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Before every football game at SMU, the school band walks down the Boulevard and plays the fight song. This well-know tradition is meant to be a message for everyone on campus to start heading toward the stadium for the game. However, the students, faculty, and fans have started using the song as the signal to head towards the nearest place to hangout around campus. Rather than stand outside in the heat and watch the Mustangs, most people have decided they would rather be inside watching TV and drinking a cold one. This lack of desire to go to games is not just around the football team. SMU athletics struggles with attendance for just about every sport. The athletic department has attempted everything to try and raise fan support, but nothing seems to work. They have offered incentives, hosted events and even given out free tickets to students. Now, the school is starting to consider allowing the sale of alcohol at games on campus to help increase attendance. The Boulevard seems to have become a very strong tradition, but I dont know if its enough to fill the stadium, said Rick Hart, the schools athletic director. I think a city this size is an asset if you have a wining program and develop some traditions that people want to be a part of. Hart took over as athletic director on July 16 after spending six years at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. He is faced with the challenge of attracting and entertaining a very broad audience of students, local community members, family, alumni and more. He believes there is one solution that will draw in every type of person. Students and people in Dallas want to be associated with a winner, explained Hart. I think winning will positively impact attendance more than any other one thing we can do. Hart is not the only one who believes building a great program and having a good campus environment will solve the attendance problem. Most of the students around campus also said the product on the field was what meant the most to them. Very few colleges and pro franchises that lose consistently have brand loyalty, said Matt Cohen, a junior marketing major at SMU. The marketing the school does wont matter unless you have something to back up the efforts on the playing field. Cohen says his friends have remained loyal to their favorite teams back home because they have been more successful than the SMU program. This desire to watch games going on around the country results in students trying to find a bar or restaurant to watch sports, rather than focus on the teams playing on campus. One thing SMU has started to consider internally is the possible sale of alcohol at sporting events on campus. Recently, schools around the country have started to adopt this idea more and more. Hart says its something the department has discussed, but its more of a philosophical question for the university administration. Read more: http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/metropolitan/what-will-it-take-to-raise-attendance-at-smu-sporting-events-1.3040877#.UYYn9oy9KSO