But as these things do, the tradition evolved over the years.  At some point, the design changed.  It wasn't just the large Diamond M that was repeated again and again.  The incoming freshmen class started to take some artistic license and create new designs.  Around that same time, the Mustang Band sidewalk began hosting more than one painted sidewalk block at a time.  By the early 1990s, the sidewalk - by then called "freshman blocks" - paid tribute to all four current classes.  Incoming freshmen would paint over the block of the seniors who just graduated.

How and why the blocks moved from the single M blocks to the multiple blocks in the late 1980s may have been lost to the sands of time.  Multiple Facebook message discussion posts suggest that as late as 1984 or possibly 1986, there was still just the single block.  There was also online chatter about the sidewalk being renovated and repaved, which might have created a "clean canvas" that led to the tweak of the tradition.

In the 1987 photo below from Sharon Humble, there are at least two blocks visible - an M block and a Peruna logo block.

And in the two photos below from Christy Albano, the 1989 freshman class paint their block below what is presumably a 1988 block (although this "Best Band in the Land" block matches the top block in Sharon's 1987 photo... reconstructing all of this isn't easy).  Maybe there are blocks below the 1989 ones in Christy's photo.  

Note also the 1989 freshmen are painting on "empty" concrete, adding fuel perhaps to the concrete-repaving theory.  Maybe the 1988 class recreated that upper "Best Dressed" block.

The 1990s photos below show the new "four block" tradition in place.  If anyone has any insight or recollections about any of this, please write to us: [email protected].

The 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1992 blocks - note that the middle block  sunken in and prone to collect piddles was not pained

And now a few others....

1997

1998

2000

2004 with the artists included

2007 with the bottom sliver of 2010

2012

Below is a shot of the four blocks from 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.  The second from the top - the one with the candy stripe border - is the oldest one, due to be replaced by the next class...

And here's the block from 2013, the last block painted on the sidewalk, painted right over the candy-striped bordered 2009 block.  Circle of life.

When Perkins was torn down in 2013, the tradition had to be adjusted since SMU would not allow the sidewalk outside the new band hall to be painted (editorial comment withheld).  

So band members started painting blocks on free-standing rectangles.  The 2014 block pictured below was painted on wood.  The next two was painted on canvas.  Our hope is that the Mustang Band will start displaying these on the band hall walls and create a new tradition.  Unlike the blocks of old, these will never be painted over and can be collected, curated, displayed.

Our recent "Sidewalk Block Preservation" contest was a smash success as some of these photos attest.  We've collected images (and partial images) of about 20 blocks spanning over 30 years.  A big "hubba!" to Christy Albano, Caitlin Cochran, Jennifer Fowler, Sharon Humble, Sarah Hurley, Courtney Kent, Matthew Loya, Travis Maloney, Mark Morris, and Carla Young for taking the time to dig for photos and send them in.  We also gathered photos from Facebook posts and the Randy Ward collection of photos he took in the 2000s.

You can see the photos above and many more at the Diamond M Club's Facebook page.

The big winner of our Rally House gift card prize drawing is Sarah Hurley.