SMU celebrated a return to major college football with burgers and shakes on a private jet owned by arguably the greatest wildcatter in history. A perfect duet between the Atlantic Coast Conference and its newest show pony. 

Head coach Rhett Lashlee was in the driver’s seat alongside Bill Armstrong, the mega donor known for finding oil where most don’t, when their black Lincoln that also included Lauren Lashlee, Rhett’s wife, pulled up to a Cookout window en route to a private airport in Charlotte following the Mustangs’ appearance at ACC Media Days. The one-day event served as a reintroduction for the Ponies as a power program, a label that was ripped away in the 1990s when the Southwest Conference dissolved and a wounded SMU program found a home in the Western Athletic Conference.  

As the four waited for burgers and an Oreo milk shake, a Cookout employee named Cloresa began to pepper Lashlee and Armstrong with questions at the drive-thru window. The four players – Preston Stone, R.J. Maryland, Elijah Roberts, and Kevin Jennings – were a few cars behind in line with SMU director of football operations Josh Nash at the wheel. Cloresa wanted to know who the men in suits were and why they were in Charlotte. Lashlee told her that Armstrong was the head coach of SMU football. Armstrong played along and told Cloresa that Lashlee was his security. 

The SMU contingent passed Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, on the way to Cookout from the Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Lashlee asked the group if anyone knew what happens on December 7th, to which Armstrong replied, “Pearl Harbor.” 

“I think that one already happened, Bill,” Lashlee responded in laughter as the stadium disappeared from his rear-view mirror. “The ACC championship game is on December 7th in that stadium.” 

Armstrong experienced the glory days of the Pony Express as a student at SMU in the late 70s and early 80s. He graduated in 1982 with the Mustangs on top of the college football world. His memories on the Hilltop consists of parties that included the cheerleaders and the band on Friday night. Even Peruna, a real-life Pony mascot at SMU, made appearances. SMU was winning on the field, and so was the student body off it. 

“And the drinking age was 18,” Armstrong jokes. “Life was great.”  

But then it wasn’t. SMU received the Death Penalty after the 1986 season. The Mustangs won at least 10 games in every season from 1981-1984. They were ranked in the AP Poll for at least one week in each season from 1979-1986. The program wouldn’t win 10 or more games or get ranked in the AP Poll again until 2019. They wouldn’t win another conference championship until 2023. 

“Moses got out of the desert quicker than we got over the Death Penalty,” Armstrong said. “We buried our heads in the sand and eventually I had enough.” 

Armstrong and other athletic department-friendly boosters like David Miller decided to rectify the situation. They remembered an SMU with a national brand and sports teams that could go toe-to-toe with Texas, Texas A&M, and Arkansas. They watched as their beloved Mustangs plummeted to the basement of college athletics. From Doak Walker and Eric Dickerson to one-win seasons and mediocrity. Apathy had set in for SMU football and other athletic programs. 

"We lost a whole generation of fans," Lashlee said. 

Miller, who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, took flights all over the country meeting with power players to help SMU achieve Power Four status. Money from Miller, Armstrong and others allowed SMU to forgo tier one media rights as new members of the ACC, ultimately securing enough votes from the university presidents to rejoin the heavyweight division of the sport.

“You can’t play in a city like Dallas and expect to grab anyone’s attention playing against Tulsa and Temple,” Armstrong said. “If we wanted to become important again, we needed to find a home with national brands.” 

Like Armstrong, Lashlee knows what the top of college football feels like. He played at Arkansas. He coached at Auburn when Cam Newton carried the Tigers to a national championship. On the jet ride to Charlotte, the third-year head coach reminisced about the Kick Six play against Alabama and a trip to Georgia in 2014 that he describes as one of the top three toughest environments he’s experienced as a coach. 

But Lashlee has never been the head coach of a Power Four football team before. He received a taste of the demands in a 72-hour span that began the day before ACC media days with a trip to San Antonio for the Texas High School Coaching Association’s Coaching Convention, which is held every year. He and Lauren drove the 293 miles from SMU campus to the Convention Center in the Alamo City on Sunday morning. Lashlee then met with the media for 20 minutes at 12:20 p.m. and was part of a FBS Coaches Panel with the other 12 head coaches in the state of Texas at 4:30 p.m. 

From there, Lashlee was whisked away in a rental to the private airport in San Antonio to meet Armstrong and his players for the 170-minute flight to Charlotte. But not before a security guard kept the Lashlee’s and Nash from walking directly through the main hall in the convention center. That was closed for cleaning and the woman working the door was tougher than a Clemson defensive lineman. Admitting defeat, the trio walked around the building and to the awaiting rental car. 

The next 24 hours were a blur. The SMU party landed in Charlotte at 11 p.m. Eastern and drove directly to the hotel. Breakfast was served at 8:30 a.m. and the car wash of ACC Media Days began at 10 a.m. with photo shoots. The day continued with interviews by ESPN and CBS, a trip to radio row, and an appearance on the ACC Network. Lashlee and his players were asked the same questions 10 different ways. Is SMU ready for a move up in weight classes as P4 members? What are they most excited about? Is Stone healthy? What does a successful season in Year 1 look like? 

Cloresa asked a similar question at the end of her Cookout interrogation. “When are you coming back to Charlotte?” 

“On December 7th,” Lashlee exclaimed. 

“What goes on December 7th?” she asked. 

“Other than Pearl Harbor?” Armstrong asked rhetorically. “We’ll be playing a football game.” 

“Will you come back and see me?” 

“Cloresa, if we’re back here on December 7th,” Armstrong started, “the whole team will come back to see you.”