The first evidence of a marching band at Iowa State can be found in a newspaper article mentioning the reorganization of the band in 1881. In 1886 a drum major first performed alongside the band for a halftime show. The band competed in a band contest held in connection with the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa in 1928 and made its first appearance at an away football game in 1936. The band appeared in "Pigskin Pageants", a college-produced documentary movie, in 1947.