Southern Methodist University (SMU), located in University Park in Dallas County, Texas, is represented by the SMU Mustangs football team. The Mustangs play in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). After eleven years in the American Athletic Conference (AAC), SMU became a member of the ACC in July 2024.
Gerald J. Ford Stadium is the home field of Southern Methodist University (SMU), located in Dallas, Texas. The SMU Mustangs football team plays its home games inside the stadium in front of 32,000 spectators.
SMU Mustangs Football Heisman winners
The SMU Mustangs Football team has seen just one Heisman award winner in history, the legendary Doak Walker.
Doak Walker
At Highland Park High, Ewell Doak Walker excelled in five different sports. He participated in track, baseball, basketball, swimming, and football, but football was always his favorite sport. As a running back and placekicker in 1948, Doak Walker is the sole Heisman Trophy winner for the SMU Mustangs football team. Under Walker's leadership, the Mustangs finished 10th in the poll with a 9-1-1 record. He received the honor as the second junior in Heisman Trophy's history.
Walker later played in the NFL from 1950 to 1955 with the Detroit Lions. In addition to leading the Lions to NFL titles in 1952 and 1953, he was named All-Pro four times. Walker was admitted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 after being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959.
Walker rose to fame as a sophomore, finishing third in the Heisman voting after rushing for 684 yards and eight touchdowns and passing for 342 yards and three scores. This was only the fourth time a sophomore finished in the top three on the ballot. With 542 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, 278 yards and two touchdowns on 15 passes, and 304 yards and five touchdowns on the field, he was unstoppable in 1948. In addition, he intercepted three passes for 75 yards, kicked 22 PATs, averaged 42.1 yards on 35 punts, returned 10 punts for 169 yards and a touchdown, and tallied 161 yards on five kickoff returns. For the Heisman, he defeated Chuck Bednarik and Charlie Justice.
FAQs on SMU Mustangs football
A. Their all-time record is 544–562–54, as of December 2024.
A. SMU Mustangs play their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
