Finally! After nearly a year of anticipation, Moody Coliseum reopened on January 4th, 2014.  Sporting its new visage and physique, much like one of those people who go through 

Extreme Makeover, Moody finally lives up to the old adage, "Moody Magic."  SMU fans of all generations were on hand to celebrate the momentous occasion.  Among the most excited 

constituents in attendance at the game were faithful Mustang Band members and alumni.  As is customary with any large unveiling, the Mustang Band played a stirring pep rally to pump up passersby entering the stadium.  Eyes wide and mouth agape, I stepped into the newly renovated concourse and gawked at the larger-than-life Peruna gracing the angled ceiling.  After walking through the west side entrance, I was startled to see a hole where there used to be an undesirable brick wall.  The new hole revealed the court, along with a beautiful, state of the art video screen.

Although the amazing new facilities were a sight to be seen, the biggest change I noticed was the game day experience.  It was clear that Athletics had thought everything through and provided a cohesive and exciting environment for the players and spectators.  Right before tip-off, the arena blacked out, lights and music blared, and the crowd went nuts!  Another great part of the atmosphere that afternoon was a recognition of the history of Moody.

Sometime during the game, I chose to look at new murals which adorned the walls of the concourse.  Each mural outlined an organization involved with Moody Coliseum, from men's and women's basketball, to volleyball, to fans, and many more.  My favorite was the mural dedicated to the Mustang Band.  Pictures embodying Mustang spirit were in the collage, including a past Pigskin Revue, Bob Brandenberger, Peruna, and other band members from various eras. The mural is a testament to the appreciation SMU has for the Mustang Band and its history!

The best change of all is this: our basketball team is now a program to be proud of.  That day at Moody Coliseum, our Mustangs smacked up on #17 ranked UCONN, a sign of resurgence and success for Mustang Basketball.  I left the game feeling good about my alma mater, and excited about what the future holds for SMU. I could go on for days talking about the changes I noticed in my first experience in the new Moody Coliseum, but I don't want to spoil everything for you! It's time to see the changes for yourself! 

Hubba, Ethan!

And now, some photos...

One of the features of the newly renovated Moody Coliseum (known as SMU Coliseum from its construction in 1956 until a generous donation from the Moody family changed the name in 1964) are a collection of "alcoves" along the concourse that feature photographs of Moody's history.  As you may know, one of those alcoves spotlights the Mustang Band.  The photos span the many years of the Band in action on the field and in the stands, both posed shots and action candids.  It's an impressive, permanent testament to the Hub of SMU Spirit put smack dab in the heart of one of the campus' newest jewels for all to see.

We were curious to learn more about the origins of the Mustang Band's alcove and found our way to Gerry York.

Gerry graduated from SMU in 1958, but he attended Mustang football games as a kid in 1947, cheering on Doak Walker in his first full year back from military service.  Gerry says he's been hooked on SMU football and basketball ever since.  He was on the Mustang Club board for many years and right now serves on the Lettermen's Association Board and the SMU Athletics Hall of Fame Selection Committee.  He also runs the displays in Heritage Hall, the showcase for SMU Athletic history in the Paul B. Loyd All-Sports Center adjacent to Ford Stadium.  In addition, it was Gerry's idea to give each graduating senior from the Mustang Band an SMU lapel pin at the last basketball game each year.  His appreciation for the Mustang Band is undeniable.

And so we had a few questions for Gerry.

Can you describe your specific role in helping install the Mustang Band alcove and how you got involved in the project? 

I have been directing the development of Heritage Hall for the last 13 years.  During this time I have had over 3,000 pictures scanned.  A lot of them are displayed in Heritage Hall.  Also, about three years ago it was decided that a book would be written that would cover the 100 years history of SMU Athletics.  I was asked to be a consultant on the book as well as the picture editor and we ended up with 615 pictures.  A lot of the pictures came from the SMU Archives.  They have quite a few pictures of the Mustang Band and I became very familiar with them.  As plans began to move forward on the Moody Renovation I was asked to be a consultant and furnish the athletic pictures, band pictures, and cheerleader pictures that are currently shown in the alcoves around the concourse.

How and why was the decision made to give the Mustang Band its very own alcove?

The alcoves were designed to show all of the things that happen in Moody Coliseum.  The would include basketball games, volleyball matches, graduations, concerts, professional tennis, etc. The band, cheerleaders, and poms would certainly play an important part in what takes place in Moody.

How and why did you and your colleagues select the photos that made the alcove?  Was there a committee or some kind of screening process?  How long did this process take?

