UI Hawkeye Marching Band to play Citrus Bowl halftime show after organizers reverse decision

The change comes after an online petition to allow both the UI and the University of Tennessee’s marching bands to perform.

December 10, 2023

Emily Nyberg

Iowa Drum Major Christian Frankl direct the Hawkeye Marching Band durning the Hawkeye Huttle before a football game between No.18 Iowa and No. 2 Michigan at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023.

The Hawkeye Marching Band will be playing the New Year’s Day halftime show at the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl after organizers reversed their decision of only having the band play pregame.

The bowl organizers initially announced last week on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Hawkeye Marching Band would only be playing the pregame while singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw would play at halftime.

Hawkeyes voiced their disagreement with the decision and created a petition to allow both the Hawkeye Marching Band and the University of Tennessee Marching Band to play during halftime. The petition reached 9,779 supporters.

UI drum major Christian Frankl posted on Facebook that he thinks fans would love to see both marching bands play the pregame and halftime shows. The post got over 20,000 shares.

“We have worked so hard this season, and we believe the Hawkeye fans would love to see our band (and the UT band) play both pregame and halftime at the game.” Frankl wrote.

On Dec. 10, Citrus Bowl organizers released a post on X announcing that both university bands will be playing on the field for the halftime show.

About the Contributors

Jack Moore, News Editor

he/him/his

Jack Moore is a second-year student at the University of Iowa majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication. He is from Cedar Rapids Iowa. Along with working at The Daily Iowan, Jack works for the University of Iowa's UI-REACH program as a Resident Assistant. UI-REACH is a program for students with learning, cognitive, and behavioral disabilities intended to provide support to these students throughout their college experience. Additionally, Jack is involved in Iowa City's live music scene as he plays bass for local Iowa City band "Two Canes."

Emily Nyberg, Visual Editor

(she/her/hers)

Emily Nyberg is a second-year student at the University of Iowa double majoring in Journalism and Cinematic arts. Prior to her role as a Visual Editor, Emily was a Photojournalist, and a News Reporter covering higher education.