Michigan Marching Band
I for one am really disappointed that the Marching Band was not there on Saturday night. You have a game in Primetime on ABC under the lights, and the greatest fight song in college football was silent. Michigan is a university that is far from cash strapped. The $100 million gift to the Athletic department from Mr. Ross, aside from the other $100 million for the business school, should have more than been enough to get the band there on Saturday. For the university to say that financially they can't afford to send the band is just wrong. When Ohio played at Cal a few weeks ago, their band was there and they were loud and noticeable. Michigan seems to be one of the only schools that doesn't willingly take the band with them unless some alumnist steps forward to foot the bill. Thoughts?
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:16 AM ^
So, if the band can afford to take that much time away from their schooling and studying, how can the est of the students say they can't take time away to show up on time for just the home games, or even show up at all? I mean, that was the refrain even before having to wait in line for games wasn't it? Went to Michigan for schoolin', not football, and don't have time to go with all the studying that has to be done. I mean, most of the band isn't getting any scholarship to work for, and beyond just game days and travel time, they spend a lot of time practicing. How does a band member ever graduate without all that Saturday study time?????
September 23rd, 2013 at 3:02 PM ^
That's why I laughed at the students who complained about not "having time" to go to a football game. If you are in the band, football saturday started at about 6:30-7AM (later for afternoon games) when you got up for practice and didn't end until pretty late at night when you had finally managed to make your way back home several hours after the game. And at that point, you were usually way too tired to actually do anything productive. So basically, they took up your entire day from dawn till dusk. We had 1.5-2 hours of practice every day too. And somehow we all still managed to find time to study.
Admittedly, I took a lighter load in the fall and loaded my schedule up full in the spring, but still. Not having time to just go to a football game seems pretty silly.
Maybe when you have your schedule already full like that, you use your time more wisely or something.
September 23rd, 2013 at 4:54 PM ^
then only the players who practice hardest should go to away games, either
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:19 AM ^
It's the same deal with why we don't bring the band to Northwestern. But for stadiums like OSU, MSU, ND, and PSU, it obviously makes sense to being them, from a space standpoint.
Personally, I'd love to see the band at every game. They are one of my favorite, if not my favorite part of gameday, but I think from a space standpoint, it doesn't make sense to bring them all the time.
But then again, every band that comes to the Big House stands next to the field the whole game, so I'm not sure why we couldn't do that either.
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:45 AM ^
September 23rd, 2013 at 3:07 PM ^
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:20 AM ^
The MMB only has the budget for one away game. I don't think anyone expected this game to be a primetime game when it was scheduled. Oh, but I do share your disappointment.
September 23rd, 2013 at 2:12 PM ^
What are they going to do next year, with MSU and OSU away? And the year after that, are they going to travel at all? With MSU and OSU at home, do they go to Penn State (whom I think has denied space for visiting bands in the past)?
[I don't mean these questions rhetorically. Does anyone know?]
September 23rd, 2013 at 2:20 PM ^
probably will be going to nd, msu, and osu
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:34 PM ^
Where do you get this nonsense from?
The band goes on three trips regularly: ND, MSU, and OSU. They also go to bowl games regularly.
It has been this way for the better part of 20 or more years.
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:31 AM ^
Not going to matter. There will be no band soon. Dave Brandon has to save the money to pay the salries of the incoming recruits. The National Collegiate Semi Professional Athletic Association (NCSPA). This is a league of entitlement folks and these kids gotta eat better because taco bell in college is so bad. They gotta have alexus to drive at 18 yo. If coach got one, I gots to have one. It just isnt fair that coach worked his entire life likely beginning as an assistant somewhere making no money and now he gets a reward, while I live in a dorm with free food or with 7 roomates in an apartment with video games, college girls and really no worries. Oh and dont forget I only get a free education from an institution of higher learning.
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:35 AM ^
You call it the War of Northern Aggression, don't you?
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:47 AM ^
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:20 AM ^
Does that count?
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:41 AM ^
September 23rd, 2013 at 12:04 PM ^
Strangely typos are also Bush's fault.
September 23rd, 2013 at 12:57 PM ^
on bush too.
September 23rd, 2013 at 1:12 PM ^
You wood.
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:33 AM ^
If I remember correctly, the band doesn't travel much besides big rivalry games & a bowl. Cowboy Classic was the exception last year.
Come on. It was a road game at UConn. Not really a big deal. It was primetime because the AAC had the TV time option & wanted to showcase one of their teams.
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:36 AM ^
Notre Dame isn't a big rivalry, but the band is always there!
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:41 AM ^
It was bigger and more relevant than sparty for a long, long time.
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:11 AM ^
Cough - Sarcasm! Gotchya!
September 23rd, 2013 at 5:51 PM ^
I am in full agreement here. The band traveling is really not a big deal. I understand the pagentry of college football, but ABC put MICHIGAN FOOTBALL on Primtime not the MICHIGAN MARCHING BAND. If the band is so serious about traveling why don't they just pay their own way? I have a problem with the band thinking they are entitled to travel because they are the band. Michigan football will survive without the marching band; however, the marching band would not survive without Michigan football. Just be happy they include you in home games before they decide they want to start charging you for the bench space you occupy... Give me a break here!
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:35 AM ^
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:35 AM ^
the best use of the $100 million is to get the band to East Hartford?
This seems dubious.
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:42 AM ^
Per numerous articles surround the Michigan Marching Band's trip to Dallas for last year's season opener, the initial cost estimate was around $400,000 for the travel, lodging, etc. There were apparently some cost reductions that took place to make it work, plus a wealthy donor or two who picked up the price. Keep in mind we're probably talking around 250 people associated with the MMB who went to Texas last year.
Michigan said that the skywriting tab for the previous weekend was around $3-5,000.
