In the years leading up to the formation of the Cavalier Marching Band, the University of Virginia had become the last remaining program in the Atlantic Coast Conference without a conventional marching band. In the wake of the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl and the banning of the Virginia Pep Band from all future editions of that ACC-tied bowl game, a donation was made by Hunter Smith for the establishment of an official university marching band. The director of the Pep Band at the time, Adam Lorentson, said that cost was the key reason the University did not have a traditional marching band, while Smith's multimillion-dollar donation made the new marching band a reality.