The Kentucky State Marching Band Championships are an annual contest held by the Kentucky Music Educators Association that takes place each fall over the course of several weeks to determine the Kentucky high school marching band champion in five respective classes.
Contents |
The Kentucky State Marching Band Championships first began as we know it today in 1986, when the Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) first sponsored the event, with the finals held at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington. Before 1986, several other contests claimed to be the Kentucky state championship, such as Murray State’s "Festival of Champions" and Middle Tennessee State University’s "Contest of Champions." The first state champions were George Rogers Clark High School (AAAA), Glasgow High School (AAA), Bremen High School (AA), and Adair County High School (A). Also that year, AAAA champion George Rogers Clark was awarded the Overall Grand Champion title. However, this "overall champion" concept was discarded after the first year, and since then, state champions have been considered by the association to be equal in stature.
The KMEA championships have been held each year in late October and occasionally early November, and with one exception, have always been a multi-round contest. In 1993, an afternoon football game played in wet snow at the finals site resulted in the cancellation of the final round, and class championships were determined by bands' placements in the semifinals earlier in the day.
Prior to the start of each marching season, all Kentucky marching bands are grouped into five different classes (A, AA, AAA, AAAA, AAAAA) based on the enrollment of the bands' respective high schools. (Before 2005, bands were grouped into four classes based on band size instead of school size). Beginning in September, all bands have the opportunity to participate in contests held throughout the state that have been sanctioned by KMEA. Bands that earn a "proficient" rating (any score above 60) are then allowed to continue to regional competitions within their classes that take place in mid- to late- October. The requirements for qualifying for regional competition has been lowered several times in the 90's and early 00's. During regional competition, 16 bands from each class (the top eight scoring bands from the east and west regions) advance to the state semifinals, which take place the following week. After semifinals, the top four bands from each class advance to the state finals held later that evening. The 20 remaining bands (four from each class) then perform one last time. After all performances have concluded, the top scoring bands from each class are then named State Champions.
Since 1986, the most state titles won by a school (regardless of class) has been Adair County, which has won 20 titles (most recently in 2011), including a string of ten straight titles from 1986 to 1995. The longest winning streak, however, belongs to the second-place finisher in the titles category, Lafayette High School, won 13 of its 16 titles from 1990 to 2002.
The 20 highest scores in state finals history are as follows:
1. 1999 4A Lafayette 97.25
2. 2003 4A Dunbar 96.75
3. 1999 3A Harrison Co. 96.35
4. 1996 4A Lafayette 96.23
5. 2000 4A Lafayette 96.16
6. 2007 3A Adair Co. 96.11
7. 1989 4A North Hardin 95.71
8. 2003 4A Lafayette 95.65 (Runner-up)
9. 1988 4A North Hardin 95.60
10. 1992 4A Lafayette 95.58
11. 1988 4A George Rogers Clark 95.50 (Runner-up)
12. 2006 5A Lafayette 95.30
13. 1991 4A Lafayette 95.23
14. 2004 4A Dunbar 95.12
15. 1996 3A Harrison Co. 94.75
16. 2007 5A Dunbar 94.70
17. 2008 5A Lafayette 94.67
18. 1994 4A Lafayette 94.53
19. 2007 5A Lafayette 94.48 (Runner-Up)
20. 1994 4A George Rogers Clark 94.43 (Runner-Up)
After George Rogers Clark won the first state title in class 4A, a period elapsed in which North Hardin High School won each year from 1987-1989, with Lafayette High School finishing closely behind in second or third place. However, in 1990 North Hardin’s director, Craig Cornish, left for a newly-constructed high school in Lexington named Paul Laurence Dunbar. North Hardin fell out of the championship finals for the first time as Lafayette won their first state title in the 1990 season.
What followed is considered by many as the greatest period of dominance in Kentucky state marching band history in which Lafayette (first under the direction of J. Steven Moore, then later in 1996 under Charles Smith) won class 4A for each of the next 13 years.