Even if the cost of going to UConn was half that $400K number, it isn't chicken feed. I suspect the annual budget includes money for a bowl trip and perhaps one major road game during the regular seaon. Add in the home games and the MMB is probably performing on a gridiron eight to nine times per year.
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:43 AM ^
Since it wasn't in the big house (like these types of games normally are), Brandon looked at it as lost revenue with 60,000 fewer people watching in person. Why shell out all the coin to charter a plane (or fly them coach) to bring the band and equipment out there? It's a simple rationale. As the inimitable Brian Cook would say. . . "dolla dolla bills yo!" Didn't they get subsidied by Jerry Jones to make up for the lost revenue when it came to the 'Bama game?
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:47 AM ^
the band isnt part of the athletic deparments budget, they are under the school of music so all those athletic dollars dont help.
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:04 AM ^
Doesn't mean the athletic department can't foot the bill for a trip. They had no problem with skywriting - which department normally covers that?
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:51 AM ^
Let someone donate a couple thousand dollars to the band with no strings attached and see if they spend it on travel to an away football game. I doubt they would. But for some reason the AD should foot the bill.
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:43 AM ^
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:43 AM ^
The game wasn't announced as prime time until last week. Definitely pretty short notice to ship a couple hundred kids and all of their instruments over to Connecticut. Would you be mad if they didn't send the band to a noon game against an opponent that was supposed to be over matched?
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:44 AM ^
the band is part of the music school technically and didnt get anything from ross's donation.
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:00 AM ^
MMB is actually split between school of music and athletics
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:02 AM ^
Incorrect. The Michigan Marching Band is an ensemble of the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. While it may receive some money for travel from Athletics, it's in no way, shape, or form a part of the Athletic Department.
September 23rd, 2013 at 10:56 AM ^
I didnt even notice the band not being there. I was too fixated on trying to figure out where the O-line was to worry about some missing tubas.
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:10 AM ^
The MMB doesn't go to most away games. It never has. It goes to OSU, ND and MSU - that's it.
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:12 AM ^
Before the late 90s, away trips to non-OSU/MSU/ND schools weren't actually all that uncommon. It wasn't an every week thing, but it wasn't unheard of, either. Hell, as far back as the 1930s, the MMB routinely went on trips (by train!) to places like Minnesota, Northwestern, and New York during the season.
September 23rd, 2013 at 12:44 PM ^
Really? I don't know about way back in the train-travel days, but in the '80s/'90s I thought it was strictly on a 1-2 trip-per-year budget. I vaguely recall us sending the band to PSU one year ('97?) and that being a big deal.
September 23rd, 2013 at 1:16 PM ^
MMB Trivia Time: In 1969 the MMB became the first band in the Big Ten (if not the country) to fly to an away game when they flew to Minneapolis.
September 23rd, 2013 at 7:49 PM ^
I was in band from the '95 to '98 seasons and we went to Northwestern in '96 (also played at a Bears game that same weekend).
I'm pretty sure the Penn State trip was during the '99 season.
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:26 AM ^
Time to get back to reality here. Even if UConn were 2-0, the marching band was not going to travel to East Hartford to a barely 40,000 crowd stadium. And we didn't know until 6 days before the game that it was going to be a night game on ABC, so you really need to let this go.
Rivarly games are always automatic road trips for the band and I like it that way. I want them in South Bend, East Lansing and Columbus. (That's the way Bo wanted it too.)
But for those who want to see the band in some different games, you're eventually going to get your wish. With Notre Dame going off the schedule after next year and the MSU game now moved to being away the same year as the OSU game, we're going to have no rivalry opponents to travel to during odd numbered years starting in 2015. That leaves 1-2 brand new teams to travel to from now on. My guess is Penn State will be the new traditional opponent the band travels to during odd years.
The band traveled to Happy Valley for the 1999 game, was originally scheduled to go again in 2001 but some scheduling conflict arose and they sent a pep band (in full uniform) instead.
They also tried to go to Beaver Stadium for the HUGE Judgment Day game in 1997 but PSU said, "no."
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:41 AM ^
There were also plans to go to Happy Valley in 2006, at the specific request of Lloyd and the football operations folk. Hotel reservations and transportation plans were in place, and it was a quiet "go" up until a few weeks before the game, but Penn State couldn't find seating for the band that late in the game. So it didn't happen.
September 23rd, 2013 at 2:16 PM ^
Will the band go to both MSU and OSU next year? And then do you think they'll designate an annual away game, or will they just try to go to PSU when OSU and MSU are both at home?
September 23rd, 2013 at 3:04 PM ^
I'm sure they would go to both. In the case of MSU, you arguably don't even need to stay at a hotel.
September 23rd, 2013 at 3:23 PM ^
September 23rd, 2013 at 5:25 PM ^
Alas, now that the OSU game has been pushed back to Thanksgiving weekend, the MMB trip to Columbus has also become a one-day all-day experience. With the local high schools not in session due to the holiday--and people traveling out of town--we no longer have an inviitation to play a Friday night concert and then stay in local homes. So, the last two trips down there have been 4am departure from Ann Arbor...one rehearsal in Columbus...usually in the stadium by 11am...play the game...and head back to the buses. Not exactly a fun trip--espcially the last several times.
September 23rd, 2013 at 1:12 PM ^
I agree, the reality is: if the band makes it to MSU and maybe the 5PM ESPN game at PSU then I am happy.
I'll take those over UConn. (Though the SEC bands do travel more.)
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:35 AM ^
September 23rd, 2013 at 11:35 AM ^
As far as I know, the band is not part of the athletic department AND they usually fund their own operations, so I'm not too sure they can really afford to make those long trips. The band will make trips to MSU, ND, and Ohio every time we play in their stadiums, but not all road games are definite for the band.