I was asked to furnish a large group of pictures for each athletic-related alcove.  I was also asked to identify pictures for each alcove that I thought were "musts."  There were people above me who could also pick pictures and they usually ended up coming from the original group.

Was this project a part of SMU Athletics?  What does the Mustang Band mean to the SMU Basketball programs?

Yes, it's a part of SMU Athletics.  The Mustang Band is truly the "Hub of SMU Spirit" and basketball games just would not ever be the same without it.

Can you explain the production process?  Where did the photos physically come from?

The pictures came from the SMU Heritage Hall Collection, the SMU Archives, and the SMU Sports Information Director.  I am guessing that probably 90% came from the first two.  They were then forwarded to the company that was responsible for the installation.  They would then come up with a layout for each alcove.  They would then come back to the committee for final approval.

Which Mustang Band photos are your personal favorites?

Two of my favorite band pictures are included on the wall.  One is from 1936 and shows New York City Mayor LaGuardia on the steps of New York City Hall welcoming the Mustang Band to New York City.  The band was there with the football team before the SMU vs. Fordham game.  The second picture is from 1937 and shows Bob Hope and Gracie Allen welcoming the band and Peruna prior to the 1937 SMU vs. UCLA game.

When you visit Moody to watch the Mustang basketball teams win - and they do usually win - be sure to take a look at all of the alcoves.  If you haven't visited Heritage Hall, it's also worth a look.  In addition to being open during home football games, the Hall is open weekdays 8am to 6pm and weekends noon to 5pm.

And a big "Hubba!" to Gerry for all of his hard work to help honor the Mustang Band.

Bob Brandenberger - In the spring of 1977, my first year back on the Hilltop, I walked into Moody to conduct the SMU/ Arkansas basketball game for the first time.  When I got to the floor by the bandstand (before the game), I looked up and lo and behold a fetal pig was swinging on a wire about ten feet above the bandstand.  Russell Fife, the culprit, had fun retrieving it!

Dave Conway - When I was a Freshman in 1976, I remember the band would set up at one end of the court and play a short concert at half time.  When Jack Rohr would direct, he liked to give us a down beat and then walk away for the rest of the song.  We enjoyed teasing the opponents, yelling at the bald players to "Get a hair cut!"

Bryan Melton - Some of my favorite memories at Moody, believe it or not, involved volleyball. Every now and then, we would assemble a small group of band members to perform as a 'pep band' at the women's volleyball games. As you could imagine, the Coliseum wasn't exactly packed, which only meant our voices and music became very intimate with the opposing team. How easy it was to get in their heads and make a difference during volley became entertaining to not only the crowd, buy our Lady Mustangs as well.  During my four years at SMU, when the Mustang Band showed up to volleyball games, the Lady Mustangs never lost.  We made heckling very creative, using it to throw off and grab the attention of the opposition any way we knew how.   A referee came over to me once with a big smile and said, "You guys sure do make a difference here."  I politely responded, "Yes sir, we do!"  During the game, to show appreciation, the Lady Mustangs would always throw autographed volleyballs our way, and after the match had completed, they always came over to say, "thank you."

Kellie Prinz Johnson - Tommy Penders!  Tom Penders was the coach at Texas, and his son, Tommy, was on the team.  The Mustang Band was always relentless when we heckled the opposing team, but we were particularly harsh to the coach's son - to the point that we actually got him to respond.  We got in his head so much that he came over and said something "Band Geeks" or "Band Nerds" or something.  Mission Accomplished. 

Roger Pace - When the trumpets figured out the notes of the buzzer and stopped play...the referees looked at each other very confused.

John Rothermel - I went to Tyler Junior College in 1967-1969.  During those years, TJC had one of the best JC basketball teams in the country.  It had a nice basketball arena as well.  My Sophomore year I had decided to come to SMU and play in the Mustang Band and Coach allowed me to come a few games and play as a member of the Mustang Band.  I sat next to Terry Patrick and formed a friendship that has lasted ever since.  As to Moody Coliseum, the things I remember are:  How much bigger and nicer it was than the TJC arena; how much having the band playing on risers behind the North basket added to the spirit in the place and how extremely vocal Coach and Jack allowed us to be ... commentary on the other players and the quality of the referees and the like.  I also remember the difference in shows in that we played longer songs than on the football field.  Today, living in San Antonio I don't have the opportunity to play basketball games but I enjoy seeing the Alums staying loyal to the Mustang Band and the team.  

Paul Vattakavanich - I like it when the other team fouls out and we describe their actions... It is really fun when they play along.

