EIU Panther Marching Band

48th Annual Panther Marching Band Festival

tentatively scheduled for

Saturday, September 27, 2025

10:45 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
O’Brien Field, Eastern Illinois University

General Information

The Eastern Illinois University Panther Marching Band invites YOU to join us for the 48^th Annual Panther Marching Band Festival tentatively scheduled for Saturday, September 27, 2025 in O’Brien Stadium on the campus of Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois.

Our 2024 festival Information is as follows.  Updates for 2025 will be made after the 2025 IMEC Convention when the southern Illinois Marching Band Festival Directors will meet to discuss upcoming 2025 shows.

We are very excited to be part of a pilot program which will potentially offer three different performance formats for participating marching bands!  One division, Open Class, will utilize BOA sheets, the second division, Scholastic Class, will utilize modified BOA sheets by taking some of the focus off the general effect caption, and the third division, Festival Class, will be a non-competitive class utilizing modified BOA sheets for comments only.  The purpose of the division of classes is so that the PMB Festival can best meet the needs of our constituents and meet their individual competitive desires based upon the financial and staffing resources that each marching band has available to them.  Festival staff will be working directly with participating band directors to ensure that directors have input into the sub-classifications within each division and that directors understand how to best choose the division in which they want their marching band to perform.  Since we are in a transitional phase with this new format we don't quite have all the details worked out but below are the guidelines which will remain consistent from last year's festival format to this new format.  We are looking forward to being part of this new format which should lead to greater inclusivity in the Illinois marching band world!  

1) Classifications within each division will be made based upon IHSA classification AND either musician size OR total band size.  Participating directors will have input into which option is the most fair and the final determination of classifications will be made by mid-September.

2) Awards will be presented in each competitive class for Best Music, Best Visual, Best General Effect, Best Percussion, Best Color Guard and the Top 3 Placements.  Grand Champion trophies will be presented for Small Class and Large Class divisions. 

3) Performance order within each class will be decided by the date the registration fee is received at EIU. (Exceptions have been made on occasion in order to provide the most participation possible.) 

4) We will continue to utilize a percussion adjudicator and color guard adjudicator in addition to the rest of the standard BOA caption adjudicators.  For the 2024 PMB Festival Open Class division these captions will include: one music performance individual, one music performance ensemble (TWO for the Scholastic Class), one visual performance individual, one visual performance ensemble, one visual general effect,and two music general effect (ONE for the scholastic class).

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Class 1A

• 10:45 a.m. Okaw Valley High School
• 10:59 a.m. Blue Ridge High School
• 11:13 a.m. Oblong High School
• 11:27 a.m. Ridgeview High School
• 11:41 a.m. Heritage High School
• 11:55 a.m. Arcola High School
• 12:09 p.m. BREAK

Class 2A

• 12:20 p.m. Mt. Carmel High School
• 12:34 p.m. Casey-Westfield High School
• 12:48 p.m. Robinson High School
• 1:02 p.m. LeRoy High School
• 1:16 p.m. Watseka High School
• 1:30 p.m. Maroa-Forsyth High School
• 1:44 p.m. BREAK

Class 3A

• 1:55 p.m. Richland County High School
• 2:09 p.m. Pinckneyville High School
• 2:23 p.m. Centralia High School
• 2:37 p.m. Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School
• 2:51 p.m. BREAK

Exhibition & Class 1A,2A, 3A Awards

• 2:55 p.m. EIU Panther Marching Band (Exhibition)
• 3:15 p.m. CLASS 1A, 2A and 3A AWARDS
• 3:30 p.m. DINNER BREAK

Class 4A

• 4:00 p.m. Marion High School
• 4:14 p.m. Monticello High School
• 4:28 p.m. Pontiac Township High School
• 4:42 p.m. Effingham High School
• 4:56 p.m. Carterville High School
• 5:10 p.m. Newton Community High School
• 5:24 p.m. Mattoon High School
• 5:38 p.m. BREAK

Class 5A

• 5:49 p.m. Alton High School
• 6:03 p.m. Paris High School
• 6:17 p.m. BREAK
• 6:25 p.m. Mahomet-Seymour High School
• 6:53 p.m. Belleville Township HS West
• 7:07 p.m. Mascoutah High School
• 7:21 p.m. Granite City High School Class

