Between Friday’s news of ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½’s move to the Big 12 and a slew of outstanding performances by ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½’s teams β football won 63-14 over Bethune-Cookman; cross country finished second at the Mountain Dew Invitational; volleyball claimed victories over Florida Gulf Coast and Florida State at the ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Invitational; and men’s soccer won 6-2 over Florida Gulf Coast β it was a great weekend to be a Knight.
Perhaps one of the biggest highlights was the ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Marching Knights’ halftime performance at Saturday’s football game. The band joined forces with Bethune-Cookman’s Marching Wildcats to deliver a moving rendition of patriotic songs in honor of the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
The halftime performance was an extension of the tone set during the National Anthem before kickoff, sang by ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ political science student and ROTC cadet Yolanda Stallworth.
The ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Marching Knights and Bethune-Cookman Marching Wildcats joined to deliver a moving nine-minute performance, which included βAmerica the Beautiful,β βAmazing Graceβ and βGod Bless America,β before finishing with a number that reflected the pageantry and style that Bethune-Cookman and historically Black colleges and universities bands are known for.
ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Director of Athletic Bands Tremon Kizer approached Donovan Wells, longtime director of bands for B-CU, over the summer with the idea to collaborate. Wells says that in his 25 years with the program this marked the first time the Marching Wildcats united with an opposing band for a halftime show. The bands β which totaled 654 members combined β had just one 45-minute, in-person rehearsal together hours before they took the field in front of 38,000 people.
βIf these were not extremely talented, committed and intelligent students, we could not have pulled this off. I also think the bands showed a prime example that if you take the time to learn about each other, you realize you have a lot more in common than you have different from each other. Being an educator, thatβs what itβs all about.β β Donovan Wells, Bethune-Cookman director of bands
βWhen it all came together, it was quite moving. I donβt think the students really understood the magnitude of what they did until afterward when they heard the crowd reaction. Sharing the field and collaborating with an amazing university that has done so much for students across the country and helped change generations was an absolute joy.β β Tremon Kizer, ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ director of athletic bands
Even Netflix star and former ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ student Chase Stokes approved.
The ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ football team will return to the field for its first road game of the season when the Knights head to Louisville at 7:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
