(Please note that the facts below are as accurate as we know. If anyone should find a discrepancy, or has other interesting facts to add, they are encouraged to contact the WVU Band Office).

• The WVU Marching Band was formed in 1901 as an all male ROTC Band of 8 members.
• The marching band has had 10 directors over its 100 year history. Two of the ten directors served a combined total of 64 years - Walter Mestrezat for 37 years and Don Wilcox for 27 years. Four of the directors (Clifford Brown, Richard Strange, Frank Borkowski, and Gerald Zimmerman) each served only one year.
• The Omicron Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi was formed in 1925 as the result of a "rebel" group of students, led by student George Saari, who decided to form their own band separate from the military ROTC WVU Band. The group was required to become a recognized student organization in order to perform, and therefore the fraternity was created. It was not until years later that these two bands merged into one true University Marching Band.
• Except for the World War II years when women marched to replace the men in the service, the marching band was an all male organization. This changed in 1972 when Don Wilcox encouraged women to join for the first time. 12 women joined the men for band camp; 6 additional joined following camp.
• The smallest band in WVU's history was in 1901 when the band had only 8 members.
• The largest band in WVU's history was in 1998 when the band had 380 members.
• The WVU Marching Band has performed over the years in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. With the inclusion of the other WVU Bands (the Wind Symphony, the Concert Band, and the Basketball Pep Band), other locations to be added include California, Idaho, Massachusetts, and England.
• The band's pregame arrangements of the University's two fight songs, Fight Mountaineers and Hail West Virginia were arranged by WVU's 7th band director - Dr. Budd Udell. Fight Mountaineers was composed by Fuzzy Knight and Hail West Virginia was composed by WVU alumni Earl Miller and Ed McWhorther.
• The band's pregame arrangement of Aaron Copland's Simple Gifts was arranged by then WVU music student David McCullough. Dave went on to be a band graduate assistant and wrote numerous arrangements for the band. He is presently the Director of Athletic Bands at Butler University in Indianapolis.
• Simple Gifts was first performed as a halftime selection in 1973. It was soon thereafter added as a permanent part of the pregame show (complete with expanding circles). For one year, Don Wilcox decided not to include the song in the pregame show. The outcry from the University and community was so great, that the song and drill had to be inserted back into pregame for the very next game!
• The band's pregame arrangement of John Denver's Country Roads was arranged by WVU Professor of Music Dr. James Miltenberger.
• Country Roads was added to the pregame show in 1972 when the song was popular throughout the nation. It has been performed every year since and it is one of the most recognizable selections in the band's repertoire. The drill traditionally includes the famous state outline which has become a trademark for not only the band, but the entire University and state.
• The pregame selection Mountain Dew is a traditional tune arranged by Robert Foster, Director of Bands at the University of Kansas. The faster "tag" ending was written by then graduate assistant David Williams. Dave has taught band at various WV public schools as well as composition at several WV colleges. He also arranged the tag ending for Simple Gifts.
• The WVU Alma Mater was written by WVU alumnus Louis Corson in 1938. The version the band plays and sings has been altered several times throughout the band's history. The present version was arranged by WVU's Director of Bands Don Wilcox.
• The WVU Colorguard (Silks) first appeared with the band in 1978.
• Throughout the years, the WVU Band has performed hundreds of selections for halftime. Some of the most performed selections include Walk Him Up the Stairs and Old Man River arranged by David McCullough, the Spanish selections Malaga and Malaguena, Gershwin's The Man I Love arranged by former Assistant Director Joe Eckert, and My Favorite Things from the Sound of Music. Some of the most recent popular selections include Fiddler on the Roof, To Tame the Perilous Skies, and The Ascension arranged by present marching band director John Hendricks.
• The University's logo, the "flying WV", was first premiered in the band's pregame show in 1983, as well as the Fight Mountaineers cheer.
• Probably the single most important event in the history of the WVU Band, thus far, was the presentation of the John Philip Sousa Foundation's "Sudler Trophy" honoring the band as the nation's outstanding collegiate marching band for 1997. The Sudler Trophy recognized the long standing tradition of dedication, commitment, and pride by the band's present and past members, staff, and directors. The trophy was awarded by the officers of the John Philip Sousa Foundation at the '97 Homecoming game with over 500 members of the Alumni Band joining the 330-member WVU Band for this special presentation.
