Jay Rees is UM through and through and great director. He will make changes it just takes time. Unlike a lot of other colleges there are no scholarship positions available for Band of the Hour and it is strictly volunteer. They sounded better this year and I'm positive under Jay's leadership they will do just fine.
Frost is I believe the 3rd ranked music school in the country behind only Julliard and Cal Berk but like a poster said previously most musicians HATE marching band. It's hot, the uniforms suck and it takes up a large amount of time for learning the routines.
My daughter is hoping to attend UM and the Frost School of music and even as an All state and All County players she can't stand marching band. She would much rather attend a game as a student.
In summary, how about we not knock a program that #1 is full of volunteers who choose to be there, #2 the school barely funds at all (surprise there) and #3 is still better than having nothing at all.
I personally enjoy their sound and am glad to hear them at the few away games they attend.
