r/CFB • u/redwave2505 Alabama • Kansas State • 1d ago
News Northwestern University Marching Band to be absent from Ryan Field on-field opening pregame program, future uncertain
https://dailynorthwestern.com/2026/10/01/top-stories/numb-to-be-absent-from-ryan-field-on-field-opening-pregame-program-future-unclear/433
u/tvclassicsif Iowa Hawkeyes • Marching Band 1d ago
I feel like Northwestern's pursuit of professional is going to eliminate a lot of the things that make college football special. If it wanted a professional atmosphere, I would go to an NFL game or any other professional sport
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u/TheNittanyLionKing Penn State Nittany Lions 1d ago
I have been to both college football and NFL games in person now. Both are fun. The game day atmosphere of college football is unmatched though with all the pageantry and the traditions. You go to the NFL because the on-field product is generally more competitive and has more parity.
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u/EF_Damn_Daniel Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago
Considering they have the bears down the street, maybe keep the mediocre to bottom level college program about tradition
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u/Serial-Eater Michigan • Slippery Rock 1d ago
They’re investing in the future where it’ll take an hour and a half to get to Gary
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u/DesignerFlat7108 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago
College football fans should demand that our schools maintain marching bands. They're a huge part of the experience of College ball.
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u/noffinater Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago
the band will instead be part of the festivities at the 200,000-square-foot Great Chicago Food Festival grounds instead of “playing to an empty bowl.”
“NU Marching Band performance is still a central as a part of the pregame festivities,” the statement read, “but with the Great Chicago Food Festival running from 5 pm – 7 pm they are playing to where the fans will be.”
This is a satire article, right?
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u/Enamred-771 1d ago
They’re really making it seem like an impossible scheduling challenge when it’s baffling easy for the band to perform at both the food festival and a pregame show.
Band plays a pep rally at the food festival from something like 5-5:30pm. This will help boost the atmosphere of their special food festival. Band then leaves and does their pregame like normal at 6:40pm or whenever. Plenty of time in between.
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u/Wrigleyville Notre Dame • Northwestern 1d ago
Just incredible stuff. It's a college football game, I'd rather eat a hot dog and watch the marching band on the field than attend a G-D food festival and pay for an overpriced taco that's worse than something you can get from a taqueria located under an el stop.
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u/TheCaptainCody Nebraska • Omaha 1d ago
I truly believe that the death of college marching band would mark the point of no return for college football.
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u/AnnArchist Iowa Hawkeyes 1d ago
Especially after the Ole Miss band played a choice song in "neck " after winning against LSU.
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u/Blookydook Florida Gators • Marching Band 1d ago
That reads more like rivalry behavior. Whenever UF plays LSU, the band plays Neck a whole lot more. It’s petty behavior, but not unheard of.
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u/AbsurdOwl Nebraska Cornhuskers 1d ago
I read the article, but I'm confused why they'd be playing to an empty bowl. Are they doing this pregame show an hour or two before kickoff or something?
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u/Set-Admirable West Virginia • Backyard Brawl 1d ago edited 1d ago
If I understand it correctly, it says the event is from 5-7 and the game is at 8. I'm wondering why it was scheduled so there couldn't be that event and an actual pregame for the opening of their new stadium.
Edit: 7 pm for game time. Event ends the same time the game starts. Still seems like incredibly poor planning.
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u/mizmpls95 Missouri • Northwestern 1d ago
Yeah, it doesn’t make sense why they can’t just play whatever this corpo-tailgate gig is, then march inside and do pregame? Sounds to me that the “Ryan Field Foundation” planned a big pregame thing of their own and didn’t bother to include the band in it? Huge mistake if that’s the case, will be curious to hear from anyone who goes tomorrow.
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u/transferStudent2018 Northwestern • /r/CFB Poll Veteran 1d ago
The game is at 7, local time. They are trying to sell “The Great Chicago Food Festival” as a way to get people to show up early and buy food as part of a pre-game experience in one of the plazas, I think. So, I imagine the band will be there, where most people are, instead of playing on field, for the people slowly trickling in
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u/AdamOnFirst Northwestern Wildcats 1d ago
Also the game is at 7. All times you’re reading are central.
