The impact of the decision this week by Florida A&M University (FAMU) to continue the suspension of its popular 400-plus student marching band through the 2012-2013 school year is likely to be widespread, possibly costing it and other institutions with which it deals short-term losses on a variety of fronts.
At FAMU, speculation abounds on whether the decision — praised as tough but needed medicine—will cost the school enrollment, particularly among current and college bound students in music. FAMU says it will honor band scholarships held by students in good standing. It simply doesn’t know how many will return this fall since there is no band.
There is also speculation about whether the absence of the popular band at football games, for which the FAMU Rattlers football team is booked this fall, will hurt game attendance and revenue for FAMU and schools it faces. Several institutions and organizations involved with the games say privately they are actively discussing what can be done to fill the void left by the band’s absence.
Historically, attendance during school games and revenue are boosted when football half-time activities feature FAMU’s Marching 100 and the band from the competing school. The FAMU and Tennessee State University bands were to perform during a scheduled halftime game in Nashville this September. FAMU apparently got an extra $50,000 in its deal to play the University of Oklahoma this fall, say sources familiar with the match.
The Atlanta Classic, sponsored by 100 Black Men of Atlanta, has generated several hundred thousand dollars for FAMU and its rival, Southern University, with as much attention paid to the halftime battle of the bands as the game being played. Meanwhile, the Florida Classic, which pits FAMU against Bethune-Cookman University, generates nearly $1 million in revenue, with the drawing power of the FAMU band playing a key role in the event’s success, sources say.
FAMU is set to face Ohio State University in the fall of 2014. Inclusion of the FAMU band in that deal boosted its value by more than $50,000, say sources familiar with the arrangement.
As is the case with most institutions, with a wide range of intercollegiate programs for men and women, much of the revenue cleared from the football contests is used to maintain and subsidize the budgets of other programs that do not make enough money to cover their costs. That’s among the factors that help explain why the FAMU athletic department is reportedly operating at a deficit.
