K-State marching band won’t play last home game. COVID-19 exposures cited in decision
Kansas State’s final home football game of the season will look, and definitely sound, much different than usual when Texas visits Bill Snyder Family Stadium next month.
The K-State marching band announced Monday that it will not perform or be in attendance for any future football games this season, citing a recent spike in COVID-19 cases as the reason why.
“I am sorry that the season has to end this way,” K-State director of bands Frank Tracz said in a statement. “I am so sad for the seniors, and disappointed for the entire Band Family that we cannot be there to support the team.
“I understand the sadness and the frustration over this situation we are in, I feel the same. I made this decision based on facts (KDHE, CDC, and other government health reports and predictions), as well as the situation within the marching band.
“Our exposure numbers have gone up faster in the last week than they have the entire semester.”
Tracz said he made the decision to opt out of K-State’s final home game on his own, but he did receive support from university leaders.
“I believe I made the only call that I could considering all the facts, statistics and present escalating situation,” Tracz said.
K-State’s marching band played throughout the Wildcats’ first four games of the season and helped provide something resembling a normal atmosphere by performing school songs behind the north end zone as a socially-distant crowd listened and watched football.
A reduced crowd of about 12,500 has been allowed inside the football stadium for games this season, but the band has been at capacity spread out across several sections of seats. The band has not performed a regular marching act during halftime. Instead, K-State has shown recordings of the band performing on its video boards.
The band actually made so much noise in K-State’s last game that ESPN cameras later showed Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy pleading with officials to make them stop playing mucic while the Cowboys’ offense was on the field. One official later stopped the game and used the PA system to ask the K-State band to stop performing during live action.
It is not known when the K-State marching band last missed a home football game.
Tracz said he will do his best “to find an appropriate way to honor and thank the seniors and the band for a fantastic year.”