Brad McDavid was a retired man at the end of the 2023-24 academic year. He was fresh off 30 years of directing the University of Washington Husky Marching Band when his phone rang in early September. On the other side was Seattle University Athletics, asking about how to start a pep band.
McDavid’s passion for athletic-oriented bands and the positive impact they have across campus had him back in business.
“From my first meeting with President Peñalver and the Athletic Department administration, I was really impressed over how excited they were over the desire to not only start a pep band program but to do it right from the beginning so that the program will continue to grow and develop into something really special for the SU campus and the students to decide to participate in it,” McDavid said.
Yet this journey, as many do, faced challenges along the way.
“The largest challenge initially was recruiting enough members, Another challenge was ordering the instruments that students don’t normally own. SU did not currently own instruments such as sousaphones, baritones and mellophones,” McDavid said.
McDavid boasts an impressive resume and is known as a legend in the band world. In 2016, he was inducted into the Washington Music Educators National Conference Hall of Fame and founded the Washington All-State High School Marching Band. He also brings a former band member along with him.
Owen Hanson, a law student at Seattle U, played under the direction of McDavid during his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington.
“I was on the fence about doing band because law school’s a lot of work, and then when I saw Brad, I was like oh, yeah, I’m going to sign up now. I just love working with him. He’s just great at everything music,” Hanson said.
Hanson has been in band his whole life, and bringing school spirit to sporting events has become a passion of his.
“I really love sports. I love playing music in the context of sporting events. I love having a lot of school spirit. It makes me happy,” Hanson said.
The pep band hopes to combine tradition and school pride at sporting events, both home and away. They will be playing at 15 men’s and women’s basketball home games and will travel to Las Vegas for the 2025 Western Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament.
“We’re like the hype team to a degree which I love. It makes me feel like I’m part of the team,” Hanson said.
The pep band is hoping to continue bringing in passionate musicians like Logan Warner, a third-year chemistry major, who plays the saxophone in the pep band.
“I was kind of worried about the time commitment, though everyone kind of already knows what they’re doing and we don’t have to spend 20 hours practicing,” Warner said. “I didn’t even think twice about playing because I really missed playing in a band.”
Warner and Hanson are both students who have been able to bring their passion for music to this new program. The pep band hopes to continue engaging new members, a goal that will measure success for McDavid and the band going forward.
“Beyond this basketball season, for me, a future sign of success will be to hopefully recruit twice as many members so that we have enough for two 30-member bands which will not only give us the opportunity to perform for all home Redhawk basketball games but also additional sports and events across campus,” McDavid said.
For now, Seattle U can expect a lot of spirit and great music at the basketball games. The pep band will be playing at Climate Pledge Arena for the men’s basketball game against Portland State University Wednesday, Dec. 4.
