This is just the shot in the arm the Kansas University Marching Jayhawks needed.

It was announced Thursday that the major donors for the Anderson Family Football Complex also have decided to create an endowed fund to support the KU marching band. The donors, Dana and Sue Anderson of Los Angeles, attend every KU home football game and see the band as “an integral part of the football season.”

We agree and applaud their generous gift.

The initial $100,000 gift is a wonderful start for the fund, and other donors hopefully will step up to help provide long-term support for the band. According to Scott Weiss, KU director of bands, the new fund will supply the additional money needed to buy instruments and uniforms and offer scholarships to band members.

After a couple of lean years, the Marching Jayhawks is fielding 251 members this year. A good football team helped fuel the growth, but the increased numbers also were a result of intense high school recruiting by KU band faculty.

The Andersons’ gift is a great acknowledgment of how much work band members put in and how well they represent the university. The band is an important KU tradition whose future is made more secure by the new endowed fund.