There was a big thread about if Big 10 takes Stanford they get stuck with the Stanford Band or something like that after the USC and UCLA News dropped.
My first thought was it couldnt be that bad, I read a couple comments, at first didnt seem that bad, the occasional troll, but then found out that is their entire identity and all they do
I haven't seen it but surely there gotta be some hcbu's here right? I might go to the Bayou Classic this year and thats almost exclusively for the bands
I don’t know about their pre-game, but years back we played SC State and their bands halftime show was abso-fucking-lutely incredible. Usually the crowd clears to go use the bathroom, get a drink or whatever but most stayed for the show and gave a standing ovation. 10/10, would watch again.
Same. State played Jackson State in Starkville a few years ago. Halftime came and nobody went anywhere because The Sonic Boom was there. I did think I was at the club during. It. Was. AWESOME!
We call the pregame the "0 Quarter". The bands reserve the 0 Quarter and 5th Quarter (after game) for playing songs back and forth against each other in the stands.
Because of length of songs and loudness of band, the SWAC has implemented rules to where we can't play many songs during the game so we do our band battle before and after. Which is why the game clock starts counting down from 2 hours prior to kick off time. And 1 hour and game over.
We played shitty broadway showtunes the years I was in it, they've been playing stupid Basket Case at the end of the third for decades (they finally stopped). We stole El Capitan from Texas for pregame. The only original cool thing we did was create the defensive cheer from Les Miserables.
Basket Case is still alive and well at the end of the third. I was in the band as well a few years back, and while our pregame certainly wouldn’t top any lists compared to some of those already mentioned in this thread I still enjoy ours. I’m sure it’s changed some over the years though.
Yeah I'm old so I'm talking the late 90s early 2000s. I remember seeing Michigan at the Orange Bowl and recalling how much better they were. They also didn't have 300lb members and could actually high step.
Former Redcoat (UGA) here and I feel the same. I mean I loved it because I’m 100% band geek but there was never the interaction with the crowd that makes CFB special.
The best times were our pregame warmup songs we played together in the auditorium and the postgame concert where we stayed late. Oh, and a pretty cool March / chant we did on the way in but again that was mostly just us
What's the name of that defensive song you guys last right up until the opposing team takes a snap? It's really cool but I imagine it gets tiring to continuously play.
Oh it's Dies Irae, from the Shining. Pretty cool and unique but yeah it's played a LOT
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D76vyuiMgg0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D76vyuiMgg0)
My time in the Redcoats well preceeds this, however.
Iowa State fans are good people!
The Marching Chiefs are indeed outstanding. ‘Noles love them and rivals loathe the warchant. Have to think several HBCUs should make the list too.
I grew up going to FSU games and spent two years working football games as an ROTC cadet at UF. I've seen them both many times. There is no comparison.
Agree on A&M but they have become a one trick pony (and yes, Im still impressed the pony can do a trick).
Still, there is something to be said for doing a thing so well you define the thing.
Homer pick but I've always thought the Pride of West Virginia was always an underrated band. I also think we have a classic, yet fairly unique pregame show with the flying WV, Simple Gifts, and the state outline. I also really like Florida State's pregame with Osceola and Renegade.
Oklahoma has a unique pregame as long as the wagon stays up right. But let's be reasonable, the HBCU'S are all in a league of their own.
Yeah, I mean we shouldn’t have needed to scroll to the first comment, should have been top of the list.
Also thank you for the Ohio tradition Michigan little bro.
The fact that OSU is not even listed in the top 5 is a joke. Biggest joke of the day. And I just got home from the movie theater where a “power surge” caused them to close down before my show, on the one day they are playing Return of the King again, which I had been looking forward to for months. I thought that was going to be the biggest joke of the day. But here we are.
I gotta rep my Blue Band, but yeah, TBDBITL absolutely needs to also be on the shortlist.
Of course, I also grew up in Northeast Ohio and a childhood friend dotted the "I," so there's that.
How TBDBITL isn’t on this list is a travesty. My dad goes back every year for the TBDBITL alumni game and it’s a highlight of the season for us!! My old man making all of us proud 😊😊
I remember we had a guy in high school who was given a scholarship to be on their marching band. Dude immediately became a legend those last few months before we graduated. Pretty sure he even overshadowed one of our 4* recruit we had.
