Friday, October 3, 2008
One of the smallest marching bands in the Big 12 has a big reason to smile.
Dana and Sue Anderson, long-time donors to the University, donated $100,000 to start an endowment fund for the Marching Jayhawks, the 251-piece KU Athletics band. Dana Anderson said he wanted to establish a fund that would help cover the cost of the band’s instruments, uniforms, travel expenses and other costs.
Members of the KU Marching Band high-five football fans after a half time performance in September. A recent $100,000 donation will allow the band to pay for instruments, uniforms and travel expenses.
“A first-class band is reflective of a first-class university and a first-class athletic program,” Dana Anderson said.
Taylor Smith, Fulton, Mo., sophomore, plays the saxophone in the band and also receives a scholarship from band. He said he was glad that more band members would have the opportunity to receive a scholarship in the future because of the donation.
Smith said the band gave him an outlet to play his saxophone and practice performing, an important aspect of his music performance major.
“It also helped me meet a ton of people right off the bat because I didn’t know anyone when I got here,” Smith said. “It’s just a really fun experience.”
Scott Weiss, director of KU bands, said band members were aware of the effect they had on players and they took the job of supporting the team and rallying the crowd very seriously.
“We don’t have to tell our students,” Weiss said. “They know what a big part they play in a game.”
Weiss said the marching band was as much a KU tradition as walking down the hill at graduation or running through the underground tunnels.
“These things are things that define game day at the University of Kansas,” Weiss said.
Anderson said he decided to donate to KU Athletics several years ago when he noticed the University’s football program was not as successful as Kansas State University’s program. He said a strong athletics program helped schools attract students, securing more donations and allowing people to take greater pride in their university.
“I think the University’s front porch is its athletic program,” Anderson said. “My goal was if K-State could do it, KU could too,” Anderson said.
The Andersons were major donors to the $31 million Anderson Family Football Complex and have also donated to the School of Business, the Spencer Research Library, and Allen Fieldhouse’s renovations. Anderson said athletics was his family’s primary focus in donations.
While KU football has gained increasing attention, the Marching Jayhawks have grown by 40 percent during the last year, from 150 members last year to 251 this year.
Weiss said he anticipated more growth, but that also meant the band would fund more members through scholarships. The band currently supports 10 times as many students through scholarships as it did last year.
“This donation really supports the long-term financial security of the Marching Jayhawks,” Weiss said. “It will allow us to give more students scholarships and buy new instruments and uniforms.”
Anderson and his wife, who live in Los Angeles, come back to Memorial Stadium for every home game. He said the band’s sound no longer was swallowed up in Memorial Stadium and it was now able to do much more impressive formations because of the number of people involved.
“It’s a night-and-day difference between two years ago,” Anderson said. “Now it’s very much of a presence.”
— — Edited by Kelsey Hayes
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