Does anyone know the ruling on when the band can and cannot play music when the opposing team has the ball?

 

Game 1:

The white hat told the band they needed to stop playing when the opposing team had the ball. The band was in the stands.

 

Game 2:

The white hat said the band could play as long as the band was in the stands and not on the field.

 

Today at a JV game the JV white hat was asked if the band could play when the opposing team had the ball as long as they were in the stands and he said no they are not allowed. Both games were played in NKY.

 

Does anyone know what the correct rule is?

I'm gonna guess that the games were played at Dayton High??? I went there to a game a couple years ago and almost left in the first quarter when the band was playing so loud that my ears were hurting...I was on the opposite side of the bleachers needless to say. It got VERY annoying quick especially since the ONLY time they played was when the opposing team had the ball. It made me root for the other team to win and I was there as a casual observer.

It is my understanding that the white hat can warn a band if he feels it is interrupting play.

A JV game had a band?

A JV game had a band?

 

No it was asked of a white hat who does varsity games.

No it was asked of a white hat who does varsity games.

 

OK.

It is my understanding that the white hat can warn a band if he feels it is interrupting play.

I asked about this once, too, and it does fall to the referee's discretion if he views it as unsportsmanlike conduct, particularly if the band is preventing the other team from hearing signal calls. My understanding is there is no blanket rule that they cannot play, but a referee can tell them to knock it off if he wants and penalize them for delay of game or unsportsmanlike conduct if they don't.

I don't have anything against band members, however, if they only played at halftime I could deal with them. I'm there to watch FOOTBALL not to listen to a band throughout the game. If I want to see a band play I'll go to a concert.

I asked about this once, too, and it does fall to the referee's discretion if he views it as unsportsmanlike conduct, particularly if the band is preventing the other team from hearing signal calls. My understanding is there is no blanket rule that they cannot play, but a referee can tell them to knock it off if he wants and penalize them for delay of game or unsportsmanlike conduct if they don't.

How does the BAND get penalized?

If the band only plays when the visiting team has the ball I think it is pretty clear why they are playing.

How does the BAND get penalized?

 

5 less tubas and no drums for their next performance.

I watched a college game from one of the lesser known conferences last week. The bands played quite a bit during the game and tried to outdo each other at crucial moments in the game. They would drown out the crowd and the TV commentators. I couldn't stand it any longer and shut off the telecast.

The Campbell County Band IMO is the worst! They stand just feet behind the end-zone out of bounds line and warm up starting mid way through the second quarter and it seems to me at least, to play very loud if the visiting team gets near that end-zone but they stop playing if the home team does!

I love hearing the band play, it creates a more festive atmosphere during games. With that said, I do not think they should be permitted to play while the game is going on. I remember one time when I was in high school, the other teams band played(when I say played, I mean blew into their instruments and banged on their drums) so loud that I could not hear the QB's cadence(I played center, which should demonstrate how loud it actually was). This way extremely chaotic for us, because we ran a no huddle offense. It resulted in several false starts, and killed a few drives. It was a tight game that we ended up losing, so I was pretty salty about it.