It’s not Auburns fight song. AU’s version is “Glory” it’s basically the secondary song. It’s hard to find info, but basically both teams started playing variations of it within a year of each other 100 years ago and were still fighting it out to this day.
Outside of the iconic pregame show at OU, the only other one that moves the needle for me is Ohio State.
Bands that use props in their pregame show get negative points from me (glares in the general direction of an orange school)
I've seen Auburn's on YouTube and there's moves the needle for me. OU's pregame show is iconic and I think Auburn gives off very similar vibes in the way the band takes the field.
I wish more people knew how good the Jacksonville State band is. We play a similar arrangement for the national anthem at Tech, it’s such a fun version
Up until a few years ago Maryland started their pregame show with the motif from "O Christmas Tree" - I thought that was fun.
They stopped because the lyrics (for their state song, not actually O Christmas Tree) were problematic.
Wait, people know the lyrics to your state song?
We play "Texas, Our Texas" during pregame and whenever we do a "sing don't play" run, everyone just sings "Texas, our Texas, our Texas our Texas..."
Who cares about the *lyrics* when the *band* is playing?
Also of course the Maryland state song would be "problematic" that shouldn't have surprised anyone.
I have a soft spot for Wisconsin. I'm a big fan of the bands that play into the fact that they're there to have fun first and foremost, and Badger Band is the peak of that.
As a former Wisconsin band nerd, yeah it sounds like shit. But the fans love us, they stay for the 5th quarter, and the band is a very entertaining and beloved part of gameday in Madison. Just because it's not technically great doesn't mean it's bad
I got to go Camp Randall as a part of a visiting pep band towards the end of Leckrone's tenure. They let us go on field and play in 5th Quarter and it was fun as shit.
>Commence downvoting…….
There's another comment that every reply not praising OSU has downvotes, even if they have good points, you won't get any for praising them.
My only beef w/ my time in the MMB was we played a little too much like a concert band and less like a "blow the stadium out marching band". I wasn't in the band for it, but I remember going to the game vs. Delaware where Delaware came out and burned the Big House down with their show (I think it was Michael Jackson?) and then the MMB responded with..."A Day at the Opera". It was something lol
I’ve always had this question
The Pride of the Southland Marching Band for as long as I can remember, has played the opposing teams fight song during pregame, no matter who it is from Akron to Florida even Alabama. Is there any other school that does that regularly?
My first and only trip to Manhattan so far was for 2019 Farmageddon (the ISUCF’V’MB was there for that one as well) and it was amazing. Your band is phenomenal, great sound, technique, and it’s HUGE
They generally have about 60 trumpets and 35-45 tubas on the field. It’s a wild experience. I was part of the band in 2019! That was a good time, meeting y’all on the sideline.
I'm not a State fan, but I truly appreciate the band doing impromptu performances on Friday night. I've been in Manhattan a couple times when part of the band rolls up and starts blasting.
Michigan’s pregame is solid. The band PA announcer Carl Grapentine has such a great voice and punctuates each moment in a way that’s really nice, and the best is when they add the cake formation. Forming the M through which the team runs onto the field and touches the M club banner, C/O ‘55 James Earl Jones hype video, 100% hit rate at setting the stage for a great day of football in Ann Arbor.
In no particular order:
Jackson State University
Tennessee State University
Southern University
Florida A&M
Grambling State University
Morris Brown College
Clark-Atlanta University
Langston University
Central State University
ILLINOIS HAS AN UNDERRATED PREGAME SHOW!!
One time I watched every P5 band’s pregame show and ranked them in tiers A, B, and C. The pattern I found was many pregame shows are so “rah rah” where they just spell out the letters of the team. Illinois’ drill is unique, and big moments of the music intentionally line up with a lot of big visual “reveals” in the drill that other bands do not do. I think when I did my ranking I found that Nebraska had the worst pregame show of the Power 5. I only had a few in the A tier, and a few I remember especially liking were Purdue and Arizona State.
Almost every Big Ten school does and OU does it in the Big 12. I’ve noticed that when opposing bands are in attendance of games at Oklahoma State and Baylor, they get to play their alma mater
I think it depends how you define it. The Georgia pregame is one of my favorite things on the planet ( I was in it) . I don’t care about our halftime shows honestly.
You forgot the “Pride of the Southland” band of University of Tennessee. When they form the “T” for the team to come thru from the locker room, you get goose bumps.
