•
1885: The
University of Arizona is established. •
1902: The UA ROTC Band is established under the direction of student B-flat clarinetist William K. Seitz. Wearing military uniforms, the band makes its first appearance at a battalion parade on Dec. 9, 1902. The band originally only had 12 members. •
1904: After only 2 years, the band is dissolved due to lack of interest. With 62,000 spectators in attendance, and another 90 million watching on television, this is the single largest crowd the band has ever played for. •
1977: The band marches in the Inaugural Parade of President James Carter in Washington, D.C. •
1980: The name "Pride of Arizona" is first used and is adopted as the band's official nickname shortly thereafter. •
2001: The pep band releases their second studio CD recording, entitled
Wildcats Legacy Lane - The University of Arizona Pep Band. •
2002: The band celebrates its 100th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of "Bear Down, Arizona". "A Century of Pride" is the university's homecoming theme, and the year is marked with performances throughout the band program. •
2004: The "Grande Dame" of the Pride of Arizona, twirling coach Shirlee Bertolini, celebrates her 50th year with the Pride of Arizona. •
2006: On October 28, the band performs (in exhibition) for the Bands of America competition in the Los Angeles Coliseum. That same year, a recording of their Radiohead performance from the Wildcats' home game against
the University of Washington makes its way onto the popular video-sharing site
YouTube. It later received an award for being the 74th most viewed video in the category of music for the year of 2006. •
2008: The band releases its third album, entitled
Monkey Feet. The album, recorded throughout the course of the 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 seasons, was made possible by a generous grant from the Marshall Foundation of Tucson, Arizona, and is dedicated to the memory of former band member Eric Bradley, a horn player who died after the 2006 season from brain cancer. All proceeds from the album go in memory of Eric to the University of Arizona Cancer Center. •
2009: The band receives the honor of being selected by the College Band Directors National Association as one of the ten best college marching bands in the nation. •
2013: The band is selected to record the
Bay City Rollers' "
Saturday Night" for a national commercial spot by Hyundai USA, with the additional goal of creating college football's first ever theme song. The performance was sight-read, rehearsed and recorded in a total of two hours inside
Casino Del Sol Stadium on August 22. •
2015: The band is again selected by the College Band Directors National Association as one of the ten best college marching bands in the nation. •
2019: The band's performance at the 66th Annual University of Arizona Band Day goes viral after receiving praise by all four members of
No Doubt on social media. •
2024: The band becomes the 34th recipient of the prestigious
Sudler Trophy, described by the
Los Angeles Times as "the
Heisman Trophy of the collegiate band world." ==Instrumentation and auxiliaries==