Stanford’s Band Still Barred by Notre Dame

An enduring consequence of a decades old non-apology to Monk Malloy

This weekend Stanford will face the Irish without its band after two incidents in the 1990s. The first was the infamous crucifix-pumping band conductor dressed as a nun in 1991 — 

The Stanford Band mocked the Irish for the potato famine in 1997. "As a community formed largely by Irish-American Catholics, we find the behavior of the Stanford band not merely sophomoric and boorish, but personally offensive," then-President Monk Malloy said at the time. "Such bigotry is absolutely unacceptable, especially from a student organization representing an institution that rightfully prides itself on diversity."

Malloy’s indignation was met with a dismissive non-apology from The Stanford Band: “the field show script should have been much clearer. Its misinterpretation as an assault on the Irish seems obvious in retrospect, but did not occur to any of our censors. We erred in judgment, and we apologize."

Notre Dame stadium’s ban on the Stanford band is now in its third decade.

Kickoff is tomorrow at 3:30pm ET ☘️