Directors

The band has had 18 directors since 1892, starting with Neville Staughton, the director of the Winona community band and a Lieutenant in the Cadet Corps. In 1932, Gerald R. Prescott was granted a professorship in the music department, becoming the first Director of Bands at the University, and becoming the first full-time director of the football band.

  • 1892–1894: Neville Staughton
  • 1894–1898: Charles W. Graves
  • 1898–1918: B.A. Rose
  • 1918–1919: J. Arthur Lampe
  • 1919–1920: Karl Scheurer
  • 1920–1931: Michael Jalma
  • 1931–1932: William A. Abbott
  • 1932–1943: 1946-1950, 1951-1960: Gerald R. Prescott
  • 1943–1945: Daniel Martino
  • 1945–1946: Merton Urgaard
  • 1950–1951: Ernest Villas
  • 1957–1960: Gale Sperry
  • 1960–1976: 1985-1986: Frank Bencriscutto
  • 1976–1985: O'Neill Sanford
  • 1986–1990: Barry E. Kopetz
  • 1991–1996: Eric A. Becher
  • 1997–2004: Jerry Luckhardt
  • 2005–2016: Timothy Diem
  • 2016–present: Elizabeth (Betsy) McCann