NC A&T Blue And Gold Marching Machine’s Latest Achievement: Marching In Tournament Of Roses Parade

This marked the first time North Carolina A&T University's Blue and Gold Marching Machine performed at the Tournament of Roses Parade.

North Carolina A&T University’s marching band, the 235-member Blue and Gold Marching Machine, started the year with a bang, performing at the nationally televised Tournament of Roses Parade for the first time.

The long-awaited performance on Jan. 1, which was expected to be seen by more than 45 million people, is one of several recent achievements for the band—and the university.

The Blue and Gold Marching Machine has risen in status thanks to strong leadership from Dr. Kenneth Ruff, the director of bands for over two decades and a N.C. A&T alumnus himself.

“When people see our performances, they see a show from the very beginning to the end—we believe in performing outside of the box and we are always going for what is new,” Ruff told the N.C. A&T Alumni Times in October 2023.

His methods mirror those of his former mentor and band director, Johnny Hodge, Ph.D., whose guidance helped Ruff graduate from band member to band director by 2003. Now, Ruff is continuing his work to cement N.C. A&T’s marching band in HBCU history.

Its members benefit in other ways.

“Students who are members of the band sacrifice their college experience and the time they spend with family and friends. The band is their family and loyalty means everything to us because we take care of each other,” Ruff told N.C. A&T Alumni Times. “Once students graduate from A&T, employers can expect to experience someone who is professional, dedicated, hardworking and a team player.”

The school has had a number of wins recently. The Blue and Gold Marching Band was crowned the 2023 Band of the Year in Division 1 by ESPN, preserving its reputation as the leading HBCU marching band in the country. U.S. News and World Report also ranked N.C. A&T as the seventh-best HBCU in 2024.

Finally, in November 2023, Paula Groves Price, dean of N.C. A&T College of Education, received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award.