Exhibition & Class 4A,5A, 6A Awards

• 7:35 p.m. EIU Panther Marching Band (Exhibition)
• 7:55 p.m. CLASS 4A, 5A and 6A AWARDS

2024 Festival Information

2024 Adjudicators

Music Ensemble:

• Victor Scimeca

Music Individual:

• Jordan Yi

Music General Effect 1:

• David Snyder

Music General Effect 2:

• John Clemons

Visual Ensemble:

• Jeff Fiedler

Visual Individual:

• John Timmins

Visual General Effect:

• Doug Keiser

Percussion:

• Chris DeBerry

Color Guard:

• Joy Eslick

Panther Marching Band Festival Adjudication Forms

2024 Participants

(in alphabetical order)

• Alton High School Marching 100 - Alton, IL
• Arcola High School Pride of the Purple Riders - Arcola, IL
• Belleville East High School Marching Lancers - Belleville, IL
• Belleville Township High School West Marching Maroons - Belleville, IL
• Blue Ridge High School Marching Knights - Farmer City, IL
• Carterville High School Pride of the Lions Marching Band - Carterville, IL
• Casey-Westfield High School Marching Warriors - Casey, IL
• Centralia High School Marching Showcase - Centralia, IL
• Effingham High School Red Regiment- Effingham, IL
• Granite City High School Marching Warriors - Granite City, IL
• Heritage High School Heritage Marching Band - Broadlands, IL
• LeRoy High School Marching Panthers - LeRoy, IL
• Mahomet-Seymour High School Marching Bulldogs - Mahomet, IL
• Marion High School Marching Wildcat Band - Marion, IL
• Maroa-Forsyth High School Marching Trojans - Maroa, IL
• Mascoutah High School Marching Indians - Mascoutah, IL
• Mattoon High School Pride of the Greenwave Marching Band - Mattoon, IL
• Monticello High School Marching Sages - Monticello, IL
• Mt. Carmel High School Marching Aces - Mt. Carmel, IL
• Newton Community High School Marching Eagles - Newton, IL
• Oblong High School Marching Panthers - Oblong, IL
• Okaw Valley High School Marching Timberwolves - Bethany, IL
• Paris High School Beacon Brigade - Paris, IL
• Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School Panther Regiment - Paxton, IL
• Pinckneyville Community High School Marching Panthers - Pickneyville, IL
• Pontiac Township High School Marching Band - Pontiac, IL
• Richland County High School Marching Tigers - Olney, IL
• Ridgeview High School Marching Mustangs - Colfax, IL
• Robinson High School Marching Maroons - Robinson, IL
• Watseka High School Marching Warriors - Watseka, IL

2024 Spectator Tickets and Parking Information

Tickets:

• $10 for adults
• $5 for students/senior citizens
• Children ages 5 and under are FREE
• Tickets available on the day of the event. Cash or check accepted.

Handicapped Seating:

• There is limited handicapped seating in the stadium.  To access this area, use the pass gate south of the stadium on the west side (close to the handicapped parking).  There is a sidewalk located near the Country Catering tent which will take you up to the pass gate.  Handicapped seating is NOT accessible by going through the main gates of the stadium.

Parking:

• Parking for the festival is FREE. Spectators can park in the stadium lot to the west of the stadium or the J lot to the north.
• There is handicapped parking in the front row closest to the stadium. 

Campus Map

We hope you will join us for the exciting and spectacular pageantry of Illinois high school marching bands at O’Brien Field!

Registration

The registration fee for the 47th Panther Marching Band Festival is $350 if payment is received AFTER September 20.  Registration fees received PRIOR to September 20 are $300. Online registration will open on February 1, 2024. Follow the link below.

2024 Panther Marching Band Registration Form

Registration deadline is September 1, 2024.

Checks for the $350 / $300 Registration Fee (see above) should be made out EIU and sent to:

Panther Marching Band Festival
Eastern Illinois University
600 Lincoln Ave.
Charleston, IL 61920

Why the Panther Marching Band Festival?

• A well-maintained turf field.

• Well organized festival with a welcoming and helpful staff.

• Energetic environment that focuses on student success.

• Judges from DCI, BOA, WGI, and the best marching directors in the nation.

• High camera video of all band performances provided by EIU visual media free of charge.

• Panther Marching Band performances!
  

Contact

If you have any further questions, please contact Prof. David Boggs, Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at dgboggs@eiu.edu.