Marching band's practice schedule rivals athletics
They've been preparing for weeks in the hot desert sun, making sure their execution looks perfect in time for the season opener.
They've gone through physically exhausting two-a-day and sometimes three-a-day practices to make sure everyone's on the right page when the crowd first roars.
They even hope to go to a bowl game for the first time in years.
Sound like the Arizona football team?
Nope - it's the 250-member Pride of Arizona marching band.
While the band performs with grace on the field and plays entertaining melodies, the most important contribution they make to many Saturday afternoons in the fall involves giving the crowd energy.
"We bring bling, a lot of energy," said senior Jeremy Young, an alto saxophone section leader. "We get the fans into it. Sometimes if the energy's kind of low or we're kind of in a low moment, we provide a lot of pep to the whole thing."
Whether the Wildcat football team leads by three touchdowns or is putting up a less-than-inspiring performance, you won't be able to hear it from the band, said director Jay C. Rees.
"We are committed to the Arizona sports teams win, lose or tie," said Rees, associate director of bands. "A lot of fans are not that way, and we want to set the standard for what a real, true fan is, which is we're behind you all the time, every play. We're there and we're supportive and we're energized for the team, and hopefully that will be contagious in the stadium."
While the marching band enhances the game day experience of fans at Arizona Stadium, Rees said they also help the Wildcats on the field, as well as the Wildcats on the hardwood during the basketball and volleyball seasons.
"I know we do," Rees said. "I know that directly from (men's basketball head coach) Lute Olson and (football head coach) Mike Stoops and all the coaches of all the sports. We have a great relationship with the athletic department, and the athletic department really appreciates what we bring, so that's why we're really committed to just being super supportive of all the athletics, no matter win or lose."
While none of the band members are considered Division-I athletes, they still get the honor of playing for a power conference college football crowd numbering around 50,000 every weekend.
"I feel a lot of excitement and love for what I'm doing," Young said. "I'm glad that I get to perform for everybody. I'm really excited and sometimes I'm kind of nervous because there's tens of thousands of people there. I'm just kind of there for them and to have a good time."
Just like intercollegiate athletics, the marching band takes up a huge amount of time for the band members.
The ensemble is enrolled in a one-unit class that meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The band practices for three hours more on Friday evenings before game days, as well as for four hours before all home games.
On game days the band performs throughout the day, including pre-game and halftime shows as well as a march to the outside of the Student Union Memorial Center for a final performance.
On top of this, the band spent the week before school started at a marching band camp, practicing their music and rehearsing formations all day.
With mandatory weekly sectional practice included, many band members may feel like they put in the time commitment of a college athlete, just without the scholarship and recognition.
"It's like 75 percent of your life," said sophomore Daniel Lugo, a French horn player. "We hardly have a social life."
Besides playing "Bear Down, Arizona" after every touchdown and rock tunes during breaks to get the crowd excited, the Pride of Arizona will perform a Led Zeppelin cover show at halftime this season.
"I think that's going to be a lot of fun for the audience, because Led Zeppelin crosses a lot of generations," Rees said. "It's great rock and roll music, some of the greatest rock and roll music ever. I'm excited about it because I think it's really going to speak to a lot of the crowd, not just part of the crowd."
Rees said the band plays lots of rock and roll because it best fits the football stadium environment.
"I think that cool music and energy will always translate," he said. "We want music that is pumped up and highly engaging and we want to inject it with so much energy that you can't help but be sucked into the moment. It really pumps everybody up."
Besides playing at all the home games, the band will take to the road for the Wildcats' Nov. 25 annual grudge match against rival ASU. Rees said he's crossing his fingers that the football team will give his band one more big show by reaching a bowl game for the first time since 1998.
While the band's performances cannot be measured in wins and losses, it consistently gets the crowd excited at home football games that at times have otherwise disappointed fans in past years.
With all the hard work the band puts in, its members get something out of it that cannot be measured on a scoreboard.
"It's very physically demanding and it's very mentally demanding, but the best part is the gratification of it," Rees said. "It's not only we want to entertain the audience, we want to get them jacked up by what we do, but part of the kick for us is that physical and mental challenge."