• In 1980, the WVU Band celebrated the opening of Mountaineer Field by joining singer John Denver on the field at pregame. After the band formed the state outline, Denver and his band performed Country Roads to the delight of the sellout crowd gathered for the stadium's opening. This also marked the first home game for new head football coach Don Nehlen.
• The WVU Band has also shared the field for special occasions with country singer Kathy Mattea (1993 and 1997) and actor James Earl Jones (1998).
• The band has been "guest conducted" by several prominent conductors and WVU alumni. These include Col. John Bourgeois - Director of the United States Marine Band, Jeff Taylor - Director of the United States Navy Jazz Ensemble, Jay Chattaway - composer, Susan Brown Hardesty, and Lysander Dudley, as well as many visiting college band directors.
• Dr. Frank Stevens has served as the "Voice of the Mountaineer Marching Band" for 41 years!
• The oldest member to ever march in the band was saxophonist William Doddrill who was a member of the 1999 and 2000 bands. He was 69 when he joined the band in 1999.
• The longest marching member of the band is trumpeter Dawn "Grandma" West who has marched a total of 18 years thus far. She joined the band in 1983.
• The first assistant director of the WVU Band was John Locke, who is now the Director of Bands at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.
• The last band member to "220" out of the tunnel at Old Mountaineer Field in 1979 was drum major Ken Ozzello. Ken is now the Director of Bands at the University of Alabama.
• The person who served the longest as a WVU Feature Twirler was Paula Jo (Meyer) Stout. She twirled for 8 seasons (1973-1980) while attending graduate school and Pharmacy School. Paula has served as a staff member of the band since the 1980's. The person to twirl the next longest was Kathy (Holland) Burton who twirled for 6 seasons (1974-1979) while she was in undergraduate and graduate school.
• The first year the band had two drum majors was in 1981 when Dan Kincaid and Patrick Garrett were selected.
• The first female drum major was Cara Porterfield, who was selected for the 1982 and 1983 seasons.
• In 1986, the band had three drum majors with Karen Tucker, Lori Dawkins, and Kim Weaver being selected. The band returned to two drum majors the following season.
• Because of the increased size of the band over the past years, it now takes 9 charter buses to move the band. For the 1997 Carquest Bowl trip to Florida, the band actually took 10 buses to allow room for all equipment and luggage.
• The farthest the band has ever traveled on one trip was to Tucson, Arizona in 1999 for the Insight.com Bowl.
• The longest bus trips the band ever took was during the 1994 and the 1997 seasons for the Carquest Bowls in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
• Since Mountaineer Field opened in 1980, the band has been located in four different sections in the stands: the lower right of the "students' side" (section 103), the lower left of the "students' side" (section 108), the upper deck of the students' section (section 206), and in the north endzone where the band presently sits (section 115).
• In 1979, an anonymous donor from Parkersburg paid the admission cost for the entire WVU Band to attend a Broadway Show. The 280 member band enjoyed "A Chorus Line" while in New York City for the WVU/Syracuse game (which was played at Giant's Stadium).
• The WVU Band has been hosting the regional championships of Bands of America since 1985.
• In 1995, the band expanded its annual cassette recordings to include their first compact disc recording.
• The WVU Alumni Band has been active for 32 years. The group participates every year at Homecoming by marching in the Homecoming Parade and participating in the pregame football festivities. The Alumni Band has a database of over 1,600 members. In the summer of 2001, the Alumni Band "kicked off" the WVU Bands' 100th anniversary celebration with a first ever European tour. The group toured and performed in England, France, Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
• Here is a listing of the bowl trips in which the marching band has participated since 1969:
  
  

  2007 Season	Fiesta Bowl	Tempe, AZ
  2006 Season	Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, FL
  2005 Season	Sugar Bowl	Atlanta, GA
  2004 Season	Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, FL
  2003 Season	Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, FL
  2002 Season	Continental Tire Bowl	Charlotte, NC
  2000 Season	Music City Bowl	Nashville, TN
  1998 Season	Insight.com Bowl	Tucson, AZ
  1997 Season	Carquest Bowl	Ft. Lauderdale, FL
  1996 Season	Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, FL
  1994 Season	Carquest Bowl	Ft. Lauderdale, FL
  1993 Season	Sugar Bowl	New Orleans, LA
  1989 Season	Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, FL
  1988 Season	Fiesta Bowl	Tempe, AZ
  1987 Season	Sun Bowl	El Paso, TX
  1984 Season	Blue Bonnet Bowl	Houston, TX
  1983 Season	Hall of Fame Bowl	Birmingham, AL
  1982 Season	Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, FL
  1981 Season	Peach Bowl	Atlanta, GA
  1975 Season	Peach Bowl	Atlanta, GA
  1972 Season	Peach Bowl	Atlanta, GA
  1969 Season	Peach Bowl	Atlanta, GA