After several disappointing turn outs, the Mullins Center is hoping to draw larger crowds this semester by hosting some high profile artists. Event planners at the University of Massachusetts are looking to current country music king Toby Keith, Canadian pop-rockers Barenaked Ladies and the legendary Neil Young to help pull Mullins out of its current concert slump.

“In the last three or four years, some of the shows we’ve had haven’t been as successful as we had hoped,” said Nancy Beauchamps, executive director of the Mullins Center.

Although performers like John Mayer, who appeared at the Mullins Center in Nov. 2002 and Dave Matthews this past May, have managed high-ticket sales, many other acts have failed to bring in the revenue Mullins staffers had hoped for. Still, Beauchamps remains confident that the Mullins Center is the ideal location for events.

“Acoustically it’s a great building and there is not a single view obstruction,” said Beauchamps.

First to rock Mullins this semester will be Toby Keith.

Keith will appear at the Mullins Center on Feb. 12 in support of his latest album “Shock’n Y’all,” which has sold nearly 600,000 copies since its releases in Nov. 2003

“We are very excited to have Toby Keith,” Beauchamps said. “We were trying to convince his agent to bring him here last year.”

But at the time Keith’s management felt the Amherst area was not a thriving market for artists of his genre. Beauchamps believes that Keith’s appearance will be a success, saying that she is confident that the show will sell out by the time Feb. 12 rolls around.

“This is an untapped country market,” Beauchamps said. “This event will prove to a lot of agents that Amherst is a strong country market … Toby Keith is an experiment. Lucky for us it’s a good one.”

Less experimental, Barenaked Ladies will invade the Mullins Center just two days after Keith.

“The Barenaked Ladies are still, in my mind, a college band,” said Beauchamps. When the Ladies last appeared at the University of Massachusetts in Feb. 2001 the Mullins Center sold out its 8,000 plus tickets. Beauchamps is confident that history will repeat itself this Valentine’s Day, when BNL comes to Amherst as part of their “Peepshow” tour.

The Canadian quintet, probably best known for radio singles “The Old Apartment” and “One Week,” come to the Pioneer Valley in support of their latest studio album, October’s “Everything to Everyone.”

BNL has proven to be a success at the Mullins Center in the past and the band has earned a lot of praise for their live show, but scheduled for the year’s biggest night for romance, it’s possible Valentine’s Day may deter some concertgoers.

Beauchamps remains optimistic. “We are hoping that it ends up being a great date night for UMass.”

Like the Ladies, Neil Young, an artist who has endured for nearly four decades in the spotlight and still maintained a reputation as one of the most talented songwriters and guitarists in the business, shows promise of drawing a sizeable audience, as well.

“Neil Young is really perfect to play the Mullins Center,” said Beauchamps. “We have a lot of old hippies around here,” she said, adding that she believes the market is strong for a performer of Young’s caliber.

When the rock veteran plays the Mullins Center on March 21, Beauchamps believes he will be “an act that has huge appeal.” Unlike Toby Keith, she feels there is little risk with Young, and although the show is on the last day of spring break, students will not want to miss this performance.

Capitalizing on the current popularity of extreme sports the Mullins Center will also play host to Xtreme International Ice Racing on Feb. 4. Beauchamps hopes the event will be a success. Should the event get enough support she said there is the potential for doing it every year. With a number of small clubs in Western Massachusetts already practicing motorcycle ice racing, this is “an event that should have great appeal on campus,” said Beauchamps.

What does a lineup like this spring’s mean for the Mullins Center? Beauchamps thinks it’s a positive sign.

“I think our slump is over. People are seeing the Mullins Center is a great place to bring a show,” she said.