Eric Dickerson was once the most sought after player coming out of high school in the late 1970s. Along with Craig James, another blue chip recruit, they reunited at SMU in 1979. How two of the country's top recruits came together is just the beginning of "Pony Excess." SMU has been hailed as the best team money can buy. The film covers the late '70s and early '80s, all about cheating and probation, and culminates in 2012 when SMU finally returned to the bowl game. Dallas was the largest and most recognizable city in America. The Cowboys, the TV show Dallas, the SMU Mustangs and football dominated the city. In the early 1980s, SMU had the best NCAA record of 81-84. They got there literally thanks to top recruits Craig James and Eric Dickerson as well as head coach Ron Meyer who joined the program in 1976. In 1981, behind the Pony Express and Ron Meyer, the small private school won the DI national championship. All that mattered was Texas. SMU had all the money, the power and now a championship. At the end of the ten-win 1981 season, Ron Meyer left to work in the NFL. When Meyer left SMU, he hired former University of Southern Mississippi coach Bobby Collins. In 1982, Dickerson finished 3rd in Heisman voting and SMU took its share of the national championship. Between 80 and 84 SMU went 49-9-1, the highest winning percentage in the NCAA at that time. But in 1987, SMU was the first school to receive the NCAA's "death penalty" for repeated violations. SMU was eligible for the sanction as they had been placed on probation for 1981 violations. The 1987 season was suspended and for nearly 20 years SMU struggled to achieve a winning record and was not a tea respected...... middle of paper ...... games so schools don't lose money, but SMU chose to cancel those games too. In the end, two entire seasons were canceled. SMU lost 55 new scholarship positions in 4 years. Along with a handful of other sanctions, SMU became an example of what could happen and was used to scare other schools. For twenty years after the death penalty, the school was disrespected and never had a winning season. The film ends with the school rebuilding and returning to a bowl game. Sports corruption is rampant in the NCAA and no other school has ever received a football-related death sentence. Although there have been schools that have lost championships and schools that have lost wins, why are these schools different? Money and football are clearly more important than education and are an issue in both high school and college and have been for many years.