Stanford Band

The LSJUMB (background) doing the Roman salute, some holding dollar bills, as USC's fight song is played by the Spirit of Troy in the (foreground).

The LSJUMB's behavior has made them notorious. They have been criticized and disciplined for their actions on several occasions, and according to Peter Sagal of NPR in 2006, the LSJUMB is "the only university marching band...repeatedly fined and banned by the NCAA".[4]

• In 1970 on September 12 at the Stanford-Arkansas football game, the band dropped their pants during the nationally televised halftime show. [5]
• In the 1970s, one halftime show lampooned California student Patty Hearst's kidnapping with a formation called the Hearst Burger — two buns and no patty.
• The LSJUMB has been banned from Disneyland due to their antics, such as taking over the microphone on the Storybook Land Canal boats,[6] while visiting in Anaheim for the 1972 Rose Bowl. Disneyland officials were upset with the "true story" behind the ride. Additionally the Rose Bowl committee still requires advance review if the band marches in the parade due to their plan to ride golf carts instead of marching in 1971 and their having kegs of beer on a red wagon and passing out drinks to the crowd[6] The band also spelled out the initials SMUT (Stanford Marching Unit Thinkers – an official acronym for the group of band members who conceive the show) on the field before the 1972 Rose Bowl.
• In 1986, the University suspended the band from traveling to the UCLA football game scheduled on November 8, 1986 after incidents in previous games that season. First, on October 11, 1986, an infamous incident of public urination[7] happened following the home football game against the Washington Huskies.[8] Second, during the halftime show of the home USC game on October 25, 1986, the band spelled out "NO BALLZ" and formed male genitalia.[8] Finally, they performed an anagram show and spelled out an anagram of a four-letter word ("NCUT"). After the UCLA game suspension was served, the band appeared at the Cal game wearing angel halos in an attempt to apologize and get invited to travel with the football team to a bowl game. The band attended the Gator Bowl that year, amid very close scrutiny.[1]
• In 1989, before an away game against USC, the USC Trojan Marching Band toilet-papered the Stanford Tree mascot in the Coliseum tunnel before the pre-game show, resulting in a free-for-all between members of both bands and the mascot that had to be broken up by the referees.
• In 1990, Stanford suspended the band for a single game after their halftime show at the University of Oregon criticized the logging of the spotted owl's habitats in the northwest United States. The band used formations in the shape of a chainsaw and in the shape of the word OWL[6] changing to AWOL.[9] Governor Neil Goldschmidt (a member of the Oregon Democratic Party) issued a decree that the band not return to Oregon for several years; the band did not return until 2001.[6][10] After the spotted owl incident, all halftime shows were reviewed and approved by Stanford's Athletic Department.
• In 1991, the University of Notre Dame banned the LSJUMB from visiting its campus after a halftime show at Stanford in which drum major Eric Selvik dressed as a nun and conducted the band using a wooden cross as a baton. (During the pregame show and first half of the game, the drum major had been dressed as an Orthodox Jew, where the wooden cross was part of a menorah-like baton.) After the halftime show, a female Notre Dame fan ran onto the field, approached from behind the unsuspecting Selvik, and forcibly ripped the nun habit off of his head. Selvik pursued and regained his habit from the attacker, who in the scuffle for the habit told the drum major he was "going to hell for this."
• In 1992, the LSJUMB was denied entry to Disneyland after being invited there to play in connection with the Pigskin Classic III, which pitted Stanford against Texas A&M.
• In 1992, Stanford's athletic department pressured the LSJUMB to fire its announcer after one used the phrase "No chuppah, no schtuppa" at a San Jose State University game halftime show.
• In 1994, the band was disciplined after nineteen members skipped a field rehearsal in Los Angeles to play outside the Los Angeles County Superior Courthouse during jury selection for the O. J. Simpson murder trial. The band's song selection included an arrangement of The Zombies' "She's Not There."[10][6] Defense lawyer Robert Shapiro described the incident to the media as "a new low in tasteless behavior."[11] Later that year, during the halftime show of the football game against USC (where Simpson had played football and won the 1968 Heisman Trophy), band members drove a white Ford Bronco with bloody handprints[6] around the Stanford Stadium track, an obvious allusion to the low-speed chase in which police followed a white Bronco carrying Simpson around the Los Angeles area.[12]
