Pregame Plaza Show...not quite University Ave, but...

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Realistically, what is the cost to send a pep band? Obviously it won't get done this year, but when we have divisions, I don't see why a pep band can't be at Madison, Iowa City, Evanston & Lincoln whenever we're there.

What's going to happen if we happen to one day actually make the Big Ten championship game? Not send the band because it's either Indianapolis or a bowl game, but not both?

I think what Penn State does is the best thing; send about 10-20 people. What Cal had last year seemed perfect and I know that I'd love to see any band come to TCF, even the poorly behaved Badger band.

USC band....saw them at the 2008 Rose Bowl. Get ready for a playlist consisting of 4 songs.

I think this is an area where Creative Charters can step up...charge $20-$30 more a person on the charters & explaining that the cost increase is strictly going to help send a pep band to the game. Of course, I got a lot of other great ideas on how a bunch of businesses & individuals should spend their money! ;)
 

No one wanted to send their band when we were in the Dome (other than Wisky). Everyone wants to send their bands to TCF. It might be easier to push for our band to travel once folks see that other schools do it all the time.
 

kornheiser said:
Game Day guide is wrong - plaza pep rally happens right after victory walk 2 hours before kickoff.
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Can this be confirmed ANYWHERE (link)? How can they expect anyone to enjoy this stuff (or show up) if it isn't communicated properly? Perhaps it is the same type of thinking that thought the tailgate lots would be filled by people willing and able to pay $thousands$ for the opportunity.

Anyway, I will be bummed if the pregame pep fest is moved up an hour earlier. When I attend games, I either do so with a group of adults, or with my family. It is about a 50/50 split. when I go with adults, we hit the bar scene and get to our seats right at the national anthem. When I go with family/kids - we make a point to see the pregame pep fest and band performance next to the stadium (the kids love the chance to be that close to the band and cheerleaders). The kid attention spans will be tough to deal with if the hour long wait to kick off of a three hour game suddenly grows to 2 hours. Keeping elementary aged kids on task for 5+ hours is tough.

I might have to 'retire' as a regular at the pregame band performance. Dang.
 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news for you Schnauzer. Per the TCF Bank Stadium Website: http://stadium.gophersports.com/schedule_0911.html
The Gopher Victory Walk (GVW) will take place on the Tribal Nations Plaza 2 hours prior to kick off.

The U of M Marching Band show will take place immediately following the GVW on the Tribal Nations Plaza

WCCO Radio Pre-Game Show with Mike Grimm presented by Learfield Sports will take place on the Tribal Nations Plaza one hour prior to every game.
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The same paragraphs appear in the "Game Day Activities" section for every home game on the stadium website.

This also answers the question of how they will keep the concert from conflicting with the pregame show.
 



I know it's been discussed here before, and as a former band member I'm ashamed to say I don't know all the details on this so someone chime in who does. My understanding is that the band is part of CLA since it's actually a group in the school of music and not under the athletic department's bundle. This means it doesn't get a share of the revenue that all the teams and activities do and it needs to fund itself along with what it receives from CLA. Now, why it's possible that the athletic department is able to help pay for the band to attend bowl games using the bowl payout (or does that money go directly to the U common fund??) but not to a regular season game, I don't exactly know.

To answer those suggesting the band or alumni put together fund raising drives or events, they already have this in place. It's partially for scholarship creation but also to help the general band fund. In addition, anyone can make a donation any time to the band through the U giving site under CLA and earmark it for the marching band (you can even say for scholarships or general funds).

To whoever said the band had to scrape together money for getting over to the state fair... let's be serious here. Using the UMN buses for a day to get over to the fair cost too much? no special uniforms, pyrotechnics, food, or lodging are required for this 3-mile journey, just water during the parade (which I'm guessing wasn't required this year). I don't claim to be a budget expert for the band but it seems like this is a hyperbole.

Now, what about sending the band along with the team for a regular season road game... We play either WI or IA away every year, both within a 5 hour drive. We also have NW at 7 hours and soon to be NE at ~7 hours (my HS band went to Lincoln from Lakeville and that was the trip time). Is there a reason a 1 night stay couldn't be coordinated for these? I'm not asking for Penn State with 325 people, but at least our rivals or the close teams seem reasonable... The HS trip to Lincoln was a 1 night deal for a holiday parade (so no football game) that each kid (in my case I paid, others had their parents pay) paid $185 to cover lodging, bus, gas, and any band entry fees in the parade (and we had 340 people in the band). Let's assume that since 2002 there's been some inflation, add in the price per member and staff for ticket prices like some stadiums do, and say that the price per member/staff is $350 before food allowance. I don't know how reasonable that is, but that makes for a $123k trip. Can the band not get creative enough to have this money or can the athletic department not help diffuse the cost in return for greater exposure? Every time I see a visiting band on TV I think they must be a top-notch program, not to mention you hear their school's song and they get more tv time than otherwise would. If the band, AD, and band members split the cost equally, that makes each student pay ~$120, and the other parties covering 41k in cost. Not too bad, and I know that 90% or more of the band members would easily fork up $100 to go to an away football game as part of the band. Most members live and breathe that stuff.

