When I was a college student at the University of Florida, Florida A&M came to town. The Rattlers' football team was no match for the Gators, but the Rattlers' 'March 100' band? It was a treat. It received a standing ovation from nearly 90,000 fans and I learned about how incredible HBCU marching bands are. I was hooked.
I learned very quickly that the marching bands are as big a part of HBCU experience as the pigskin itself.
Throughout the SWAC and MEAC, their fans know well how talented these bands are, but when these programs travel to an SEC team or a Big 12 team, etc, those FBS fan bases likely have the same type of experience I did — they are watching it for the first time.
[divider]COMPARE: Any SWAC team to any other college team[divider]
So I was curious — which FBS fanbases were treated to one of the SWAC's fine bands in September? And which band put on the best show?
I'm going to leave the answer up to a Fan Vote — which SWAC band had the best performance in front of an FBS crowd that doesn't get to see these performances very often, if at all? And the winner of the SWAC vote? That school will be pitted against the MEAC's top vote getter for a final vote.
Please vote below the video clips:
Note: Arkansas Pine-Bluff did travel to Akron but there were no videos available, and Alcorn State played FIU, but not in Miami.
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GRAMBLING AT TULANE
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ALABAMA A&M AT VANDERBILT
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SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AT SOUTHERN MISS
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ALABAMA STATE AT TROY
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JACKSON STATE AT TCU
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