• In 1997, the band was again disciplined for shows lampooning Catholicism and the Irish at a game against Notre Dame. The band put on a show entitled "These Irish, Why Must they Fight?" Besides the mocking supposedly stereotypical Irish-Catholic behavior, there was a Riverdance formation, and a Great Famine joke, drawing criticism[13] for its "tasteless" portrayal of Catholics. Stanford President Gerhard Casper subsequently apologized for the band's behavior; the band and the athletic director also apologized.[14] Subsequently, the band was prohibited from playing at games against Notre Dame for two years.[15]
• In 1999, when UCLA football players were caught in an ADA-accessible parking scandal, the band formed a disability-accessible symbol on the field, and wheeled the Stanford Tree in on a wheelchair.
• In 2002 and 2006, the band was sanctioned for off-the-field behavior, including violations of the University alcohol policy.
• In 2004, the band drew national attention and Mormon ire for joking about polygamy during a game against Brigham Young University. The Dollies appeared in wedding veils with the band manager of the time kneeling and "proposing" to each in turn as the announcer referred to marriage as "the sacred bond that exists between a man and a woman... and a woman... and a woman... and a woman... and a woman."[4][16]
• The band's hijinks were given a wider audience when they became the subject of Alan Alda's appearance on the "Not My Job" segment on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on September 9, 2006.[4]
• In 2006, the band was suspended by Stanford administrators when their former "Band Shak" was vandalized. After moving into a new $2.8 million facility, the previous Shak, a trailer that served as a temporary home for the band, was found with broken windows and profanities spray painted on the walls. Administrators believed members of the band were responsible for the damage, as the band had believed the trailer was to be demolished the next day. The Band was placed on a provisional status for several months, and had many privileges taken away for the duration of the suspension, including the right to be freely student-run.[17] The band was also barred from performing at halftime of the 2006 Big Game as a result. However, the University stated that November they would not press vandalism charges.[18] In March 2007, the University exonerated the individual Band members involved in the incident. It also charged the band $8,000 for damages (though it initially estimated damages of $50,000).[19] In July 2007, the band was fully reinstated, and then two months later, the band's alcohol probation was also lifted.
• In 2009, the band performed a field show at USC that openly criticized USC alum & Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis, drawing ire from fans with lines like, "USC can't take all of the credit for the successes of its students. After all, it takes a special kind of man to be wanted for sexual harassment, drug trafficking, tax evasion, prostitution, child abuse and disruptive flatulence. But that's just the kind of captain of industry Joe Francis is."[20]
• Organizers of the 2011 Orange Bowl supposedly banned the band from performing their halftime show upon announcement of its theme: "Recent Events in the Pro Sports World in Miami"; this was done out of concern of hurting the feelings of athletes such as LeBron James, who had controversially joined the Miami Heat the previous summer.[10] This was later revealed to be a misinterpretation as the game reserved halftime for the Goo Goo Dolls and the bands from both universities were limited to a pre game show.[21]
• In 2015, following a joint investigation by Stanford's Organization Conduct Board (OCB) and Title IX Office, it was announced that the band would be prohibited from performing at away athletic events for one year and would be required to adopt a number of reforms. The university initiated the joint inquiry after learning of concerns regarding several band events, including off-campus trips, that the band held for its members between 2012 and 2015. The investigation found that, on several occasions, the band violated university policies regarding alcohol, controlled substances, hazing and/or sexual harassment. Violations included a tradition in which a band member was given an alcoholic concoction intended to make that individual vomit publicly; an annual trip in which some band members used illegal substances; and a band selection process in which individuals were asked a number of inappropriate questions on sexual matters.[22]
