The University of Dallas, the little Catholic campus that had big hopes of hosting the Bush presidential library, dropped out of the race Monday as signs increasingly point to Southern Methodist University as the winner.

UD leaders played up the positives.

"It's not a failure. Instead, we think this is a tremendous success story for us," UD President Frank Lazarus said at a news conference. "This process has propelled us onto the national stage, and our university is now characterized by a new vision and a very bright future."