Lindale marching band came home from Pine Tree Stadium Dec. 9 with the first UIL State Military Marching Band State Champion trophy ever awarded.
In the past, military marching bands who did well enough at their regional UIL contest could advance to the state contest, but because the next level standards were geared toward corps bands, marching bands didn’t stand much of a chance to win there.
That changed this year when UIL, after a lengthy process, divided the contests up and made a category just for military marching bands.
So after receiving a Division I Sweepstakes award in November, the band finished what it started and came home state champions this week.