To the editor:

Our congratulations to Scott Weiss, KU director of bands, and David Clemmer, KU director of athletic bands, for a great Marching Jayhawks band turnaround at Memorial Stadium. You and the present Marching Jayhawks made this possible.

Everyone knows that the Jayhawks got off to a promising football season last Saturday, but only those who attended the game know how great the band was. Last year, the Marching Jayhawks band was the smallest in the Big 12. Now, in just one year, the band is 250 members strong with a sound that fills the stadium.

A few years ago, many Jayhawk band faithful gave enough money to buy 300 new uniforms. Currently, a drive to raise band scholarship money is under way. Once KU’s band enthusiasts learn just how easy it is to help a student with good musical qualities become band-eligible, all 300 uniforms will soon be in use. Information on supporting band scholarships is available through the KU Endowment Association.

One other thing we want to say is how much pride we feel when the band takes the field. We actually shed a tear or two last Saturday when the band members came running down the aisles and onto the field.

Before the end of this football season, is it possible we will have 20 Sousaphones on the field? Last Saturday, we had 17. What a difference from the last few years when we had maybe eight or nine per game at most!

Barbara and Bob Wunsch,
Lawrence and Kingman