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The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band, known as "The Pride", is the student
marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...
for the
University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
Sooners Sooners is the name given to settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush of 1889. The Unassigned Lands were a part of Indian Territory that, after a lobbying campaign, ...
.


Early years

The Pride was founded in 1904 as a pep band to play at Sooner
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
games. In the early years of the university, the band was composed mostly of
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
residents and was disbanded every year after football season. The first continuous student band was founded in 1904 by Lloyd Curtis, himself a Sooner
freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...
. The band branched out and began playing at other athletic events. Eventually, they started playing non-athletic events also, including concerts and parades. The band marched in the parade celebrating the inauguration of the first Oklahoma governor,
Charles N. Haskell Charles Nathaniel Haskell (March 13, 1860 – July 5, 1933) was an American lawyer, oilman, and politician who was the first governor of Oklahoma. As a delegate to Oklahoma's constitutional convention in 1906, he played a crucial role in draftin ...
. A
military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...
was created during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
but was kept separate from the University band. In 1929, the University hired its first full-time faculty member, William R. Wehrend, whose primary responsibility was to direct the band program. He devised numerous ways of promoting the band. He was one of the first band directors to have an annual high school Band Day event. In 1934, he organized a publicity stunt to set the record for the world's longest drum roll. Ten hours later, it was successful. Wehrend was one of the first directors to admit women into a band program, in 1934.University of Oklahoma
"OU Bands - History."
Accessed 2006-06-13.


Directors

With the success of the football program in the 1950s, so increased the visibility of the Pride. Their halftime programs, centered on themes that would incorporate well-known songs of the day, were soon being broadcast on
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
during games. They received the grand prize as the best overall unit in the 200-unit 1961 National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade held in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Since the 1950s, the Pride has been under the leadership of several different band directors and with those directors came different styles. The 1960s saw band director Gene Braught bring a style of precision marching filled with intricate routines creating geometric shapes and lines. Gene "Coach" Thrailkill transitioned the Pride to emphasize technique and sound – but not at the expense of the overriding goal to support the Sooners. During the 1983 Bedlam game at
Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...
in Stillwater, the Sooners fell behind 20-3 early in the 4th quarter. Stillwater police took Thrailkill off the field for not having a sideline pass. Incensed, Thrailkill told the Pride to "start playing and don't stop until we're ahead!" The band complied, and played "
Boomer Sooner "Boomer Sooner" is the fight song for the University of Oklahoma (OU). The lyrics were written in 1905 by Arthur M. Alden, an OU student and son of a local jeweler in Norman. The tune is taken from "Boola Boola", the fight song of Yale University ( ...
" non-stop – and after roughly 300 times, the Sooners were ahead 21-20. Barry Switzer and the Sooners awarded the Pride the game ball, and labeled it "The Day The Pride Won" as proof.Waters, Michael
"100 Years of the Pride of Oklahoma"
. ''Sooner Magazine'' (Summer 2004).
In 1987, the Pride was awarded the prestigious Sudler Trophy, the equivalent of the
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
for university bands and an award no band may be awarded twice. As of 2006, the Sudler Trophy has been awarded 25 times; the Pride was the sixth recipient of the award. Thrailkill also introduced the current pre-game show, which has been used continuously in one form or another for over 35 years. In 2011,
Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...
ranked the Pride's pre-game show the third best pre-game show in college football.


A Second Century of Pride

Upon Thrailkill's retirement in 2001, Brian Britt was named Director of the Pride of Oklahoma. Mr. Britt, himself a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, was a member of the band in 1987 when the ensemble received the Sudler Trophy. Mr. Britt made evolutionary changes to the band's performances, and the repertoire continued to be mostly arrangements by OU professor Dr. Roland Barrett. Stand tunes and cadences were updated throughout the decade to reflect popular music themes and add diversity to musical performances in the stands. The uniforms also evolved with the addition of red uniform tops, different pant styles, and updating the OU logo. Mr. Britt implemented a student leadership program with an emphasis on mentoring students by holding leadership retreats, regular meals with students, and asking for student input in planning future shows. On November 22, 2007, six days after Oklahoma marked 100 years as an American state, the Pride made its first trip to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to be Oklahoma's representative in the
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...
. The band debuted a new uniform coat during the parade, and returned to Oklahoma in time to support the Sooners
against Against may refer to: * ''Against'' (album), 1998 album by Brazilian metal band Sepultura ** "Against" (song) the title track song from the Sepultura album *Against (American band), 2006 American thrash band *Against (Australian band) Again ...
the Oklahoma State Cowboys on November 24. Debra Traficante, a former Graduate Assistant at the University of Oklahoma, became Assistant Director in 2010. As of January 1, 2013, Dr. Debra Traficante assumed the title and position of Interim Director of the Pride of Oklahoma, following Brian Britt's announcement that he would be taking the position of Director of Fine Arts for Richardson Independent School District in Richardson, TX. Dr. Justin Stolarik was named the Director of the Pride of Oklahoma for the 2013 season after serving on staff for the
University of Wisconsin Marching Band The University of Wisconsin Marching Band (also known as Badger Band, and The Wisconsin Band) is the marching band for the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It was formed in the fall of 1885 to support the university military battalion. Tod ...
. On October 23, 2014, Justin Stolarik resigned as director of the Pride. Upon his resignation Boren invited former director Brian Britt to return to the position, Britt will also be associate dean of the Weitzenhoffer College of Fine Arts.


Traditional songs

In attendance at all home and away
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
games, the Pride performs a variety of music. * "
Boomer Sooner "Boomer Sooner" is the fight song for the University of Oklahoma (OU). The lyrics were written in 1905 by Arthur M. Alden, an OU student and son of a local jeweler in Norman. The tune is taken from "Boola Boola", the fight song of Yale University ( ...
" * "Boomer 2" * "Boomer 3" * "
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
" * "Oklahoma 1" * "Oklahoma 2" * "Oklahoma 3" * "OK Oklahoma" * "Oklahoma Hail!" * "Fight for OKU" * "
El Toro El Toro, Spanish for "the bull", may refer to: Geography * El Toro (Mallorca), a neighbourhood in the municipality of Calvià on the island of Mallorca * El Toro, Castellón, a town in Castellón, Spain * El Toro (Jujuy), a rural municipality and ...
" * "Crazy Train" * "
Sweet Caroline "Sweet Caroline" is a song written and performed by American singer Neil Diamond and released in May 1969 as a single with the title "Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good)". It was arranged by Charles Calello, and recorded at Americ ...
" * "
William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...
" * "Go Big Red" * "
OU Chant The OU Chant is the alma mater of the University of Oklahoma. The chant was written in 1936 by Jessie Lone Clarkson Gilkey, the coach of the OU girl's glee club from 1936 to 1938. It is played by The Pride of Oklahoma and sung by fans and alumni ...
" * "Mortal Kombat" * "Eat 'em Up 1" * "Eat 'em Up 2" * “We Will Rock You” * “Another One Bites the Dust”


References


External links


The University of Oklahoma BandsOU Band Alumni Association
- with download links for OU fight songs and OU Chant {{DEFAULTSORT:Pride of Oklahoma, The University of Oklahoma Big 12 Conference marching bands Musical groups from Oklahoma Musical groups established in 1904 1904 establishments in Oklahoma Territory