I GOT TIME TODAY: ESPN Band of the Year| Podcast 

We’re still on this? 🥱

Luv Da Boom

I just hope yall gon keep the energy to cheer these hbcus (A&T and Jsu) on when they do the rose parade..

Jackson State 💙💙💙💙

Agreed. I wish we could see the scores from all the judges for all the categories.

Oh and FYI A&T is in the CAA division!!

LuvdaBoom 💥💥💥💥💥

You are dead on!!! The criteria is literally based on NCA&T. Any HBCU Band that is not A&T has no ability to win any of these competitions.

This may likely be a reason Dr Greggs and maybe Mr Jackson would defer participating in events like these. This event has major flaws. Security lady mentioned that there was only 4849 ppl there. It was a flop and likely set up to favor the more MEAC style bands.

I hope Usher see THE BOOM whole performance and invite them to perform with him in SUPERBOWL 2024.....

Sounds like they used DCI rules to judge what HBCU’s do. Everything you mentioned they were looking for is standard in DCI. And NCAT is closest to what DCi does. Even marching 6to5

If A&T can put a "Mid" show up against JSU's best show and still win, is more of an indictment against JSU than A&T. A&T's show was solid, well thought out, and designed with the judge's criteria in mind. Their hard work shouldn't be undermined. If you came from any program worth its sheet music, you can see why A&T won, and it wasn't even close. (A&T's show was not "Mid" by any stretch of the imagination BTW)

You should have to battle MULTIPLE other HBCU bands in order to even qualify for HBCU Band of the Year. Jackson State has to battle EVERY WEEK. They have a bullseye on them from August - December.

Also for the overall performance of auxiliary, i would give it to NCAT. Sure JSU doesnt have flags or majorettes, but when scoring auxiliary as a whole, Golden Delight is versatile. Even if you judged each auxiliary unit separate, Golden Delight would still outscore based on their versatility. We have to be honest - visually, dancing, having majorettes, and especially a flag line are more eye catching than one dance feature. Dont get me wrong, Ms Crowley does an amazing job with the J-Settes, but visually on the field, Golden Delight captures more attention. People forget that the whole point of auxillary is to add a visual element to the band, and NCAT covers that very well. Again the J-Settes are top-tier dancers, but we, especially in the SWAC, have been conditioned to only seeing a 90 second dance feature and thats it. Some band directors (Bama State, BCU, FAMU) have been known to keep their flag lines on the back sideline, and basically told (dont you move away from the back sideline until the dance feature!) That can be boring, at least AAMU flags march around the field and incorporate into the drill. It wasnt until recently that Bama State started having their flags move a little more on the field and come to the front for a feature. Some people have been so conditioned to not paying attention to flags or majorettes, because some bands have gotten rid of one or both of them, and again some of the ones that do have flags usually keep them in the back, barely even noticed. I remember when JSU had twirlers/majorettes same with A&M, and even Tuskegee had a majorette. Long story short, we have gotten used to not seeing(or noticing) those additional auxiliary, so that people only really notice dancers. So when NCAT comes along and showcases dancers, majorettes, and flags (plus the fact that its the same ladies doing all 3) its a breathe of fresh air.

ESPN is not for HBCUS

I definitely agree to a certain extent. Just because JSU is the # one band this year in the SWAC, ESPN knew they did not have twirlers and a flag team. There are other SWAC bands that do. Smh

Finally…Somebody had to say it

KB, I agree without a shadow of a doubt. BOTY should have gone to #TheeBoom. I graduated from a MEAC school but have family members who graduated from SWAC schools. It has always been a debate that SWAC bands were better than MEAC bands, and I must agree. SWAC is more exciting, better sound, and the battles are 🔥🔥. My husband is an NCAT graduate, and when he heard that NCAT was picked to be in this battle, He stated, and I quote,” NO match for the Boom. “ I have seen many NCAT performances, and this was lackluster. Running onto the field, running to change out props, no drilling. But yet, the judges chose them. When the people at ESPN watched the show, they had the Boom down as the better band. But, #NCAT. #SBOTS, you have proven why you are the #TheeSummaCumLaude of bands.

