Celebrating 100 Years of the Georgetown Band
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Georgetown Band. Since its founding in 1922, the band has been a vital part of the spirit of Georgetown, providing support to athletic teams and enriching the community with music. Today, the band is a student-run organization sponsored by the University’s Department of Performing Arts that serves the Georgetown community as a pep band. Read more below to learn about how the band is marking this important milestone in its history!
The Band’s History
The Georgetown Band was originally founded as an R.O.T.C marching band. From there, the band performed at D.C. events, including President Hoover’s Inaugural parade.
The band dissolved during WWII, and was reestablished afterwards during the height of Georgetown’s football era. It was then that the band shifted to more of an athletic role, until the football program was cut in 1951. Without its main performance opportunity, the group rebranded as a concert band before branching into other performance ensembles, such as the Jazz band. Still, with the reestablishment of the football program and the rise of a strong Georgetown basketball program, the GU band reprised its athletic role with more involvement than ever, playing regularly at basketball games in 1968. This continued during the John Thompson era of the 1980s, and for the past 40 years, what was once the Georgetown Band has served as a pep band, heavily associated with Hoya football and men’s and women’s basketball. Now, the band plays regularly at all home football and basketball games, and is even branching out to support other Hoya athletic programs, including soccer and lacrosse.
Celebrating 100 Years
Students, alumni, and special friends of the band commemorated 100 years of the Georgetown Band at the Centennial Gala on April 9, 2022. The Gala was held in Copley Formal Lounge, and included dinner, performances by current band members, and speeches from alumni and band leadership. The event brought together generations of the band’s community to celebrate the organization’s rich history and significance.
While much has changed in the last 100 years of the band, much has stayed the same. The love of making music, coupled with strong pride in the Hoyas, has been making the Georgetown Pep Band a family on campus for over a century.
Click below to see photos from the Centennial Gala and the last 100 years of Pep Band!
