In a few short years, the SMU Mustangs have become a basketball program worth watching. Despite a proud history, it’s been easy to find cheap SMU basketball tickets for a long time. But that’s starting to change with the Mustangs turning things around after joining the American Athletic Conference in 2013. They are undoubtedly a program on the rise, leading to last-minute SMU basketball tickets being in high demand.

The Doctor is In

The glory days of SMU basketball took place in the 1950s and 60s under longtime head coach Doc Hayes, who ran the program from 1947 to 1967. For much of that era, the Mustangs were one of the top programs in the Southwest Conference, winning at least a share of the conference championship eight times between 1955 to 1967. During those years, Hayes coached SMU to the Sweet 16 on six occasions, including the program’s first Final Four appearance in 1956.

A Little Bliss

Things weren’t the same for SMU in the post-Hayes era. However, the Mustangs experienced a brief resurgence in the 1980s under head coach Dave Bliss. In 1988, SMU won just its second conference title in the two decades since Hayes left. The Mustangs also reached the NCAA Tournament three times under Bliss, although they were never able to get past the Round of 32.

The Legend and Apprentice

In 2012, legendary coach Larry Brown was hired as SMU’s head coach one year before the Mustangs moved to the AAC. Brown quickly rebuilt the program, leading SMU to the NIT Championship Game in 2014, as well as the AAC title and an NCAA Tournament bid in 2015. Despite committing NCAA infractions and getting the Mustangs banned from the 2016 postseason after a 25-5 record, Brown left the program in good shape upon passing the reins to Tim Jankovich. Under Jankovich, the Mustangs went 30-5 in 2017, winning the AAC regular-season and tournament titles while creating hope for a new golden era of SMU basketball.