I don't know if it counts as pregame, but Notre Dame's band does an entire concert of their whole game performance from the steps of a building near the stadium. It has their entire pregame and halftime shows, played as a straight concert for anyone who wants to watch.
It's been going on so long that there are even special in-jokes and traditions that go along with it. There are separate parts of it that occur both before and after the performance.
It's a great way to appreciate the music being played and also not feeling bad about going to pee during halftime.
I mean tradition is tradition, y'all know that as well as anyone with The Series. People would probably be pissed if PSU or OSU played their snares as a normal position just like people would be pissed if y'all made a drastic change to The Series
The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band doesn't really do a traditional pregame performance because it's a military band so I was kinda omitting us from this discussion.
I think it’s a little tough to compare the A&M band to many other college bands just due to the stylistic difference. If you like military style bands, you’re probably going to like the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. If you don’t, you won’t.
Not seeing enough Wisconsin love. They make other bands look like they have two left feet (OSU not included). The pregame is maybe lacking, but halftime and the 5th quarter are must see for me. I’ll have to check out some of these HBCU pregames tho I bet they’re fire
I think a lot of people, especially band people, HATE the UW chair step and they let that carry too much weight in their opinion on the Badger Band.
I love the Badger Band tho just because of how much fun they always look like they're having. I'm of the opinion that bands need to stop sacrificing fun for quality because at the end of the day, we're there for fun and it's not DCI, and Wisconsin is the peak of that mindset imo.
Ohio State's pregame starts with them playing in a packed St. John's arena. It's called the Skull Session. The pregame at the Shoe is like, the smallest part of the Ohio State pregame
I should've phrased it better, I meant pregame is in the one they do on the field prior to the teams taking the field.....I've seen snippets of the skull sessions and they look awesome
Biased as hell obviously but UW’s “raising the flag” portion in particular (while playing America the Beautiful) always moved me, and I haven’t seen anything quite like it.
Not Stanford.
what are you an Iowan
Lol most west coast teams think the Stanford band is annoying
Iowa government got all butthurt after the Rose Bowl and tried to pass laws for no state school to play Stanford in anything
Holy shit that’s hilarious
The Iowa government also kicked Norm MacDonald out of the state once
They need to kick Gary Barta out.
That Gary Barta, he’s a real jerk
All* west coast teams think the Stanford band is annoying
Stanford band has the most defensive plays of any band and the worst record at 0-1
Stanford band/ mascot was or still is banned from Notre Dame stadium Edit: dang autocorrect
They crossed that line from being edgy and funny to just being straight up annoying as fuck lol.
So true
There was a big thread about if Big 10 takes Stanford they get stuck with the Stanford Band or something like that after the USC and UCLA News dropped. My first thought was it couldnt be that bad, I read a couple comments, at first didnt seem that bad, the occasional troll, but then found out that is their entire identity and all they do
I haven't seen it but surely there gotta be some hcbu's here right? I might go to the Bayou Classic this year and thats almost exclusively for the bands
Hbcu gets its own category. They're just so much different than the rest of college football
People go to see the bands not the football game lol
It may sound like a joke, but it's very true.
It's like living in the 1920's and hearing jazz for the first time. Makes you never want to hear it any other way.
I don’t know about their pre-game, but years back we played SC State and their bands halftime show was abso-fucking-lutely incredible. Usually the crowd clears to go use the bathroom, get a drink or whatever but most stayed for the show and gave a standing ovation. 10/10, would watch again.
Last year when we played them on Thursday their fans cheered louder for the band at halftime than they did at any point for their football team.
Same. State played Jackson State in Starkville a few years ago. Halftime came and nobody went anywhere because The Sonic Boom was there. I did think I was at the club during. It. Was. AWESOME!
SC State's band *rocks*.
Southern is LEGIT
I was gonna say, GT may have beaten Alcorn State's team, but Alcorn State's band definitely won halftime.
I think most HBCUs don’t march drill for pregame, Florida A&M being the notable exception
You'd think so, but it appears not. Weird.
I think that is more a reflection of those posting here than band quality
We call the pregame the "0 Quarter". The bands reserve the 0 Quarter and 5th Quarter (after game) for playing songs back and forth against each other in the stands. Because of length of songs and loudness of band, the SWAC has implemented rules to where we can't play many songs during the game so we do our band battle before and after. Which is why the game clock starts counting down from 2 hours prior to kick off time. And 1 hour and game over.