I also like to remember when Moody is packed how loud it can get. 

Tommy Tucker - One of my favorite Moody memories occurred the spring before I enrolled here. Doc Hayes, the great SMU basketball coach, died in early 1973. I went to the  first basketball game that was either after his death or his funeral, I don't remember which.  Before the game, they did an announcement about him, his records, etc. and asked for a moment of silence - and it got VERY quiet.  Immediately after that moment of silence, no one said anything - the band just began doing the vocal version of "Varsity."  The emotion in the building at that moment was so thick you could almost touch it. I still get chills thinking about it.

Here are some of things we learned from the interview that we didn't already know.

* Frank Malone and SMU recruited Coach to attend SMU, but Baylor needed a drum major.  And they offered him more money.  (Years later, Malone would be instrumental in getting Coach to lead the Mustang Band,)

* Coach bought his first saxophone in 1925 for $27.

* The day after he graduated college, Coach joined the Air Force and joined the band.  But a disagreement with the director and a request for a transfer got Coach banished to a base in Quebec for three years.

* Coach had only 8 upperclassmen waiting for him when he arrived at SMU in 1958.  So he had to go to the dorms recruiting freshmen.  The 40 he ended up with earned the nickname "The Fighting Forty."  Coach figures 15 of them had never marched before.

* He got himself arrested in Dallas before even playing a single football game.  Angered by the way their first football pep rally was so poorly planned downtown, the SMU cheerleaders performed an impromptu pep rally on Central Expressway.  When the police showed up, Coach intervened and got himself put in handcuffs.  That was on a Friday.  On Monday he went to see SMU President Willis Tate fully expecting to be fired.  He, of course, wasn't.

* The inspiration for changing uniforms at halftime came from the University of Tennessee.  At the 1951 Cotton Bowl (they beat Texas that year), the Volunteer band changed into tuxedos at halftime.  This was all part of the national fervor over "The Tennessee Waltz."  Coach figured this: "Please the eye, easier to please the ear."  He had the idea that if he ever had the chance, he'd make his college band the best dressed band in the land.

* To build word of mouth and develop a fan base, Coach had the Mustang Band play concerts at the campus cafeteria for the students.  And he also had the Band serenade Christmas carols to the sororities.

* It was the SMU Board of Regents who decided to push the women out of the Mustang Band.  The Board found it unladylike for women to march.  So part of Coach's mandate when he was hired in 1958 was that the Band would be all-male (and all-jazz).  Women had only been allowed to join during World War II out of a matter of necessity.

* When Coach was hired at SMU, there was no budget.  That first fall, he built the wooden horses uniform.  The administration thought he was crazy.  When the Band walked out of the ramp at the Cotton Bowl, every head turned.  It baffled the crowd, just as he'd hoped.  It got them all talking.  The 1958 Mustang Band wool uniforms were military-style, dull, and very hot.  Coach did what he could to spruce them up with extra color and braids.  Starting the next year, Coach started slowly gathering more uniform parts, most of them donated by Dallas companies.  Haggar, for example, donated shorts.  Eventually, he had 20 different uniform combinations.

* One of the more memorable uniforms were the long flannel nightgowns and tasseled nightcap.  Coach wanted something different for when the Mustang Band met the team at the airport after away games.  Even if it was 2am after a bad loss, the Band was there to play and welcome the team home.  Coach credits that kind of passion and spirit with further cementing the relationship between the Band and the athletic department.  Sometimes they'd also use the nightgowns for the last game of the year, to put that season "to bed."

* The Mustang Band's director prior to Coach was Oakley Pittman.  Pittman was given the concert band, while the marching band went to newly hired Coach.  And so, while Pittman kept his band rehearsing at McFarlin Auditorium, Coach and his 48 bandsmen were told to report to the space under the Perkins swimming pool.

* SMU didn't want to give band members P.E. credit.  Coach made a bet with one of the P.E. administrators: a schoolyard challenge of golf, tennis, and bowling.  If Coach won head-to-head, SMU would grant P.E. credit to the Band.  He won.  The Band got their P.E. credit.

* Pranks were a way of life back in the old Southwest Conference.  Mascots, letters, scoreboards, bells, horns, uniforms.  Everything was fair game, though Coach was quick to point out they never damaged anything.  The Mustang Band would take something, display it, then return it.  And it wasn't just the Mustang Band pulling pranks.  TCU stole the big metal sign over the band hall doors and the Aggies cut off Peruna's mane and tail.  The pinnacle was surely a 1971 prank in which Mustang Band members auditioned for the UT Longhorn band, gaining access to the enemy band hall and walking out with armfuls of loot.  And for those who've heard about how the Mustang Band stole the stuffed Rice Owl, did you know this: it was the Aggies who caught the very much live owl, killed it, and stuffed it.

