Indiana's Marching Hundred Finding Creative Ways to be Involved in Gameday Experience
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana head coach Tom Allen went through a list of things when asked how Saturday's game against No. 8 Penn State will look different with COVID-19 protocols.
No tailgating. No fans, aside from some family members. Some piped in crowd noise to make up for the absence of the Hoosier faithful.
But one thing he mentioned hasn't been talked about a lot. It's about a group of people that work hard to enhance the Indiana football game experience.
"The band won't be there," Allen said in his answer.
Indiana's Marching Hundred prides itself on performances before the game, during halftime, after the game, and all throughout the contest — after first downs, before third downs and after touchdowns.
Indiana Athletic Director Scott Dolson met with the band a few weeks ago, promising a way to get them involved with the game despite not being in attendance.
On Thursday, the Marching Hundred will be performing inside an empty Memorial Stadium and recording their halftime performance that will play on the big screen during Saturday's game.
They will also be recording their stand tunes that will be piped in over the sound system throughout the game. Whenever Indiana gets a first down on Saturday, don't be surprised if you can hear the band's sound through the TV on FS1.
"It's really nice that athletics has really been working with us, even though we won't be there physically," said junior Lauren Fischer, who plays the clarinet.
When the Big Ten initially postponed all sports in August, Fischer admits the moral was low around the band knowing they won't have any games to perform at this season.
But she said they still had a similar plan in place to perform in the fall. The Big Ten was planning to have a spring football season, so the band was still going to record all of its halftime shows and stand tunes this fall for the team to use in the spring.
Once the Big Ten reversed its decision to bring football back in October, there was hope they would get to perform.
"I thought there was a possibility," Fischer said. "I didn't want to get my hopes up too high. I have some friends who march in the Big 12 and they were getting to go to games and play. So, I thought that the Big Ten might follow the Big 12's example and allow band and cheer to play at the games."
Thursday's pre-recorded performance in Memorial Stadium will be the first time the Marching Hundred has really had an event since March, aside from some rehearsals over the past few weeks.
Like most things in today's world, it will look a little bit different. They will be separated into different groups. Half the Marching Hundred will march the first song, and the other half will do the second.
But separately from the performance, they will record their audio altogether and dub it over the performance, so all instruments can be included into both songs.
For those who have been to an Indiana football game, when attendance is sometimes lacking, the band brings the energy each and every game.
Fischer said that will be even more vital performing in front of nobody, but she's confident the band will create their own energy like they always do.
"I still think we've been able to adapt really well," Fischer said. "The important thing ultimately is just getting to see each other at rehearsals and make music together, and we are getting to do that still, which is exciting."
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- FIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT PENN STATE: SI's Tom Brew and Mark Wogenrich go over five questions before Penn State takes on Indiana Saturday. CLICK HERE
- MICHAEL PENIX OR SEAN CLIFFORD?: SI's Tom Brew and Mark Wogenrich preview the quarterback battle for Indiana-Penn State. CLICK HERE
