UAlbany Marching & Spirit Bands

The UAlbany Marching & Spirit Bands were founded to embody the spirit, passion, diversity and creativity of the UAlbany community through a wide range of innovative, unique, spirited and impactful performances from athletic contests and University ceremonies to student recruitment and more.

The Marching & Spirit Bands recognize that we have a crucial role in promoting student engagement, connecting with our local community and serving as ambassadors for the University. 

• Student-Centered: Our ensembles are driven by students, giving them space to grow as both individuals and performers, learn about themselves, and find new and unique ways of showing their creativity.  
• Engagement: We engage audiences in our performances. We engage students from a range of backgrounds as performers. We also engage with on-campus and community partners to strengthen our program and expand our impact.
• Excellence: We strive for excellence in everything that we do, from our innovative performances to our development as students, musicians, performers, leaders, professionals and, most importantly, people.
• Partners: We realize that our partnerships, both internal and external, are integral to our continued success. We commit to continue to maintain and grow our partnerships to best support our incredible community.

UAlbany’s Pep Band premiered in 2003. When Casey Stadium opened in 2013 and UAlbany’s football team moved up in conference, the University’s band also expanded.

The Marching Great Danes debuted on September 14, 2013, at the first home game of the season. Under Founding Director Kevin Champagne’s direction, the Marching Great Danes performed a James Bond-themed show for the entire first season.  

The marching band now performs multiple shows each season — performing at all home football games and traveling for various off-campus performances, including high school marching band competitions, parades and away football games.  

The Pep Band, which was renamed the UAlbany Spirit Band in 2022, performs at home basketball games, on-campus events and various performances in the local community.

In 2024, we debuted the UAlbany Winter Guard, the first collegiate-sponsored winter guard in the state of New York. This ensemble competes in the Mid-York color guard circuit and in Winter Guard International (WGI) competition.  

The band has been small since its inception, with roughly 40 students participating each year. However, in 2021, the University launched a concerted effort to grow marching band membership — hiring full-time director Justin Miller, spending more time and money on recruitment and purchasing new instruments.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, over 90 students performed with our various ensembles. We aim to have more than 100 students participate within the next few years.