When Jim Jones retired as the Troopers' director in 1987, he was succeeded by a string of directors who were all alumni of the corps. This, however, did not translate into competitive success; from 1987 through 2005, the corps finished in fourteenth place twice, but otherwise were ranked in nineteenth to twenty-fifth place. Then, in 2005, the DCI Board of Directors suspended the Troopers from competition for non-compliance with membership rules. The corps was inactive for the 2006 season, while they reorganized. The Troopers board named Wyoming businessman and Troopers alumnus Mike Ottoes as interim director. One of Ottoes' first actions was to announce the organization's commitment to compliance with DCI's rules and the intent to return to the field in 2007. In April 2006, DCI gave preliminary approval for the Troopers' return to Division I competition in 2007, and the corps soon after named Fred Morris, who has an extensive background in drum corps management, as Corps Director, with Ottoes becoming Executive Director of the organization. On October 3, 2006, the Troopers were reinstated as a DCI Division I corps.