The Wolf Pack Marching Band Photo credit: Jean Dixon/Reno Gazette-Journal

SHORT HITS
The band plays on
A tribute to silver and blue.
Written by Jenny MacKay

The stands of Mackay Stadium will have all the familiar homecoming sights on Oct. 18, but fans may be paying just as much attention to the sounds this year. The perky drum cadences and bouncing tuba beat that have kept game crowds energized for decades could fade out in the face of the University of Nevada, Reno’s projected $16.5 million budget shortfall, forcing students and alumnae to reconsider a beloved tradition they may have taken for granted.

The Wolf Pack Marching Band is everywhere during homecoming week, heating up the bonfire, punctuating the parade, and giving the mascot a little extra spring in his step. The band also may be the only force capable of prompting thousands of college students to spell Nevada five times in a three-hour game.

“It makes every event more exciting with the background music to pump up the crowd and team,” says UNR student Holly Gerhardt. “When they play the UNR fight song, it brings school spirit and a will to win.”

The band’s presence is as traditional for the football experience as the touchdown boom of the Fremont Canon. Losing it would give the Wolf Pack unique status in the Western Athletic Conference as the only team without a band.

“Alumnae have come to expect the band being there,” says UNR band director A.G. “Mack” McGrannahan. “It’s hard to imagine homecoming without it.” It will be a cold day in Mackay Stadium before band members let that happen. Rallying in the face of the threatened shortfall, they are trumpeting their fundraising cause to all who can help. “The Nevada band is still an integral part of the university, and the group will grow as they work through the cuts,” says Maritza Perez, a club commissioner for the UNR Associated Students. In the words of the Wolf Pack fight song, “march on down that field, Silver and Blue.”

For details or to donate to the cause, visit savenvband.org, giving.unr.edu, or call 784-6622.