History

When exactly Albert Miller started the bands here at BYU is not known, but the baton of leadership was passed to Robert Sauer in 1908. Known for his composition, “When it’s Springtime in the Rockies,” Sauer continued directing for the next 35 years. Under his leadership the band toured the Western U.S. The marching band started off in a slightly different function than it is known today. Originally, Sauer founded it as ROTC marching band for BYU. The band was known as “The Cougar Band,” and in addition to general performing, played during service projects done by students of BYU around the Provo and Orem area.

In 1943 J.R. Halliday took over as the third director, with Norman Hunt as his assistant. While he was director, the band once again toured the West. After Halliday’s brief, one-year tenure, Norman Hunt served as the director until 1945, when Ralph Laycock took over as director of bands, with Richard Ballou as his assistant. During Laycock’s 13 year tenure the band played at many events, including the Music Educators National Convention in 1958, and the College Band Directors National Association convention in 1964.

In 1965 the Harris Fine Arts Center was completed and the band program settled into its home for the next 43 years. In 1966, Richard Ballou assumed his position as the director, and founded the Cougar Marching Band as we know it today. He was followed as director by the band's very first drum major, Grant Elkington, who served as band director from 1970-1973.

Bruce Bastian was the third director of the Cougar Marching band. Along with Alan Ashton, a computer science instructor at BYU, Bastian wrote a software for choreographing marching band performances. He concluded his tenure as band director in 1977, leaving the band in the capable hands of Dan Bachelder. Bachelder was a trombone and Euphonium player, and from 1977 until 1984, he taught and directed at BYU.

David Blackinton, a trumpet player and teacher, followed after Bachelder in 1980, directing the band until 1985, when he stepped down to focus on teaching. Donald Peterson took over directing in 1986, just one year into his teaching at BYU. He would be the second longest director of the band, serving until 2006, after which he stepped down for Fred McInnis, who became director in 2007. This was just one year before the Cougar Band Hall was completed in LaVell Edwards Stadium. In 2008, the practice field moved from the Marriott Center parking lot to the lot outside the Stadium. In 2011, a permanent tower was erected in that lot, allowing the director and band staff to clearly see the band during practice and literally cementing the band as a fixture of the stadium. Fred McInnis, or "Brother Mac", as the students call him, still serves as Band Director today.