Y'all still crying about this?? The adjudication wasn't a problem when JSU came in at #1 during the season sometimes, but it is now because they lost? THEY LOST, get over it. They didn't best meet the criteria set forth by the committee. Both bands had the same opportunity to curate a show that met the criteria and one did it better than the other. It's irresponsible AF to sit up here and pull the "A&T isn't in an HBCU conference" card when they literally are the largest HBCU and are thriving in so many ways. The amount of black people attempting to use that as an insult is alarming. Especially considering the fact that BGMM has been marching like this since they were in the MEAC. They're trying to be "white" or a "PWI" because their drum majors don't wear Steve Harvey suits and do the same drills from the 90's?? OHHHHKAY🤣. The ignorance in thinking a band that is "different" or "innovative" means they're trying to be white is sad. JSU's issue is that they thought popularity was going to push them through. It didn't. Which is another ironic point- how was A&T shown favoritsm when it is CLEAR they weren't the "favorites"?? Y'all gotta move on. Ok, you don't like BGMM and think the SWAC reigns supreme. OK COOL, MOVE ON.

Directly from the Band of the Year website: *_The committee is co-chaired by Jackson State Director of Bands Emeritus, Professor Dowell Taylor, and Dr. Julian E. White, FAMU Director of Bands Emeritus._* So two SWAC schools co-chaired the selection committee criteria, meaning they approved or denied the criteria list, so......

Fact check for anyone confused: None of what he said about the supposed “deductions” have been proven, but 1. auxiliaries have been judged all season and JSU was ranked #1 in October without flags and twirlers. 2. Jsu (band overall) was #1 going into this competition. They had the rubric ahead of time like every other competing band. They knew this was based on the field show (for better or worse). 3. As others have noted, the foremost chair people of the judges panel were from jsu and famu (who are in the swac). 4. Not a soul can give you a credible reason that the competition, including the chair people above would rig this competition in A&T’s favor. 5. Seeing better from A&T doesn’t mean what you saw from jsu was better. This was judged by knowledgeable current and former band directors. This is no secret. It’s widely available information. (Again watch the press conference by showtime web) Knowledge is power.

JSU is the best band in the land. The I love❤❤❤

Thee Sonic Boom 💥 Of The South got Cheated.

I agree on the money grab statement. SWAC bands don’t do what MEAC and SEAC bands do. They needed more knowledgeable folks planning this smh

NCAT we don’t know what conference y’all in… are y’all in a hbcu conference or a colonizer conference ? 😂

KB, I agree 1000%. They Definitely used JSU for the clout associated with their name. Just go look at the views. Every channel who posted the bands individually got triple the views on JSU videos than the other bands. I was there in the first and it’s no slight to A&T but JSU was by far better on sound, drill and entertainment.. Even with the slight hiccups, I still would give it to them. Both bands had hiccups. JSU took it though.. They seemed more prepared and they pulled way more out their bag. That’s just real.

I agree let’s see the scores.

LuDaBoom 🐅🐅🐅💙💙💙

Was this a slick promotion for their series “WHY NOT US”? I wouldn’t be surprised if they are in preproduction with NCAT & BGMM for the show.

Spot on assessment. Because of how they judged this, their credibility has been damaged and they won’t see much growth for this event.

Bro nobody taking ESPN seriously...im OCEAN but everybody know the BOOM was the best band of 2023

Your critique was so much on point…l don’t like ESPN…SWAC need to terminate the contract w/ESPN…They SUCK!!!

