The folks at Southern Methodist University must love fishing. And soccer.

How else to explain the two whoppers reeled in by the Dallas school and its sparkling new campus facility, Gerald J. Ford Stadium?

The NCAA Women's College Cup kicks off December 7, with the Men's College Cup scheduled for 2002 -- giving Mustang athletics two of the biggest catches in soccer at the same venue.

"We're very excited about it," said David Miller, Southern Methodist's assistant director of athletics for facilities. "It's an on-campus facility, and the thing that is huge is that Dallas and North Texas are just crazy about soccer."

Crazy might be a word that came to mind when the Division I Women's Soccer Committee decided to move away from Spartan Stadium in San Jose, home the past two seasons for the Women's College Cup.

The tournament drew two of its three largest championship-game crowds -- without the benefit of a local team. The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, won the title both years, defeating the University of California, Los Angeles, last year before 9,566 fans and topping the University of Notre Dame in 1999 in front of 14,410.

"Moving the championship to Dallas will be no problem," said Barbara Walker, senior associate director of athletics at Wake Forest University and chair of the committee. "This tournament is on its way. The 64-team field for this year is another exciting jump, and Dallas and Southern Methodist are ready to host major soccer events in their new facility."

Moving around

Walker noted the time and effort San Jose put into the event, but both she and former chair Debra Warren said the committee wants to move the championship around the country.

"We wanted to move it back to the central part of the country," said Warren, associate director of athletics at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. "But we wanted to keep it in a city big enough so fans could entertain themselves while in attendance."

Added Walker, "You don't always know how things are going to work out, but the Southern Methodist staff is committed to doing what it takes for a great event. The community is involved and Dallas is a great area for youth soccer."

That formula, however, has never quite meant success as far as U.S. soccer is concerned. The large number of youth players has yet to translate to a large number of fans attending collegiate and professional soccer matches.

Kids play it. They don't watch it.

But Barry Gorman of the Division I Men's Soccer Committee believes Dallas may prove an exception.

"Part of their presentation was that a number of tickets already were sold, that certain soccer clubs promised they would purchase the tickets for 2002," said Gorman, head men's coach at Pennsylvania State University.

"You have a lot of youth playing soccer in Texas, but very few opportunities to stay in state to play collegiately. For that reason, youth players in Texas are very knowledgeable of the college game."

A hotbed for soccer

The Dallas metropolitan area has made a name on many levels of soccer. Dallas hosted World Cup play in 1994, sports a Major League Soccer franchise in the Dallas Burn, and its Dallas Cup is one of this country's strongest youth tournaments.

"Interest in this event will be high," Gorman said. "Plus, as far as the committee is concerned, it gives us a chance to return to an on-campus facility like when we were at Davidson. Playing at Southern Methodist puts us in between Davidson and Ericcson (Stadium)."

Added Miller, "The best part about the stadium is it's new. The teams and fans are going to enjoy coming to a new venue. Plus, if we draw more than 20,000, it's going to look three-quarters full."

The women's championship experienced that nearly full-house feel in San Jose, but the men have felt quite alone the last two years in Charlotte.

The Men's College Cup came into its own, some say, during the 1992-94 run at Davidson College. The campus setting was intimate, the crowds were vocal and other venues began taking notice of the Cup's potential.

Richmond took its turn the next four years, hosting the only three championship-game crowds in excess of 20,000 in tournament history. Charlotte's Ericcson Stadium followed, but big dreams for the big venue resulted in only big embarrassment, as crowds never exceeded 16,000 in the 80,000-seat venue.

The Women's College Cup, once the apparent property of the state of North Carolina -- seven finals played there in 10 years during 1984-93 -- has broken away the past few seasons to enjoy success on the West Coast. Portland, Santa Clara and San Jose all have seen terrific recent turnouts, in addition to a sparkling two-year run back in Greensboro.

Now, Southern Methodist takes its turn, and women's coach George Van Linder already is noticing the effects.

"For us to see the stadium every day and know that the national champion is going to be crowned there, that's great motivation for our team," said Linder. "At the same time, just having the event on campus will be a proud moment. It will be great to see and great to be a part of it."

First-class facility

Gerald J. Ford Stadium seats 32,000 in a horseshoe configuration and was built for soccer and football. Completed in August 2000 on the site of former Ownby Stadium, the facility includes nearly 600 preferred club level seats and 240 seats in 24 luxury boxes. The playing surface is 25 feet below ground level.

Practice facilities also sit adjacent to Ford Stadium, and Wescott Field -- Southern Methodist's regular-season soccer home -- is a short walk away and will host a fan festival and youth clinic during championship weeks.

"We have 140,000 registered soccer players in the Metroplex," said Southern Methodist men's coach Schellas Hyndman. "And we've been actively soliciting their support for the upcoming Women's College Cup and the Men's College Cup next year."

Ford Stadium also will host to the 2004 Men's College Cup.

"One of the things we hope to bring to the championships is we have so much soccer here, with all these clubs and all these players," Hyndman said. "These weekends will be not only soccer events, but Dallas events."