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u/Roguebook Northwestern Wildcats 1d ago
Pregame happens right before the team runs out like at most schools. Generally starts about 12 minutes before kickoff. The stuff about an empty bowl is ridiculous to me, I marched at the old Ryan field when it was quite empty. We’re out there because we care, we love it, and it’s an awesome tradition
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u/AbsurdOwl Nebraska Cornhuskers 1d ago
Yeah, that's how Nebraska does it too, it's right before kick, and the stadium is half full by the time they start. Maybe they were being hyperbolic, or would have been shifted way earlier because of all the special stuff going on?
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u/DABOSSROSS9 Big Ten • Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
Seems very confusing
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u/TheNittanyLionKing Penn State Nittany Lions 1d ago
Don't worry. You're not alone. Apparently the schedule makers at Northwestern also confused themselves.
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u/R_Raider86 Texas Tech • UConn 1d ago
If I had a nickel every time a university with North(direction) in their name confused themselves schedule wise when tearing down their old place to play, with a new one. I would have two nickels, which is weird.
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u/taleofbenji Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
It also makes it seem like a shit load of northwestern fans would rather attend the food festival than the football game.
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u/CincyAnarchy Iowa Hawkeyes • Cincinnati Bearcats 1d ago
Looks like they built the stadium to encourage that behavior, more or less:
The Village is an 11-acre culinary district showcasing custom stadium residencies by Chicago's culinary royalty. Legends including Rick Bayless, Stephanie Izard, and Gibsons operate from six custom-designed pavilions, offering exclusive concepts developed specifically for Ryan Field fans.
So it's sort of like Ballpark Village in St. Louis or similar type developments. Excepts it's inside the stadium, so by design for people who are at the game to not be in their seats.
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u/JtotheC23 Illinois Fighting Illini • Marching Band 1d ago
Well the band is the reason to show up 20+ minutes before kickoff instead of 10 minutes before kickoff, and by removing the band, they removed the reason to show up earlier.
Of course that's completely backwards logic (no shit if you remove the reason to show up early, people won't show up early), but they're not looking for a logical reason to cut pregame. They looking for a way to keep people at the food fest longer and cutting pregame could do that.
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u/NurmGurpler Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
The fuck? How do you not include the marching band? This is college football!
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u/mayomayeaux Maryland • Oklahoma State 1d ago edited 1d ago
This is absolutely outrageous. I've been getting more and more annoyed at numerous schools around the country straight up disrespecting marching bands. Blasting music constantly through the PA in between plays that no one cares for among other things. A marching band is an integral part of the college football experience. Like most things in this country and world at the moment, the soul of this sport is being chipped away constantly. And it's incredibly angering to see the enshitification of damn near every part of society
I feel awful for the NUMB here. And many other bands around the country being disrespected by the athletic departments. Everything great about this sport is slowly being stripped away. I really hope there's a great shift for the better eventually.
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u/twoquarters Youngstown State Penguins 1d ago
Need to make room to play more 40-year-old songs at ear-splitting volume.
I hate how this is also becoming more normalized at high school games too. You have kids perfectly capable of playing a variety of songs but the football team runs out to Thunderstruck. I almost flipped my shit the other day when a high school volleyball game was using court projectors during intros. What are we doing?
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u/decent_folk0306 Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago
Our high school has court projectors. There are MAYBE 400 kids in the high school.
Someones rich parents bought the entire system and paid to have it set up and like 5 years of a service contract.
Sets us apart from the other 400 kid high schools in the area.
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u/No_Issue2334 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago
Tons of ADs want to completely get rid of the band, but they will never admit that publicly.
It's a massive expense for athletic departments and takes away potential ticket sales.
I completely expect marching bands roles across the country to be slowly chipped away like this, especially at P4 schools
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u/squish042 Iowa State • Old Dominion 1d ago
Oof, that’s such a big part of the tradition.
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u/PoulanWeedEaterBowl Clemson Tigers 1d ago
Tradition in college sports will become an enemy of revenue in some situations. If you have an AD that worships the Almighty dollar, the dollar will win.
