NMU Band Day Oct. 24: a record 850-plus musicians will fill the Superior Dome field at halftime of the Roosevelt game

MARQUETTE, Mich. — Northern Michigan University’s Band Day will be the biggest in its 72-year history on Saturday, Oct. 24, when more than 850 musicians take the Superior Dome field at halftime of the Wildcats’ home football game against Roosevelt University.

Kickoff is 1 p.m., according to NMU’s athletics schedule. More than 750 students from 23 school band programs in the Upper Peninsula, northern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin will march with NMU’s Pride of the North Wildcat Marching Band, which has more than 100 members, The Mining Journal reported. Together they are expected to fill the entire field.

The theme. This year’s show celebrates the rise of K-pop, Korean pop music, giving the long-running tradition a contemporary soundtrack.

Bigger than last year. In 2025, NMU Director of Bands Steven Riley told TV6 that year’s show would be the largest Band Day halftime show, with about 680 high school students joining the NMU band.

Who is marching. The participating programs listed by The Mining Journal:

Upper Peninsula: Brimley, Engadine, Escanaba, Forest Park, Gladstone, Gwinn, Ishpeming, Jeffers, Kingsford, Lake Linden-Hubbell, Manistique, Marquette Senior High, Menominee, Negaunee, Newberry, Rudyard, Sault Ste. Marie and Superior Central.

Northern Lower Peninsula: Cheboygan and Glen Lake.

Wisconsin: Hurley, Lena and Marinette.

If you go. The Superior Dome is on NMU’s campus in Marquette. Tickets are sold through the NMU ticket office online, and the athletics schedule page carries links to watch, listen and follow live stats for families who can’t make the trip. The game is a GLIAC conference matchup; NMU is coming off a 56-33 loss at Michigan Tech in the Miner’s Cup on Oct. 17.

Why it matters. Band Day, now in its 72nd year, gives school musicians a turn in a collegiate-size halftime show, in an ensemble far larger than their own bands, while celebrating school music programs across the region, The Mining Journal noted.

Sources:
The Mining Journal, “NMU’s 72nd Annual Band Day to bring record number of musicians to Superior Dome,” Oct. 21, 2026 (850-plus musicians, 750-plus students, 23 programs, K-pop theme, school list), https://www.miningjournal.net/news/local/2026/10/nmus-72nd-annual-band-day-to-bring-record-number-of-musicians-to-superior-dome/
Northern Michigan University Athletics, 2026 football schedule (Oct. 24, 1 p.m., vs. Roosevelt, Superior Dome; Oct. 17 result at Michigan Tech), https://nmuwildcats.com/sports/football/schedule/2026
Northern Michigan University ticket office, https://nmu.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx
TV6/WLUC, “680 high school students to join NMU Marching Band on Band Day,” Oct. 24, 2025, https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2025/10/24/680-high-school-students-join-nmu-marching-band-band-day/
Photo: Nmu bassmasta at English Wikipedia, “Nmufootballindome.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, public domain, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nmufootballindome.jpg

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