Spring Break
Band fights move
By: Matthew Watkins
Issue date: 8/3/06 Section: News
Texas A&M is resisting the Big 12 Conference's call to move the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band from its position behind the visiting opponent's bench, Associate Athletic Director Alan Cannon said Tuesday.
The conference is asking schools to make their best efforts to move their teams' bands for the upcoming season from behind the visitor's bench in both football and basketball stadiums. Cannon said the band would not move for the upcoming season.
The move is expected to become mandatory for 2007, but A&M officials insist the new rule is not definite.
"My understanding is that it is still being discussed," Cannon said.
The rule was created to promote fair play - the bands' noise makes it difficult for opposing teams to communicate. Some behavioral problems have also been reported from having the band so close to the bench.
"There is really no good reason for the bands to be in that location," Big 12 Commissioner Kevin Weiberg said at the Big 12 media days press conference.
A&M has special circumstances that would make moving the band difficult and unnecessary, Cannon said.
Kyle Field is specifically designed to hold the band where it currently sits, Cannon said. The stands where the band sits are cut out to allow them to easily walk on and off the field, and the large size of the band makes moving more difficult.
The stands at Kyle Field are also farther from the bench than other stadiums, Cannon said.
"There are some venues that literally have the team bench area and then the next row you have band members," he said. "Here at Kyle Field we have a track so there is some distance between the band and the visiting."
Bands' behavior at such stadiums has sometimes been rowdy and unsportsmanlike and led to the rule change, Cannon said.
Texas A&M University President Robert M. Gates has called for the Big 12 to reevaluate the issue and consider improving enforcement of current crowd control rules or possibly amending the rule to create a minimum distance between the bands and the opposing bench.
If the rule is enforced in 2007, the band will likely trade places with the Corps block so it will be farther north in the stadium and most likely will not be moved to the complete other side of the field, according to the Athletic Department.
Talk of the move has already drawn rumblings from Aggie fan Web sites and members of the band.
"We definitely wouldn't want to move, it's our stadium," said Ryan Hutton, a junior business major and a trumpet player for the band. "We have always played there. The idea of moving would be very unpopular."
Hutton said the band acts sportsmanlike and does not distract from the game.
"We don't play when the football team is doing anything - only during commercial breaks and halftime," he said.
The conference is asking schools to make their best efforts to move their teams' bands for the upcoming season from behind the visitor's bench in both football and basketball stadiums. Cannon said the band would not move for the upcoming season.
The move is expected to become mandatory for 2007, but A&M officials insist the new rule is not definite.
"My understanding is that it is still being discussed," Cannon said.
The rule was created to promote fair play - the bands' noise makes it difficult for opposing teams to communicate. Some behavioral problems have also been reported from having the band so close to the bench.
"There is really no good reason for the bands to be in that location," Big 12 Commissioner Kevin Weiberg said at the Big 12 media days press conference.
A&M has special circumstances that would make moving the band difficult and unnecessary, Cannon said.
Kyle Field is specifically designed to hold the band where it currently sits, Cannon said. The stands where the band sits are cut out to allow them to easily walk on and off the field, and the large size of the band makes moving more difficult.
The stands at Kyle Field are also farther from the bench than other stadiums, Cannon said.
"There are some venues that literally have the team bench area and then the next row you have band members," he said. "Here at Kyle Field we have a track so there is some distance between the band and the visiting."
Bands' behavior at such stadiums has sometimes been rowdy and unsportsmanlike and led to the rule change, Cannon said.
Texas A&M University President Robert M. Gates has called for the Big 12 to reevaluate the issue and consider improving enforcement of current crowd control rules or possibly amending the rule to create a minimum distance between the bands and the opposing bench.
If the rule is enforced in 2007, the band will likely trade places with the Corps block so it will be farther north in the stadium and most likely will not be moved to the complete other side of the field, according to the Athletic Department.
Talk of the move has already drawn rumblings from Aggie fan Web sites and members of the band.
"We definitely wouldn't want to move, it's our stadium," said Ryan Hutton, a junior business major and a trumpet player for the band. "We have always played there. The idea of moving would be very unpopular."
Hutton said the band acts sportsmanlike and does not distract from the game.
"We don't play when the football team is doing anything - only during commercial breaks and halftime," he said.
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