In July, ESPN Events unveiled the Band of the Year National Championship through a press release, introducing it alongside the HBCU National Championship, known as the Celebration Bowl.
John Grant, who serves as executive director of the Band of the Year, Cricket Celebration Bowl, and the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge, expressed his vision for the event in the press release.
He said, “ESPN Events is committed to innovating and introducing exciting new events. We are delighted to host the inaugural Band of the Year National Championship as part of our Cricket Celebration Bowl weekend in Atlanta. This event is our tribute to the rich culture of marching bands and the exceptional talent and dedication of marching band students. It offers a platform for these remarkable performers to display their skills and vie for the prestigious title of Band of the Year.”
According to Band of the Year’s official website, the event was created by
ESPN Events to provide HBCU bands with the same platform that the Celebration Bowl affords its football programs. “The purpose is to establish a competitive platform for HBCU marching bands and crown a season-long national champion of Division I and Division II bands.” Similar to how the rankings of the associated football programs change based on performance week to week, the same would apply to the HBCU bands.The event was simulcast on ESPN 3 and ESPN+ on Dec. 15, the day after the airing of the Celebration Bowl, which marks the first time that a bowl game has highlighted football programs and band programs in the same weekend. It was at the same location as the Celebration Bowl, the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Over several months, the field narrowed from 15 to 10 to a top 5 before ultimately culminating in a matchup between the top two teams in each division.
The event was co-sponsored by ESPN Events, the Cricket Celebration Bowl, the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, Andscape, and HBCU GameDay. The final bands were North Carolina A&T State University, Jackson State University in Division I, Florida Memorial University, and Virginia State University in Division II. Julian White, director of bands emeritus at Florida A&M University and the co-chair of the selection committee, praised the bands ahead of the competition, telling Andscape, “They have presented halftime shows that were truly outstanding in terms of marching ability, musical ability, show desirability [and] marching style,” White said. “They have really worked to perfect those as much as they possibly can, and that is what you’re going to see on Friday.”
The two winners, North Carolina A&T in Division I and Florida Memorial in Division II, took home the national titles. After the festivities, Grant talked to HBCU Gameday about how important it was to him to
ensure that the bands were properly compensated for their time, saying, “At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to — you don’t pay a bill, signed with exposure. And if you can get both and we can help facilitate both, then we’re getting the best of both worlds. And that’s what this event was about.”Grant emphasized that this is just the beginning for the Band of the Year competition, saying that his vision for the program was a Tournament of the Roses-style event that leads into the competition, “I believe it is something we can implement, and that is having a parade with the competing bands in a parade prior to the competition that night,” Grant said. “They’ll be in a parade down Main Street here in Atlanta. And then that night they’ll be cued up to be in actual championship mode. So we do see that being a part of it. Creating our own Tournament of Roses parade, so to speak.”
Grant envisions the Band of the Year eventually becoming just as big as its sister event, the Celebration Bowl, telling HBCU Gameday, “This event is going to be as big as the Celebration Bowl – if not bigger. And you’re hearing it here first,” Grant explained. “This was just Year One. It was Year One for everyone — including us. This has never been done before.”
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