About Cougar Marching Band

Cougar Marching Band members running into stadium with instruments

Marching Band is a family. It’s a physical, emotional and mental support group. When you have a hard day, failed a test, and are just not having it, you know that you get to come to band at the end of the day and forget about your problems because you’re here for the music, not the grade. It takes away the stress of the day to day life and the relationships you make are forever.”
Former Cougar Marching Band member

Founded in 1899, the Cougar Marching Band consists of over 200 students from almost 70 majors across campus with a wide range of musical and marching backgrounds. As one of the largest student organizations at WSU, the Cougar Marching Band serves as an ambassador for WSU students, alumni, and fans wherever they perform. Through musical and visual excellence, they provide relentless support and entertainment for Cougar athletic teams and their fans. And for its members, the Cougar Marching Band aspires to provide a first-class educational, musical, and social experience.

With an exciting mix of corps-style and traditional-style shows, the band performs a different show at every home football game, playing everything from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bruno Mars to Sousa and Tchaikovsky, all in an effort to entertain our fans. The marching band travels to Seattle whenever the Apple Cup is away and will send a pep band or full band to select away games.

Additionally, the band travels to any bowl games or conference championships, most recently enjoying the 2016 Holiday Bowl in San Diego. The CMB has played in the Rose Bowl twice, several parades throughout the northwest, and in 2017 joined band members from the University of Washington and the University of Oregon in a combined trip to Ireland to march in the 2017 St Patrick’s Parade in Dublin.