SMU’s Jordan Mann Alumni Game brought one of its biggest turnouts in 20 years, connecting past Mustangs with the reigning ACC champions.
SMU men’s soccer is fresh off an ACC championship, but Saturday’s Jordan Mann Alumni Game showed why the program’s foundation goes much deeper than trophies.
The annual event, held in memory of former Mustang Jordan Mann, brought one of its largest alumni turnouts in two decades.
Former players returned to campus to reconnect, compete and spend time with the current SMU roster, giving the reigning ACC champions a real look at the history they’re now responsible for carrying.
“They show up no matter what,” SMU coach Kevin Hudson said, pointing to the culture and relationships that continue to bring former players back.
The day featured two fields, with alumni playing against each other and rotating into games with current Mustangs. Hudson said the message to his team was simple: enjoy the moment, but understand who the day was really for.
“It’s not about you today,” Hudson told his players. “Be respectful and still play to the best of your ability.”
The alumni group included former standouts such as Mauro Cichero and Luchi Gonzalez, whose number is retired at SMU.
Several recent Mustangs couldn’t attend because their pro careers are underway, including Charles-Emile Brunet with Nashville SC, Slade Starnes with FC Dallas, Cesar Ruvalcaba with Columbus Crew, Nikola Djordjevic with Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Bailey Sparks, who has scored twice in his first four matches with FC Tulsa.
For the current roster, the event also served as the unofficial close of spring. SMU will finish meetings this week before players move into summer schedules.
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Still, the heart of the day was Mann, who died in 2007 from a congenital heart abnormality. Hudson said Mann remains the model for what SMU soccer wants to represent: “an excellent player but a better person.”
For SMU, that legacy clearly still connects generations.
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