The Washington State UniversityCougar Marching Band (or CMB) is the marching band of Washington State University. With over 200 members, the Cougar Marching Band performs at every home football game and select away games.
The CMB hosts a Band Day and a Marching Band Competition. The latter was started in 2015 to give high school bands in the region a premiere competitive event.
Directors
Directors of the Cougar Marching Band
Director
Years
Length of Direction
Karel Havlicek
1923-1927
5 years
Harold Wheeler
1928-1950
23 years
Howard Deming
1951-1964
14 years
Max McKee
1965-1966
2 years
John Knoll
1967-1968
2 years
Judd Aetzel
1969
1 year
Richard Uthmann
1970
1 year
John Newman
1971-1972
2 years
Larry Hudson
1973
1 year
Jack Prindle
1974
1 year
Scott Randolph
1975-1976
2 years
Howard Meeker
1977-1981
5 years
Patricia Root
1982-1988
7 years
Timothy Hoey
1989-1990
2 years
Donald Hower
1991-2013
23 years
Troy Bennefield
2014-2022
9 years
Jonathan Sweet
2023-
-
Band Composition
Instrumentation
Piccolos
Clarinets
Alto Saxophones
Tenor Saxophones
Trumpets
Mellophones
Trombones
Baritones
Sousaphones
Snares
Tenors
Basses
Cymbals
Color Guard
Flags
Rifles
Twirling Team
Feature Twirler
Twirlers
The feature twirler is an auditioned role. They perform alongside the band during all events on game day.
Repertoire
"The Fight Song"
"The Fight Song" is the fight song of the university. The song was composed in 1919 by WSU student Phyllis Sayles with fellow student Zella Melcher penning the lyrics. In 2019, the CMB celebrated the 100th anniversary of the fight song by premiering a new version titled "Win the Day". It retains the same structure as the original with modernized composition. It is now the standard version of the fight song used by the band.
The Alma Mater
"Washington, My Washington" is the alma mater of the university. It was composed by James DeForest Cline in 1914 for a pep contest, and was adopted by the university in 1919 to be the alma mater. The version in use currently is an arrangement by past CMB director, Troy Bennefield.
Other common tunes
The CMB plays many songs and "shorts" to get the crowd excited. The most common are:
The CMB travels to the annual Apple Cup football game, a rivalry game against the Washington Huskies, when held in Seattle. In addition, the entire band travels to post-season bowl games.
Bowl Game Appearances since 1998
1998 Rose Bowl
2001 Sun Bowl
2003 Rose Bowl
2003 Holiday Bowl
2013 New Mexico Bowl
2015 Sun Bowl
2016 Holiday Bowl
2017 Holiday Bowl
2018 Alamo Bowl
2019 Cheez-it Bowl
2022 LA Bowl
2024 Holiday Bowl
The WSU Pep Bands travel with the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams to conference and postseason tournaments. Recently, the Women’s Pep Band has performed at the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournaments in 2021, 2022, and 2023, while the Men’s Pep Band appeared at the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and the 2025 College Basketball Crown Tournament.
Halftime Shows
The CMB performs a new halftime show for every home football game. This results in approximately six different shows for the CMB every year. The band also performs a halftime show at select away games and bowl games. The following list consists of some of the shows the CMB has performed for halftime.
2021
"25 Years" - Celebrating songs that turned 25 that year.
"America The Beautiful" - Remembering and honoring those lost in the 9/11 attacks.
"Chicago" - A show featuring music by the band Chicago.
"Latina Artists" - A show highlighting well-known Latina singers.
"100 Years of WSU Bands" - The CMB and over 100 CMB alumni band members celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of pep and concert bands at WSU.
"New Orleans" - The CMB is joined by local high schoolers to perform a show honoring New Orleans.
"Shrek" - A show featuring music and characters from the Shrek movies.
"Hall of Fame Inductees" - A show featuring artists inducted into the 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Songs include “Juke Box Hero” by Foreigner, “Family Affair” by Mary J. Blige, and a medley of songs by Cher.
"Lady Gaga" - A show featuring the University of Idaho's Vandal Marching Band, celebrating the music of Lady Gaga. The Vandal Marching Band performed "Bad Romance", the Cougar Marching Band performed "Abracadabra", and the bands came together to perform "Hold My Hand".
"Heart" - A show featuring the songs "Barracuda" and "Alone", both by the band Heart.
"The '80s Show" - A show highlighting the movies Back to The Future and Dirty Dancing. The Dirty Dancing segment featured a complex drill sequence of two figures dancing, ending with the iconic lift dance move from the movie.
WSU Marching Band Championships
The WSU Marching Band Championships is an independent, annual high school marching band competition hosted by the CMB. Bands from primarily eastern Washington and northern Idaho compete in a modern two-round competition format, consisting of prelims and finals. The festival is coordinated by the CMB, and was started in 2015 to serve high school marching bands in the region. The CMB performs as an exhibition group at this event.
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