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New marching band will play basketball halftime shows

Wichita State will have a marching band for the first time since 1986.

The university announced Thursday that the Shocker Sound Machine marching band will launch this fall, performing halftime routines at four men’s and four women’s basketball games in the upcoming season.

Director of Bands Timothy Shade described the Shocker Sound Machine, an extension of the Shocker Sound pep band, as a “high-energy, high-octane” ensemble.

“Three to seven minutes of just, you can’t relax. That’s what it’s going to be,” Shade said.

Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn, director of the music school, said WSU’s lack of a marching program has been a detriment to recruiting.