By
Nov. 2, 2006
West Virginia University’s band will be at tonight’s University of Louisville – WVU football game.
But they won’t be on the field. They’ll be playing from the stands instead.
According to a statement released last week by U of L’s sports information department, the invitation that was originally extended to the Pride of West Virginia to perform at the game didn’t follow U of L Athletic Department protocol.
“Our protocol is that any outside performances should be cleared with the Athletic Department before an invitation is extended,” stated Assistant Sports Information Director Rocco Gasparro, who coordinates media information for U of L football. “In this case, protocol was not followed, and the invitation was extended without the Athletic Department’s knowledge.”
According to officials with the University of West Virginia, they accepted the invitation that was extended to them by U of L’s band last spring, and planned their trip to Louisville accordingly.
“Our band talked to the Louisville band as early as April of 2006 and they received confirmation as far as participation in June,” Mike Parsons, WVU Deputy Director of Athletics, said.
Several weeks back, the WVU were told they couldn’t perform, at least not during half-time.According to several recent reports, time during halftime is needed for honors presentations and other promotions.
Despite the cancellation, the band will still be on hand to support its team from the stands. “Our band is fairly large,” Parsons said. “They had already made plans and they were plans they couldn’t cancel.” He said that the Louisville performance was scheduled as part of a series of other performances, and the trip couldn’t be cancelled.
Parsons said the band spent about $35,000 to appear at game.
Kevin Miller, a senior associate athletic director who coordinates football game events for U of L, declined to comment.