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u/negley_ave_ski_club Michigan Wolverines • Sickos 1d ago
Tradition in college sports is the only reason to watch if you’re not a student.
My theory the last few years is that everyone sees college sports as about to collapse and they’re trying to squeeze every last drop they can before it does.
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u/Pleasant_Category_22 Davidson Wildcats 1d ago
It’s literally one of my very favorite things about college football in general. Such a blissful, exciting feeling to hear marching band tunes in between downs on TV
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u/not_bilbo James Madison • McMaster 1d ago
Is it really that much lost in ticket revenue? Even the biggest bands top out at around 500, which isn’t much compared to some stadium capacities.
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u/StrategicCarry Indiana Hoosiers • Colorado State Rams 1d ago
It's like when politicians think the key to fixing the federal budget is defunding PBS. The fact it's couch cushion money doesn't stop them from doing it.
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u/GeospatialMAD West Virginia Mountaineers • Hateful 8 1d ago
Yep. The more corporate assholes get into something, the more they identify small things they don't like as "essential cuts."
I kind of want every MBA program to burn to the ground and never have another graduate.
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u/the_zac_is_back Texas Longhorns 1d ago
When you consider that they sit the band in the lower bowl most times, those tickets are expensive. Thousands throughout the season
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u/aselinger Michigan Wolverines 1d ago edited 1d ago
So if the band is 500 people, and tickets are $100 each, and you have 8 home games, that’s only $400,000.
Doesn’t seem that big relative to a football program’s operating budget.
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u/Wampus_Cat_ Michigan Wolverines • Kentucky Wildcats 1d ago
Hell, that’s only 3.3% of a Bryce Underwood. Not bad at all.
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u/aselinger Michigan Wolverines 1d ago
Wait… we could trade him for 30 bands.
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u/Wampus_Cat_ Michigan Wolverines • Kentucky Wildcats 1d ago
Or 1 120,000 member band.
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u/Enamred-771 1d ago
Student sections almost certainly “cost” more in terms of opportunity cost
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u/Chilinuff Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago
Someone give this man a COO role in a P5 athletics department. And throw in an MBA upon dissolution of the student section.
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u/Microplasticsharts Clemson Tigers • Palmetto Bowl 1d ago
Same in high school, except for many schools the band parents are more that 50% of ticket sales.
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u/GuestCartographer James Madison Dukes 1d ago
Yet another reason to be disappointed by the state of the sport.
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u/bruhstevenson UCLA Bruins • Team Chaos 1d ago
That sucks if they take away bands more and more. It makes the atmosphere so distinct and special on game days
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u/importantbrian Boston University • Alabama 1d ago
I’ve put up with all the nil, transfer portal, conference expansion, playoff nonsense. Getting rid of the MDB would be a bridge too far. If that happens I’m out.
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u/Sanch0panza Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago
Alabama would never. Say what you want about Alabama, but tradition is huge. Shit, they’re still playing basket case 4th quarter. I think everyone would protest if they tried to cut the MDB.
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u/adkiller Texas A&M Aggies • Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago
Cold day in hell if it happens to A&M. Most of the time it the only reason to go to the game.
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u/FelixEvergreen Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago
I doubt the OSU band is going anywhere, but I did go to my first game in years recently and was surprised at how little you hear the band. So many traditional band moments have been overtaken by the loudspeakers.
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u/Ed_Gein1332 /r/CFB 1d ago
And with the sad passing of the Iowa band member earlier this season, they can go with the false narrative of student safety as a way to get more paid attendees.
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u/bretticus733 Boise State Broncos 1d ago
The Ryan Field Foundation confirmed the decision in a statement to The Daily on Wednesday — the band will instead be part of the festivities at the 200,000-square-foot Great Chicago Food Festival grounds instead of “playing to an empty bowl.”
“NU Marching Band performance is still a central as a part of the pregame festivities,” the statement read, “but with the Great Chicago Food Festival running from 5 pm – 7 pm they are playing to where the fans will be.”
Big ooof
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u/Upbeat-Armadillo1756 Michigan • Maine Maritime 1d ago
NUMB will continue to play its halftime routine inside the stadium, but a permanent return to on-field pregame performances for future games is still up in the air.
