TSU's Aristocrat of Bands part of Dent's Hall of Fame weekend
Ed Graves and the TSU band will perform at the Hall of Fame.
Written by
Mike Organ | The Tennessean Filed Under
Sports - Colleges
Richard Dent did not wait to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame to ask Tennessee State marching band director Ed Graves for a favor.
Not long after the former TSU defensive end retired from the NFL in 1997, he informed Graves he wanted the band to be a part of his enshrinement weekend.
“He always said, ‘If I ever get that call I want the band to be there,’” Graves said.
So when Graves saw that Dent was voted into this year’s class, he put a trip to the Aug. 6 ceremony in Canton, Ohio, on the schedule for the 200-member Aristocrat of Bands.
TSU’s summer commencement was originally scheduled for next weekend, but the administration delayed it until Aug. 13 so that alumni, students and fans may attend the Hall of Fame festivities.
“I’ve always known Richard had this kind of passion for our band because during the time when he was a student at TSU (1979-82) I was the band director and he used to always make it a point to tell me how much he enjoyed it,” Graves said.
Dent also requested that Joe Gilliam Sr., his defensive coordinator at TSU who later became the Tigers head coach, present him for the induction.
Dent had already received approval for TSU’s band to be part of the Hall of Fame parade, which takes place earlier in the day and prior to the ceremony, when he called Graves to make sure he was still on board.
The Hall of Fame committee then took it a step further and invited the band to play at halftime of the annual Hall of Fame Game, which was scheduled to be played Aug. 7 between the Chicago Bears, the team Dent played for most of his career and helped win Super Bowl XX, and the St. Louis Rams.
The game, however, was canceled last week by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who said the lockout had not ended in time for the two teams to be fully prepared to play.
“Some time in June the Hall of Fame committee called and asked if we would consider doing the halftime show at the football game,” Graves said. “Of course we accepted and started working toward that goal. We were working in that direction up until that day last week (Thursday) when they finally decided to announce that they were canceling the game.”
The band will still perform in the parade and at the Hall of Fame before and after the ceremony.
Band members will get to attend the ceremony and also tour the Hall of Fame.
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