Preparations for SMU’s opening football game on Sept. 4 are underway across campus. Have you noticed the white tents popping up around the boulevard? Yep, those will be base camp for different organizations and student groups on Friday’s game. You may have also received emails with detailed plans for easy access to Ford Stadium and other directions to assure that festivities roll out smoothly.

Students are also gearing up for the season’s first game, against Baylor. A group of students stopped one recent morning to admire the white tents. Across the quad, women clad in sorority shirts discussed their outfits for the game as they walked up the Dallas Hall steps. The all-white dress code tradition will continue, letting fans take advantage of the last opportunity to wear white before Labor Day.

The highly anticipated football game will be the 81st time the two teams have played together, and students are eager to see the outcome. The Mustangs were defeated last year against Baylor, but expectations are high for the team under new Head Coach, Chad Morris.