• At halftime of the 2016 Rose Bowl Game, the band performed a show that included the jingle from the Farmersonly.com dating website, formations that included a corn maze and a sad farmer, and an enactment of "cow tipping". The performance was taken by many as insulting farmers, the state of Iowa, and the University of Iowa (Stanford's opponent in the game). However, Stanford itself is also commonly nicknamed "The Farm". The band was booed by Iowa fans, and the incident sparked outrage on social media. A transcript of the field show can be found on the band's Facebook page.[23][24]
• In December 2016, a Stanford Organizational Conduct Board panel found the band responsible for new violations of campus alcohol policy, the alcohol suspension and the travel ban. The OCB panel found “a systemic cultural problem” in the band organization and concluded that “the outstanding issues have not been taken seriously by the band or its leadership and that nothing more will be accomplished without extreme consequences.”[25] The band was required to stop all activities and lose its status as a registered student group. The suspension was expected to last through the 2016–2017 school year,[26] but the band successfully appealed the decision to Provost John Etchemendy. The appeal placed the band on a "provisional status" through the end of the 2016–2017 school year.[27]
• At halftime of the 2017 Alamo Bowl, the band performed a routine that appeared to mock various things about the state of Texas, including Whataburger. Fans in attendance at the game booed the routine.[28]
• In July 2020, two anonymous submissions to the popular student-run Instagram page 'Stanford Missed Connections' highlighted that the band had consistently failed to address an alleged culture of sexual misconduct. The posts detailed one student's attempt at reporting a case of misconduct, and accused the LSJUMB of a long history of "silencing survivors". Both anecdotes were removed from the page almost immediately, which was soon revealed to have been done at the request of a former manager of the band. Band director Russ Gavin also commented that the culture of the LSJUMB had historically taught students to "fear hurting the organization", which discouraged students from coming forward with allegations of sexual misconduct and assault. [29]
• At halftime of the 2022 game against Arizona State, the Stanford Tree had a sign stating 'STANFORD HATES FUN'. The student who acts as the tree mascot was suspended.[30]
• In November 2022, the halftime show at the Stanford–BYU game featured a mock lesbian wedding accompanied by phrases from LDS temple ceremonies and theology, where two LSJUMB members were shown kissing. After blowback from BYU, Stanford Athletics issued a statement the following Monday: "The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB) has a long history of lighthearted and satirical halftime performances. Unfortunately, some of the language that was used in Saturday’s halftime show did not reflect Stanford University’s values of religious freedom and diversity, inclusion and belonging. The LSJUMB deeply regrets that this performance caused offense to spectators, and the halftime performance review and approval process is being adjusted to ensure that issues like this do not occur again." [31]

The Band's most infamous and controversial moment, however, had nothing to do with its irreverence. In the final four seconds of the 1982 Big Game against the University of California, Berkeley (Cal), band members (as well as players from Stanford) ran out onto the field, thinking the game was over after Stanford players appeared to have tackled ball-carrier Dwight Garner. Garner managed to lateral it to another player, and they continued to lateral back and forth, with Cal's Kevin Moen dodging through the band for a winning touchdown, which he ended by running over LSJUMB trombone player Gary Tyrrell in the end zone.[32] "The Play" is celebrated by Cal fans and inspires the ire of many Stanford fans. To this day, it remains one of the most famous and controversial plays in American football history.

In 2002, during the Big Game halftime show, the LSJUMB performed a humorous re-enactment of The Play. Special emphasis was placed on the allegation that California player Garner's knee touched the ground before his lateral; all band members performing the re-enactment froze in place at this stage, and a single member, carrying a large yellow arrow, ran out and repeatedly pointed at the "down" Garner. Officials at the time did not call Garner down and though no instant replay rule was in effect at the time, game tape appears inconclusive.

To this day the position of Band Manager is conferred from one generation to the next with four seconds left in the Big Game in commemoration of The Play.[33]