Centennial video series: The evolution of the MOB at Rice

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Centennial video series: The evolution of the MOB at Rice
Rice University’s weekly centennial videos run through Oct. 12

HOUSTON – (Oct. 4, 2012) – The Rice University Marching Owl Band, more commonly known today as “the MOB,” has been in existence since the Rice Institute opened its doors 100 years ago. The MOB’s first band director was Wilson Betts, a student from the first entering class at the institute. While it wasn’t until the early 1970s that the persona of the MOB would be to make a mockery of current events with a sketch show, the early band’s roots did show a flair for what would become a tradition at Rice University for years to come.

After “The evolution of the MOB at Rice,” watch the extended video interview featuring current Rice Band Director Chuck Throckmorton telling the story of the infamous 1973 MOB halftime performance at the Rice-Texas A&M game that almost started a skirmish with Aggie fans.

Working with Centennial Historian Melissa Kean, video producer Brandon Martin takes a look at the MOB. For more information on Rice’s history, visit Kean’s blog at www.ricehistorycorner.com.

To help celebrate the university’s centennial next week, Rice University has been producing weekly videos since February exploring the school’s unique history.

The video, available on YouTube at http://youtu.be/_B6VOJbSKfg, is also available to media in high quality and without music for editing purposes. For higher-quality video, contact David Ruth, director of national media relations at Rice, at david@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.

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Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

To see other stories in the centennial video series, go to www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL60D6D71E71B66B3D&feature=plcp.

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,708 undergraduates and 2,374 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice has been ranked No. 1 for best quality of life multiple times by the Princeton Review and No. 4 for “best value” among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. To read “What they’re saying about Rice,” go to www.rice.edu/nationalmedia/Rice.pdf.