For all the hype built up last year about a ‘new era’ in football, not much has been said this past week about the impending game Saturday. No posters litter the main quad, no banners hang from Dallas Hall or dangle into the Hughes-Trigg Commons, no pep rallies have bombarded the casual walkers-by at the flagpole.

So how are students supposed to get excited about a football game when the athletic department hasn’t even bothered to publicize it?

Yes, Phil Bennett has been making the media rounds, and he is the most inspirational man in 15 years to stake a claim to the football team. But how many students tune into his radio show every Wednesday night onWBAP 820 AM?

Yes, the athletic department purchased advertising space in The Daily Campus, but how many students will take time out of their Friday to notice a quarter-page ad buried deep in the paper?

Yes, restaurants in Highland Park are plastered with posters advertising the season, but what about those students who live in residence halls?

As is often the case, the university has gotten distracted trying to attract potential donors and has overlooked what should really be at the heart and soul of SMU spirit: the student body. The athletic department is too busy wooing alums with reunions of past football teams to bother with a student support base. A lot of talk has been had discussing the importance of student support of athletics, but in the end, there is no effort made to entice students away from the bars and into the stands.

Ultimately someone must bridge the gap between students and the football team. It’s time the administration recognizes that student apathy is nothing but a reflection of their own indifference.

This is why students must take it upon themselves to attend the football game against Navy this weekend. Pick up your free student ticket at Ford stadium and be sure to hit the Boulevard early and wear your red.

Spirit is not something you can rely on others to give, it is something they must seek out.