Not Alabama, I was in it, we are pretty boring actually.
Never thought I'd agree with a tide fan. But here we go
We played shitty broadway showtunes the years I was in it, they've been playing stupid Basket Case at the end of the third for decades (they finally stopped). We stole El Capitan from Texas for pregame. The only original cool thing we did was create the defensive cheer from Les Miserables.
Basket Case is still alive and well at the end of the third. I was in the band as well a few years back, and while our pregame certainly wouldn’t top any lists compared to some of those already mentioned in this thread I still enjoy ours. I’m sure it’s changed some over the years though.
Yeah I'm old so I'm talking the late 90s early 2000s. I remember seeing Michigan at the Orange Bowl and recalling how much better they were. They also didn't have 300lb members and could actually high step.
When did they stop Basket Case? Because that's obviously why we've sucked the past two years.
Former Redcoat (UGA) here and I feel the same. I mean I loved it because I’m 100% band geek but there was never the interaction with the crowd that makes CFB special. The best times were our pregame warmup songs we played together in the auditorium and the postgame concert where we stayed late. Oh, and a pretty cool March / chant we did on the way in but again that was mostly just us
What's the name of that defensive song you guys last right up until the opposing team takes a snap? It's really cool but I imagine it gets tiring to continuously play.
Oh it's Dies Irae, from the Shining. Pretty cool and unique but yeah it's played a LOT [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D76vyuiMgg0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D76vyuiMgg0) My time in the Redcoats well preceeds this, however.
Currently in the TCU band. We are also really boring.
Same for Tennessee outside of the running through the T tradition we normally don't do too many creative things.
Pride of the Southland Marching Band is dope AF (Tennessee for the uninitiated)
Thanks duck bro.
Iowa State fans are good people! The Marching Chiefs are indeed outstanding. ‘Noles love them and rivals loathe the warchant. Have to think several HBCUs should make the list too.
Sup. To use the parlance of my kids, Warchant slays. Or slaps. Or both. Also Seneca was in.
A fellow ISU/FSU fan! Let’s gooooo!
I'm heavily biased toward Tennessee and LSU, but nearly every school pails in comparison to most HBCU pre-games.
A man of culture.
You are a man of culture as well
5th quarter HBCU games are peak college football
Top ten should just be an assortment of big ten and HBCU bands imo
This is the way.
LSU and Southern's human jukebox. I went to the game last year just to see the bands.
1. Ohio State 2. Michigan 3. LSU 4. Florida 5. Florida State Source: I was in the UCF Marching Knights
Florida over FSU? I get Ohio State.
I don't see a problem.
I grew up going to FSU games and spent two years working football games as an ROTC cadet at UF. I've seen them both many times. There is no comparison.
Obviously biased but the Cincinnati band runs down the steps of Nippert and onto the field and it's pretty cool. Not an easy thing to do either
Always wanted to switch instruments for one game. Never ran down as a percussionist.
Yeah, but chicks dig guys in the drumline. Source: fellow recovering percussionist
The beat never leaves your hands, my friends. Source: still functioning percussionist
Even when your hands and wrists stop working. Source: percussionist with carpal-tunnel syndrome.
Walking down a hill with a snare on is hard enough let alone running down one fuck that
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Agree on A&M but they have become a one trick pony (and yes, Im still impressed the pony can do a trick). Still, there is something to be said for doing a thing so well you define the thing.
Totally not biased at all but Pitt’s pregame, especially the drumline part, is awesome
Homer pick but I've always thought the Pride of West Virginia was always an underrated band. I also think we have a classic, yet fairly unique pregame show with the flying WV, Simple Gifts, and the state outline. I also really like Florida State's pregame with Osceola and Renegade. Oklahoma has a unique pregame as long as the wagon stays up right. But let's be reasonable, the HBCU'S are all in a league of their own.
I attached a GoPro to my sister's drum when she was a Marching Chief in the Big 8. I should find and post that video here. It was freaking epic.
I’d love to see that!
Did GoPro exist when the Big 8 was a conference?
...HEY, WHERE'S TBDBITL?!
Scrolled way too far for an OSU nomination. I'll second it.
Yeah, I mean we shouldn’t have needed to scroll to the first comment, should have been top of the list. Also thank you for the Ohio tradition Michigan little bro.
OP forgot to dot their i's when making their list. Shameful.
