Sun Devil Marching Band

2015 EGT Director's Tower at the Band Field

Source:[10]

• Lillian Williams, 1915–1917
• John Paul Jones, 1929–1930
• Carl G. Hoyer, 1931–1937
• Dr. Robert G. Lyon, 1938–1943
• Miles A. Dresskell, 1945
• Felix E. McKernan, 1946–1951
• Harold C. Hines, 1952–1965
• William H. Hill, 1966–1969
• William Mitchell 1969
• Dr. Kenneth O. Snapp and Robert W. Miller, 1970–1973
• Dr. Richard E. "Doc" Strange (1974–1999) and Dr. Robert C. "Coach" Fleming, 1974–2001
• Martin Province, 2002–2005
• James G. "The Hammer" Hudson, 2006–present

2007 SDMB Block A Formation during Pregame

"Maroon & Gold", ASU's fight song, is a familiar tune for Sun Devils all over the country, but is not the only "fight song" at ASU. In 1940, during World War II, Fred Waring composed a piece for the Arizona State College called "Fight, Arizona State (March On, Arizona)" which had become lost in history until 2015 when director James G. Hudson discovered it in the archives. He arranged it to be a part of the pregame show during the band program's 100th anniversary. Also in the 1940s, band director Albert Davis wrote "Go, Go Sun Devils" (more commonly known to the band as "The Al Davis Fight Song"); to this day, though Davis retired in the 1950s, the Sun Devil Marching Band continues to play the Al Davis Fight Song in their pregame performance as the Sun Devils come out of the tunnel onto the field, and occasionally make up humorous lyrics.

Another fight song that was written for the school but used sparingly was the song penned by former ASU President, G. Homer Durham. It was called "Sing a Song for ASU" and was last used at homecomings in the very early 1970s.

The band not only performs during pregame and halftime of the football games, but also in the stands. The music in the stands is a combination of short and long tunes to help keep the energy in the stadium and keep the crowd excited. Songs used for stand tunes include popular past and contemporary songs from many genres of music. One such example is the excerpt from "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" that the band plays when ASU's defense takes the field.

In the 2006 and 2007 seasons the band had opportunities of bringing in guest appearances of nationally and world-renowned recording artists for halftime performances.

• Horn-based soul band Tower of Power performing their hits You're Still a Young Man/ Diggin' on James Brown and Tower of PSo "So Very Hard to Go" / "What is Hip?" during November 18, 2006, game against UCLA Bruins[11]
• Rendition of Juan Tizol's Caravan with The Boston Brass quintet during the October 13, 2007, game against Washington Huskies[11]
• Musical legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Little Richard performing his hits Tutti Frutti; Jenny, Jenny; and Good Golly Miss Molly during Thanksgiving Day November 22, 2007, game against USC Trojans[12]
• Journey founding member and lead guitarist Neal Schon accompanied by long-time keyboardist and backing vocalist Jonathan Cain performed the National Anthem before the September 28, 2013, game against USC Trojans[13]
• Medley of Duke Ellington jazz standards with The Boston Brass during the football season opener against Northern Arizona University on September 3, 2016

• The 1940, 1941, 1997, 2004, 2014, 2017, and 2019 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas
• The 1950 and 1951 Salad Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona
• The 1970 Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia (now the Chick-fil-A Bowl)
• The 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, and 1983 Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona (now in Glendale, Arizona)
• The 1978 Garden State Bowl in East Rutherford, New Jersey
• The 1985, 2002, 2007, and 2013 Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California
• The 1987 Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, California (dissolved in 1995, conference alliance merged with the Holiday Bowl)
• The 1987 and 1997 Rose Bowl, the "Granddaddy of them all" in Pasadena, California
• The 1990 Coca-Cola Bowl in Tokyo, Japan
• The 1999 and 2000 Aloha Bowl in ʻAiea, Hawaii
• The 2005 Insight Bowl and 2016 Cactus Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona (now the Cactus Bowl in Tempe, Arizona)
• The 2011, 2018, and 2021 Las Vegas Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada
• The 2012 Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco, [California

[10]

On one occasion the band was unable to support the Sun Devil football team at the 2006 Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl in Honolulu (Halawa), Hawaii.[15] The bowl payout for 2006 was $300,000 in addition the Pac-10 conference paid $389,000 (total $689,000) to offset expenses for the university.[16] However, the university spent $824,000 total on the trip, losing $135,000 on the trip. In contrast the 1999 & 2000 Aloha Bowl paid $750,000 with no conference contribution, but with a higher ticket guarantee and only lost $70,000 on each trip.[17] The bowl after decided to drop the Pac-10 Conference deal and made a current deal with Conference USA.[18]

