The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

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Transfer loses eligibility, continues to support team

Junior transfer Cody Rademacher supports the Mustangs on the Boulevard as well as cheering them on throughout the four quarters on the field.
Sidney Hollingsworth/The Daily Campus
Junior transfer Cody Rademacher supports the Mustangs on the Boulevard as well as cheering them on throughout the four quarters on the field.

Junior transfer Cody Rademacher supports the Mustangs on the Boulevard as well as cheering them on throughout the four quarters on the field. (Sidney Hollingsworth/The Daily Campus)

Junior transfer Cody Rademacher is enjoying his second semester on campus at SMU. His acclimation is readily apparent, he knows his way around town and even knows some of the best places to eat. Highland Park is a long way from where he began his quest to play Division One football, but he said it is a place with a “home feeling.”

In high school, Rademacher place-kicked for the Westlake High School Chaps in Austin, Texas. A regular contender for the state 5A crown, Westlake made it to the Championship in 2009, and despite a hard-fought game that went into overtime, were defeated by Euless Trinity, better known as the school that does the Samoan “haka war dance” before each game. Despite the loss, Rademacher was given an All-State honorable mention at his position.

In high school, universities from Texas, Louisiana and California recruited him, but he chose to attend the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“I visited the campus, and knew that [was] where I wanted to go,” Rademacher said. “I knew that I would be able to play in a lot of places, so I concentrated on the caliber of the school.”
But after a year in the life of an Air Force Academy cadet, Rademacher decided that military life wasn’t for him.

“[The Air Force Academy] glorified military life, but it wasn’t what I had expected. It was the same routine every day; I didn’t like that,” he said.

Rademacher decided that it was time to transfer. As he looked around he narrowed his choices down to the big four Texas schools: UT Austin, Texas A&M, SMU and TCU.

Eventually, he settled on SMU.

“It was easy for me to pick SMU, because I already had friends here,” Rademacher said. “I didn’t feel like I was starting completely over. SMU was the obvious choice.”

After a semester in Dallas, the sophomore can tell how this decision has changed his life and his lifestyle.

“SMU and the Air Force Academy are complete opposites,” Rademacher said. “I don’t want to say that there isn’t any freedom [at Air Force], but I would say you have a lot more choices in terms of how you want to live your life [at SMU]. I can do whatever I want when I am not [at practice], and football is much more fun.”

Unfortunately, Rademacher will not see the field as a Mustang until next year. The NCAA, which governs intercollegiate athletics for most United States universities and colleges, denied his appeal, which would have waived his mandatory “in residence” period.

This period requires any transfer to sit out for two semesters before participating in any sports. But, it also gives the kicker another year to better prepare for Big East action, which looms for the Mustangs’ next year.

“My senior year in high school I was probably kicking about 49 yarders, but in the last three years I have increased my range by about another 10 yards,” Rademacher said. “Sitting out has been kind of good; I’ve gotten stronger, better. [It’s been] rough that I haven’t played in two seasons, but I know I’ll get back out.”

Rademacher is a sports management major, a concentration that did not exist at the Air Force Academy.

“I was in engineering, and I hated it,” he said. “Now I’m sports management and I really like it. If I can’t play football at the next level, I want to use my degree to [its full extent]. I am a certified CrossFit trainer, so I want to open my own CrossFit gym in Austin.”

The Mustangs’ move to the Big East is one motivation that keeps Rademacher practicing and working hard. For him it means, among other highlights, a trip to Boise State’s blue-turfed field. “Most people don’t like playing in Boise, but I can’t wait.” 

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