In 1971 Richard Mayo, an FSU alumnus and former drum major, take over direction of the Chiefs in a year in which membership grew to over 200 students. The Marching Chiefs were also finalists in the Best College Marching Band contest on ABC-TV which established their reputation as one of the nation's finest marching bands. In 1974 the Marching Chiefs gained the title of "world-renowned" as a result of an international performance at the International Trade Fair in Damascus, Syria as a guest of State Department. While in the Middle East, Chiefs performed in Amman, Jordan as a command performance for King Hussein.