Southern Methodist University Mustangs at Moody Coliseum

The University Park section of Dallas, Texas, is home to one of the most competitive men’s basketball programs in the American Athletic Conference. The Southern Methodist Mustangs play out of Moody Coliseum, which first opened in 1956, and has a current capacity of 7,000. They are coached by Tim Jankovich, who previously led North Texas and Illinois State before becoming an assistant to SMU coach Larry Brown in 2012, replacing Brown in 2016.

SMU Mustangs Men’s Basketball History

Southern Methodist University first fielded a basketball team in 1916, joining the Southwest Conference in 1918. SMU basketball had its greatest period of success under Doc Hayes, who coached the team from 1945 to 1967. In 1956, the Mustangs reached the Final Four behind the play of Jim Krebs, only to lose to Bill Russell and the University of San Francisco, and in overtime at the 1957 regional semifinals to Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas. In Hayes’ final three seasons before retirement, the Mustangs made two appearances in the NCAA Sweet 16, followed by an Elite Eight loss to Southwest Conference rival Houston. SMU men’s basketball was largely a non-factor in the following decades, with the exception of SWC championships in 1972, 1988 and 1993, plus a handful of NCAA tournament and NIT appearances.

The demise of the Southwest Conference in 1996 greatly affected SMU’s stability, as the Mustangs would play first in the Western Athletic Conference, then Conference USA. A planned move to the Big East occurred during the schism that led to SMU becoming a charter member of the American Athletic Conference in 2013. The legendary Larry Brown helped lead SMU back into the national conversation as head coach from 2013 to 2016, although academic and ethical issues led to a nine-game coach’s suspension and a postseason ban during Brown’s final year. Behind the talent of Ben Moore, Shake Milton and Sterling Brown, the Mustangs won both the AAC regular season and tournament championships in 2017, and earned a 6-seed in the NCAA tournament before being upset by USC in the round of 64.