Rock ON! For the Record: Clarifications and Commentaries from LSU Athletics - LSUsports.net—The Official Web Site of LSU Tigers Athletics Actually from the notice, it looks like they made cuts to the rest of the band trips to pay for it. You guys are riding the bus to away games, with no hotel stays. And the full band will only travel to postseason games.
So they saved $125-150K, but in the process probably cut a lot of band members out from going on an away trip during the season. Colorguard and Golden Girls don't go on any trip that isn't full band, and the away trips are usually done by seniority. Sure we'll probably make it to a bowl game, but what if we don't? Bus companies are also going to be reluctant to drive these trips. A bus driver is only supposed to log a certain number of hours in a period of time. I guess Georgia is the trip with the overnight stay.
I dunno Grad. I know TAF just laid down 4 Mil for the new band hall, but i'm sure they could spare the coin to get the band to games. Surely there is $125-150K in a rainy day fund somewhere...
Round trip airfare is $275 leaving out of New Orleans Friday morning and coming back Sunday night.......very very tempting!!!!!
Here is the way I read it. The athletic department is giving an additional 2.5 million to the university this fiscal year. $125-150k of that is attained from "savings" of not sending whole band to every away game. That's three or four jobs saved at LSU. Three or four families less that will have major headaches. Yes, i agree that TAF should be able to step in and cover this. TAF should definitely have the funds available to makeup for it. However, it won't happen because TAF is a business out to make max money. In the name of all that is good (LSU athletics) of course.
Maybe one of TGBFTL members on the board can answer this, but I am under the impression that other than one away SEC game a year, the whole band doesn't go on the road anyway. So basically, here is the way I read it. - The athletic dept caught some flak when it was announced no band for the UW game...a LOT of flak. Then, to make a compromise, they decided to send the pep band (what, about 50 members?), and send the pep band to EVERY SEC away game...including the ONE SEC away game that they usually send the whole band to. Then, the band will not stay overnight except on one of the SEC away games...probably UGA due to distance. - The 2 biggest things are this. No overnighting for the band for the SEC away games...and more importantly (to me and a bunch of other LSU fans who love TGBFTL), the band is represented at the UW game. - I'm happy.
Yes, there is usually one full band away game trip a year (usually Auburn or Alabama, but one year it was Florida). Depending on whether the band flies to the game or rides a bus, you're looking at a 50 or 100 member pep band. All the games this year are close enough to ride a bus. Tennessee is usually a plane trip; S. Carolina might be too. Point being that the plane trips are few and far between. A few years ago, the athletic department decided not to send a pep band to Arizona and caught a lot of flak for it. I can see the fans in general being pleased with the decision; I was just looking at it from the other side.
