OSU marching band selling old uniforms

View video on OStateTV: http://www.ostate.tv/?pid=b0qBqWDldNHP

They’ve spent countless hours inside Boone Pickens Stadium, traveled thousands of miles across the country and took a trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

Fans young and old will be able to own a piece of OSU marching band history during a uniform tag sale Saturday, March 8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in room 118 of the Seretean Center.

“We’ve got about 300 uniforms on hand,” said Dr. Doug Henderson, director of the Cowboy Marching Band, who came up with the idea to sell the old uniforms. “We purchasedthe first of the set in 2004. A few of them are a little bit newer because we had to replenish our stock before wereceived our new uniforms.”

College marching band uniforms are frequently updated when school colors and logos are redesigned.

“We wore them for about eight years before we updated our look, so it’s time for them to be retired,” Henderson said. “There are parts of the uniform that still look great, like the Oklahoma State logos, the O-State on the front, as well as the OSU brand on the back. We know many of our alumni would love to have a keepsake from OSU.”

The band’s old jackets, pants and cowboy hats have been dry cleaned andwill be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, $30 for cowboy hats and pants, and $50 for jackets. Cash, Bursar, credit cards and checks will be accepted. Oklahoma state law does not allow university property that is sold to be reserved in advance.

“Whatever we aren’t able to sell will be given to a vendor who will turn them into pillows, tote bags and laptop cases. We already have a couple of those samples and they look pretty cool,” explained Henderson.

These items will be sold during the 2014 football season through the OSU Band Office and the band fan club.

The proceeds from the tag sale will go toward the marching band’s general operating budget.

“We’ll use itto replenishour uniform stock,” Henderson said. “Our drum majors every year have to get custom-ordered uniforms for their sizes. The money is also used for instruments that need to be repaired and replaced.”

While only a decade old, the retired band uniforms are a tangible part of OSU history.

“There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that go into the uniform,” Henderson said. “These were the uniforms we wore when we went to the Fiesta Bowl and when we marched in various homecoming parades and performed for big crowds in Boone Pickens Stadium. They’ve traveled the country. For a lot of people who have worn the uniform, there are a lot of special memories attached to them.”

For more information visit: http://bands.okstate.edu/CMB/uniformsale.html