Courtesy of Albany State University
The sound at the Albany State University Coliseum was greater than it has ever been. At Saturday’s Blue & Gold Game, William T. Brooks surprised the crowd with a spectacle usually reserved for an HBCU from the Division I ranks.
Midway in the first quarter of play the band made its entrance. They started coming down the traditional hill between the Jones Brothers HPER Building and the stadium….and they kept coming…and kept coming. In all 346-pieces participated with the Albany State Marching Rams Show Band.
It even caught the attention of ASU head coach Quinn Gray as he was trying to concentrate on the field, but the roaring sound of this massive band had the attention of everyone at the stadium. “That gave us a little bit of energy as well because you get energy from the band and from the fans. With those 300+ kids, they sounded absolutely amazing,” Gray said.
Brooks expanded the band for the day by making it a community band and inviting other high schools and middle schools to perform with them. “I’m big on community and I wanted to reach out to our area and actually extend beyond our area just to get high school kids here on our campus so they could see some of the great things we have to offer here at Albany State University,” Brooks said. “Multiple students answered the call and we ended up with the product that you see here today. We’ve got 346 people here today.”
Understanding the HBCU experience
The band was the talk of the game. Rehearsing on the morning before the game, you could hear them clear across campus from about 9:00AM until they marched into the stadium. They were versed in some of the songs the ASU Marching Ram Show Band normally persons as well as the ASU “Get Buck” chant they perform with the ASU cheerleaders.
The ASU players commended the band on raising the entire energy of the game.
Brooks was overwhelmed with the response to his call to participate by local musicians. “36 different schools participated, not just high schools but middle schools as well. 346 students combined is the biggest band I’ve ever been in front of,” Brooks concluded.
Gray hinted at but stopped short of saying, what the sound of the band reminded him of. “It took me back to another place…”. Gray is an HBCU graduate from Florida A&M University.