Tiger Pep Band at De Pauw University - Membership Recognitions

Membership Recognitions

Since the Tiger Pep Band is a student organization, its members receive no formal recognition from DePauw University. According to the band's faculty advisor, Dr. Valarie Ziegler, motions in faculty meetings failed to give the band academic credit similar to that given to students in the DePauw University Band or the campus TV and radio stations. Instead, the band and its alumni ensemble counterpart, the Tiger Alumni Bands and Stumblebums, has established its own recognitions.

Although the practice has been reduced in recent seasons, the band's student leaders would recognize graduating seniors each year with "Extraordinare Awards" which were customized for each student, in the style of "Pep Band Poet Extraordinare" or "Pep Band Paper-Hat-Woman Extraordinare."

In 2002, the Tiger Pep Band began issuing its own varsity letters upon receiving consent from university officials. The letters were distinctive from the ones given to athletes, and were denied recognition by the university's alumni association. Students elected to suspend the varsity letter after three years due to this lack of official support.

To encourage continued support from the ensemble's graduates, the Tiger Alumni Bands and Stumblebums created two recognitions of its own. The "Non-Conformist" certificates recognize any alumni band participant, and are patterned after the DePauw Marching Band's traditional membership cards.

The "Colonel of the Tiger Pep Band" award is given to alumni and individuals demonstrating sustained support for at least ten years. Only four recipients have been named since the award was created in 2005: Tiger Pep Band founding director Jason Dibler, DePauw University Director of Bands Craig T. Paré, Tiger Pep Band faculty adviser and saxophonist Valarie Ziegler, and DePauw University Director Emeritus of Bands Daniel H. Hanna. The award certificate resembles the Sagamore of the Wabash award, the highest award given by the governor of the State of Indiana. The "Colonel" title was selected for its multiple significances to the band: It was Dibler's nickname, itself coined by Paré, and was also Ziegler's undergraduate mascot.