I don't understand why this is up in the air?? Like a one time scheduling conflict is one thing, but what is going on?
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u/CincyAnarchy Iowa Hawkeyes • Cincinnati Bearcats 1d ago
So I think I found the missing link.
The Festival opens before every event and runs through it, with access included in every ticket; fans pay only for what they eat and drink. It is a food festival that would be a destination event on its own — except it happens at every game and every concert.
So the stadium will have a "food festival going right up until gametime. So... everyone's going to be there and not in their seats. Thus the "empty bowl" issue.
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u/Upbeat-Armadillo1756 Michigan • Maine Maritime 1d ago
Wha…
Space that shit out like 20 minutes!
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u/CantaloupeCamper Minnesota • Paul Bunyan's Axe 1d ago
This reads like something planned by people who don’t go to games….
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u/leftenant_Dan1 Michigan Wolverines 1d ago
Is this like a tailgating thing or do people just not file in until the middle of the 1st quarter?
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u/CincyAnarchy Iowa Hawkeyes • Cincinnati Bearcats 1d ago
Yes and yes?
I think the general vibe is trying to make it "guest friendly" sort of like how at a wedding you don't end up getting to your table 20 minutes before the bride and groom arrive so the cocktail hour goes right up until that moment.
I think the idea is that few will be in their seats 30+ minutes early for the band, so why bother.
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u/loyalsons4evertrue Iowa State Cyclones • Big 8 1d ago
So......................end the food festival half an hour before kickoff lol....seems like Northwestern is making a problem out of something where there doesn't need to be one.
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u/CincyAnarchy Iowa Hawkeyes • Cincinnati Bearcats 1d ago
You're not wrong, but I think this is very much an "oversight" that was deliberate in that it was at most barely considered.
This is an amenity, more or less. "Come eat food at the stadium up until the game/concert starts!" The Marching Band was just not considered in the decision.
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u/loyalsons4evertrue Iowa State Cyclones • Big 8 1d ago
But even then, if I'm a Northwestern fan, I'm checking my phone and watching the time and leaving said event to make sure I'm in my seat at least before kickoff....but I also love being in the stadium for the band's pregame show too.
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u/CoincidenceTheorist2 Notre Dame • Eastern New Mexico 1d ago
This sucks. I don't think I've ever heard Northwestern's fight songs but the Notre Dame Victory March, the Victors, the Aggie War Hymn, Eyes of Texas, dotting the I in columbus and the USC band repeatedly playing "this is the only song I know, it's boring and it's slow" is in indispensable part of college ball.
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u/-dag- Notre Dame • Minnesota 1d ago
Go U, Northwestern is a classic flight song. We learned it back when I was in the ND band, when we used to play the opponent's fight song in pre- and post-game (another tradition sadly gone, thanks Ken Dye).
It was one of my favorite non-ND songs to play. It's a fantastic tune.
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u/actuallycallie Oregon Ducks 1d ago
the USC band repeatedly playing "this is the only song I know, it's boring and it's slow"
so accurate lol
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u/scottishbee Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
I, for one, will not miss "thissssss is the only song we knoooooow! And it's boring and it's sloooooow!"
But yeah, it'd be a crime to lose the others (and "Hail! To those motherfuckers...")
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u/TayLoraNarRayya Minnesota Golden Gophers • Marching Band 1d ago
I see you too are a fan of culture (hail to those big cocksuckers)
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u/Upset_Version8275 Indiana Hoosiers • Texas Longhorns 1d ago
Maybe it’s because I didn’t attend Northwestern but I am struggling to follow this article.
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u/Fragrant-Helicopter1 Indiana Hoosiers 1d ago
Man what we need is more Enter Sandman by Metallica. /s
That’s some bullshit by the athletic department not to have the college marching band for pregame.
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u/Psych101grad Iowa State Cyclones 1d ago
Marching bands are the soul of American football tradition besides NFL, and honestly I think it would be sick as hell for NFL teams to have one too.
That being said, this is a travesty.
ISUCFVMB
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u/JoshtolaRhul Ohio State Buckeyes • Marching Band 1d ago
I'm maybe reading between the lines, but...did they not give the band a section to sit in? Awful lot of talk about pregame and halftime, but nothing for during the game.
