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Athletic Bands at Otterbein College
Athletic Bands are among the most visible musical ensembles at Otterbein College and are a highly valued part of the Band, Wind and Percussion Area. All Otterbein students who perform on a brass, woodwind or percussion instrument, as well as visual performers including color guard and twirlers are welcome to join the Cardinal Marching Band, Basketball Pep Band, or both.
Students who commit to perform with the Cardinal Marching Band for four years and the Basketball Pep Band for two years are eligible for an Athletic Bands Participation Award in the amount of $1000 per year/$4000 over four years. More information about how to join the band
Cardinal Marching Band
The Otterbein College Cardinal Marching Band is one of the largest and most active student groups on campus. Composed of students from all almost majors and disciplines, it combines the best in musical performance with outstanding marching in a fun college atmosphere. The Cardinal Band performs at all home games and homecoming events, travels to one away game each season and performs in exhibition at one high school festival each fall.
The Cardinal Marching Band performs for over 30,000 people each year and through almost 100 years of service remains one of the Midwest's premier small college marching bands.
Performance opportunities include:
- All standard marching wind instruments (brass and woodwinds)
- A complete marching percussion section (no front ensemble/pit/keyboards)
- The Cardinal Guard: spinning flags and weapons
- Otterbein Twirlers: our majorette squad
Basketball Pep Band
The Basketball Pep Band revs up the crowd at all home basketball games in the winter quarter, including both men's and women's games. We perform using a modifed marching band instrumentation and have a book of more than 50 charts so the music stays fresh. Games are usually on Wednesday and Saturday evenings, and there are usually 12-14 games per season. Our season begins in the first week of the winter quarter and is usually over by week 8.
When possible, we split the Basketball Pep Band into two groups: the Cardinal Band and the Tan Band. Each band is only responsible for one game per week. In this way, students' schedules are not too crowded. In case of emergency or special absences, this also allows for subtitute players to be arranged between the two bands. We combine the bands to form one large band for the games against Capital University (our major cross-town rival) and for any tournament play.
For questions about Athletic Bands at Otterbein and the Athletic Bands Participation Award:
Dr. Russell McCutcheon
Associate Director of Band, Wind and Percussion Activities
Director of Athletic Bands
rmccutcheon@otterbein.edu
