UTAD cutting band funding/involvement? (Merged)

#177
#177
4 year Pride alum here. A few thoughts:

1. This is happening. It is about revenue.
2. The director is a moron who has made this course of action all to easy for the AD.
3. While I've never hated on Hart or Cheek much, it is very easy for them to make
decisions like this cuz they aren't Tennessee people.
4. The majority of funding for the marching band scholoarships come from the AD.
5. The band numbers and quality have been down for at least 5 years. This year's
is the best in a while. Still not as good as the glory days though, and it could be.

Solutions:
1. Put a damn winning team on the field. This will solve all revenue problems.
2. Get a damn band director that knows what the hell he is doing. Sousa has been a
joke since the day he was hired. New stand tunes would help for God's sake.
3. Work to teach the newer generation our traditions and why they are important. Work
to show the older generarion why some evolution is needed to remain relevant.
4. Get every booster to raise hell if the band gets minimized or disrespected. It's who
we are, you don't walk away from who we are.
 
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#178
#178
vavolunteer said:
4 year Pride alum here. A few thoughts:

1. This is happening. It is about revenue.
2. The director is a moron who has made this course of action all to easy for the AD.
3. While I've never hated on Hart or Cheek much, it is very easy for them to make
decisions like this cuz they aren't Tennessee people.
4. The majority of funding for the marching band scholoarships come from the AD.
5. The band numbers and quality have been down for at least 5 years. This year's
is the best in a while. Still not as good as the glory days though, and it could be.

Solutions:
1. Put a damn winning team on the field. This will solve all revenue problems.
2. Get a damn band director that knows what the hell he is doing. Sousa has been a
joke since the day he was hired. New stand tunes would help for God's sake.
3. Work to teach the newer generation our traditions and why they are important. Work
to show the older generarion why some evolution is needed to remain relevant.
4. Get every booster to raise hell if the band gets minimized or disrespected. It's who
we are, you don't walk away from who we are.
Click to expand...

Heaven forbid someone with actual experience make a sensible post....having said that...AMEN!!!
 
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#179
#179
Panties are in a wad because something is changing. The Pride is not going away and neither is Rocky Top or Down the Field. The team will still run through the T with the Tennessee Waltz playing. Vol Walk with the Pride will continue.
 
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#182
#182
I really hope this isn't true. It's one thing to include an alternate uniform once a year, but a change like this would completely change the game day experience.
What's next, cutting out the Tennessee Walking Horse at homecoming?
 
#183
#183
No running through the "T" to start the game?!?!?! Com'on Man! No way!

Tooooooo much tradition to flush down the toilet in favor of Justin Beiber. Please God - No.
 
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#184
#184
You morons keep calling Dave Hart incompetent and such. You realize he turned around the athletic dept. in less than one year to make it profitable, right? It's obvious that most of you have never held any position of importance. Really sad.
 
#185
#185
utvols74 said:
No running through the "T" to start the game?!?!?! Com'on Man! No way!

Tooooooo much tradition to flush down the toilet in favor of Justin Beiber. Please God - No.
Click to expand...

Nowhere has anybody suggested cutting the pregame.
 
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#186
#186
utvols74 said:
No running through the "T" to start the game?!?!?! Com'on Man! No way!

Tooooooo much tradition to flush down the toilet in favor of Justin Beiber. Please God - No.
Click to expand...

No no no no no....that's not what is being eliminated.
 
#189
#189
I almost chose to go to UTK, but chose not to because the music department was trending down a bit when I graduated and I chose to go to ETSU because of the better education I thought I'd get at that time.

I had heard that the music programs had drastically improved since UTK formed a school of music (rather than just a department) and that Dr. Sousa had brought stability to the POTS that been lacking since Dr. Julian retired.