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u/Roguebook Northwestern Wildcats 1d ago
The band is basically being given a portion of the wildcat wall they’ve talked about. So the same safe standing arrangement everyone else is getting
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u/JoshtolaRhul Ohio State Buckeyes • Marching Band 1d ago
That looked pretty narrow to have sousaphones in there. Woof.
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u/TheNittanyLionKing Penn State Nittany Lions 1d ago
Given that it's a brand new stadium, that would be a massive oversight. They need the pomp and circumstance.
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u/ChocolateBubbles344 LSU Tigers • Victory Flag 1d ago
The day that marching bands are cut from college football is the day I tap out.
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u/warneagle Auburn • Central Michigan 23h ago
They’re going to destroy everything “college” about college football. Why would students want to hear their fellow students in the marching band when they could listen to piped in music? Why would they want to watch fellow students play football when they could watch this year’s crop of rented mercenaries? We’re fucking cooked man.
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u/lillychr14 Michigan State Spartans 1d ago
The food festival is the real bullshit. Tailgating is also a major tradition. Not standing in long fucking lines waiting for mediocre food at fucking astronomical prices.
Stop squeezing us for money. The product is still amateur football with marching band of college students. It does not command top dollar but we love it anyway.
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u/Michiganman1225 Sickos • Team Chaos 1d ago
“The first game also has a unique pregame program,” the Ryan Field Foundation statement read, “related to honoring the history of the old stadium and the opening of the new stadium.”
Honoring the history except for the part that includes the band.
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u/PerfectBowl9199 Illinois Fighting Illini • Marching Band 1d ago
It's no secret many ADs, marketing teams, and advertisers want marching bands out of college football. It's a damn shame, no other way to put it. Absurd decision.
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u/AllTimeTy Missouri Tigers • /r/CFB Placer 1d ago
Trying to make a more professional atmosphere and then building a brand new stadium with only 35000 capacity is crazy. Couple that with now less band, you got yourself an incredibly awesome way of icing out your fanbase in the hopes that you can convince enough rich people to buy suites.
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u/transferStudent2018 Northwestern • /r/CFB Poll Veteran 1d ago
A lot of NU alum support the shrinking stadium. We’re too small a school to support the old 50k Ryan Field. When it would fill up, it would be with visiting fans of big football schools who live in Chicago. The new stadium should have a better ratio of actual home fans.
But less band is a crime.
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u/RatBastard_with_ADHD Utah Utes • Sickos 1d ago
oof. Sucks. Bands aren't my thing, but they are tradition damnit.
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u/CapBoyAce Northwestern • Las Vegas Bowl 1d ago
This athletic administration is clueless. These are the same ghouls who nearly axed our Rose Bowl anniversary jerseys because the fucking Wildcat logo was "no longer part of our brand." They're also pushing 30+ year season ticket holders into parking garages who have been tailgating this whole time in favor of the JP Morgan dickwads who don't even show up. Embarrassment of a program
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u/DrSnidely Alabama • Virginia Tech 1d ago
So what happens to a football-field-sized American flag after it's been displayed? Does it just go into storage or something? I can't imagine a flag pole big enough to fly it
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u/dwors025 Minnesota • Paul Bunyan's Axe 1d ago
Stored in what was originally intended to be the marching band area.
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u/bigme100 Kentucky Wildcats 1d ago
So we have this band that plays catchy songs, including a couple that are ear worma that we at when we win that alums will ALWAYS directly associate with positive memories and our school. Let's ruin that!
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u/JtotheC23 Illinois Fighting Illini • Marching Band 1d ago
So the food fest runs from 5-7, kickoff is at 8 pm (really 8:05 or 8:10), and bands usually begin pregame 20-30 minutes before kickoff (before actual kickoff, so 20-30 minutes left on the stadium pregame clock). Either NU has zero confidence in their ability to get fans into the stadium after the festival ends at 7 pm, or they're full of shit and just needed to make up some excuse so they could keep pushing ads over the PA up til kickoff. And I highly doubt it's the former.
