As fans fill Bryant-Denny stadium for the A-Day game on Saturday, you may notice a few extra faces in the band section. Each year, the Million Dollar Band invites alumni and high school students from around the country to join them for A-Day.
“My first A-Day as a high school senior was overwhelming in the best possible way,” said Ashley Marino, who travelled from her home in Marietta, Georgia to participate in 2016’s A-Day with the MDB. “I not only got to experience what a typical college game is like, but I got a feel for my section and the atmosphere of the band.”
The high school students and alumni who participate on A-Day play with the band in the stands and at the Walk of Champions ceremony at Denny Chimes before the game.
For high school students, this is a chance to get an up-close look at the Million Dollar Band and perform in front of tens of thousands of Crimson Tide faithful.
Marino, who plays flute and piccolo, enrolled at the University this past fall and marched with the MDB during the Crimson Tide’s SEC Championship run, leading up to the national championship. She loved traveling to new places, meeting new people and being part of the one of the most well-known college marching bands in the country.
In fact, cheering the Tide on in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship in Glendale, Arizona was the highlight of the season.
“I knew I was experiencing history,” recalled Marino, a psychology major. “We lost, but I felt that loss with 400 of my closest friends and all the Alabama fans in the stadium. I’m thankful I got to cheer on the Tide with the MDB.”
Now that she’s a veteran band member, Marino is looking forward to welcoming the high school students who will join the band in the stands and at the Walk of Champions this Saturday for A-Day. She hopes many of them will choose to come to The University of Alabama and be a part of the band program she loves so much.
“I tell students considering band to give it a try,” she said. “You might find you meet your closest friends in band. It’s nice having a core group of friends you know you’ll see every year.”