The Enduring Legacy of the TBDBITL Alumni Band
The Ohio State University Marching Band (OSUMB), known as "The Best Damn Band in the Land" (TBDBITL), boasts a rich history and tradition. A significant part of this legacy is the active and vibrant alumni band, which allows former members to relive their marching days and contribute to the band's ongoing success. Since their first reunion in 1966, OSUMB alumni have returned over 40 times to perform "one more time" in the 'shoe. The first year 228 former Band members returned.
A Tradition Rooted in History
The Ohio State University Marching Band traces its roots to 1878 - three years before football came to Columbus. From its humble beginnings as a student-led fife and drum corps providing music for the university ROTC program, the band has evolved into a world-renowned ensemble known for its precision, innovation, and unwavering spirit.
The Alumni Band: Keeping the Spirit Alive
The TBDBITL Alumni Band provides a unique opportunity for former members to reconnect with their alma mater and continue their passion for music and performance. The alumni band isn't just about reliving the past; it's about actively contributing to the present and future of TBDBITL.
Reunion Band
The oldest and most visible arm of the Alumni Club is the Reunion Band. A highlight for many is the annual alumni band reunion, where hundreds of former members return to Ohio State to perform alongside the current band. The alumni band reunion is amazing. We get 400 to 700 alumni back to perform the ramp entrance and halftime show with us - enough people to do four Script Ohios. I remember as a student when alumni took the field. The camaraderie is remarkable.
In 2026 TBDBITL Reunion will be on September 5, 2026 at OSU vs. . Since their first reunion in 1966, OSUMB alumni have returned over 40 times to perform just "one more time" in the 'shoe. The first year 228 former Band members returned.
Read also: Legacy of Fordham University
Active Band
The Active Band serves to perform in concert and parade settings.
Hyper Active Band
The Hyper Active Band serves to fulfill more ‘gig’ style requests from the broader central Ohio community.
Memorable Performances and Traditions
The OSUMB is known for its many traditions and performances, including:
The Ramp Entrance
The ramp entrance is one of the most highly regarded traditions among band members, and is infamous for being very physically demanding. The ramp entrance starts with around 19:45 remaining on the countdown clock. A short video is shown on the scoreboard prior to the band emerging from the ramp tunnel. At the end of this video, Diamond Ohio appears on the screen. The percussion section is the first to march down the ramp, and onto the field; not to cadences, rather, silently, at a precise tempo of 180 beats per minute (bpm), and the snare drums perform a unique arm swing. The "Ramp" cadence is then played exactly 17 times in a row, also at 180 bpm, as the other rows in the band file down the ramp, onto the field, and into their positions. As the final two rows, T and X file in, their squad leaders nod to the two sousaphone (KL Row) squad leaders, who then sound a loud blast on their whistles. The band proceeds to play the intro of "Buckeye Battle Cry" while marking time. This is followed by the verse, while the band goes into what is referred to as a "half-time step" (mark time); one step per every two beats. During the verse, a member's leg lift (completion of a full chair step) is crucial for a clean and precise look. Also, during the verse, KL Row performs a special horn flash in which they tilt their bells slightly back, and swing their entire upper body, including their horn, to the tempo of their step. After the completion of the verse, the band proceeds to march southward down the field to two choruses of Buckeye Battle Cry. The band then executes a "halt, kick, down", followed by a "step-forward about-face." Following this The Star-Spangled Banner is performed, which is typically conducted by the visiting band's director, or a staff member of the OSU School of Music. At this point, the Drum Major runs back through the band, blowing a short whistle to the lead snare drummer, who initiates a roll-off to begin the rest of the pregame show, which includes playing the visiting team's fight song, Script Ohio, Carmen Ohio. The pregame performance concludes with a Diamond Ohio tunnel formation for the team to run through. During the introduction and verse of "Buckeye Battle Cry", the drum major enters the stadium running down the ramp, then struts through the band and comes to the front of the ranks where they execute a back bend, forming their body into the shape of an O. After a dramatic pause, the drum major's plume - or on special occasions, such as before the annual rivalry game against Michigan, the entire top of the drum major's hat - touches the turf, just before the band begins to play two choruses of "Buckeye Battle Cry" while marching toward the south end zone. Band members are moving at about a 15-degree angle down the ramp at three beats per second.
