"When I saw this band take the field for the first time after only five days of rehearsals, I was blown away. They were so great. They came out like that, right off the bat, and it stayed that way all season," says Heidi Sarver, director of the Pride of Delaware–the UD Marching Band.
This year, for the first time in Sarver’s four-year tenure, upperclass students outnumber freshmen in the band. "In the past, the band has always been at least 60 percent freshmen," Sarver says. "This year, we have 42 percent freshmen and the rest are returning upperclass students."
"With more coming back, we were almost able to start off where we ended last season. It’s been the hardest working group of people I’ve ever known, and at the Northeast Regional College Exhibition, we were able to stand right next to well-known bands from West Chester University and the University of Massachusetts. It was amazing to see all these students on the field and the only difference between them musically was the uniforms they were wearing."
Future band plans include cutting a CD of Delaware favorites like "The Fight Song," "The Alma Mater," "Delaware Forever," and the best of the band’s field shows. Some recording has already taken place in Mitchell Hall, and Sarver says she hopes the CD will be ready for release in the spring.