I not sure why people are surprised….When it comes to field shows, A&T has been the standard for years. I’m Alumni of BGMM, I won’t speak on the stands. We have always sacrificed the stands for field. The hate on BGMM is crazy, like they said at the end of the show “ You Can Hate Me Know”😂

Honestly no one opinion matters anymore but in my opinion JSU was more entertaining from beginning to end including the mess ups. This battle should have been SWAC VS SWAC , MEAC VC MEAC all bands dont have Flags and twirlers. This battle was a trial nd error so hopefully next year will be better. Congrats NCAT good Job JSU

Be messy. 😂

Good luck to them trying to get another SWAC band and their fans to support this event, IF it even happens again. Because the turnout was low AND most of the crowd were in attendance for JSU. It’s not a profitable event, and using the fandom of SWAC bands to draw a crowd but blatantly setting up the scoring system to favor MEAC bands isn’t going to fly well if there’s a next time. Actually, we shouldn’t even legitimize ESPN as a judge of band quality. It was silly from the beginning.

Jackson state university fire 🔥 got pin gang loud sound got volume up there kill it sound so good Atlanta Georgia it fire 🔥

Why not make the judging even across the board. Is that hard

JSU band finally win swac this year in a long time

Why did they show up

ESPN is trynna turn them into a dci band🤔😭

Yea, it was a set up smmfh.... really man it seems like politics as usual.

Lord yall still hurt almost 2 weeks later 😂😂😂😂 I hope yall on JSU payroll as hard as yall going for them 😂

Might as well leave these Monotonous types of competitions to the tedious bands they were designed for lol Don't even bring that back to Atlanta!! lol They might wanna host this event in Florida 👀 the Carolinas😮 or DC, Virginia😂

Well said. The show from NCAT was mid af compared to the Boom's. From the entertainment, song selection, arrangements and sound. Their announcer yelled in the mic for 80% of their show.

I think they just wanted jsu for clout to increase views for ESPN even tho Jsu was the better band

JSU definitely was the best band in the land this year and they finished the job and won that battle. A&T was no where near the best band on that day.

Congratulations to the Blue and Gold Marching Machine from North Carolina A&T State University for being winning and being crowned the Band of the Year! The NCAT fans will shut up when you make us. 🏆 Aggie Pride!! Just another prime-time L in ATL for TheeSecondBest. Keep up the good work KB! I love your videos even when your takes are as bad as that box during JSU’s drill. 😂

This stuff is hear say. Until you have a score card you can't really be upset about what you heard

Man EVERYbody (including some NCAT folk) that JSU Boom was/is the best band. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Question - what is an Adjudicated system? Please enlighten me and does this Adjudicated system represent the HBCU culture that's presently functioning today

No need to sweat it at this point KB, it is what it is fam…like I’ve been saying, just put A&T on the schedule…

#proudsonicboombandparent

Congratulations to NCA&T and FMU! My ESPN BOTY experience as a band fan/supporter (not a band head) was horrible. The flow/organization of this event needs improvement. They had two of the bands perform to the visitor's side; so we paid $190 (for 2 tickets including fees) to see the backsides of 2 out of 4 bands. I live in Metro ATL, but I will likely pass on this event next year. Unless participation in this event greatly helps your bottom line, I recommend SBOTS and any band that does not have flags and majorettes to pass on this event, i.e., be "unavailable."

The bottom line is that you had Caucasian people trying to profit from something that they know NOTHING about themselves. They obviously don’t know anything about HBCU band culture. They held an HBCU band competition based upon PWI band criteria. The entire event was poorly put together which is why the attendance was so lackluster. I don’t see this event having any longevity.

Don’t waste any time viewing the press conference. I have my own opinion about the organizer. He has such a problem with a platform such as this to critique the performance by bands. Then the “Sambo” name calling. I remember reading about the death of HBCU football program and it’s just my opinion this guy has become the puppet to change the culture of HBCU bands.

A&T still won 😂 Go cry about it

I mean for heaven's sake. NCAT won, just let it go. It's becoming very crazy at this point. Especially with all these silly rumors!