Just my thoughts, I guess. Sorry for the rant.
 


I'm not privy to the band finances either, but I know people who are/were in other big ten bands. A lot of them get a lot of their money from athletic departments, whereas I think we get ours mostly from CLA and the music department. There's less money available, and we're not high on the priority list.

I was always amazed at how we never did any away trips and were always told that if the team made a bowl game, we MIGHT get to go (we always managed). Seems like a lame excuse when you see that nobody else has these problems.
 

go4rob said:
To the best of my knowledge, we are the ONLY Big 10 Band that doesn't make a trip to a road game during the year. (not counting bowls) I was in the band in 67, 68, 69, and 70...we made two trips to Iowa with performances on Friday night (lights) at the Independence, IA H.S. game. That was really special, marching down main street USA playing the Rouser..all the neighboring towns came in just to see our band. The other two trips were a trip by TRAIN to East Lansing and then busses to Northwestern. They were GREAT road trips. I'm very sad to see that we can't figure out a way to do this as it is a great experience for our band students and great exposure for the U of M. Every time I email either Maturi or the band dept. I get the same old excuses and reasons why we can't do it. They just drive me nuts because there doesn't seem to be any burning desire on anybody's part to get this done, only excuses as to why we can't do it. Very frustrating seeing all the other Big 10 Bands on TV, Like the Purdue band at Notre Dame this past weekend, and trust me, the Michigan Band will be there this weekend, you can bank on it. I know that these are shorter distances to travel, but I'll bet those bands probably make 2 or 3 trips a year. Just a guess. Anyway, just ONCE, I wish the parties that be at the U would try to figure out a way to get it done, rather than just coming up with a list of excuses (just like the march down University Ave. = 20 excuses was what I got as a reply to my emails about that).
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Every other school has band alumni who care about this enough to get involved and help fund raise and get organized or donate the funds to make band trips happen. It sounds like you're band alumni, so I would encourage you to get involved. I don't think there is anyone who either posts on or reads this board (including our enemies and yes, the band/athletics staff) who doesn't want the band to travel. But until alumni actually do something about it by helping rather than complaining about the use of large chunks of the budget, nothing is going to change. By the lack of band travel in recent years it sounds to me like they could use your passion!
 



RailBaronYarr said:
Now, why it's possible that the athletic department is able to help pay for the band to attend bowl games using the bowl payout (or does that money go directly to the U common fund??) but not to a regular season game, I don't exactly know.
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The Athletic Department uses a portion of the bowl payout to cover the expenses for band and spirit squad to travel to bowl games. It does not come out of any general fund.

To whoever said the band had to scrape together money for getting over to the state fair... let's be serious here. Using the UMN buses for a day to get over to the fair cost too much?
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Try $4500. $500 per bus times 9 buses. The campus connectors don't fit that many people on them when you take instruments into account. We can fit more people on charter buses, but they are more expensive. It's cheaper to send us on 9 connectors than 6 or 7 charters.

Athletics covered part of the expense this year, U Relations/President's Office covered another piece, and the band the rest. When you consider the marching band took a $30,000 budget cut this year (resulting in a shorter pre-season camp) even a couple thousand dollars for buses is a big deal.

Now, what about sending the band along with the team for a regular season road game... We play either WI or IA away every year, both within a 5 hour drive. We also have NW at 7 hours and soon to be NE at ~7 hours.
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No school has sent a visiting band to Wisconsin in a very long time. And, there is a reason for that. Their fans historically do not treat visiting bands well. There are genuine safety and liability concerns here. Not to mention instrument repair and uniform repair/replacement expenses that have to be factored in. About two or three years ago Illinois considered being the first school to send a band there in a long time, but decided against it.

The difficulty with Iowa is seating. Those that have been to Kinnick Stadium know there is no room along the sidelines which is where visiting band are put in most stadiums. In order to accommodate a band, the U would have to use tickets out of its visitor allotment. When taking instruments into account, for every 1 band member you need 1.5 seats. Those are seats that Minnesota fans are therefore not able to purchase. And, the U would have to cover the cost of those tickets. We did send about 80 students there several years ago, and would definitely consider doing it again. However, ticket demand for the Iowa games is usually pretty high. You send us and you are preventing some of our fans from going.

We were gearing up for a trip to Northwestern a few years ago, but they made it their homecoming game. You cannot send a band to another school when it's their homecoming game.

