The "Kansas Wildcats" (sometimes called "The Kansas Wildcats March") is a
march
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...
composed by
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...
. He composed the song after a petition from students and faculty from the Kansas State Agriculture College (now called
Kansas State University
Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...
) when Sousa brought his band to
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 c ...
in 1928. The song was completed and then dedicated to the college in 1930. The piano score arrived at the college in 1931 and has become an integral part of
Kansas State Wildcats
The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K-State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are generally used as co ...
football games and lore.
After Sousa's death, the score was one of many that became accidentally mixed with other writings by Sousa which resulted in decades of confusion about his final works. Years of sorting and review of over 9,000 pages of his work were assembled and reviewed by multiple music librarians including staff from the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
.
Over the years, the song has been performed outside of Kansas State events to showcase the works of Sousa.
See also
*
List of marches by John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He composed 136 marches from 1873 until his death in 1932. He derived few of his marches from his other musical ...
References
External links
Sousa archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kansas Wildcats
1930 compositions
Sousa marches
Kansas State Wildcats