As we approach the 2024-2025 sports season, we will see three new schools regularly appearing on the other side of the field/pitch/court from UofL. The addition of Southern Methodist (SMU), California (Cal), and Stanford took effect recently. We will go through the sports that each school offers over the next few weeks.
Southern Methodist University (SMU)
SMU currently fields 16 varsity sports, noticeably less than the 21 Louisville has. 10 of those teams are women's programs while the remaining six are men's programs. The only sport they carry that Louisville doesn't is Equestrian. There are currently 21 Division I schools that field Equestrian.
Women's Sports offered:
-Basketball: Last season, the Mustangs went 14-16 and fell in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
-Cross Country: Unlike many schools, SMU does not have both men's and women's cross country. Their women's team had a fairly successful run last fall, tying for fifth in the NCAA Regional round.
-Equestrian: SMU is the reigning back-to-back national champions, narrowly beating out top-ranked TCU for the title back in April.
-Golf: The Mustangs have a strong women's program. They advanced to the national championship and finished 24th overall last year.
-Rowing: The Mustangs won a tight one in the AAC Championship.
-Soccer: At 11-6-1 and falling in the AAC title game, SMU was one of the first schools out to miss the NCAA Tournament.
-Swimming and Diving: The Mustangs finished second in the AAC Championships. They did not send a team to the NCAA Championships but did have a couple individual divers compete.
-Tennis: A 14-12 overall record would not have gotten SMU into the postseason, but they won the AAC title to earn their way in, where they advanced to the second round after upsetting #33 Alabama.
-Track and Field: This is another sport where you typically see men's and women's programs together. SMU only carries a women's team. With just three points recorded, the Mustangs placed 50th overall in the NCAA Championships.
-Volleyball: SMU went 26-7 overall and 18-1 in the AAC en route to a conference championship. They fell to Texas in the second round.
Although we won't see them in on the lacrosse or field hockey fields, since they don't field sports in those two areas, it still appears that SMU is pretty strong in the women's events they do offer. Granted, the step from the AAC to the ACC is a pretty huge one. but the WBB home court...Moody Coliseum, as been described as a being a very tough place for opponent to come in and win. The legend of "Moody Magic" for SMU against incoming opponents is an interesting local tradition. .
Men's Sports offered:
We found it interesting that a school of almost 12,000 enrollment only offerss (6) men's sports. We don't cover men's sports in our Cardinal Couple columns, but a cursory glance indicates that the men's sports they do carry at SMU did pretty daggone good in the AAC last year.
-Basketball: 20-13 last season
-Football: 11-3 last season with AAC Championship
-Golf: 2nd in AAC, 26th at NCAAs
-Soccer: 14-3-2 last season
-Swimming and Diving: Atlantic Sun (ASUN) Champions, 18th at NCAAs
-Tennis: 17-11 last season
We will break down the sports Cal and Stanford bring to the table in the future.
Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!
Jared
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