You Like That Giant Scoreboard at the Cotton Bowl? Good. SMU's Getting One Now.

Apparently, one successful season a rebirth makes, as SMU sends word today that Gerald J. Ford Stadium's about to get quite the upgrade with the installation of a new video scoreboard designed and manufactured by South Dakota-based Daktronics -- the very same company responsible for that towering hi-def monolith installed...

By Robert Wilonsky

June 11, 2010

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Apparently, one successful season a rebirth makes, as SMU sends word today that Gerald J. Ford Stadium's about to get quite the upgrade with the installation of a new video scoreboard designed and manufactured by South Dakota-based Daktronics -- the very same company responsible for that towering hi-def monolith installed as part of the Cotton Bowl's redo in '08. It'll measure 32 feet high by 45 feet wide, and as part of the overall upgrade to the stadium -- where suites and club seats for the forthcoming football season are all gone already -- the Hilltop's also planning to pump up the volume with a new sound system, a bonus next time Girl Talk even thinks about stepping foot on campus.

Says SMU athletics director Steve Orsini of the myriad other bells (four HD cameras installed throughout the stadium) and whistles (speakers capable of "pounding bass energy," oh my) that'll wind up in the Gerald J. Ford, "This is another sign of SMU's commitment to athletics. This cutting-edge technology investment will allow us to highlight the spectacular play of the Mustangs on the field and greatly enhance the fan experience."

Update at 2:08 p.m.: I asked Brad Sutton, SMU's assistant athletics director and spokesperson, when the scoreboard and sound-system upgrade will be ready to rumble. He replies, via e-mail, it'll be good to go for the very first game of the upcoming 2010 season. Says Sutton, "We have started taking down the old one already, and installation should start soon."

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