Dr. Eric Bush at Kickoff at Kinnick 2025

Hello HMB Family!

As I write this, we are only 48 hours away from THE BOOM. We are wrapping up our first week of classes, and the 146th edition of the Hawkeye Marching Band has spent the last two weeks becoming more than a band -- these 285 students and our incredible staff have already become a family.

We are so excited to take the field in Kinnick on Saturday, and there is much to look forward to this season! I want to share a few highlights with you as we enter what is sure to be another memorable year:

  • Hawkeye Marching Band Muppet Show Graphic

    We welcomed 105 new marching Hawkeyes to the family this year, and they have already blown us away with their dedication, enthusiasm, and focus. We had a great Band Camp this year -- which included...

  • Learning a new HMB Pregame! For the first time in almost 30 years, we are updating Pregame. At the September 5 game vs. Northern Illinois, the HMB will premiere the Iowa Fanfare to open Pregame, arranged by our very own Drew Bonner. We've also updated the drill to include an outline of the Hawkeye State during the Visiting Fight Song (a nod to "Iowa Nice," always welcoming our guests), and the Block I during Roll Along Iowa. We'll also be playing the full Roll Along Iowa, complete with the break strain. Don't worry! Nothing has been taken out of our historic Pregame (unless you count the lines for the visiting fight song). These updates honor our traditions and bring even more Hawkeye spirit to our beloved Pregame. 
  • We have some fantastic halftime shows planned for this season, starting off a most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppet-ational halftime show celebrating 50 Years of The Muppet Show at the September 5 season opener. We also can't wait to create something truly "spooktacular" for our Halloween Homecoming on October 31!
  • This season marks the first with a new Golden Voice of the Hawkeye Marching Band, Bob Shomper! We decided to honor the legacy of Lou Crist and celebrate Bob's new role in the opening of the Band's 2026 Intro Video. Check it out!
  • We have a new Drum Major this year! Junior Annabelle Temple is a music education and clarinet performance major, and was a member of the clarinet section for two years. She served as a member of the clarinet undergraduate staff in the 2025 season. At this year's Smith Wahlbridge Clinics, Annabelle earned the titles of Most Outstanding Performer, Mace (Advanced Class), Most Outstanding Conductor (Conducting III), and Drum Major, First Class. Annabelle's uniforms were paid for with a generous donation from Tom Leslie, former Hawkeye Drum Major and Director of Wind Band Studies at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Thank you, Tom!
  • We kicked off the 2026 season with performances at Kickoff at Kinnick, the Friday before classes started, and last week at the Hancher Fall Welcome Concert. The Hawkeye Marching Band continues to be an integral part of the university's welcome to students (new and returning) each year. I'm so proud of the way our students represent themselves, the HMB, and the University of Iowa
Pregame During Band Camp
Ben McCollum conducting the HMB
Jan Jensen doing Vader with the Band
Hawkeye Drumline

In addition to our seven home games at Kinnick, we have some other fun performances scheduled this season. We look forward to performing at the Corridor Marching Classic at Liberty High School on October 14, and can't wait to welcome the Iowa Alumni Marching Band back to Iowa City for Homecoming on "Halloweekend." We will host our annual Band Extravaganza at Xtream Arena in Coralville on December 6.

The first weeks of marching band season are always a whirlwind, so I want to pause and say how thankful I am to lead this organization. Every day I get to work alongside gifted students and colleagues, all of us pushing to carry this band even further. We're backed by some of the best alumni anywhere, who honor what this band has been while helping shape what it will become. And we're cheered on by the kind of friends, families, and fans most directors only dream of. What we've built together is truly rare, and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

On Iowa! Go Hawks!

Dr. Eric Bush
Director of the Hawkeye Marching Band
Associate Director of Bands
Associate Director of the School of Music