VSU's 'Trojan Explosion' explodes in the ranking for the nation's best HBCU band

Bill Atkinson, Petersburg Progress-Index
·2 min read
Virginia State University's Trojan Explosion Marching Band performs at a White House Black History Month celebration on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023.
Virginia State University's Trojan Explosion Marching Band performs at a White House Black History Month celebration on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023.

ETTRICK – Virginia State University’s iconic Trojan Explosion Marching Band is getting more national attention as a top-tier music team among historically Black colleges and universities.

The first band rankings from ESPN put the VSU program at No. 3 in the Top 15 Band of the Year leaders for Division II/NAIA schools. The high spot gives VSU a solid chance to make the next cut toward possibly going to Atlanta in December and compete for the top prize.

The rankings were posted Friday by the online sports and culture media outlet HBCU Gameday.

Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, holds the top spot in the Division II/NAIA rankings, followed by Florida Memorial University in Miami.

In a statement released by VSU Friday afternoon, Trojan Explosion director Dr. Taylor Whitehead said the band was “very appreciative and deeply humbled” by the high ranking. However, “we are not done yet,” Whitehead said.

Trojan Explosion still has some more performances on its schedule before the next round of rankings comes out later this month. That is when it will be narrowed down to the top 10 in each division. Each division will be narrowed down to the top 5 in November. From there, it is down to the top two in each division who will compete for the title Dec. 15 at the Mercedes-Benz Dome in Atlanta.

In addition to the overall rank, VSU is also listed second in rankings for best auxiliary, fourth for drum majors, eighth for musicality, and fourth for drill, marching and maneuvering.

The No. 3 ranking is the latest in what has been a busy year in the spotlight for Trojan Explosion.

In February, the band was invited to play at the White House and also was featured on NBC’s “Today” show. In August, the band competed in a national “Battle of the Bands” competition in Houston and was featured in a segment on Fox Sports about the best HBCU bands in the nation.

"It has obviously been a great year for our program, but we aren't done yet,” Whitehead said in the statement. “We still have more performances to improve our spot, and we look forward to showing the country why we are one of the best marching bands in the country."

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: VSU's 'Trojan Explosion' explodes in the ranking for the nation's best HBCU band