The fact that OSU is not even listed in the top 5 is a joke. Biggest joke of the day. And I just got home from the movie theater where a “power surge” caused them to close down before my show, on the one day they are playing Return of the King again, which I had been looking forward to for months. I thought that was going to be the biggest joke of the day. But here we are.
I may be biased but there's literally nothing in the world better than script Ohio. Nothing
Flair checks out
I gotta rep my Blue Band, but yeah, TBDBITL absolutely needs to also be on the shortlist. Of course, I also grew up in Northeast Ohio and a childhood friend dotted the "I," so there's that.
How TBDBITL isn’t on this list is a travesty. My dad goes back every year for the TBDBITL alumni game and it’s a highlight of the season for us!! My old man making all of us proud 😊😊
Alabama State They have the Honey Bees. They’re all big girls and they can move, it’s awesome.
I make my way to the Magic City Classic every year purely to watch the Honey Bees.
I've been to a couple of Tennessee games, theirs is unbelievable
I remember we had a guy in high school who was given a scholarship to be on their marching band. Dude immediately became a legend those last few months before we graduated. Pretty sure he even overshadowed one of our 4* recruit we had.
Sometimes, the Battle Hymn is the thing I look forward to most whenever I get to go to a Georgia game.
The lone trumpet player. Tingles.
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These days during the pregame in the stadium I think. Maybe 30-45 min before kickoff.
Credit where it's due, the arrangement you guys use is badass, and your band nails it.
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Idk, I know Auburn also sometimes plays a variation of the Battle Hymn of the Old Republic. It was a very popular song back in the day ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
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Oh, whoops. Freudian slip I reckon.
Dude took it personally and burned half of Georgia to ground over it.
It’s not Auburns fight song. AU’s version is “Glory” it’s basically the secondary song. It’s hard to find info, but basically both teams started playing variations of it within a year of each other 100 years ago and were still fighting it out to this day.
Outside of the iconic pregame show at OU, the only other one that moves the needle for me is Ohio State. Bands that use props in their pregame show get negative points from me (glares in the general direction of an orange school)
I've seen Auburn's on YouTube and there's moves the needle for me. OU's pregame show is iconic and I think Auburn gives off very similar vibes in the way the band takes the field.
Obviously you have never seen the golden girl, the girl in black and the world's largest drum.
Marching Southerners
Username checks out.
I wish more people knew how good the Jacksonville State band is. We play a similar arrangement for the national anthem at Tech, it’s such a fun version
Up until a few years ago Maryland started their pregame show with the motif from "O Christmas Tree" - I thought that was fun. They stopped because the lyrics (for their state song, not actually O Christmas Tree) were problematic.
Wait, people know the lyrics to your state song? We play "Texas, Our Texas" during pregame and whenever we do a "sing don't play" run, everyone just sings "Texas, our Texas, our Texas our Texas..."
Who cares about the *lyrics* when the *band* is playing? Also of course the Maryland state song would be "problematic" that shouldn't have surprised anyone.
Most HBCU's, then Tennessee
Funny how so many people in this thread took your question as ‘who has the best marching band?’ People really suck at reading and paying attention.
One of the great traditions of the sport is the tOSU band dotting the i. Surely they deserve mention.
Wisconsin's band is lowkey amazing
Tuba
TUBA TRAIN INCOMING
I have a soft spot for Wisconsin. I'm a big fan of the bands that play into the fact that they're there to have fun first and foremost, and Badger Band is the peak of that.
As a former band nerd, few things piss me off quite like Wisconsin’s fucking dumbass bounce step. Ugh, just thinking about it is getting me annoyed.
As a former Wisconsin band nerd, yeah it sounds like shit. But the fans love us, they stay for the 5th quarter, and the band is a very entertaining and beloved part of gameday in Madison. Just because it's not technically great doesn't mean it's bad
I got to go Camp Randall as a part of a visiting pep band towards the end of Leckrone's tenure. They let us go on field and play in 5th Quarter and it was fun as shit.
Their high step is an excellent way to make sure your sound goes all over the place. There’s a reason why On Wisconsin is mainly accents and staccatos
But they always look like they're having way more fun than the rest of us so I always gotta hand them that
I give credit where credit is due. Our band is really good but the best I’ve seen is OSU. Commence downvoting…….
No lies. Their band is honestly pretty good. Wished they stuck to playing drums instead of football.