Beginning in 1992 Paul Laurence Dunbar High School a class 3A state champion title band in only its second year of existence entered class 4A and proved a worthy adversary to Lafayette, finishing second or third every year through the rest of the decade. In 1993 North Hardin returned to the spotlight with a second-place finish based on their preliminary performance; state finals were cancelled that year due to snow. However, despite North's and Dunbar’s successes, Lafayette still remained dominant. As the 90’s drew to a close, the period from 1996-2000 cemented what is widely considered to be one of greatest rivalries in Kentucky marching history in which North Hardin placed second behind Lafayette for five consecutive years, three of which the difference between the two bands' scores was less than 1 point. During this time, Dunbar dropped to the third place position while making the transition from director Craig Cornish to Jeff Hood.
Following several years of close rivalry, for various reasons in 2001 North Hardin stopped competing in the state championships, which opened the door for Lafayette's cross-town rivals Tates Creek and Paul Laurence Dunbar to become their star competition. In 2001 Brian Morgan joined Jeff Hood at Dunbar as the assistant director and after a close finish in 2002, Dunbar dethrowned Lafayette in the 2003 state finals. Paul Laurence Dunbar would go on to defeat Lafayette for the state championship in 2004. And in 2005, KMEA introduced a new large band classification 5A. Dunbar once again prevailed victorious over Lafayette, becoming KMEA's first ever AAAAA champion, and winning Dunbar's 3rd consecutive state championship (fourth over-all), thus tying North Hardin's three titles in a row from the late 1980’s.
The 2006 finals marked the 20-year anniversary of the KMEA state marching band championship. Going into the competition, many people believed that class 5A was solely a two-band race between Dunbar and Lafayette, and that Lafayette’s time had ended and given way to Dunbar’s new era. Both notions however, were proven false when Lafayette won their fourteenth title, and the third-place finisher, North Hardin placed only three-tenths of a point behind Dunbar, proving that neither of the top bands were unbeatable.
The 2007 finals competition was full of surprises. The event was held in Louisville for the first time since 1987 and at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium for the first time ever. In class A, Williamstown regained the state-champion title after trailing Beechwood for the majority of the regular season. Cumberland County also made its first appearance in finals. In Class AA, Muhlenberg South won its first state title in only its second finals' appearance. In class AAAAA, Dunbar reclaimed the state title winning its fifth state championship. Lafayette, North Hardin, and Madison Central followed, in that order.
In 2008, numerous traditional finalists changed classes and new rivalries were instantly created. In class A, Williamstown successfully defended its title, the first time a class A band had done so since Williamstown did it in 2005. Mayfield also made its first-ever finals appearance, finishing fourth. In class AA, Washington County was able to win its first state championship. Shelby Valley and Caldwell County also made their first finals appearances. In class AAA, Adair County's dominance was challenged, as Bourbon County took the crown for the first time. In class AAAA, newcomers and recent champions from other classes, Boyle County, Mercer County, and Calloway County, challenged for the title, thoguh in the end, Madisonville North Hopkins High School won its fourth straight state championship. In class AAAAA, Lafayette, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and North Hardin were joined by John Hardin in the finals. Lafayette barely edged out Dunbar for the state title in a very close and exciting contest that evening.
In 2009, for the first time in history, all of the previous state champions retained their titles. The biggest surprise was in class 5A, Madison Central took 2nd place behind Lafayette, while Paul Laurence Dunbar placed an astonishing fourth place falling out of the top two for the first time since 2001. Dunbar had won quarter-finals only a week prior and placed third earlier in the day at semi-finals. In the finals, North Hardin placed 3rd, trailing Madison Central by only a few tenths and Lafayette claimed another state title.
Prior to the 2009 season longtime Adair County director Tim Allen retired and was succeeded by Tom Case, who had achieved success at John Hardin High School.
2010 proved to be an intensely exciting year for marching competition. Dunbar proved they weren't going anywhere by defeating Lafayette once again and taking back the state championship title, this their sixth championship. Lafayette placed second, after winning the Semi-Final round. Madison Central took 4th place. They placed behind North Hardin, who finished third again. In class A, Beechwood regained the governors cup after Williamstown had won it for three years in a row, and Mayfield made its second state finalist appearance in school history. In Class AA, Glasgow took home its second state championship (the first being in 1986), upsetting the reigning state champion in class AA for two years, Washington County. This mark the first year of Glasgow's two uniform system, they took the field for the first time wearing the modern jacket and bibber style uniform rather than kilts. Green County made its second consecutive state finalist appearance. Danville made their second finalist appearance in 2010, their first time and last time in finals was 1986. In class AAA, Adair County upset Bourbon Countys two year win, winning their 19th state championship, and 25th state finalist appearance. Taylor County placed third and made its first appearance in state finals since 1992.
