DALLAS (SMU)--First year Dedman Law student Xiaofeng (Lily) Yu was introduced to American football during her first weeks in Dallas.
 
Hailing from Beijing, Yu was confused by the many rules and positions in football when she began playing intramural flag football with other Dedman Law students. While sprinting down grass fields and attempting to snag pieces of fabric from other players was certainly fun, she found it difficult to convey meaning from words like "snap" and "first down."
 
However, much of football's fundamentals were cleared up for Yu by the conclusion of SMU's 38-14 victory over Louisiana Tech.
 
Since 2021, SMU International Student and Scholar Services and SMU football have jointly hosted Football 101, an event aimed at fully immersing students into the raucous, rowdy and increasingly-renowned culture of Mustang football. The first part of that event is a three hour seminar with Senior Assistant for Player Development and Dallas Recruiting Relations Scott X. Nady.
 
In addition to giving the participating students exclusive tours of SMU's football facilities, Nady took them to the film room to start talking football fundamentals, including the down system, the difference between a 3-4 and a 4-3 defense and what tackles are allowed and which ones will get a player ejected every time.
 
"I remember learning that there are more than 100 players playing (on a roster)," Reyna, Programming Coordinator for International Student and Scholar Services said. "Also (that) there are specific groups that he has within a team to bring the ball back, or catch the ball to start."
 
While Nady's explanation of football was helpful and interesting to the students sitting in the film room that Monday evening, his vulnerability to share his experience playing and working in the sport resonated well with the participating students. Nady made it a point that his "why" for working in collegiate athletics was not to win or bask in his glory days, but to help the student-athletes develop and mature into young men.
 
"I think that that really played a part in us being interested in what he was saying because it wasn't just about the sport," Reyna said. "I think (we all) saw (this seminar) as a way to become part of the (SMU) community."
 
Reyna, who graduated from SMU this past May, didn't technically qualify as an international student when she enrolled in 2020, but spent the bulk of her life in Mexico. Her only experience watching football before participating in this year's Football 101 was occasionally watching the Dallas Cowboys with her dad and dropping by Gerald J. Ford Stadium after Boulevarding and leaving by halftime.
 
However, Reyna and the other international students were fully immersed into the game day experience for the Mustangs' home opener. After meeting Director of Inclusive Excellence Brenda Scott outside Loyd All-Sports Center about an hour before kickoff, the group was escorted to the turf to watch warm-ups up close. In the chaos, they witnessed quarterback Preston Stone warm up his arm, a prayer in the end zone and Louisiana Tech running pregame drills about five yards away from the sideline, in addition to snapping pictures on their phones for social media and on polaroids for keepsakes.
 
By the time 11:00AM rolled around, everyone was situated in their seats and sporting complementary all-white True Brvnd X SMU Upside Down Dallas hats for Peruna to sprint across the field and a F-16 flyover as a following act. Then, the game began.
 
In between chants following defensive tackle Kori Roberson Jr.'s interception, Reyna realized that she and the other participating students were actively talking about the game. Many students were able to recall things that Nady told them during the seminar and were picking apart Louisiana Tech like the Mustang defense had done through the game.
 
"We just talked about football, and my boyfriend couldn't understand anything!" Reyna laughed. "So I was like, 'Oh, I feel cool. I know what I'm talking about.'"
 
Not only did Reyna and the other participating students feel cool for understanding what was happening on the field, but that they were truly connected to SMU and the Dallas community: everyone was waving pom poms, participating in chants, taking Snapchats and Instagram Stories of the game and actively talking through what was happening on the field.
 
The International Student and Scholar Services office and SMU Athletics believes that they can further weave this event into both department's cultures as they continue their partnership. Reyna believes that the general international student population can help be a support system for international student-athletes, who typically have families that can't be in attendance for every meet, match and game.
 
"I feel like (experiencing this) with Coach Nady and Brenda (Scott), I feel like we actually supported the team," Reyna said. "We were so excited to be fans. And for (the international student-athletes), we want to be like that family for them when we watch them play."