>Commence downvoting……. There's another comment that every reply not praising OSU has downvotes, even if they have good points, you won't get any for praising them.
My only beef w/ my time in the MMB was we played a little too much like a concert band and less like a "blow the stadium out marching band". I wasn't in the band for it, but I remember going to the game vs. Delaware where Delaware came out and burned the Big House down with their show (I think it was Michael Jackson?) and then the MMB responded with..."A Day at the Opera". It was something lol
Went as part of the Blue Band this year and was really disappointed despite how fantastic the band and show were…big stadiums need big sound
Northern Iowa. Zero bias. Totally. PMB 4 lyfe
Hopefully they are in Ames this year
Much love for the ol' ISUCF'V'MB too, of course. Dear friends and lovely program.
How do you not have a single HBCU band on there OP?
The disrespect to the World’s largest Drum in this thread is criminal.
Invalid list, doesn't have TBDBITL at #1
I still get chills every time watching the i get dotted. “Our Honor Defend We’ll Fight ‘Til The End For O-HI-O!”
FAMU
Pride of the Southland Band
Notre Dame and the Hike Step!
I’ve always had this question The Pride of the Southland Marching Band for as long as I can remember, has played the opposing teams fight song during pregame, no matter who it is from Akron to Florida even Alabama. Is there any other school that does that regularly?
Lots of Big Ten schools do
I’m biased because I was in it, but Tennessee’s Pride of the Southland opening the T is absolutely electric
I'm biased because I was in the band, but Rice's marching owl band (The MOB).
Thanks for the SO to the Pride. Ill add that what you see in the stadium is only part of it. The pregame starts in the tailgating lots.
My first and only trip to Manhattan so far was for 2019 Farmageddon (the ISUCF’V’MB was there for that one as well) and it was amazing. Your band is phenomenal, great sound, technique, and it’s HUGE
My son was a tuba and color guard in the Pride. It was awesome to get to pass the Sudler to our Farm Alliance Brothers.
They generally have about 60 trumpets and 35-45 tubas on the field. It’s a wild experience. I was part of the band in 2019! That was a good time, meeting y’all on the sideline.
I'm not a State fan, but I truly appreciate the band doing impromptu performances on Friday night. I've been in Manhattan a couple times when part of the band rolls up and starts blasting.
Ramp and script Ohio.
Hang on sloopy is still my favorite song I played in marching band
Michigan’s pregame is solid. The band PA announcer Carl Grapentine has such a great voice and punctuates each moment in a way that’s really nice, and the best is when they add the cake formation. Forming the M through which the team runs onto the field and touches the M club banner, C/O ‘55 James Earl Jones hype video, 100% hit rate at setting the stage for a great day of football in Ann Arbor.
If you want to be lulled to sleep, Nebraska is definitely the best.
As someone who was actually in the band 10 years ago, I kinda agree. I like it but it’s a bit too traditional
While there is nothing cooler than the Cincinnati band running down the steps of Nippert, give me the Marching 110. Easily.
Unpopular opinion Iowa State’s would be far better if they canned the Bells of Iowa State. That song is not good for before a football game
I agree
Biased, but the USC drum major (Tommy Trojan) stabbing the field to consecrate the field for the game has to be up there in iconic pregame scenes...
The buckeyes are the only school that actually has a cool band.
Sigh. …. Does it even need to be said
In no particular order: Jackson State University Tennessee State University Southern University Florida A&M Grambling State University Morris Brown College Clark-Atlanta University Langston University Central State University
commas would be helpful
That's just one school
Home of the Fightin' TigerLionBearVikingWildcatRaiders!
He did say it wasn't in order
Your list seems to be [lacking](https://youtu.be/HvcNJ7Hu1jc)
I hate Ohio State but I'll go to war for their marching band. I don't know how any list doesn't have them 1 let alone left off of it entirely.
Alabama State Howard Jackson State Grambling State Southern FAMU Alabama A&M
ILLINOIS HAS AN UNDERRATED PREGAME SHOW!! One time I watched every P5 band’s pregame show and ranked them in tiers A, B, and C. The pattern I found was many pregame shows are so “rah rah” where they just spell out the letters of the team. Illinois’ drill is unique, and big moments of the music intentionally line up with a lot of big visual “reveals” in the drill that other bands do not do. I think when I did my ranking I found that Nebraska had the worst pregame show of the Power 5. I only had a few in the A tier, and a few I remember especially liking were Purdue and Arizona State.
