When the SMU football team kicks off the 2005 season against Baylor on Sept. 3, pre-game fun and festivities are sure to develop long before players take the field at Ford Stadium.
And while students drinking on Bishop Boulevard will certainly not be a new sight, many improvements to the pre-game activities will be noticeable come this fall.
“Our hope is to create a campus-wide atmosphere of spirit and community on game day,” Associate Athletic Director Shawn Heilbron said.
“The most significant improvements are going to be the configuration of tents,” he continued, “while expediting the clean-up process.”
Before his self-appointed “Boulevard Committee,” Student Body President Chip Hiemenz joined Heilbron and Associate Marketing Director Cherri Shaw to announce the changes to take place during tailgating this season.
As explained in a handout at the meeting Monday afternoon, “students who wish to consume alcohol on the Boulevard will show their driver’s license to the attendant from Sodexho [the leading food and facilities management services company in North America] at the check-in table located on the north end of the student section.”
“Students 21 and over,” the handout continued, “will receive a wristband for the day’s activities.”
The SMU Police Department will have representatives conducting random ID checks in order to discourage underage drinking.
Also this fall, each student tent rental will include the cost of two bartenders for four hours apiece. Keeping in mind the fact that they will stay for half an hour after kickoff, the bartenders will begin service three and a half hours before game time.
The cost to reserve an umbrella-style tent will be $1250 for the season, while larger tents come with a season price tag of $1650 (plus the cost of the tent). Each season package includes the price of bartenders and two parking spots adjacent to the tent.
Another new feature will be the implementation of fencing behind each organization’s table, creating a triangular shape that should prevent underage students from taking beer from behind the tables.
The new table design, according to the handout, will “prevent unsightly large piles of beer cases.”
Bartenders will stop serving beer five minutes prior to kickoff, with a “last call” warning issued 10 minutes before that.
As Hiemenz explained, the improvements will preclude more incidents like that of Saturday, Oct. 16, 2004.
Before the game against Louisiana Tech, the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission (TABC) issued 19 student alcohol citations before warning the University administration to create new policies to prevent underage drinking.
“We have an issue,” Hiemenz said, “and if we are not proactive in dealing with it, the TABC could come in and potentially shut the Boulevard down.”
He went on to state the two main goals of his Boulevard Committee.
“We want to create a great pre-game atmosphere and then get people from the Boulevard to the game.” Hiemenz listed the latter as one of the biggest obstacles he and his committee are facing.
“As a community, we’re great about the Boulevard, but the game is a bit of a challenge,” he said.
To help improve game attendance, Mustang Express shuttles will transport fans from the Boulevard to Ford Stadium. New “Stadium Shuttle” stops will be utilized to ensure a smooth operation.
The shuttles will run until 10 minutes after kickoff.
Hiemenz hopes the improvements will not only lead to a safer Boulevard experience, but also a higher turnout at Ford Stadium. He feels his Boulevard Committee has offered invaluable input when key choices were to be made.
“What’s unique about the committee is that student voices were heard,” he explained.
“What students said was taken to heart and implemented.”