• 1915-1917 Cap and Coat
• 1929 All White Uniform, Military Boots, and Dark Cape
• 1938 Women's Bugle Corps wore Maroon and Gold Uniforms
• 1947 Red Coats, White Pants, Red Officer-Style Hats, and White Shoes
• 1954 Maroon Coats with Gold Overlay (Sparky embroidered center front), Maroon Pants with gold stripe, Maroon Shako hat with gold band top and bottom, Gold Plume, White shoes. Drum major white coat/gold overlay, white pants, white busby hat; majorettes white coat/maroon overlay, white skirt, white shako hat/maroon plume, white boots.[19]
• 1963 Black wool coat and pants with a cream overlay, originally worn with a white fur busby and gold plume, later a black West Point shako hat with Gold sunburst front emblem, white plume, and white Gloves.[20]
• 1972 The first custom-designed college band uniforms in the US, uniform was designed by the ASU College of Art and manufactured using a new wool/poly blend fabric designed specifically for use in hotter climates. Gold short-waist tail coat, front/back tails/sleeve cuffs appliqued and embroidered with a satin rising sun and Red, Yellow, Orange, and Purple satin flames with an emerging Maroon Sparky pitchfork; Gold wool/poly blend high-waisted pants with Maroon and White stripes down the outside of the leg; Gold fur 12" Busby with White Feather Plume, White Gloves, and White Shoes
• 1980s Various versions of gold pants and white/gold drum corps-style blouses with Maroon/White attached sashing, Maroon velour cowboy hats.
• 1986 Maroon pants with Gold/White button front jackets, with a shoulder-attached multicolored satin cape, the front in stripes of Maroon, Gold, Royal Blue, Turquoise, and Orange imitating the Arizona State Flag, the reverse solid gold satin. Maroon and white West Point hats with gold sunburst front emblem and White feather plume, white gloves, white shoes.[21]
• 2005 Short lived Maroon pants with Gold Pitchforks on the sides and on the collar, Gold jacket with emblazoned Sparky logo on the chest, emblazoned ASU logos on the shoulders, custom Sun Devils logo on back, Maroon with emblazoned Gold flames hats, White feather plume, White gloves, and White shoes.

In 2007, in its 60th season titled as the Sun Devil Marching Band the band received a very generous donation from donor Dr. Verde Dickey, funding the purchase of a new set of uniforms for the Sun Devil Marching Band.[22] These new uniforms consist of white jackets fading into gold with a sunburst at the clip. In the middle of the sunburst is a mirror which represents the illumination of not only the sun, but also the bright personality a Sun Devil reflects. One arm of the jacket is maroon, while the other is gold. White gauntlets fastened with suns, and white gloves using Velcro finish the sleeves. A cape with the ASU lettering is added to the ensemble as a throwback to capes worn by the band in years past. The pants are purely black, rising to about chest level with the aid of suspenders. Black Viper marching shoes are used paired with equally black socks.[11][23]

Hornline is sponsored by Jupiter Band Instruments.[25]

2007 SDMB Battery starting off Pregame with the drum cadence

Percussion is sponsored by Mapex Drums and Majestic Percussion,[26] Vic Firth Drumsticks, Remo, and Avedis Zildjian Company. In the past, outside of marching season, the drum line has branched out to other spectrums of the percussion world. They formed the ASU PASIC Drumline in 1995 with Percussive Arts Society International Convention being held locally and hosted by Dr. J.B. Smith, Professor of Music and the Coordinator of Percussion Studies in the School of Music at Arizona State University, at Phoenix Civic Plaza in Phoenix, Arizona.[27] With the recent sensation of indoor percussion has had few lines part take in it. Initially with the 1998 ASU Spring Line and with the addition of the pit during the 2006 marching season the staff formed the 2007 ASU Winter Drumline. Competing locally in the Winter Guard Arizona circuit as well as nationally in Winter Guard International Percussion Regionals in Phoenix and Las Vegas in order to qualify in Winter Guard International Percussion World Championship in Dayton, Ohio. The winter line was on hold due to constraints since its inaugural line in 2007, but was re-established in 2013.[28]

Outside of the music producing sections of the band are the Sun Devil Spirit Squad/Dance Team, Featured Twirlers, and the Colorguard, all in charge of providing visually stimulating color and movement to the band in addition to the band's show forms and design.

Implemented in the 1975 season, known for the most visible aspects of the Sun Devil Marching Band, other than the Sousaphone Section. Presenting the visual story of the band's halftime performance through the use of flags, rifles, sabers, props, and dance. Colorguard members get a "corps-style" choreography and benefit from the instruction by some of the field's leaders. The colorguard program also features a World Class Winterguard in the off season and holds auditions in the fall for the next active winter season. The ASU Winterguard competes locally in the Winter Guard Arizona circuit as well as WGI regional events culminating at the Winter Guard International Championship held in Dayton, Ohio.[29] In April, 2012, the ASU Winter Guard (competing under the name FeniX Independent) won the bronze medal in the Independent Open Class of the WGI World Championships. For the 2017 season, they competed in the Independent World Class and placed 14th in World Class Finals with a score of 83.050.[30]

The Feature Twirler position offers one of the most prestigious twirling opportunities in the country. Through competitive auditions for one-year appointments, nationally recognized twirlers are used prominently during all Sun Devil Marching Band shows. Handling of the baton instrument to create visual images, pictures, and patterns, executed with dexterity, smoothness, fluidity, and speed, both close in and around the body and by releasing the baton into the air.[31]

As a visible representative and ambassador of the university's athletics, the Spirit Squad/Dance Team devotes 15–20 hours every week to rehearsals, football games (home and away), Men's and Women's Basketball games, special appearances, clinics, competitions, and various special events.[32] The creation of the Spirit Squad came in Spring 2008 with the university's decision to disband the cheerleading squad and merge the cheer and dance team, under the direction of the Athletic Band Director.[33] Male members of the Spirit Squad are known as Sparky's Crew, assisting Sparky the Sun Devil and Spirit Squad in cheers with megaphones, banners, and signs.[34]

The 2012-2013 ASU Dance Team, under the direction of April Hoffman, competed in the UDA College Nationals, in Orlando, Florida, placing second in Division IA Jazz, and 5th in Division IA Hip-Hop.[35] In addition, our dance team also represented USA in 2013 and 2017, competing and placing gold in the 2013 ICU World Cheerleading Championship in Team Cheer Jazz.[36]