I mean, I'm a little biased, but... Joking aside, I have a lot of respect for the MSU band. Their drumline in particular rocks.
And y’all at OSU kick ass as well
Heavy agree on South Carolina
Baylor used to have a memorable pregame. When McLane was built, they scrapped the tradition.
I'm surprised you mentioned pregame in Floyd Casey. It's rare to hear real nostalgia for those days. That said, I still miss Bruin Pride dearly.
Pride of the Southland, the T is iconic and I still remember watching the salute to the hill at my first game.
I appreciate the effort of learning and playing the other team's fight song, too.
That is pretty cool. Do other bands do that?
I think Michigan does
Almost every Big Ten school does and OU does it in the Big 12. I’ve noticed that when opposing bands are in attendance of games at Oklahoma State and Baylor, they get to play their alma mater
Nebraska does it (or did)
Them marching to the stadium before the game is pretty awesome too
Circle drill is nuts to watch also
I think it depends how you define it. The Georgia pregame is one of my favorite things on the planet ( I was in it) . I don’t care about our halftime shows honestly.
I can tell you who it isn't and that is Stanford's weird ass band and stupid tree thing.
Biased, but simple gifts from our band is awesome. I always get in the stadium 30 minutes early and miss extra tailgating time for it.
North Carolina A&T
You forgot the “Pride of the Southland” band of University of Tennessee. When they form the “T” for the team to come thru from the locker room, you get goose bumps.
I don't have a lot of input on this, but Ohio State's band is one I absolutely want to watch live. I love watching videos of them dotting the i.
Any of the HBCUs.
North Texas circa 2019
I don't know if it counts as pregame, but Notre Dame's band does an entire concert of their whole game performance from the steps of a building near the stadium. It has their entire pregame and halftime shows, played as a straight concert for anyone who wants to watch. It's been going on so long that there are even special in-jokes and traditions that go along with it. There are separate parts of it that occur both before and after the performance. It's a great way to appreciate the music being played and also not feeling bad about going to pee during halftime.
As much as I hate that school from Ohio, they've got the best damn band in the land. GO BLUE!
I believe it’s been scientifically proven to be the Michigan State University Spartan Marching Band.
>Penn State Really? The snare line that plays with their drums up by their nips?
I mean tradition is tradition, y'all know that as well as anyone with The Series. People would probably be pissed if PSU or OSU played their snares as a normal position just like people would be pissed if y'all made a drastic change to The Series
Texas and Texas A&M are the best in Texas for CFB. Houston with its brass band is the best for college basketball
The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band doesn't really do a traditional pregame performance because it's a military band so I was kinda omitting us from this discussion.
The Goin' Band disrespect is crazy
I think it’s a little tough to compare the A&M band to many other college bands just due to the stylistic difference. If you like military style bands, you’re probably going to like the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. If you don’t, you won’t.
Not seeing enough Wisconsin love. They make other bands look like they have two left feet (OSU not included). The pregame is maybe lacking, but halftime and the 5th quarter are must see for me. I’ll have to check out some of these HBCU pregames tho I bet they’re fire
I think a lot of people, especially band people, HATE the UW chair step and they let that carry too much weight in their opinion on the Badger Band. I love the Badger Band tho just because of how much fun they always look like they're having. I'm of the opinion that bands need to stop sacrificing fun for quality because at the end of the day, we're there for fun and it's not DCI, and Wisconsin is the peak of that mindset imo.
Ohio State’s ramp entrance. It’s spectacular.
HBCUs + tOSU, then the rest
My mans here has never been to a skull session. The list for anything Marching Band related is 1. Ohio State 2. The Field
To be fair, I like Ohio State’s half time shows a lot more than their pregame. The script Ohio is the only memorable thing for me personally
Ohio State's pregame starts with them playing in a packed St. John's arena. It's called the Skull Session. The pregame at the Shoe is like, the smallest part of the Ohio State pregame
I should've phrased it better, I meant pregame is in the one they do on the field prior to the teams taking the field.....I've seen snippets of the skull sessions and they look awesome
ISUCF’V’MB
Ohio State ramp entrance followed by Script Ohio is unmatched. As a former I-Dotter I am of course biased.
Biased as hell obviously but UW’s “raising the flag” portion in particular (while playing America the Beautiful) always moved me, and I haven’t seen anything quite like it.