Script Ohio
First performed by the OSUMB in 1936, Script Ohio is one of the signatures of the Ohio State University Marching Band. The band begins in a "Block O" formation. Then, to the tune of "Le Regiment de Sambre et Meuse", the drum major leads a "peeling-off" movement that snakes across the field, forming the letters "OHIO" in cursive. There are three versions of Script Ohio: single Script, which is most common, and double Script. The double Script features all marching members of the band, including alternates, and is made up of condensed versions of the single Script that are performed to both sides of the field. Performances of the double Script are usually reserved for away or bowl games. On rare occasions, non-band members have been invited to dot the "i". Woody Hayes, Bob Hope, Jack Nicklaus, James "Buster" Douglas, OSU presidents Novice Fawcett, Gordon Gee and their wives, composer Richard Heine, former OSUMB member and director Paul Droste, retired OSU ticket director Robert Ries, John Glenn and his wife Annie Glenn, The Limited Brands founder, chairman, and CEO Leslie Wexner (an OSU alumnus), and former football coach Earle Bruce are among the select few non-band members invited to perform the tradition. On November 19, 2011, Jon Woods, the marching band's director for the previous 28 years, dotted the "i" in his final home game directing the band, becoming the only non-band member to dot the "i" during a game where the OSUMB performed Script Ohio twice. The first Script Ohio of that game in its traditional pregame spot featured senior sousaphone player Jonathan Lampley dotting the "i". The Script Ohio concept was developed and first performed by the Michigan Band in 1932.
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Skull Session
The OSUMB arrives in St. John Arena for the Skull Session. The first Skull Session held at St. John Arena was in 1957. Prior to this, Skull Session was nothing more than a final run through of the music on the morning of the game. Originally, these were closed rehearsals that the band eventually opened up to friends and family members. Each week, more and more people showed up to hear the band rehearse that the director, Jack Evans, decided to move the rehearsal to St. John Arena across the street. Now, even if you’re not in St. John Arena, you can catch the Skull Session via livestream. Today, upwards of 14,000 people pack St. John Arena every home game to see the band and football team. During the Skull Session, fans are treated to a variety of activities. Each week the band's "cheer groups" perform a song to go along with the football team's opponent of the week. The cheer groups are selected from their respective sections: E-Fours, Trumpet Cheers (the oldest Cheer Group), Flugelhorn Cheers, Trombone Cheers, Horn Cheers, Baritone Cheers, Stadium Brass (an instrument from every part of the band except percussion), Percussion Cheers, and the Tuba-Fours. At some point after these performances, the football team enters to the sounds of James Swearingen's "Fanfare for a New Era" and Across the Field Immediately after their entrance a pre-selected senior football player speaks to the band and fans in St. John Arena followed by the head coach. Upon the football team's exit, the band commences with the traditions associated with the Skull Session. This includes performance of "(Fight the Team) Across the Field" first softly and slowly, and on the repeat of the chorus, at the well-known tempo and dynamics. The band is also known for performing "Eternal Father, Strong to Save", otherwise known as "The Navy Hymn", to formally begin every Skull Session concert. This is used to warm up the ensemble while also recognizing veterans in attendance and honoring the ensemble’s military band past. There is often a visiting Ohio high school band that will play before the Skull Session, as well as a feature during the Skull Session. The OSU Athletic Band also performs at a Skull Session once per season, trading off with the guest high school band. The Athletic Band is run by the same band staff as the marching band, and often has many students who perform in both.
Diamond Ohio
The Diamond Ohio logo, which is created by superimposing the I over the center of the H, and making the O's into pointed triangles, was first created by the OSUMB in the late 1930s. The band continues to use this formation today at every home football game as the team entrance tunnel. The Ohio University Marching 110 has also used the Diamond Ohio logo since 1966 when director Gene Thrailkill designed a pregame set modeled after the Ohio State University Marching Band to give the newly reformed Marching 110 a symbol. Photographs show former OSUMB director Manley Whitcomb (1939-1942, 1946-1951) charting this formation on a table lined with field markings, and other photographs depict the band in performance of the Diamond Ohio as far back as 1939.
