Another tradition whose origin remains clouded is the famous, rather infamous, tuba march around the stadium. The beginning of this stellar fourth quarter feature attraction stems well into the 1950's and seems to always have been used to urge the crowd to "get into the game" and instill a final burst of spirit into the day's festivities.
As the fourth quarter begins, the
tubas
line up single file and begin an oom-pah-like interlude and parade
around the perimeter of the gridiron. The repertoire for this
parade includes such favorites as Semper Fidelis, Beer Barrel
Polka and On Wisconsin. The march concludes in front of
the rest of the Wisconsin Band with the singing of "The finest
fellows throughout the land are the tubas in the Wisconsin Band!"
In 1971, amidst a few complaints that the tuba march was distracting from the game, athletic director Elroy Hirsch asked the Band Department to halt the tradition. The ensuing uproar matched any protests seen on the Madison campus that year. The press ran headlines bemoaning the loss, tuba supporters, with placards protesting the "ban," marched on State Street, lapel buttons were manufactured and distributed demanding that the "Tubas Return To Camp Randall," petitions were circulated (one afternoon saw 2,500 signatures gathered), and a special organization, "The Friends Of Tubas," was formed to have the march reinstated at all Badger games. It soon became evident that Elroy would not be able to withstand the ground swell movement, and in an unprecedented and more aptly, unmusical, move, Elroy appeared at the 1971 band banquet with tuba on shoulder making unpleasant sounds but assuring the Band that the march would return in 1972!