William C. Moffit (born May 12, 1925, in New Philadelphia, Ohio; died March 5, 2008, in Jacksonville, Florida) was an American musician, music arranger and marching band director, best known for his innovations in marching band show techniques and for hundreds of arrangements for marching bands. [1]
Moffit was the third director of the Purdue University "All-American" Marching Band, serving from 1981 until his retirement in 1988. After his retirement, Moffit was named Professor Emeritus of Band. Moffit also served as director of the University of Houston Spirit of Houston marching band from 1969 to 1981. Moffit served as assistant director of bands at Michigan State University from 1960 to 1969, where he worked under renowned directors Leonard Falcone and Harry Begian. Moffit left an indelible impact at MSU with his musical arrangements and Patterns in Motion. Before going to MSU, he spent 10 years in the public school systems in Ohio and Michigan as a band director, including at Tippecanoe High School in Tipp City, Ohio, [2] and Mt. Morris High School in Mt. Morris, MI. [3]
Moffit was an innovator in both marching band style and music. His "Patterns of Motion," based on a constant-motion system using four-player squads, revolutionized bands and their halftime shows, moving away from the military style of marching. His style dominated both college and high school marching band shows and competitions from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, when drum corps began to become popular. [4]
A prolific arranger, Moffit arranged more than 450 popular songs for marching bands as part of his famous Soundpower Series published by Hal Leonard, a staple of collegiate and pep bands for decades and still in widespread use today. Moffit was known to hear a new song on radio and have it arranged for his band the following week – sometimes so fast that proper copyright clearances could not be obtained. [5]
Michigan State University is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. After the introduction of the Morrill Act in 1862, the state designated the college a land-grant institution in 1863, making it the first of the land-grant colleges in the United States. The college became coeducational in 1870. In 1955, the state officially made the college a university, and the current name, Michigan State University, was adopted in 1964. Today, Michigan State has the largest undergraduate enrollment among Michigan's colleges and universities and approximately 634,300 living alums worldwide.
Sparty is the mascot of Michigan State University. Sparty is usually depicted as a muscular male Spartan warrior/athlete dressed in stylized Greek costume. After changing the team name from "Aggies" to "Spartans" in 1925, various incarnations of a Spartan warrior with a prominent chin appeared at university events and in university literature. In 1943, MSU art professor Leonard D. Jungwirth designed a statue for the university, which had to be cast in terra cotta because of World War II rationing. In 2005, the university replaced Jungwirth's original statue with a bronze replica, moving the original indoors to protect it from the elements.
The Michigan State–Penn State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Michigan State Spartans and Penn State Nittany Lions. The Land Grant Trophy is presented to the winner of the game. Penn State leads 17-10 since joining the Big Ten. The series is tied at 18–18-1, with Penn State winning the most recent matchup in 2022.
"Victory for MSU", formerly "MSU Fight Song", is the official fight song of Michigan State University. It was created in early 1915, when MSU was known as Michigan Agricultural College (M.A.C.). An MSU cheerleader, Francis Irving Lankey, along with lyricist Arthur Sayles, created the song. With several changes noted below, the school has used the same song ever since. The MSU Fight Song is played at all university sporting events and is frequently sung by students and alumni.
The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and white. The university participates in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision for football. The Spartans participate as members of the Big Ten Conference in all varsity sports. Michigan State offers 11 varsity sports for men and 12 for women.
The Spartan Marching Band (SMB) is the marching band of Michigan State University. The band has over 300 members and is the second oldest in the Big Ten Conference, with its founding in 1870. Notable music educator Leonard Falcone directed the band from 1927 through 1967.
The University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band (UMMB) is the marching band for the University of Massachusetts Amherst known for its drum corps style and nationally renowned percussion section. The Minuteman Band is also known for its use of dance routines, vocalists, electronics, and overall showmanship.
The Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Michigan State University. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I college basketball. The Spartans have won two NCAA championships and 16 Big Ten Championships. Their home games are played at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing, Michigan. Tom Izzo has been the head coach since 1995.
The Band of the Fighting Irish is the marching band of the University of Notre Dame. Over 300 members of the band represent nearly every field of study, and include students from across the United States as well as from overseas. The Band of the Fighting Irish is composed of students from the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest university marching band.