13:53 I can answer this questions…. If they invited them then it should have been a Honda BOTB and not Band of the year. SN: I think it’s best to move the whole showcase to a smaller venue. With this being the first year, it’s like a test run. But they have to move venues if they wanna fill seats and also make things a lil cheaper

A&T doesn’t need your congratulations fr. You having this platform and basing your opinions off of things that aren’t factual is hella irresponsible.

I knew it was a rigged competition. JSU had a better performance

Was there a deduction for NCA&T for not having rifles as part of auxiliary????

There was a reason why BGMM played “Hate Me Know” at the end of their show. Have you forgotten that NC A&T is a 4 x Champion of the Celebration Bowl (plus a 3-Peat 2017 - 2019). Yes, A&T is in the CAA. Conferences do not matter, they will alway be a HBCU. There is not a need to be disrespectful because JSU lost. Looking at the score card or rubric isn’t going to change the outcome. The better band won. JSU will have to come harder next year if both bands make it back or maybe they will meet in the Honda Battle of the Bands.

Why was A&T invited anyway, when every chance they get they’re running to every and any “White Conference “. Tell them( and HAMPTON) go compete in the Big South or the CAA battle of the bands or something, somewhere.

KB you deduct every show for Bands that don't fit your SWAC!! LISTENING to you you're already BIASED Towards the SWAC.

Not tryna cap y'all down but I'm pretty Jackson State and Southern are the only two bands in the SWAC that don't have Twirlers and/or Flags. Also, North Carolina A&T is now in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) which is the same conference that Hampton is in.

😂😂😂😂. 9 days after the Aggies win. It's still a topic of discussion 😅😅😅😅😅😅🤣🤣🤣🤣. But go off! 😅😅😅😅😅😅.

NCA&T!!! Give us our flowers already. JSU is also a great band but yall fan base just don't know when to give props when props are due. This was just A&T's year. AGGIE PRIDE!!

North Carolina A&T won fair and ⏹️ . All yall SWAC fans judge off of is who played the loudest. And who ever plays the loudest to yall makes them the winner.............that is literally all yall do. Blasting, cranking, and blowing does not make you a winner......Why are yall not getting that thru yall head? A&T was Balanced and extremely cohesive with the field and the stands. Just take the L, learn to play with some character and shut up. #AGGIEPRIDE💙💛

I know you said “allegedly,” but whoever is claiming JSU got all these points deducted is all cap😂 Look at the press conference they had. I didn’t like this event anyway though. Disney is trying to make money off of OUR culture and I don’t like it.

KB can you address the NCAT fans that thinks a band can’t be loud and balanced! I’m so tired of that sorry excuse.

Exactly!!!

I agree 100% but thats no excuse,,, ima a boom fan for sure,,, and if I was Jackson state director,,, the JSettes would have twirled there ass off that day!!!

We need to see blank score sheets and rubrics. I don't do hearsay. I need facts, written statements. Respectfully. I can accept A&T winning, but in defense to JSU, You can't judge a SWAC school to a East Coast standards. A&T and Hampton are in the CAA... They were in the Big South... I predict both schools will be back in the MEAC within 5 years. And field show should be what is judged. Period.

Bro really and truly Jackson St got invited for advertising and Marketing purposes only TV ratings. They knew the hype around it.Money grab at best. Then it still was marketed trouble. Look how empty the stand were.

Um, the bands were told all of the criteria (the 5 areas) from the beginning when the competition was announced. As a matter of fact, the same criteria was used a few years ago with ESPN's The Undefeated.

Why is people still in their feelings it’s just a trophy #stopcrying lol

Copied from FB post by "Don P. Roberts Thanks to all 4 AMAZING Bands that performed in our ESPN Band of the Year Competition!! We welcome any and ALL feedback that will help us GROW for the future!! Did I mention that both Division I Bands received 100,000.00 and each Division II band received 75,000.00. Give us ALL feedback…. Ready, Set, Go!!!!"