I don't know how reasonable that is, but that makes for a $123k trip. Can the band not get creative enough to have this money or can the athletic department not help diffuse the cost in return for greater exposure?
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I'm not sure what a trip to a school other than WI/IA/NW would cost. We certainly don't have that kind of money. If a donor where to step up, we'd be more than happy to send a band somewhere.

(A donor is covering the expenses for tOSU band to come to Minnesota. There athletic department is not paying for their trip.)

If the band, AD, and band members split the cost equally, that makes each student pay ~$120.
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We do not consider it reasonable (nor can we require) students to use personal funds to pay for a trip where they will be representing the University in an official capacity. If they are going as a band member representing the U, the expenses should be covered by the U. Again, with the budget cuts we've taken - we don't have any extra cash to put up.
 

Alumni giving to our band is much lower than at some other schools. Consider Ohio State, where the drum major is given a full ride scholly that is fully funded by the band alumni or booster group.
 


Thanks for all the info umnhcky. It's easy to sit out the outside looking in and wonder why things are so difficult. As a band alum, I am very aware of the logistics involved in anything where 300+ individuals are involved.

On another band note, do you by any chance know the instrumentation breakdown for the band this year? I am hoping we can start getting more brass and less woodwinds. The woodwinds are great for adding "headcount" but they don't do much soundwise. Plus, I hope we can get back to 20 or more tubas.
 



HopHead said:
Thanks for all the info umnhcky. It's easy to sit out the outside looking in and wonder why things are so difficult. As a band alum, I am very aware of the logistics involved in anything where 300+ individuals are involved.

On another band note, do you by any chance know the instrumentation breakdown for the band this year? I am hoping we can start getting more brass and less woodwinds. The woodwinds are great for adding "headcount" but they don't do much soundwise. Plus, I hope we can get back to 20 or more tubas.
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This year's band is a total of 315 (one more than last year). We have more brass this year: 62 trumpets, 22 horns, 32 trombones, 20 baritones, 22 or 23 tubas.
 

umnhcky said:
This year's band is a total of 315 (one more than last year). We have more brass this year: 62 trumpets, 22 horns, 32 trombones, 20 baritones, 22 or 23 tubas.
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It's great to hear that the brass numbers are up (and I love the thought of 22 tubas shining in the sun).

Now, who do I have to bribe to get a small pep band to make an appearance at our West Bank tailgating lot on game day. ;) I often tailgate with a former drum rank lieutenant and I was a rank lieutenant for tubas at the same time (20 years ago). That has to be worth something. Put out a hat and I will gladly make a donation to the band travel fund.
 


AeroGopher said:
Every other school has band alumni who care about this enough to get involved and help fund raise and get organized or donate the funds to make band trips happen. It sounds like you're band alumni, so I would encourage you to get involved. I don't think there is anyone who either posts on or reads this board (including our enemies and yes, the band/athletics staff) who doesn't want the band to travel. But until alumni actually do something about it by helping rather than complaining about the use of large chunks of the budget, nothing is going to change. By the lack of band travel in recent years it sounds to me like they could use your passion!
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And how do you know that I DON'T contribute to the band? about 8 years ago I raised the money for the Big 10 Flags that the band marches with in pre-game..that was a long-standing tradition that I was happy to bring back. I am also working eith the M Club on this band travel dilema, so let's not be so quick with the trigger finger, pal! I've also offered to raise money for other items and asked how I could help..and was basically told they didn't need my help...this was about 10 yrs ago as well.
 

Thanks umnhcky! I also really appreciate the insight you bring.

Interesting note about Wisconsin. Somehow it doesn't surprise me, but its good to know. The one thing I'd note is that I think other bands (specifically Penn State in 2008) have been to CR recently. But my understanding is that was their pep band (prob the same one they're sending to TCF) and not a marching band that would have some of the concerns you mention.
 

GoAUpher said:
Thanks umnhcky! I also really appreciate the insight you bring.

Interesting note about Wisconsin. Somehow it doesn't surprise me, but its good to know. The one thing I'd note is that I think other bands (specifically Penn State in 2008) have been to CR recently. But my understanding is that was their pep band (prob the same one they're sending to TCF) and not a marching band that would have some of the concerns you mention.
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Penn State sends a pep band to almost every away football game.
 

It is all but in Downtown Atlanta.

Firejumper said:
They must have Fd up at Georgia Tech, because isn't GT near downtown Atlanta? The Navy one was excellent. Was at a game at the Air Force Academy that looked equally low, but 4 in formation with no banking. Not expecting this type of flyover, but wish they could just cut the 1000 feet in half or something. I think that'd make a huge difference in the effect.

Thanks for the clips.
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And half full. They always struggle selling tickets for Football.
 


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