Having said that, as a native Tennessean and a life long fan, I am deeply disappointed that the lesser minds of administration are sinking to the level of canned music vs. live music at games in any fashion. If it is simply a matter of song selection (aside from DTF and Rocky Top), surely compromises could be made.... it should not take college musicians an inordinate amount of time to learn a few new pep tunes..... we learned many new pep tunes from season to season in HS and college.... (I even teach my HS students a few new ones each year to try and stay fresh) and our basketball pep band even invited arrangements from students to at least read through for validity as part of the learning process... surely there is a little common ground to be found....

If this is about money, then maybe they should be worried more about the products they produce? If anything, that would drive up the value of any advertising anyway.....

In the end, I'd much rather our flagship University be represented by a classic band than one that panders to the lowest level of musical taste.
 
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#190
#190
When I was on campus in the early 90s, we had pride in our band being the best in the SEC if not the whole country. Seeing them diminish under poor leadership and lack of concern from our outsider administration sickens me to my core.

It seems the whole of our athletic department is experiencing this. We were national powers in several sports, from football to tennis, for decades. Now our chancellor and BOR have sucked the money and life out of it. They have no respect for who we are as a university, or what we care about as alumni.
 
#191
#191
BigBadVol said:
You morons keep calling Dave Hart incompetent and such. You realize he turned around the athletic dept. in less than one year to make it profitable, right? It's obvious that most of you have never held any position of importance. Really sad.
Click to expand...

Claiming that there is any level of competency in the AD is pretty "moronic"
 
#194
#194
Hey guys, this an email circulating through the student body. Enjoy

"Fans,

A battle is upon us and we need your help. The athletics department is trying to cut the band from the stands.

They have recently informed the Pride, which has been a Tennessee tradition for 144 years, that we will be limited in when and what we can play in the stands.

Now instead of hearing classics like the Vol spellout, Living on a Prayer, and Neck you instead listen to "canned" music from the loudspeakers and be subjected to athletic marketing and commercials where you once had live music and cheers.

Now the Pride will really only play when our team scores a touchdown, and that will only be Rocky Top instead of the school's actual fight song Down the Field.

As much as we all love it, is it not a shame that the schools official fight song will not be played and that after Rocky Top has ended you again listen to canned music and watch commercials on the jumbotron?

The athletics department has also limited band travel. That is why there will be no band at Missouri, why there was no band at Oregon, and why there will only be a pep band instead of the whole Pride at Kentucky.

They are wanting to cut band travel so that they can save money. What they do not understand is that by saving this money they are cutting a valuable part of the college gameday experience.

They are also hurting those students of The Pride. Though many may not think we are student athletes, we are on the field practicing at least 5 hours before actual kickoff, we are!

Do these hardworking students not deserve the opportunity to experience this Tennessee Tradition to the fullest?

We are in dire need of your help! Please help us keep this gameday tradition alive and help keep the Pride alive so that future generations can experience this wonderful and prestigious tradition.

This band member also told me that next year there is a chance that they will not be travelling to any away games in order to cut back on expenses.

You can email Dave Hart at athleticdirector@utk.edu and let him know how you feel about his decision.

Thank you and GBO!!!"
 
#197
#197
Boca Vol said:
You must be new to this Internet thing. It doesn't take much to get the ball rolling....See the Gruden forum from November-December 2012.
Click to expand...

Not new, I guess my sarcasm didn't shine through my post. Just trying to point out the ridiculousness of making/signing a petition for a non-issue. In other news, I will be starting a petition to keep Smokey as he too has no chance of being removed.
 
#198
#198
davethevol said:
He wants the over-rated band director to learn how to pump up the crowd.
Click to expand...

No. He wants to limit the band to only playing Rocky Top after touchdowns and nothing else. No music from the band at any other time. Only "canned" music from the DJ.
 
#200
#200
This is rediculous guys. Hart is not getting rid of the band. He would be fired before that. What he is doing is allowing CBJ to do his job. That's doing everything he can to attract recruits. Recruits like some recent music mixed into the whole experience. A lot of sec schools are doing it. And as you see, it is paying dividends for them. So stop obsessing over something that will meet happen.
 
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