Stepping onto the football field with pride and filling the stadium with spirit, the Ashland University marching band will showcase new uniforms this season.

Band uniforms typically last 10 years but AU band members have worn the previous uniforms for the past 16 years. Ideally, the band aims at replacing a quarter of the uniforms every five years, but this time they ordered all new attire.

“It was really time to replace them,” Marching Band Director Leonard Salvo said.

With each uniform costing approximately $400, the band received money from the university to cover the total expenditures. These funds eliminated the need for conducting fundraisers.

The uniforms possess an up-to-date style. They feature gold detail, a purple block of color and a slash of white on the jacket. The updated version of the AU logo also appears on the coat. Additionally, band members sport black hats and received new raincoats and garment bags with the school logo.

The uniform selection process involved several steps. First, Salvo looked through catalogs and chose the basic design. Once the company sent the sample uniform, Salvo asked opinions of students in deciding on the elements. For example, Salvo and the group of students tweaked the embroidery color from a lavender to a deeper purple. Also, they changed the metallic on the coat to a plain gold material. After making these choices, they pieced fabric together on the sample uniform to reflect the adjustments. They took a picture of the revised uniform and forwarded it to the company. Salvo later received the final version of the uniform for his approval.

The band uniforms arrived a week before the first game. The salesman fit the band for sizes last year and estimated the sizes of the new band members. Although the band has received their uniforms, the color guard uniforms are expected to arrive by the Homecoming game.