The 2011 KMEA SMBC Finals was held at WKU for the first time since the 2006 season. In Class A, Beechwood defended their title for their first ever Back-To-Back Championship. In Class AA, LaRue County won the championship with defending champs Glasgow moving down to fourth. Adair defended it's Class AAA 2010 title while Bourbon placed second. Madisonville North-Hopkins won yet another Class AAAA championship while Grant Co. stayed in second. In Class AAAAA, Eastern High School made finals for the first time ever, placing third and knocking out the regular season powerhouse North Hardin. Lafayette took second and Paul Laurence Dunbar took the title again. In 2011, Adair County High took home their 20th State Championship, a feat only they have achieved.
| Year | Finals venue | A | AA | AAA | AAAA | AAAAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Commonwealth Stadium | Adair County | Bremen | Glasgow | George Rogers Clark | |
| 1987 | Cardinal Stadium | Campbellsville | Adair County | Meade County | North Hardin | |
| 1988 | L. T. Smith Stadium | Bremen | Bowling Green | Adair County | North Hardin | |
| 1989 | L. T. Smith Stadium | Hazard | Madison Central | Adair County | North Hardin | |
| 1990 | Roy Kidd Stadium | Beechwood | Adair County | Dixie Heights/Harrison County(tie) | Lafayette | |
| 1991 | Roy Kidd Stadium | Madison Southern | Adair County | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Lafayette | |
| 1992 | L. T. Smith Stadium | Madison Southern | Adair County | Central Hardin | Lafayette | |
| 1993 | L. T. Smith Stadium* | Pleasure Ridge Park | Adair County | Elizabethtown | Lafayette | |
| 1994 | Roy Kidd Stadium | Hazard | Adair County | Elizabethtown | Lafayette | |
| 1995 | Roy Kidd Stadium | Grant County | Adair County | Elizabethtown | Lafayette | |
| 1996 | Commonwealth Stadium | Nicholas County | Mercer County | Harrison County | Lafayette | |
| 1997 | Commonwealth Stadium | Nicholas County | Adair County | Elizabethtown | Lafayette | |
| 1998 | L. T. Smith Stadium | Hazard | Grant County | Elizabethtown | Lafayette | |
| 1999 | L. T. Smith Stadium | Marion County | Adair County | Harrison County | Lafayette | |
| 2000 | L. T. Smith Stadium | Nicholas County | Adair County | Harrison County | Lafayette | |
| 2001 | Commonwealth Stadium | Boyle County | Adair County | Daviess County | Lafayette | |
| 2002 | Commonwealth Stadium | Boyle County | Harrison County | George Rogers Clark | Lafayette | |
| 2003 | L. T. Smith Stadium | Boyle County | Harrison County | Russell County | Paul Laurence Dunbar | |
| 2004 | L. T. Smith Stadium | Williamstown | Adair County | Madison Central | Paul Laurence Dunbar | |
| 2005 | L. T. Smith Stadium | Williamstown | Mercer County | Adair County | Madisonville-North Hopkins | Paul Laurence Dunbar |
| 2006 | L. T. Smith Stadium | Beechwood | Mercer County | Adair County | Madisonville-North Hopkins | Lafayette |
| 2007 | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium | Williamstown | Muhlenberg South | Adair County | Madisonville-North Hopkins | Paul Laurence Dunbar |
| 2008 | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium | Williamstown | Washington County | Bourbon County | Madisonville-North Hopkins | Lafayette |
| 2009 | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium | Williamstown | Washington County | Bourbon County | Madisonville-North Hopkins | Lafayette |
| 2010 | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium | Beechwood | Glasgow | Adair County | Madisonville North-Hopkins | Paul Laurence Dunbar |
| 2011 | L. T. Smith Stadium | Beechwood | LaRue County | Adair County | Madisonville North-Hopkins | Paul Laurence Dunbar |
(The 1990 finals equals a win for both the schools who had a tie in 3A)
The Kentucky Bands Website - kyband.com[1]