Florida A&M University's "incomparable" Marching 100 band left it all on the field after a performance that hailed it as HBCU Band of the Year by ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) Events.
The FAMU marching band competed against the North Carolina A&T State University Blue & Gold Marching Machine Friday in a Red Lobster Band of the Year event at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia for the Division I title, where the competition was held ahead of the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
"Speechless, humbled and proud of our amazing Marching 100 band students and staff on an extraordinary performance tonight during the 2024 Band of the Year in Atlanta," FAMU Band Director Shelby Chipman said in a Facebook post Friday.
"I asked them to do one thing, follow the process from August, don't leave nothing for chance during this 'One Shot' experience. Special kudos to the number one band staff in the world."
Red Lobster – a restaurant chain famously known for its "Cheddar Bay Biscuits" – was the first-time sponsor of this year's event, which is a season-long competition where marching band halftime shows are judged and ranked by a panel of experts monthly to determine which bands will move on to Division I and Division II conferences.
While FAMU's Marching 100 won the Division I conference, the Miles College Purple Marching Machine from Alabama won the 2024 ESPN Division II Band of the Year contest against the Virginia State University Trojan Explosion marching band.
The Marching 100's victory came on the same day as FAMU's Friday commencement ceremony for the fall 2024 graduating class . In Chipman's Facebook post, he also said he shed tears while heading back to Tallahassee Friday night to celebrate graduating band members in the university's Saturday graduation event at the Lawson Center.
Related news: FSU, FAMU celebrate thousands of graduates with fall commencement ceremonies
"The band is coming home to the 'Band of Every Year,' " the university said in a Friday Instagram post .
Over a thousand social media users commented to compliment and congratulate the band. One user said, "brilliantly orchestrated and masterfully rehearsed," while another said that "every show that we witnessed in person or viewed digitally was impeccable, near flawless, energized and well balanced."
Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_ .
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ESPN names FAMU Marching 100 HBCU Band of the Year in 2024 competition
