dannygopher9100
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I haven't heard anything so I am going to assume they are not. But I could be wrong.
Until the band is funded by the athletic department like other B1G schools, they probably won't be at away games.
So one other school in the B1G funds band and that's it? When you get 100K people to show up to every game, I'm guessing there is more money in the budget for just about everything.
Do they get separate funding to go to a bowl game? If there is one away game that makes sense it would be the bowl game.
It would make sense to treat the band similar to how Goldy and the cheer/dance teams are, as parts of the Athletic Dept. The School of Music doesn't have the financial power to fully support the marching band, and while the marching band furthers the PR and marketing of the University as a whole, it isn't a great draw in terms of bringing in talent to the School of Music. I always thought it was interesting (at least a decade ago when I was around the U) that music education majors weren't required to spend a season in the band as marching bands are a huge part of many high school's music departments.I think the U of M marching band is funded by the School of Music, whose pockets aren't quite as deep as the Athletic Dept. I couldn't dig up the actual figures, but saw statements that alluded to the fact that MOST B1G bands are funded through their Athletic Dept.
It would make sense to treat the band similar to how Goldy and the cheer/dance teams are, as parts of the Athletic Dept. The School of Music doesn't have the financial power to fully support the marching band, and while the marching band furthers the PR and marketing of the University as a whole, it isn't a great draw in terms of bringing in talent to the School of Music. I always thought it was interesting (at least a decade ago when I was around the U) that music education majors weren't required to spend a season in the band as marching bands are a huge part of many high school's music departments.
I just do not understand why the band cannot at least appear in Iowa City every other year. I cannot cost that much to get the band to Iowa City and promote the U of M Brand for a TV audience and for those in Iowa City.
My recollection is that the band has not travelled since they went to Iowa City in one of the early Mason years. Maybe I'll get to see the band in a Big Ten stadium before I die, if am lucky, since we cannot fund four Motorcoach buses for a 500 mile round trip and a few box lunches. I think the band can handle a bare bones trip to Iowa City. My god, the Ohio State band rode on a bus for 10-12hours each way with one night in a hotel to play at TCF in 2010. Our band does not even need a hotel night to play at Iowa City, and I doubt if any of the members care, they would just like to have a road trip.
Hotel costs are not in play here, just gasoline and some food.
Iowa City is a 4 hour plus, 70 MPH bus ride from MSP with no traffic in the early AM, and the band members could deal with sleeping and studying on the buses. The U of M had no problem putting the band on a 15 hour bus ride to Nashville twice, so the Iowa City thing should happen.
I could say the same thing about Madison, but apparently the U of Wis. makes it almost impossible for a visiting band to go to Camp Randall, and no, it is not the drunken UW fans that are the problem. The UW is hostile to even entertaining the appearance of a visiting band. Until the U of M band plays on the field at Camp Randall, the UW Badger Band should never be allowed to return to Minneapolis.
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The band promotes the image of the U of M very well and should appear on ESPN or the BTN and prop up the team and fans on the road once every year. The cost would be tiny compared to other expenditures. We are not talking about Airbus 320s and multiple nights in hotels.
P.S. Where has the Iowa Band been? They have not been to Minneapolis since the infamous 2002 game which is very strange.