As Syracuse debuted into the Atlantic Coast Conference this Saturday, the school’s marching band also unveiled a new look with a redesigned uniform for the new conference.

The new uniforms include an orange jacket with navy blue trim, navy blue pants and matching headwear.  The drum majors’ uniforms have a similar style, but instead feature a blue jacket with orange trim and white pants.

This is the first update to the uniforms in 15 years.

The uniforms are all made of 100 percent recycled material and were made in the United States, according to the marching band’s blog.

Syracuse University marching band director Justin Mertz, along with the donors and SU alumni, designed the marching band’s new attire, Mertz said.  The group looked to marching band uniforms from across the country for inspiration in designing the new outfits, he said.

“Our last ones were old, worn, stained, dirty and ready to be retired,” Mertz said.  He added that the new uniforms “fit better, look better, feel better.”

The changes came about after a nine-month fundraising campaign led by the College of Visual and Performing Arts, Mertz said. The nationwide campaign, “A New Look for a New Era” raised nearly $150,000 to purchase the new uniforms, he said.

The band received 300 uniforms, even though there are only 200 members, Mertz said. This will account for possible number increases in band members and will also provide a large range of sizes so that the uniforms fit correctly, he added.

For David Swenton, a senior marching band drum major, the new outfits could not have come sooner.

“I really like the look, it’s very updated and contemporary,” said Swenton, who is also a columnist for The Daily Orange.

The new uniforms now fit the branding of the school by featuring block letters and the university seal, said Swenton, a political science and writing and rhetoric major.

He added that the uniforms are now lighter and easier to move around in.

“I really like them; they look great. It really shows off the orange representing our school,” said Nagelah Chery, a freshman economics major, at the game.

While most students at the game favored the new uniforms, students like Emily O’Hara preferred the old look.

“I think I like the old ones better,” O’Hara, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said at the game. “I think that they looked classier and more traditional.”

For fans of the old look, the band’s previous uniforms will be turned into pillows, laptop cases and iPad covers, Mertz said.

Mertz said he thinks that the new look of the SU marching band is here to stay.

Said Mertz: “We think the design will last at least 20 years, and this set of uniforms should be good for at least ten, provided we take good care of them.”

Published on October 7, 2013 at 12:36 am

Contact Zach: zdschwei@syr.edu