The Kansas University football team may not be the only one putting on a great show in Memorial Stadium this fall.

After several years of struggling, the KU marching band reported this week that more than 200 musicians had signed up to participate. That’s not as big as some bands in the Big 12, but it’s a marked improvement from the 177 members last year or 165 the year before. The KU band members did their best, but the group couldn’t help but look a little puny when a school like Oklahoma State brought a 275-member band to town.

The band is such a big part of the KU football experience that it always has seemed to make sense for the KU athletic department to support it financially. The department’s biggest contribution to the band, however, may be an indirect one: fielding a winning team.

The KU Band Web site seeks to recruit band members by listing the “The Top 10 Reasons To Join The Marching Jayhawks.” There are a number of social benefits and some more tangible perks – like free KU basketball tickets. But The No. 1 reason to join the band? “Two words: Orange Bowl.”

Everyone wants to be part of a winning tradition, and the KU football certainly supplied that last year. The band will travel to one or two away games, and another bowl trip would be icing on the cake.

Even with those perks, however, it doesn’t seem right that it should cost students to play in the band. The band’s travel expenses are paid, and members are given some KU apparel, but the Web site lists about $130 worth of insurance and equipment fees that each band member is required to pay. If they want an hour of credit, they must pay tuition for that hour. There’s a uniform fee of $70, of which $20 is refunded if the uniform is returned in good condition. (If it’s returned in good condition, shouldn’t they get the whole fee back?)

The marching band is a tremendous ambassador for KU and especially KU sports. Its members are providing a service for the school. KU should be paying them, not the other way around.

It’s great news that interest in the Marching Jayhawks is climbing. Fielding a winning team apparently is a good incentive for band members, but university officials should consider doing even more.