Southern University’s Human Jukebox rises to No. 1 in HBCU band rankings
Southern University’s Human Jukebox climbed from eighth to No. 1 in October’s HBCU Band of the Year rankings as organizers expanded the scoring rubric.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Southern University’s Human Jukebox moved from eighth place in September to the top spot in October’s Division I Red Lobster Band of the Year rankings, earning 398.4 points.
The Baton Rouge band leads Bethune-Cookman’s Marching Wildcats by 5.65 points. Florida A&M’s Marching 100 is third, just one-quarter point behind Bethune-Cookman.
The October rankings also reflect a change to the competition’s scoring system. Organizers increased the maximum points for musicality and pictures, drill and design from 80 to 120 in each category. That expanded scale means the October totals cannot be directly compared with September’s scores to measure improvement.
Southern led the musicality category with 113 points and the auxiliary category with 48.5. It placed second in pictures, drill and design, scoring 117.9 — one-tenth of a point behind Florida A&M. Bethune-Cookman led in percussion and drum majors.
The October top five also includes Jackson State in fourth place and North Carolina A&T in fifth. Norfolk State is sixth, 4.85 points behind North Carolina A&T, leaving the final positions close as bands head toward November’s rankings.
Competition officials said adjudicators rotate among categories during the season to bring in fresh perspectives and encourage bands to develop across all areas of performance. November’s rankings are expected to identify the final five programs in contention for the Atlanta event. Southern’s October lead does not guarantee a place there.
