SMU Could Lose $10-$20 Million in Contributions

High school seniors and wealthy contributors have pulled back from Southern Methodist University in the wake of a football scandal that has rocked the highest levels of the school’s administration.

Donations to the university may be off $10 million to $20 million this fiscal year and the admissions department may have to lower its standards to enroll an adequate number of freshmen, SMU officials told the Dallas Morning News Monday.

“All of a sudden, in the last two weeks, the impact, well, it has been especially dramatic,” said Andrew Parker, SMU’s vice president of development.

The damage to the school’s reputation was also the subject of a series of student protests. Several students carried signs Monday, saying, “The truth shall make us free.”

Last month, the NCAA banned SMU from fielding a football team this year because of evidence that school officials regularly paid some football players while SMU was on probation.

On March 3, Gov. Bill Clements disclosed, contrary to his previous denials to NCAA investigators and reporters, that he and other members of the SMU Board of Governors knew about the payments and allowed them to continue.

Parker said that contributions could be down $3 million to $6 million by the end of the fiscal year May 31.

The school also has received 300 fewer applications than the 3,400 it had received by this time last year, said Andrew Bryant, director of admissions.