U of A Marching Band celebrates 150th anniversary with online showcase

By: Sarah Stark

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – In celebration of the U of A Marching Band’s 150th Anniversary, the University Museum has developed an online showcase for the band. 

Laurel Lamb, the U of A Museum’s curator of education and entertainment, said the virtual display aims to provide a place for collective memory on campus. 

“The main goal of the exhibit is to provide an outlet for the campus community to share personal objects,” said Lamb, “find commonalities in each other’s stories, and explore the U of A Museum collections.”

Lamb said the exhibition took inspiration from several previous of the sort put on by the U of A Museums. The first was a physical one in Silas Hunt Hall that regularly displays different memorabilia and objects related to the history of the U of A. 

Upon hearing of the 150th anniversary of the band, Lamb decided to rotate objects relating to it into the Silas Hunt Hall showcase. 

The other inspiration was also online, entitled “Bring Your Own Artifact: Razorback Spirit.” The exhibition took place in 2021, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the U of A’s founding. The museum encouraged past students and staff to share photos of their own Razorback-related memorabilia.

Lamb said she was thrilled with the community contributions to the “Bring Your Own Artifact” display, and thought there was a clear opportunity to involve fans, students and alumni in the U of A Museum once again. 

Much of the collection is homogenous, Lamb said. Most of the contributions have been band uniforms, including hats, jackets, and coveralls. 

But that doesn’t cover everything. Lamb said her favorite contribution to the collection is a commemorative Patch worn by the U of A Band members in attendance at the 1976 Cotton Bowl.

“To see other materials beyond what I’m most familiar with is part of what excites me the most about this community exhibition,” Lamb said. “You never know what’s out there.”

Lamb said the patch was donated by Val Price, a Jonesboro native and U of A alum. Price played bass-trombone and attended the University from 1974-8. On Jan. 1, 1976, he wore the Cotton Bowl patch and witnessed the Razorbacks defeat the Georgia Bulldogs, 31-10. 

Commonly referred to as “the best in sight and sound” by fans and U of A officials, the Marching Band’s inception took place in 1874. Originally a small part of the Military Department of Arkansas, the Band now boasts 350 members. The Marching Band performs regularly at U of A functions such as football games and pep rallies. 

Submissions to the collections will be open until Oct. 13 of this year.