As the Bulldog Marching Band (BMB) marches down the ramp into Valley Children’s Stadium, they provide the energy, rhythm and heartbeat for the Fresno State Bulldogs. From the fight song to its halftime shows, the BMB takes no breaks.

For nearly a century, it’s been the lifeline of the Red Wave. Nationally and internationally recognized as one of the best marching bands on the West Coast, there is no better feeling for these musicians.

“We’re just silly and we just like to have fun,” said drum major Matt Kerber. “And I think that’s a little scary at times, because it’s knowing like — you got to lock in.”

The BMB was established in 1926 and has long served as the flow of the Red Wave. Often unrecognized by fans, the energy that they bring to Valley Children’s Stadium is resounding.

The BMB has marched in the Rose Parade in 2023 and 2025. In 2023, the BMB also traveled to Dublin, Ireland, to perform in their St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

“I think we’re the only band in history that’s ever done both parades in the same calendar year,” said Director of Athletic Bands Steven McKeithen.

On Sept. 13, Fresno State football will play the Southern University Jaguars. Along with it being Heroes Night, the BMB and Jaguars marching band, The Human Jukebox, will be featured.

The Human Jukebox has performed at three presidential inauguration ceremonies and a handful of other events around New Orleans, Louisiana. Just like the BMB, it has marched in the Rose Parade twice.

The game against the Jaguars marks the first time that Fresno State will host an out-of-conference band. Previously, San Jose State, the University of Nevada, Reno and the Air Force Academy have come to Valley Children’s Stadium under McKeithen’s tenure.

For the BMB, all focus remains on its performance.

The BMB does three or four different halftime performances during a football season. With just one week to prepare, it falls on BMB members to have the show ready for 40,000 fans. BMB members have to learn the choreography of the halftime show on top of the roughly 30 tunes they have to memorize before the season.

The BMB Color Guard also has an important role in the visual aspects of a performance by adding important, dramatic and emotional elements.

Tosses with flags, rifles and sabers elevate the music aspect of the performance.

McKeithen attributes this to diligence from the band members.

The keys to the success of the BMB are the drum majors. Elric Pfeifer and Sophia Abraham, along with Kerber, headline the leadership group for the BMB.

They don’t just wave their hands. Being a drum major means keeping time, enforcing dynamics, clean cut-offs and communicating between the band director and the band members.

As drum majors, they no longer get to march with the instrument that made them fall in love with music in middle school.

“I miss the connection of marching with my section,” Kerber said. “We’re all very close, but that section bonding is something I really miss.”

Their season is very short. The BMB performs six times at Valley Children’s Stadium. If the football team qualifies for a bowl game, they get one extra game.

The amount of work that band members put in for such a short season goes unseen by most of the spectators. For just six performances, the BMB goes all-out on halftime shows, pep tunes and other aspects to keep the crowd engaged.

The fans that show their support for the BMB do not go unnoticed, but it can feel that the BMB is underappreciated by the average spectator.

“I feel like sometimes we do go unnoticed,” Abraham said. “But also, there are people who really see us and … I like having people think of us when they think of football, too.”

The band might be overlooked at times, but the community that the BMB offers its members is what makes it so successful. The BMB encompasses every major at Fresno State, and even some students at Fresno City College are along for the ride.

Abraham, a speech-language pathology major, said it can be stressful balancing her responsibilities as a drum major and completing all of her work for her major. Being a part of the BMB gives her the reset she needs.

“[During] my freshman and sophomore year, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I hate school,”’ Abraham said. “But then, I would get so excited coming to rehearsals, because I know that I’m with my friends and that I’m not alone.”

The BMB has a minority of music majors among its members. This diversity is another strength that has enabled the band to be nationally recognized by the College Band Directors National Association as one of the top eight marching bands in the U.S.

“Seeing all those lives come together to form just one large group that is experiencing all the same things is a really nice touch,” Kerber said. “Being in the leadership that overlooks a lot of that and sees it all on a grand scale is a really important and very proud thing that we get to do.”

The downside is the revolving door of members leaving so often. Just like athletic programs at Fresno State, the BMB has to replace graduating members.

A big difference for music programs is that they do not get to recruit new members. It all depends on how many kids graduate from high school in music programs.

The pandemic extenuated these circumstances. Many kids lost all interest in music.

“They were doing it on a computer, and that was not terribly engaging,” McKeithen said. “Got an oddity of the greater dynamics of the world coming into play.”

The kids who left music programs during the pandemic have reached college now, so there is a lag that has caused the BMB to have a smaller group than usual this year. However, it has not affected the mission of the BMB.

Music programs have also seen an increase in students in middle school and high school joining programs after the pandemic.

For the drum majors, the challenge with many moving parts year-to-year is maintaining the sense of community that the BMB offers its members.

“When you are leaving the BMB, you aren’t leaving it out of a place of … upsetness,” Kerber said. “You’re just either graduating or moving on with life, and that positive — moving on through the revolving door — helps with the difficulty of maintaining that community.”

Abraham, Kerber and Pfeifer are all first-year drum majors. The adjustment for them has been smooth. The BMB is a tight-knit group and the drum majors want to leave all the members with the experience of a lifetime.

The positive impacts that past drum majors have had on them are why they decided to become leaders of the BMB.

“I want people to have a great experience with the band, and with the games,” Pfeifer said. “We just want them to leave with their experience being as memorable as it can be.”

The BMB will continue to occupy most of Section 38 at Valley Children’s Stadium during every home football game and continue to give the Red Wave its rhythm, heartbeat and flow.