B&GMM 80
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Post by B&GMM 80 on Aug 8, 2019 13:22:14 GMT -5
I'll say again, we don't need no drama anywhere on our campus. If our band was mediocre and we couldn't find local talent, then maybe we could considering hiring him in a backroom position. But our band has been the darlings of the MEAC for years and why bring in someone that has that type of baggage. Maybe if he was a beloved Aggie and had some history with our program we "might" reach out to help him but hey, this guys was born and bread in the SWAC. Let them throw him an olive branch. beloved Aggie? WE ALRIGHT!
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919aggie
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Band Camp
Aug 12, 2019 16:20:38 GMT -5
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Post by 919aggie on Aug 12, 2019 16:20:38 GMT -5
Wow I’ve heard that we only have 8 tubas😩
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KidHeartless
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AGGIE FRIGGIN PRIDE!
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Post by KidHeartless on Aug 12, 2019 17:49:58 GMT -5
Wow I’ve heard that we only have 8 tubas😩 Was that just freshmen or entire band?
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Post by marchingband1969 on Aug 12, 2019 18:26:02 GMT -5
I'll say this again...don't panic over the numbers. For years we marched with 10 tubas and did just fine. By the way, if you've got some scholarship money sitting around, I bet we can get a few more tubas!
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Band Camp
Aug 12, 2019 18:26:53 GMT -5
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Post by ohsixrain on Aug 12, 2019 18:26:53 GMT -5
I told you guys, the numbers took a hit this year. Hell, I figured they would be able to spell out the whole NC A&T SU. Last year we were at NC A&T...now I don't know if they can even spell just the A&T.
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tony
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Post by tony on Aug 12, 2019 18:43:01 GMT -5
I'll say this again...don't panic over the numbers. For years we marched with 10 tubas and did just fine. By the way, if you've got some scholarship money sitting around, I bet we can get a few more tubas! How many of those 8 tubas are freshmen, and how many are upperclassmen? How many freshmen did we have the year before? Marchingband1969, I appreciate your focus on scholarships, but your exclusion of everything else is doing a disservice to the band. We didn't have scholarships in 1995 when we marched 10 trombones. We didn't have them in 2003 when we had over 25. I know the reason we only had 10 in '95, and I know the reason we had over 25 in '03. Neither had anything to do with scholarships. I personally know and love a good bit of the staff currently running the machine. But I believe in speaking the truth. George Small won the MEAC his first year. If we keep blaming scholarships for everything, we'll never fix issues that can be fixed and are holding us back.
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Band Camp
Aug 12, 2019 22:45:46 GMT -5
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Post by ohsixrain on Aug 12, 2019 22:45:46 GMT -5
Well, let's hear it...what are the issues other than scholarships? Inquiring minds wanna know...
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919aggie
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Band Camp
Aug 12, 2019 23:29:57 GMT -5
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Post by 919aggie on Aug 12, 2019 23:29:57 GMT -5
Most of the other sections are about the same size..Not sure about woodwinds. Does the administration just not care about the band or what? Or do we look at a band like nccu and think “well at least we are bigger than them”? (Just trying to understand) I’ve also heard that they only give about 2k max for scholarships. What is the standard for the band in terms of size? (Marchingband1969) Unfortunately, being a recent grad..I don’t have the money to give to the band for schollys so I guess I can’t have an opinion🤷🏾♂️(Even though we are the largest hbcu, but will probably be the 4th biggest band in the meac behind Bethune, famu, and Norfolk)
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tony
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Post by tony on Aug 13, 2019 7:50:12 GMT -5
I don't know anything about this year. The year we had 10 trombones, only 3 upperclassmen marched. Other things out of anybody's control happened the year before, and the rest didn't want to come back. The year we had 25, we played Southern, and everybody wanted to take a shot at them. Both cases, the numbers depended on people wanting to be there, not scholarship money. There was a big drop off in numbers after the Southern game because people didn't want to march, they wanted to go against SU. The years we've had big bands, it's not because of money - it's because we left enough of an impression on high schoolers that they wanted to be a part of us, and made the experience good enough that they lasted more than one season.
When it comes to money, I think we need to point people to our endowment just as much as scholarship money. Giving to our endowment helps us give scholarships every year, not just the year that we give. It's not where it needs to be, and once it is a lot of our financial issues will go away. But as far as numbers, recruiting and giving the band a better overall experience go a lot further in the short term. The Duke game is a huge opportunity - half the state is going to be there. If we get in the stands, play a few songs like we usually do, and do a typical field show, people will go away thinking we have a great band, and be on their merry way. If we come in aggressive, with more power songs than we've been doing, kids will be counting the days until they get to join, and not even think about scholarship money.
919Aggie, I understand you don't have money to give now. One day you will. Your opinion is just as valid now as it will be then. It doesn't do a whole lot of good to compare us to other bands. Some are bought with scholarships (Talladega, BCU), others are built on recruiting (NSU, Hampton), and some put out a product that recruits itself (SU, FAMU, JSU). Our sound isn't overwhelming to the point where we fall in that last category - it's easy to fall out of there, and I'm not even sure how much longer FAMU will be one. And we don't have the money for the first. So we have to recruit. And it can be done - look at what Dr. Jones has done in a couple years at Hampton. Our band is good enough that it's easy to get complacent, but if we're not constantly pushing we can easily be overtaken by someone with more money or better recruiting.
