HMB Preps for Cy-Hawk Game

IOWA CITY, IA (CBS2/FOX28)--Reporter Mellaney Moore--The days are ticking down to the game for the Cy-HawkTrophy. The University of Iowa plays Iowa State University Saturday, Sept. 12. The football team won't be the only ones traveling to Ames, theres another rivalry to be settled and it involves the largest University of Iowa student organization on campus. This year we have 255 students on our roster, says Hawkeye Marching Band Director Kevin Kastens. The group may also have some of the most school spirit, precision and commitment. The Hawkeye Marching Band practices at least two hours a day, four days a week. Then we go, obviously we're at the games we're wearing full, all wool uniforms out there supporting the University of Iowa athletics, says Junior and Sousaphone Player Aaron Power. When you're practicing under the sun when it feels over 90 degrees, you have to be dedicated to prepare both a pregame performance and a halftime show. It is hot out here. The commitment is a huge part of what we do. We are the most visible part of the music program here at the University of Iowa, says Power. That's true, although the assumption that all the students are music majors is false. I often tell people I have the best job on campus because I work with students from nearly every degree program. 85 percent of the band are non-music majors, says Kastens. Some members of the band don't play an instrument at all. I twirl with the marching band, says Senior and Golden Girl Whittney Seckar-Anderson. Shes been recognized nationally and even internationally, but says spending four years with the Hawkeye Marching Band has been one of her most rewarding experiences so far. The Hawkeye Marching Band is full of some of the most welcoming, awesome individuals I've ever met and we really are like a family, she says. Ask others in the band and they'll say the same thing, but don't be fooled. There's also friendly competition. Talk about the rival band and students change their tune. There's definitely a lot of, you know, we want to set the standard when we come out first and then see if they can match it, says Junior and Drum Major Isaac Anderson. While some pick up a football to settle a rivalry, others pick up a trumpetor a maceif you're the band's drum major. He's the highest ranking student leader, keeping track of the band's technique. They have to consider their musical responsibilities. They have to consider their marching responsibilities, their dress points, whether they're in time or not, he says. The Iowa State University Cyclone Football Varsity Marching Band will be thinking about the same things, but the two have their differences. We are the University of Iowa and the University of Iowa is a Big 10 school and we are a Big 10 band, says Power. That's what some hope will help these Hawks soar over the Cyclones in Ames. To see the Iowa State University Cyclone Football Varsity Marching Band, tune in Sept. 9 on CBS 2 News, live at 5:00.