* Coach admired Ohio State.  Not only did he like the Ohio State band's fast high-step marching style, but he also admired their traditional script "Ohio" they'd spell at each pre-game.  This was the genesis of the iconic Diamond M formation.  Coach only had 48 people so the bent-legged M was all he could muster.  In those early years, he'd sometimes invite local high school bands to form a diamond S and U.

* SMU didn't offer an orientation program for incoming freshmen.  New students were on their own.  And so Coach developed an orientation program for the Mustang Band.  During that week before school started, soon dubbed "hell week" by an ex-Marine band member, the Mustang Band would practice during the day and spend evenings on orientation.  The Band would teach freshman school and band history, use scavenger hunts to get them acquainted with the campus, and make them learn their fellow bandsmen's names.  There was also the "freshman plant" gag: an upperclassman pretending to be a Band freshman so that he could be "kicked out" for having a bad attitude, thus putting fear in the hearts of the real freshmen.

* Coach was a member of ASCAP, which meant any song he wrote would get him a royalty payment if it was played on national television.  When he arrived at SMU, neither the fight song nor the school song were properly copyrighted.  So Coach filed the paperwork and put his name on them (and rightfully giving lyrics credit on "Varsity" to Louis Stuckey) to own the copyrights.  With him writing "Pony Battle Cry" and also the "SMU Loyalty Song," written for SMU's 50th anniversary, that gave him four songs the Band could play and earn him payments.  You may have heard how the "Loyalty Song" was sometimes jokingly called called the "Royalty Song."  At $500 a pop, Coach sometimes earned $2000 when the Band played on national television.  Coach seemed to know in the interview that this might been a little controversial: "Now that's public, anyone who wants to sue me, tell 'em to sue me."

* Most of us know that of the three typical Mustang Band charter buses, the last bus was the "rowdy bus" or the "hell bus."  But in the 1960s, there was also the "elite bus" for VIP guests and snooty seniors and the "study" bus for those who wanted to get school work done.  The poor freshmen, as you might imagine, were forced to ride on the the "hell bus" and compose colorful parody songs with lyrics we can't print here.

* Jack Rohr could write an entire arrangement without a score.  "If I hear it, I can write it."

* Coach figures his favorite bowl game was the 1980 Holiday Bowl in San Diego.  The Band spent a week in California, but had to drive up to Los Angeles to catch a flight home with San Diego was socked in with thick fog.

* His one regret was never asking SMU for a raise.

* As for those who might grumble that the Mustang Band sometimes moves away from its jazz and swing roots, Coach delivers this message to current director Don Hopkins: "Keep some young tunes up for the young people in the stands besides the jazz, because those are the people he's satisfying now."

* Coach also takes a moment in the interview to retell his trademarked "S.O.B. story."  We won't give it away here, but if you don't know it, ask a Mustang Band member to explain it.
 It's a classic. 

It's a great interview and a slickly produced piece of media, packed full of still photos.  For those interested in having a copy (it's a two-DVD set), let us know and we'll explore the possibility of offering some for sale.

Thank you, Coach, for everything.  Hubba! 

Name: John Wilson

Freshman Class Year: I joined SMU in '12 so we graduate '16.

Instrument: Trombone

How long have you been playing: Seven years

Hometown: San Diego, California

Major: Computer Science/Film

Plans after graduation: Either become a screenwriter or do grad school at the guildhall (or both!!)

Favorite Mustang Band song: Right now my favorite song is "Song Of The Volga Boatmen" by Glenn Miller

Favorite Mustang Band tradition: My favorite tradition has to be the Beanie ceremony.  Means more to me the second year 

just because of how great the band is to me

What the "Hub of SMU Spirit" means to you: No matter if we're at home or away, we won by 3 or lost by 50; the mustang band always plays a concert at the end of the games. The stadium might be empty by the time we do our final "Rodeo" but we're still there cheering on our school.

Why nothing stops the Mustang Band: Rain or shine we're always playing. (We might be complaining about the rain; actually, we 

are complaining about the rain but we're still playing and that's what counts.)

Best memory (so far) of being in the Mustang Band: The first game I ever marched. Damn that moment was exciting. It's hard to put it into words but there was nothing else like it.

Your perception of the Diamond M Club: The Diamond M club always gives the best food on the Boulevard on game day. So in my book they are amazing.