Editor’s Note: This is the eighth in a series of articles concerning bands coming out of NIU with either NIU students or graduates as members.

There is one band on campus that has been together for well over forty years.

They have had hit records and tapes for approximately six years. This band is, no doubt, the largest band on campus, as it contains over 240 members, and has proven that it can give its viewers one heck of a show through flags, pom pons and countless other delights.

The band to which I am referring is none other than NIU’s very own Huskie Marching Band led by master band director Frank Bibb. The Huskie Band has been together since the end of World War II in the mid 1940s. They continuously entertained the campus, but stopped performing from 1970 through 1971 due to a lack of funding, and according to Bibb, a suspected lack of enthusiasm by the university.

During that year, the band’s presence was greatly missed in the DeKalb community. As a result, the community raised money to hire a director and get the band back together and performing as they had done in the past. The Huskie Band has been entertaining since then, although Bibb admits there have been a “few lean years both money and talent-wise since then.”

The band’s main thrust is to perform at all the home football games, but also performs at basketball games, in the Pumpkin Festival Parade, and makes many other showings. In addition, the band also performs at private and corporate functions, although a fee is required.

Bibb recalls some moments in the Huskie Band history that are particularly important to the group. One episode occurred in 1987 when the band was playing for an away game in Iowa. It was the second Big 10 school the band had ever played for, and they were very nervous. They performed to the best of their ability, and as a result, got a standing ovation from the Iowa crowd. Another big moment happened just this past year when the band was asked to lead the widely televised Labor Day Parade in Chicago.

The Huskie band is an “umbrella” Bibb said, for not only the band, but also the Color Guard and the Silverettes. The members include students from every academic major on campus except foreign language. Bibb said the reason for this is that many of the foreign language majors have commitments within their departments during the regularly scheduled practices.

Bibb said the members are the “neatest bunch of college kids you’ll ever see,” and he has special guidelines when recruiting potential new members. Bibb said he looks for students with either playing or marching talent/ability and a special attitude. This attitude encompasses the ability to work well with others and become a team player. “Prima donnas and all-stars” do the group no good, and don’t last, Bibb said.

Bibb said he helps the band members learn to work together by giving them a “common enemy.” That enemy is him. He helps to instill dedication and good work-party ethics. He said he tries to teach them more than just entertainment. He works on life, responsibility and discipline all under the guise of music. Bibb said he gives 110 percent of himself and expects the same in return.

While attitude is a big factor, it is not the band’s biggest concern. The band’s biggest problem is their budget. The rising costs of instruments, transportation and uniforms have put a crimp in what the band members are able to do for themselves lately.

They do receive the money from the sales of their records and tapes, but even coupled with the current budget they are still forced to tighten the purse strings.

Through good and bad, the band pushes onward toward the recognition they rightly deserve and, although Bibb’s career is far from over, he said when that day does come, he hopes he can look back on the years and see that he has touched the lives of as many people as possible.