Overcoming Challenges
Like any long-standing organization, TBDBITL has faced its share of challenges. During World War II, the band experienced a decline in enrollment as students enlisted in the military. The band's most compromised season was 1943; it could not maintain its traditional size or all-brass instrumentation. A few days before its 25 September 1943 season opener, the student newspaper reported that “To date only 60 men have appeared for rehearsals and there is a possibility that women may have to be added. Present plans are for a singing-marching chorus to supplement the less than 20 instrumentalists expected.” New director Willam B. McBride considered 120 members a 'must,' explaining that ‘All our formations are built on a 12-by-10 pattern. If we don’t get 120 men, then we’ll have to take 120 women’-though the band was then “under the wing of the military department and to use either an all-girl band or a mixed band would mean loss of military status.” Also, before 1943’s first game, the Ohio State Lantern announced the band’s plans: “there is a possibility that women may have to be added. The Lima (OH) News likewise noted that “Present plans, initiated by Prof. Eugene J. Weigel, music department chairman and former band director call for a marching-singing group, with vocalists used to supplement the less-than-120 instrumentalists who are expected to show up. The 1943 band's debut was at the 2 October game on campus: “Ohio state’s no longer all-brass Marching Band”…. The band’s 1944 season-apparently without woodwinds-began with an undersized complement: “Cyril Costoff…drum major…to head the 100-piece band.
The band also made national headlines in the summer of 2014 following the release of an internal investigation into the band's culture and reported incidents of hazing. A second investigation was led by former Ohio attorney general Betty Montgomery. The task force report, released on November 18, 2014, identified a number of issues within the band, making 37 recommendations for changes, but also criticized Ohio State University for decades of lax oversight and inadequate resources for enforcing compliance. The task force final report included results of a survey of 278 then current and recent former band members (see Appendix D). The survey seemed to contradict many of the university's claims about Mr. Following Waters' firing, OSU alumnus Christopher Hoch was promoted from interim director.
The Band's Enduring Appeal
Ohio Stadium is an arena like no other, says five-time Ohio State grad Christopher Hoch, who has directed the marching band for the past seven years and was in its ranks as a trombone player in the late 1990s. There is no place on earth like Ohio Stadium. I remember coming to this place as a child, 7 or 8 years old, and being thrilled by the ambiance, the atmosphere. It’s close in terms of the crowd being right in those stands, right on top of you. Being able to march down that ramp, that’s part of the structure of the stadium. There were very few groups marching at such a tempo and high step.
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Supporting the Future of TBDBITL
The Script Ohio Club plays a vital role in supporting the OSUMB. Since its founding, contributions by Script Ohio Club members have helped maintain and replace equipment, including instruments, uniforms, and other needs as identified by the Director. The 100% TBDBITL campaign aims to raise $10 million in endowed scholarship funds, so that every Marching Band member - now and in the future - will receive the financial support they need. TBDBITL License Plates are now available! Order at oplates.com or your local Deputy Registrar. Since its founding, contributions by Script Ohio Club members have helped replace some of the worn-out instruments. Know a Buckeye fan who’s hard to buy a gift for? Script Ohio Club memberships make great gifts for birthdays, Christmas, Father’s Day - or any occasion! Plaques and display items are available to corporate donors. Any individual, group, business or organization may choose to purchase a specific instrument. In addition to receiving the above benefits, the donor will receive a commemorative plaque. Joining the Script Ohio Club couldn’t be easier. Click the link below to be taken directly to Script Ohio Club donation and membership form.
A Lasting Impact
The Ohio State University Marching Band has made its mark on popular culture, with appearances in films and television shows. The band has also performed in seven Inaugural Parades. The band represented the State of Ohio during the inaugurations of Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon (1969 and 1973), George H. W. Bush, George W. In 2006, the Marching Band was featured during a taping of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. Stewart brought his program to Columbus to spotlight Ohio's 2006 gubernatorial race. During the October 6, 2012 football.
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