Southern Methodist University football scandal

The Southern Methodist University football scandal was an incident in which the football program at Southern Methodist University (SMU) was investigated and punished for repeated violations of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules and regulations over a period of several years between the late 1970s and mid-1980s. The most serious violation was the maintenance of a slush fund used for "under the table" payments to players and their families to entice them to come to SMU to play.

SMU’s Mustangs, who were one of the more successful teams in the early 1980s and contenders for the national championship, eventually received what is referred to as the "death penalty" by the NCAA for its repeated transgressions in early 1987. The punishment resulted in SMU’s football team going dormant for two seasons, with the NCAA cancelling the 1987 season and the university itself opting not to return in 1988, and would have long term ramifications for the program going forward.