Marching Scarlet Knights Take Big Ten Pride to New York Giants Game

Rutgers marching band will perform at Met Life Stadium Thursday for the NFL halftime show

The Marching Scarlet Knights (MSK) are used to electrifying crowds of up to 50,000 at Rutgers' SHI Stadium in Piscataway. But on Thursday, the Big Ten band will trade its home turf for massive MetLife Stadium, taking the field during the New York Giants vs. Washington Commanders game.

"MetLife is a spectacular stadium to play in," said Director of University Bands Todd Nichols. "You can't compete with the sheer size and volume of it. When it's full, with 80,000 people, it's a hard thing to replicate."

This marks the fourth time the band will perform at MetLife during Nichols' 10-year tenure at Rutgers-having previously played twice for the Jets and now twice for the Giants. It is also their fifth marquee performance in five years, an impressive stretch that includes the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the 2025 Tour de London.

For MSK members-many who started playing an instrument in elementary school and joined their high school marching band-performing in an NFL halftime show is a dream come true.

"I'm a big NFL fan, so doing this is awesome and not something I ever thought I would get to do in marching band-especially on Thursday night, which is an infamous night in football," said senior Hannah Echols, 21, one of the band's five drum majors. "It's really special to see people watching and engaging with our ensemble, and it's cool to get to blow everyone's socks off in the stadium."

At the request of New York Giants leadership, the band is prepping a seven-minute revamp of a performance they previously brought to life at SHI Stadium-a dynamic show featuring music by Michael Jackson, My Chemical Romance, and Rush, designed to appeal to the broad crowd at an NFL game.

"The Giants want a throwback rock 'n' roll type show. We will bring parts of this show back, dust it off, and polish it while learning a second show for the Rutgers Military Appreciation Game on Saturday," Nichols said. "These students are amazing."

Every time the MSK performs for audiences outside of Rutgers, it provides a chance for bandmates to bond while strengthening the university's reputation, said senior Evan Gore, 22, another drum major with the band.

"It's so important that people get to see what we do at Rutgers because our band is really something special," Gore said. "It's not just about the music; it's about the people and community, and that all goes into creating one product."

A Decade of Growth and Innovation

Invitations to these marquee events signify to Nichols that the vision he brought to Rutgers in 2017 is coming to fruition.

Under his leadership over the past decade, the band has more than doubled in size-growing from 178 members to 375. The program has also expanded its full-time team, adding Julia Baumanis as Assistant Director of University Bands in 2022 and Turner Gray as Coordinator of Athletic Bands in early October.

"In many cases, we have not only met but surpassed our goals. I'm incredibly proud of the MSK's achievements. Their reputation is very highly regarded in the state and is now also recognized across the country," Nichols said. "The thing I'm most proud of is that whoever comes in after me, they have a system set up for success."

That system includes a commitment to guaranteeing a spot in the band to any interested Rutgers student-alongside maintaining the tightest rehearsal schedule in the Big Ten. While most college marching bands practice five days a week, the MSK puts in two-hour practices just three afternoons a week. That holds true even during weeks like this one, when members must learn two completely distinct halftime shows for Thursday's NFL game and Saturday's matchup against Nebraska.

"One thing we are most proud of is our efficiency. This is absolutely purposeful and has boosted enrollment," Nichols said. "We found a way for students to be able to excel in their academic classes, not have to miss labs and recitations, and still do band."

Building Community on and off the Field

Nichols's approach has fostered a welcoming environment that staff and students say feels more like a family than a college course.

"I think part of the reason why I like band here so much is that you meet all these people with different interests," said junior and alto saxophonist Spencer Finkler, 20, who, like Gore and Echols, lives with fellow bandmates. "I can go to any campus at Rutgers, and I see people from band."

"Creating a community is the ultimate importance in a marching band," Gore added, "because you need that support system of people who will lift you up and motivate you to come back. The hard work is all worth it."

That positive culture is a large part of what drew Gray to join the MSK leadership team this fall. In his new role, he will write the field formations and drill charts for the band while assisting Baumanis with the pep band, which performs at basketball and volleyball games.

"I don't think that positive culture exists if you have students being denied the opportunity to be in the band. Students deserve that outlet to do what they love," said Gray, 28, who previously directed the pep band at La Salle University. "Our less experienced players have the chance to learn from really strong players and marchers. We grow together through that, not in spite of it."

Gray, who grew up a "band kid" in Georgia, played tuba at Florida State before earning his master's degree in music from Washington State and a doctorate in music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his research focused on how the marching arts can serve as an educational tool for all students, particularly music majors.

"I knew there was an incredible program at Rutgers that Todd and Julia had built. The opportunity to join a team led by two educators really drew me," Gray said. "Todd Nichols leaves places better than he finds them. He and Julia are people I look up to."