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KidHeartless
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Post by KidHeartless on Aug 13, 2019 13:37:29 GMT -5
And now.......................we wait.
The first show is next week
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Post by ohsixrain on Aug 13, 2019 14:27:11 GMT -5
Well, recruiting is relative. I think our staff is always recruiting high schoolers by doing competitions and such. However, what if there is an instance when a kid truly wants to attend A&T but, lands a scholarship from NSU...what happens, 90% of the time NSU will win that kid. So, let's not ignore the obvious. All we can hope for in recruiting is a kid really wants to come to A&T and they or their parents have the resources to get them there. Otherwise, we lose! I'm sure prior to band camp our staff was expecting an increase in numbers but, when you peel back the onion and understand what's really happening...it boils down to resources. That issue will always be alive and well with our band program.
As I said before, our staff takes its lemons and make lemonade so, most of the time alumni, administration, family and friends are satisfied with the product that is put on the field. But, I will say this...it seems to me the only way the band program will ever get legitimate scholarship monies/funding will be for the band to fall on hard times. Or get destroyed by the other bands in the conference on a regular basis. Then and ONLY then will administration step up and allocate resources to the band program. IE. See NCCU, WSSU and Fayetteville State. A lot of those kids would love to be in A&T's band but, they had to follow the all-mighty $$.
So, in the end, love for the band is one thing but, paying for it is quite another.
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KidHeartless
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Post by KidHeartless on Aug 13, 2019 14:59:50 GMT -5
How much active recruiting does the staff do in the offseason?
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neal
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Post by neal on Aug 13, 2019 15:58:46 GMT -5
Yes scholarships help a lot. But...a kid will go to a school and band that they actually want to attend and march. I work in VA at a community college and public school system. NSU and other State schools in VA took a budget hit a few years ago. Full rides do not mean the band is giving the member all of the money for four years; its a certain amount that is covered. Those kids getting full rides also have to perform in other musical ensembles and not just marching band. Get kids that are receiving money from other sources to help the overhead of the band budget. Not knowing the band budget and who you can have in a program also hurts numbers. IE VA school past budget crisis. BCC band students are also on financial aid; its not all scholarship, however; they know how to get the kids to stay and get money from other sources. Kids like their style. It's even more VA kids starting to go to SWAC bands (Su/JSU) now compared to the past years. Could it be that T style is not what a lot of kids want to do? Not saying change it but kids know what style they prefer. Playing certain schools make kids stay longer than two years too; increasing retention IE Su 2003 T was large and decreased after the NSU game. It happens.
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neal
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Post by neal on Aug 13, 2019 16:00:48 GMT -5
Well, recruiting is relative. I think our staff is always recruiting high schoolers by doing competitions and such. However, what if there is an instance when a kid truly wants to attend A&T but, lands a scholarship from NSU...what happens, 90% of the time NSU will win that kid. So, let's not ignore the obvious. All we can hope for in recruiting is a kid really wants to come to A&T and they or their parents have the resources to get them there. Otherwise, we lose! I'm sure prior to band camp our staff was expecting an increase in numbers but, when you peel back the onion and understand what's really happening...it boils down to resources. That issue will always be alive and well with our band program. As I said before, our staff takes its lemons and make lemonade so, most of the time alumni, administration, family and friends are satisfied with the product that is put on the field. But, I will say this...it seems to me the only way the band program will ever get legitimate scholarship monies/funding will be for the band to fall on hard times. Or get destroyed by the other bands in the conference on a regular basis. Then and ONLY then will administration step up and allocate resources to the band program. IE. See NCCU, WSSU and Fayetteville State. A lot of those kids would love to be in A&T's band but, they had to follow the all-mighty $$. So, in the end, love for the band is one thing but, paying for it is quite another. Are people donating? The bands you and others mentioned are receiving donations NSU/BCC. Beg, its not a bad thing LOL! It's for a good cause.
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tony
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Post by tony on Aug 13, 2019 16:40:19 GMT -5
Well, recruiting is relative. I think our staff is always recruiting high schoolers by doing competitions and such. However, what if there is an instance when a kid truly wants to attend A&T but, lands a scholarship from NSU...what happens, 90% of the time NSU will win that kid. So, let's not ignore the obvious. All we can hope for in recruiting is a kid really wants to come to A&T and they or their parents have the resources to get them there. Otherwise, we lose! The only reason we lose is if our staff actually believes this. Other bands are giving money, but not full rides. We offer in state tuition vs out of state for other schools. We're the number one producer of black engineers. Our campus is incredible. Our band is great. We offer academic scholarships. We use lack of band scholarships as an excuse to not try, and that's what's hurting us in the end. Other people have talked about our sound concept. There's nothing wrong with it - our band at its best is just as good as it's ever been. Our song selection could use some work - we don't showcase our power nearly as much as we could, and that takes away from the awe factor that we used to have. But that's a pretty easy fix - it's just up to the staff to highlight our strengths.
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