Tiger Band earns back spot in ACC Championship

David Hood by Senior Writer -

Thanks to the work of Clemson Athletic Director Dan Radakovich and an outcry from Clemson fans, the band that shakes the southland will get to perform at halftime of the Dec. 2 ACC Championship Game between Clemson and Miami.

The news broke earlier this week that Clemson would march a six-minute pregame show and wasn't allowed to play at halftime while Miami would be benched for the pregame and only be allowed to play for six minutes at halftime.

That didn't sit well with a lot of people.

Collegemarching.com spoke with Mark Spede, Director of the Clemson Tiger Band about not playing at halftime of the ACC Championship.

"I think it's inherently unfair to both bands," said Spede. "Pre-game and halftime serve two very different roles; pre-game has more pageantry and functions as a sort of "pep-rally' to fire up the crowd. Halftime is more oriented towards entertaining the crowd; both are very important. To exclude one band from either portion of the game minimizes the role of both."

The outcry was heard, and according to someone close to the situation, Radakovich went to work on the band's behalf and worked out a deal with the ACC. Both bands will perform the national anthem before the game, and the ACC added a few minutes to halftime, allowing both bands to perform at intermission.