Dr. Eric Bush conducting the HMB From the ladder on the field in Kinnick Stadium

Greetings Hawkeyes!

Spring Break is under way here in Iowa City, and we are already gearing up for what is sure to be a fantastic 144th season of the Hawkeye Marching Band this fall! Band 143 created some of my favorite memories as director of this band, and I can’t wait to carry that momentum with us into next season.

If you follow along with the Hawkeye Marching Band on social media, then you know just how busy our 2023 season was! Here are a few highlights:

  • We kicked off the year with the band’s first ever performance at the Iowa State Fair. In sweltering heat our students gave a performance I think they’ll never forget. I’m so grateful to our Athletic Trainer, Shaun McCarthy, Joni Bell and her team at the RibShack, and the Iowa and State Fair staff who went above and beyond to take care of our students’ health and wellness in the extreme conditions. We received a ton of feedback from Hawkeyes throughout the day about how much it meant to them to finally have our wonderful university represented at the historic Iowa State Fair.

  • During the September 18 game vs. Western Michigan, we celebrated the Iowa Women’s Basketball team’s historic run in the 2023 NCAA tournament, and graduate teaching assistant Cory Schmitt’s drill of Caitlin Clark shooting a three garnered national attention in the media.

  • We were in the stands and on the field for the historic Crossover at Kinnick Game, when Iowa Women's Basketball broke the attendance record for women's basketball with 55,646 fans. We presented an adapted version of our show from the Western Michigan Game during halftime.
Dr. Morgan Jones and his family on the field during Homecoming Pregame performance in Kinnick Stadium
HMB performing on the field in Kinnick Stadium during Crossover at Kinnick
Hawkeye Metal Band performs during Metallica Halftime show in Kinnick Stadium
  • We welcomed back 500 alumni for Homecoming this year, the 50th Anniversary of the Iowa Alumni Marching Band. We also welcomed back to campus emeritus director of the HMB, Dr. Morgan Jones.
  • We enjoyed performing in two different exhibition performances this season, the Marching Dutch Invitational at Pella High School, and here at home at Iowa City High for the Marching Corridor Classic. It’s always fun to connect with future marching Hawkeyes!
  • Our Metallica halftime show was a top-five finalist in Metallica’s first ever Marching Band Competition. The show was a rousing success, earning attention in the national media, including a shout out from ESPN’s Pat McCaffrey after our performance at the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis.
  • We shared the field with our friends from the Michigan Marching Band for a combined performance of the National Anthem at the Big Ten Championship.
  • We enjoyed taking the field for both pregame and halftime at the 2024 Citrus Bowl, and getting to meet up with our friends from the University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland. Sousaphone player Harper Atkinson was honored during the game for his military service, and Drumline Captain Ashwin Dervesh and a member of Tennessee’s drumline got to perform at Halftime with Gavin DeGraw.

 

As always, thank you for your continued support and the enthusiasm you share for everything we do in the Hawkeye Marching Band! Our success is tied directly to the dedication and generosity of our HMB family!

On Iowa, and Go Hawks!

Dr. Eric W. Bush
Director of the Hawkeye Marching Band