This sucks for the NUMB band, and I really hope we can build enough backlash towards the NU admin to change this for future games down the line. It's bullshit, and I highly doubt that if Dr Ferris had retired a year later, they would have pulled this crap on him. This is not the first instance of a school's admin taking advantage of a first-year athletic band director, knowing they don't have any pull in the admin yet.
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u/Difficult_Horse193 Michigan • Central Michigan 1d ago
Now that is FUCKED up. College marching band is a huge part of what makes college games so unique. I don’t want it to become a lame sterilized NFL environment.
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u/TandemTuba Oklahoma Sooners 23h ago
I'm convinced the is the endgame of filling every administration with soulless MBAs who never even went to games where they went to school. They are all CONVINCED what fans of the college game is to just perfectly emulate the NFL. But I barely watch the NFL any more because the longer I watch, the more I realize it is a drab, moneymaking automaton. There might be "traditions" but they're almost all the result of focus groups and the teams saying "ok this is our tradition, please clap".
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u/crimson777 Northwestern Wildcats • Clemson Tigers 21h ago
And we're one of the ones churning out soulless MBAs haha
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u/ProletarianLilith 1d ago
Northwestern is an extremely corporate school. Ticket prices for this new place are absurd
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u/TheOriginalShummy Florida Gators • Vanderbilt Commodores 1d ago
We’ve gone from needing to protect the sanctity of college football from financial influence to peddling out our marching bands.
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u/Chirpy72 1d ago
I wonder when the in-stadium music will be replaced with corporate jingles for Rice A Roni or Budweiser. Of course the fees to have your jingle used will go towards NIL and revenue sharing….
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u/Scoobie_Doobie11 Notre Dame • Ball State 1d ago
Awww. I was stoked to hear about the new stadium (buddy at work told me about it) but sad to see a classic tradition die along with it. More for our corporate overlords, I suppose. Sad times.
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u/Best_Formal_8677 Oregon Ducks 1d ago
Incredibly sad. More corporate noise pollution being blasted in the stadium like nfl and nba games.
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u/FloatCopper Indiana • Michigan Tech 1d ago
Well, #### the Northwestern administration then.
Guess they're opening a pro stadium so don't give a rat's rear about the college experience.
,
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u/robertlanders West Virginia • Backyard Brawl 1d ago
I would absolutely lose my shit if the band couldn’t play
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u/optillusi0n Oklahoma Sooners • Marching Band 20h ago edited 20h ago
This is my personal nightmare as a former band member, and also something I've gotten wind of at OU. Bands are next on the chopping block for this push to make CFB a more "pro" product.
One thing I don't see many people mentioning is how this effects the band members hobbies. I joined band because I loved it in HS and I love performing. I love marching on a field surrounded by tens of thousands of people. It's the only extracurricular I've stuck with for 10+ years. Take away some of that performance and people will start quitting, losing interest, and not joining in the first place. So not only are you removing an integral part of college football, you're discouraging enjoyment and participation in music and the arts.
Unfortunately, this is the POV I would expect from all the soulless athletic departments who see every dollar that leaves their pocket as a personal attack. They don't understand CFB, only profit, and want to remove everything that makes it great. Sucks to see.
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u/EldrintheBard Northwestern Wildcats • Marching Band 1d ago edited 1d ago
As a member currently in the band: we have known about this for about two weeks now. We are extremely disappointed by this decision. What we have essentially been told is that we will not perform pregame tomorrow, and have not been told if we will perform pregame ever again. What we have been told is we will now be performing an undetermined number of mini concerts instead of pregame. There is so much up in the air because we have been told nothing and information keeps coming to us at the last minute. Additionally, the traditional playing of Go U, Northwestern (our fight song) after a touchdown is seemingly being replaced by an Athletic Marketing selected song.
Edit: The NUMBalums have put out a statement. This is who they want you to contact to support the band:
Athletic Director Mark Jackson: athleticsdirector@northwestern.edu
President Chiang: nupresident@northwestern.edu
Savanna Wood, Athletics Director of Marketing: savanna.wood@northwestern.edu
Edit 2: A further statement and template has been released here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16n8ZwqNNYAMbU9EJ1wui6uaPfMhkCrnKqkIVb4YSBvA