The 1954 Rose Bowl was the 40th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Friday, January 1. The third-ranked Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference defeated the #5 UCLA Bruins of the Pacific Coast Conference, 28–20. Michigan State halfback Billy Wells scored two touchdowns and was named the Player of the Game.
The Spirit of Houston consists of the Cougar Marching Band and other spirit groups at the University of Houston, including the “UH” Cheer teams, the Cougar Dolls Dance Team, the “UH” Feature Twirlers, the Mascots, and the Cougar Brass. The Spirit of Houston is currently under the direction of “Director of Athletic Bands” and “Spirit Groups”, Cameron Kubos. The Cougar Marching Band is widely known for performing in a wide variety of styles of marching band. The CMB is also known for its characteristic tonal quality, following in the tradition pioneered by Bill Moffit, Robert Mayes, and David Bertman. Three men who led the Spirit of Houston for over three decades between them. The band consists of about 270 students, about one third of which are music majors. Other past directors have included Marc Martin, Troy Bennefield and John Alstrin.
Alfred George James Wright was an American bandleader who served as the Director of Bands Emeritus at Purdue University and Chairman of the Board of the John Philip Sousa Foundation.
The 2008–09 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Tom Izzo who was in his 14th year as head coach. The team played their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were member of the Big Ten Conference. MSU finished the season 31–7, 15–3 in Big Ten play to win the Big Ten regular season championship by four games. They defeated Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Ohio State in the semifinals. The Spartans received their 12th-straight NCAA tournament bid, an at-large bid as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region. They defeated Robert Morris, USC, Kansas, and Louisville to advance to the Final Four for the fifth time under Izzo. In the Final Four, they defeated UConn to advance to the National Championship game where they lost to North Carolina.
Scott Boerma is a composer of contemporary classical music, an arranger of music for marching ensembles, and the Director of Bands at Western Michigan University.
The Southern Methodist University Mustang Band, known as the "Best Dressed Band in the Land" because of its 32 unique uniforms, is the marching band of Southern Methodist University. Long known as “the Hub of SMU spirit,” the 80 member band represents the University at football and basketball games, produces the Pigskin Revue during Homecoming, and performs at special University- and community-related events. Founded in 1917, the Mustang Band is currently under the direction of Director Charles Aguillon, Assistant Director Tommy Tucker, and drumline instructor Jon Lee.
Leonard Vincent Falcone (Fal-CONE-ee) was an Italian-American musician, conductor, arranger, lecturer, and educator. He was well known as a virtuoso on the baritone horn, having extensively performed, written, and educated on the instrument. Falcone was best known as Director of Bands at Michigan State University from 1927 through 1967. During Falcone's tenure, the Spartan Marching Band expanded from a small ROTC auxiliary band to a large nationally known Big Ten marching band. Scholarship endowments at MSU and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp were established in his honor, as was the Leonard Falcone International Tuba and Euphonium Festival.
The 2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season marks the continuation of the annual tradition of competitive basketball among Big Ten Conference members that began in 1904. The non-conference portion of the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 8, 2010 with Illinois defeating UC Irvine in the opening round of the 2010 Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic. Conference play is set to begin on December 27, 2010 with Penn State traveling to play Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana. Following conference play, Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis will host the 2011 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament to be played Thursday, March 10 through Sunday, March 13. The Big Ten Conference will host second and third round games of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament at the United Center in Chicago March 18 and 20, 2011.
A Corps style band is a type of marching band based on those of Drum Corps International. Notable differences include the introduction of the roll step, backwards marching and sliding, and the "8 to 5" step size.
Dr. Harry Begian (1921-2010) was an American band director, composer and arranger. Begian taught at both the secondary and collegiate level during his career.
John August O'Korn is a former American football quarterback. After attending St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he led his team to the 2012 FHSAA 7A state high school title, O'Korn chose to attend the University of Houston. He began as the starting quarterback for Houston during the 2013 season as a true freshman after teammate David Piland suffered career-ending injuries. After throwing 3,117 yards and 28 touchdowns as a freshman and honored with the American Athletic Conference Freshman Player of the Year, he lost his starting position after starting the first five games in the 2014 season. On February 5, 2015, he announced his plans to transfer to the University of Michigan, where he threw for 1146 yards and 4 touchdowns over two years.