When Thomas L. Jones, Jr. became the director of Hampton University’s band, The Marching Force, in 2017, he longed for the chance to bring his band to Greensboro, North Carolina, a place he fondly calls a “second home” after spending years working and studying at North Carolina A&T State University.
Well, Jones will have to wait a little longer.
To provide more seating for fans and alumni, North Carolina A&T isn’t allowing The Marching Force to attend the Aggies’ homecoming game against Hampton on Oct. 19 at Truist Stadium.
The matchup with Hampton will be the first time North Carolina A&T will face another historically Black college for homecoming since the university left the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2021 for the Big South Conference. North Carolina A&T is now a member of the Coastal Athletic Association, as is Hampton.
“I was on the band staff at North Carolina A&T for nine years, and I got my Ph.D. in leadership studies from there, too,” Jones told Andscape. “When I got the job at Hampton, I was looking forward to returning to Greensboro, and this homecoming game would be the first time I would have that opportunity. Although I understand why our band cannot attend, it’s still a little disappointing.
”I have fellow alumni, students and co-workers who were anticipating us being there. And it was a matchup we had been looking forward to since we got the schedule.”
North Carolina A&T’s decision not to invite the visiting team’s band to the homecoming game dates back to 2017. The only exception occurred in 2018 when Norfolk State University’s Spartan Legion marching band performed. Earl M. Hilton III, the director of intercollegiate athletics at North Carolina A&T, said the athletic department waited until too late to notify the Spartan Legion otherwise.
“When we started selling out our homecoming games, we realized that we’d rather have seats for our fans than for the visiting band,” Hilton said. “By no means is this a new decision, and this has nothing to do with Hampton. We’d love for Hampton’s band to participate, but we need as many seats as possible.”
Hilton said visiting bands occupy about 658 seats in Truist Stadium, and tickets to this year’s homecoming game sold out in 12 hours.
Anthony D. Henderson, the director of intercollegiate athletics at Hampton, didn’t push back on the decision.
“Honestly, no,” Henderson said when asked if there was any attempt to come to a compromise so Hampton could perform. “I first got the note from our band director that our band wouldn’t be allowed to attend A&T’s homecoming, then I reached out to Earl. He told me that if it were any other game, our band would be more than welcome to come. They just don’t allow visiting bands during homecoming. After that, there was no discussion to be had.
“I don’t see a problem with their policy. I know the pressures we’re under as athletic directors to generate revenue, so I understand why they do it.”
Kenneth Ruff, the band director for North Carolina A&T’s Blue and Gold Marching Machine, sympathizes with his students.
“I think it’s very unfortunate my students won’t be able to see Hampton at homecoming,” Ruff told Andscape. “I mean, that’s all a part of being in the band — going head-to-head with other bands. Thankfully, we will see other HBCUs this year, just not at homecoming, when we have the largest crowd and support. It would’ve been nice to have Hampton’s band in the stadium.”
During HBCU football games, marching bands typically engage in the 5th Quarter, a postgame show in which the bands of the two opposing schools perform in a battle for bragging rights.
Members of The Marching Force were disappointed to learn they wouldn’t be participating in a 5th Quarter rematch after battling North Carolina A&T’s Blue and Gold Marching Machine a year ago at Hampton’s homecoming game.
“There was disappointment because I was really excited to go down there and battle their band again,” said Jalon Reed, a sophomore trumpet player for The Marching Force. “Last year, when we went against them, people said we were ‘evenly matched.’ I want there to be no discussion next time. I want us to be the clear victors. But since we’re not going, this allows us to hone in on our fundamentals and create a better sound as a band.”
Though North Carolina A&T’s band members will have the field to themselves come homecoming, some said they also are disappointed.
“I was really upset when I heard Hampton wouldn’t be there, especially since my high school, Newton, which is in Georgia, is modeled after Hampton,” said Saniya Reese, a junior saxophone player for the Blue and Gold Marching Machine. “It would’ve been a really cool, full-circle moment to play against Hampton at A&T. I really wanted to experience that. But you know, A&T has to get their money somehow, so it is what it is.”
Fans recognize the appeal of having more tickets up for grabs during a week as coveted as the Greatest Homecoming on Earth, nicknamed GHOE. Nonetheless, many believe exceptions can be made.
“I understand wanting to make sure fans experience a GHOE game live and in the flesh, but come on, man. … The band wars are practically just as important as the game when it comes to HBCU matchups,” said Ahmed Johnson, a 1992 graduate of Hampton. “If you ask me, giving up seats is worth the show an HBCU band can put on, especially during homecoming.
“I was planning to make that trip to Greensboro but not anymore. Not having both bands is just bad for the tradition.”
Jones, Hampton’s band director, said he knows plenty of North Carolina A&T alumni who have been asking for the football team to face an HBCU for homecoming since the university’s departure from the MEAC because it “solidifies the culture.”
“It’s why we have the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and the Celebration Bowl,” Jones said. “Whenever you get two HBCUs together, it’s a spectacle for the world to see. So, in the grand scheme of things, our band’s absence from the game is an opportunity missed.
“Us [North Carolina A&T and Hampton] being the only two HBCUs in the [CAA] conference, there is a certain expectation of pageantry and togetherness of a family environment that you won’t get playing any other school in the CAA.”
North Carolina A&T is holding firm on its decision to sell the visiting band’s seats to fans, and Hilton, the university’s athletics director, expects that policy to continue, at least in the near future.
“If we build a new football stadium one day with 30,000 more seats, then we’d reconsider,” Hilton said. “But right now, we want as many fans as possible to enjoy that experience.”
