. And, I think, if you do that over a course of time, you can build a successful program. And what a great place to do it.”
SMU is transferring this summer time with Percent-12 groups Cal and Stanford to the ACC, giving that league 18 basketball groups. USC is depart the Percent-12 for the Large Ten.
3 ACC groups made this yr’s Elite 8. That incorporated NC State beating Duke within the South Pocket ultimate on Sunday on the American Airways Middle in Dallas, which is simply over 5 miles from SMU’s campus.
The utmost generation the Mustangs received within the NCAA tourney used to be a first-round recreation in opposition to Notre Dame in March 1988, proper in the midst of SMU’s soccer program being close i’m sick as a result of recruiting violations. SMU didn’t farmland a soccer workforce in 1987 or 1988 later being the one college ever given the so-called dying penalty through the NCAA.
That used to be within the used Southwest Convention, the league SMU used to be a member of since 1918 ahead of being ignored when 4 SWC groups from Texas joined the Large 8 Convention to start play games because the Large 12 in 1996. SMU nearest going to the Western Athletic Convention for 9 seasons and Convention USA for 8 campaigns ahead of becoming a member of the American Athletic Convention in 2013.
SMU’s acceptance into the ACC used to be introduced in September, and faculty officers mentioned that $100 million used to be raised inside only a day later that to backup the transition into the pristine league. The passion remains to be at a fever sound, with boosters filling the room for Enfield’s creation at the side of the pep band and cheerleaders.
“Can’t go back 40 years, but certainly can’t imagine it’s been greater than it is right now, in at least a generation,” mentioned Hart, who has been at SMU since 2012. “Tremendous momentum.
“Were given to profit from that.”
