The Pride of the South
| The Pride of the South | |
|---|---|
| School | The University of Mississippi |
| Location | Oxford, Mississippi, USA |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Director | David Willson, Bill DeJournett, and Randy Dale |
| Members | 300+ |
| Fight song | "Forward Rebels (The Rebel March)" |
The Pride of the South is the name of the marching band at The University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The full band plays at all Ole Miss home football games, and a smaller pep band is sent to most away games. The full band also travels to Ole Miss bowl games and Starkville, Mississippi when Mississippi State University hosts the Egg Bowl.The University of Mississippi Band has been giving outstanding performances in concert and in support of Ole Miss athletic events since it was organized in 1928. In addition to performing at all home football games and many away games, the marching band has attended numerous bowl games including the Sugar Bowl, the Gator Bowl, the Liberty Bowl, the Independence Bowl, the Peach Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, and more recently the Motor City Bowl in 1997, the Music City Bowl in 2000, the Independence Bowl in 1998, 1999 and 2002, the Cotton Bowl in 2004, 2009 and 2010, the Chick-fil-a Classic in 2014, the Peach Bowl in 2014, and the Sugar Bowl in 2016.
In addition to the Marching Band there are several "Pep bands" formed out of "The Pride of the South". These Pep bands perform for numerous functions such as pep rallies before each home game. Another extension of the Ole Miss Band is the Ole Miss Basketball band. The basketball band supports both the Rebel and Lady Rebel Basketball teams at all home games after football season, as well as traveling to the SEC and NCAA tournaments annually.
Prior to 1928, the UM Band was a small organization under the leadership of a selected student Director. In 1928, Chancellor Alfred Hume appointed Roy Coats as the first Director of Bands with faculty status at the University. Coats’ initial marching band used instruments, uniforms and equipment donated by the National Guard. Not until 1934 did the Rebel Band own full dress uniforms, purchased by funds solicited by the general student body.
The UM Rebel Band performed at the 1958 World Music Festival in Kerkrade, Holland; where they won first place with distinction in both concert and marching competition. That same year, the Rebel Band was invited by Jules Farber, U.S. Representative of the World’s Fair in Brussels, Belgium. The band traveled to Europe again in the summer of 1966 with the Concert Singers and selected theatre students. While on the Music Theatre Abroad program, they studied and performed at some of the world’s leading cultural centers.
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