Welcome to another edition of the People I Sort of Know podcast. Today, my guest is Ray Washburn. He's a member of the Alumni Council there at SMU.

He and his wife recently dedicated $5 million to the Washburn Soccer and Track Stadium.

And he was highly involved in this move for SMU to the ACCC back in a major conference

for the first time since the Southwest Conference folded in the mid-90s. We're going to talk a lot about that today. We're going to go through the financials of the move for SMU as they joined Cal and Stanford in that relocation to the Atlantic Atlantic Coast Conference. We're going to talk about what it's been like for SMU, really in the abyss. They went to four straight bowl games, including beating Notre Dame and the Aloha Bowl in 1984. Did not go to another bowl game until 2009. Ray was a

classmate of Craig James and Eric Dickerson and the Pony Express. He's got knowledge of what was

going on at that time for SMU. We get into that a little bit. We get into how SMU became a bit of a poster shawl for something that a lot of schools were doing at the time as well.

This is a great podcast for just college football fans, the business of college football that's going on right now, and the realignment that is affecting so many different people.

So again, we dip into the financials.

We dip into the story of SMU as they are headed into the Atlantic Coast Conference here

soon next July is when that will take part.

So I really appreciate Ray giving his time, giving his knowledge of this move for SMU.

I found a good bit of it very, very fascinating.

So sit back and here is Ray Washburn as SMU is headed to the ACC.

Let's talk about it now on the People I Sort of Know podcast.

Ray, I really appreciate the time today. I know it's an exciting time there in Highland Park with SMU joining the ACC here soon, but really right now.

You told me a minute ago before we started the show, you actually were at Ole Miss for a

semester back when you got started in college.

What took you to Oxford back in the day?

Yeah, actually, I was there a year.

I graduated from Highland Park High School in Dallas in 79.

And, you know, at the time, Ole Miss was a very hot school, which it still is for people from Highland Park High School in Dallas in 79. And, you know, at the time, Ole Miss was a very hot school, which it still is for people

from Highland Park.

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