MEAC/SWAC Executive Director John T. Grant speaking on Band of the Year National Championship
MEAC/SWAC Executive Director John T. Grant speaking on Band of the Year National Championship
Transcript
00:00 the exciting announcement regarding the band of the year and how that's going to impact the upcoming fall football season?
00:07 Well, we are really, really pleased that ESPN Events has launched a historic competition for HBCU Marching Band,
00:15 something that has never been done in HBCU Marching Band history.
00:20 Starting at the top of the season, bands will be evaluated by a committee of band experts, very similar to the college football playoffs, same model.
00:34 Each week there's an evaluation of their performances. A ranking will come out twice a month.
00:41 And then at the end of the season, the goal is, whether you're Division II, you're trying to get into the top two bands.
00:49 If you're Division I, you want to end the season also in the top two bands, because those four bands, two Division IIs, two Division Is,
00:57 will compete for the national championship at their respective division level.
01:03 And so the competition is judged based on half-time performances beginning, essentially, Week Zero, with Jackson State and South Carolina State,
01:14 but moving on to the regular season. So it's the half-time performances which are going to be judged.
01:20 That is correct. So half-time performances are evaluated. So we're going to be looking at things like precision, musicality, originality,
01:29 your drum line, your drum major, and your dance chords as you have them.
01:34 And points will be assigned by the judges as they evaluate each performance.
01:42 And it's going to be included in that committee. It's going to be a stellar committee.
01:46 You'll be crossed, so you'll have some Division II band directors that are evaluating Division I.
01:54 You'll have some Division I band directors on that committee that will be evaluating Division II performances.
02:00 But with all of that being said, the opportunity to create a stage this large, and it's all season long,
02:09 and to give what I'll call these band musicians or student athletes an opportunity to compete head-to-head
02:18 versus an exhibition or an invitation will change the game as we see marching bands today.
02:25 This will be championship week in the night as we crown champions in football and marching bands.
02:30 Kind of going back to the game on the field, there's been a lot of turnover in terms of the Hey Coach race,
02:35 more so with SWAT than with MEAC. Now you've been kind of talking to those new head coaches,
02:39 and I know the club feels a few boots first. Are you excited about maybe having new teams in the future,
02:45 maybe new teams that develop new winning coaches in the years to come?
02:48 Well, through the season, it's not as much as something that we necessarily focus on.
02:56 We're focused on what happens at the end. The cricket celebration bowl, you have to earn your right in there.
03:03 You have to be the conference champion. And so as they are vying for that, it's great to hear the chatter,
03:11 as you've heard some of it in here today, because the goal is really to get here for an opportunity to be national champion.
03:18 And then to be able to do that on the same front with bands, to give band directors an opportunity also
03:24 to get to Atlanta for a national championship, will make this whole, the entire season,
03:30 because fans will be now engaged. They have an opportunity to vote in this evaluation as well.
03:37 [inaudible]
03:55 We have, because this is on the field. It's difficult to assess with the criteria that the committee will utilize,
04:05 you know, fifth quarter, first quarter. Those are, we'll consider those warmups for what actually happens on the field
04:12 and a clue of what has happened after the game in the fifth quarter. But this is actually on the field.
04:20 This is why you call them marching bands. And we're going to evaluate that component of their performance.
04:29 Let me ask you, how will the judges get an opportunity to view these bands?
04:40 You know, sometimes during a, I'll let you go ahead and tell you, because it's a very good question.
04:45 Bands will upload their performances into a portal. And so a judge from their living room will sit and watch,
04:53 you know, these performances and grade them. So the judges don't necessarily come together.
04:57 The only time the judges will actually come together will be at the championship game,
05:02 when they are evaluating on site at the venue. And what makes that really important is because
05:09 it eliminates almost like delusion. And so you know that each of these performances, once those rankings are compiled,
05:18 that they're based on the individual observations of that specific band.
05:23 So essentially you're telling each band, hey, every week, don't miss a week, unless you're not there,
05:30 but upload your performance at the, you know, whatever game you're performing at.
05:34 So that way you stay current and you keep moving up in the rankings because there's always constant evaluation.
05:40 Correct. And I do want to add some additional clarification to this.
05:45 So we're going to be, through the season, there are literally like four performances that each band has.
05:51 And we selected four because just about everyone has four, at least four home games.
05:56 So the band directors in conjunction with us and what we're televising,
06:01 because these halftime shows that we're evaluating are in conjunction with the games that we're airing.
06:07 So it will give an opportunity for us to put out a schedule. So fans will actually get an opportunity,
06:14 they'll see a schedule, just like a football schedule. It'll be a band of the year performance schedule
06:21 that will be released later on that shows, you know, which performances are being adjudicated.
06:27 [Band playing]