COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s a football season unlike any other, and it’s not just affecting the players. For the Ohio State marching band the members have had a much different fall than expected. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Ohio State Marching band has made a lot of changes this year to make sure a season even happened

  • Band members practice in small groups and even wear special masks so they can still play their instruments

  • The band is not allowed in the stadium on game days, so it records a halftime show in advance for each home game

  • You can watch the marching band's performances this year on their Facebook page or YouTube channel.

​Marching in the shadow of Ohio Stadium, small groups of the Ohio State University Marching Band block out their halftime performance. One that won’t even be seen live on the field. Just one of the many changes the band is making this year to still have a season, but senior band members say it’s all worth it.

“Even though we have to wear the masks and even though we have to stay four steps away at a time, but there are brief moments where we’re out there marching where, if we’re marching or playing Buckeye Battle Cry or something, and I’ll be in the moment and I’ll be like, oh yeah, this is just how it used to be!” senior trumpet player Adam Wells said.

It really is a season unlike any other. The band isn’t even allowed in the stadium on game days, which is why they record their halftime show.

“I’m used to being here on the field every day through the week and then having a 12 hour devotion on game days and this year it’s very different," senior trumpet player Ethan Cash said.

The band actually has almost no game day responsibilities this year at all, something these seniors say they miss the most.

“I miss marching in St. John arena and being in front of everyone that’s there to watch the band and then the football team comes in and gets riled up," Cash said.

Band members even have to wear a special kind of mask that still allow them to play their instruments.

“Oh my God, it is so much harder to march and play and do everything that we do with a mask on," Wells said.

But for seniors who say this year will be their last with the band, those precautions are all worth it just to have a season in the first place.

“I’m thankful that we have a season at all because when things were getting bad in April and May it looked like we weren’t going to do anything at all and that this just wouldn’t happen," Cash said. "So, now that we have the opportunity to come out and actually play music and be together in some capacity, I’m very thankful for.”