But NCAT had a better show and better execution. You can't butcher a drill and have a dancer fall and expect to win

Question: How would Jackson State drum majors be deducted for not being in uniform when Florida Memorial whole band had on sleeping clothes?….

I don't believe they got punished for what they did NOT have because you are correct THAT IS WRONG! however in terms of most categories NCAT was the better group. You can see A1 Media for the mistakes you didn't see. I felt JSU was better musically, but in terms of drill, drumline, auxiliary, drum major, and GE. NCAT was better. I feel like All bands had indication of all criteria since they've been judged monthly since September I believe.

A&T was told they didn’t belong there in the first place. Put together a fantastic show and wins. Now it’s “it was rigged” to minimize the hard work it went into preforming and a high level week after week. The bands were judged on the same criteria from the very beginning of the competition in August. The amount of SWAC bias is dumbfounding, but y’all will get out of y’all’s feelings one day 😂 AGGIE PRIDE!!

It was fishy, because they had already made the decision!! Trash competition!

JSU show wasn't a BOTY Show. If you watch KB, JSU has never loss a battle. Don't listen to me watch the history of his video's.

A&T was clearly the better, prepared band! All the band directors knew what the judging criteria was. It's no excuses! All these comments about Jackson didn't have this/that etc. Is a bunch of crap! If they would of executed their show without any flaws. I could see it, but JSU had mistakes. How you gonna get mad at NCAT when JSU was the ones who shot their self in the foot? NCAT simply checked off the judges scorecards!

JSU drum majors did look sloppy in those suits…shirts were untucked…so I can understand that part. This competition needs to be more vocal about what they are looking for. I think it needs time to grow and work out the kinks. Also, maybe some of these bands need to not participate if the competition isnt suited for them. IJS…JSU lost…get over it! The complete NCAT show overall was good.

KB I will agree the Celebration Bowl teams Bands should've been invited. My opinion FAMU had the best show outta all 4 schools. JSU definitely win the stands.

NCAT edited out their mistakes too.

Are you serious KB? I knew it bro also I heard the Celebration Bowl president is NCAT alumni we lost this battle b4 it started JSU had best show and sounded better

JSU Got Juked ! Sounds Farmiliar

Whatever you want to call it: Battle of the Bands; PWI's with instruments or Auxiliaries are Us. It's as clear as the blue waters of Haiti that this competition SERVED more to legitimize or rather revitalize the dead wood that makes up the majority of the Bands programs throughout the MEAC conference. NC AT&T, I'm also looking at you There's been much focus on establishing the authority of an Adjudicated System that is supposed to be the final authority for all HBCU Band Culture. However, here's a counter response for those of you who for whatever reason still have that OLD HATRED for anything coming out of HBCU schools in the South, schools that ultimately are always SWAC. You said/say it loudly with your judgement that you WILL NEVER REWARD or count a SWAC PROGRAM as being excellent as long as you live: the OLD HATRED! I thought it was dead (THE OLD HATRED), but it seems to still have life in you. Therefore, here's a review of what we do in the SWAC; What's been done while you slept; How the SWAC carries the banner of Honour for the culture and has by no means shamed it - but ESPECIALLY because they know that they must give us their best in order to represent the culture. Yeah - this is a soft rebuke to all you bourgeoisie know it alls still stuck in the ignorant days of former glories long dead, hopefully, it's enough to heal you heart so that your not so BITTER towards schools in the SWAC. The proverb is "The children have a right to surpass the Old Landmark". No matter how many points Jordan scored in the past, it is the right of the next generation to be better than he ever was...it's God's will and one of the principle's for how HE keeps things honest concerning preventing biased judgements. Things have changed - do catch up! Media I guess we are supposed to ignore the fact that most (if not all) non-SWAC band programs do not have a Media team. All it takes is an Android or an IPhone, focus and a great portion of stamina. To not have a media team by now - you can't represent the HBCU Culture sir - SIT DOWN please! Zero/5th Quarter I probably can count on 1 hand the number of times I've seen a non-SWAC based band program participate in a zero quarter. Congratulations to those few non-SWAC bands that actually participate in a 5th. SWAC bands have been doing this for years; but why do it. They do it for the culture; for the people; it builds pride and certainly allows you to form familial bonds with individuals or rather that brother from another mother. Yeah, it's for the love of the people: those who love the culture do and those who don't... Majorette Start with the traditional/authentic form of African call/response and mix in a good portion of free style and contemporary jazz: majorette style for the win (FTW) The majorette form is the one form of dance that was started by Black Women in the SWAC. It is as authentically HBCU as the Do Si Do danceline is to Square dance. Square dance committees DO NOT penalize dance groups for Do-Si-Doing... HOWEVER, so called experts of HBCU Band competition penalize HBCU bands for just having majorettes. Madness and idocracy at it's finest Time and better judgement will not permit me, but there are so may other facets of excellence that SWAC bands have forged in the last few years that it can't all be framed in this one post. Just know of a certainty non-SWAC band programs throughout the land, you've been put on notice: get it together and stop confusing the situation: do your part and present an excellent display of craft or SIT DOWN somewhere. You had less that 5000 people present at the function. The BoomBox Classic; Soul Bowl; Magic City Classic; Grambling/TSU State Classic - the list goes on-and-on: they have at least that number in the zero quarter alone. Nobody checks for non-SWAC bands because non-SWAC are not keeping up with the culture. Enough with the OLD HATRED!

…you need to check your sources. They didn’t get deducted for what they didn’t have, the rubric is based on whatever the band brought in their show but not for lack thereof.

Aggies won… yall can come up with every theory possible, it doesn’t change the result. Live with it.

Both bands performed well. If I had scored the competition, I would've scored it NCAT- 9.5 and JSU- 9.2. I don't know why the JSU fans are so surprised. SWAC bands concentrate too much on volume. Bands like Southern, JSU and last years TxS are very volume dominant bands. It became that way because the recording equipment over the years was usually shitty and the bands that played the loudest sounded the best on videos. Sadly what is lost is nuance which is an integral part of the musical experience. NCAT will beat SWAC everytime if they don't realize this and adjust. Also, the JSettes are great beautiful excellent dancers.... the Delight is on another level. Some would have thought that there were three different dance troupes in the NCAT performance: dancers, flaggers and synchro dancers but they were all the same women. JSU had a wonderful season culminating in a competition for the band of the year. Take this success and build on it.

Hmm I thought prolly like everybody thought , JSU was gone dominate so they didn't think about the FLAG criteria . . So lesson learned. They cudda adjusted the scoresheet TO MAKE IT FAIR.

Neat garbage compared to JSTATE

In championship appearances jsu is holding three straight L’s in atlanta… The football team can’t win, the band can’t win

Okay with that logic, the criteria being known prior to competition about flags, auxiliary, etc. Why didn't JSU decline the invitation? They knew ahead of time that it would impact them. 3 of the 4 met those requirements. Do the J5 usually not wear traditional drum major attire because you complaining about being deducted based off of your style, this would be a change from the norm if that's the case. Evidently 3 of the 4 did these things like directing, if everyone knew ahead of time why does JSU feel compelled to do something different? A&T gave a show that met the requirements so of course it was different than their normal because they were working within the guidelines. That was not a mix of their shows entirely new material. We are in the CAA. You throwing stones and don't think stones will be thrown back. How you think, someone will sit back let you criticize A&T and not say anything? True HBCU will take the loss, shake hands, congratulate the others and move on. Come back stronger next time or if you can't met the agreed upon requirements don't attend. Simple

You didnt see the adjudication so you dont know what they judged the bands. Youre also "hearing" things thats not neccessarily true. Again, people are just making sh!t up. Nobody but probably the band directors have score sheets so stop this.

I'm pretty sure it was judged on how well the band could portray their own culture.