The Marching Band

In 1968, a year before the Shorewood Site opened, the Green Bay Packers organization made a major contribution to the fledgling university: a pledge of $24,000 to provide instruments and uniforms for a marching band. Conducted by Robert Bauer, the 130-piece band and color guard would later strut its stuff at Packers games at Lambeau Field and Milwaukee County Stadium. Interest eventually waned, and the band was no more within a decade, but the fact the college without its own football team once fielded a marching band remains a topic of interest among early alumni.

Lombardi recommended soccer

UW-Green Bay plays soccer as its primary fall sport primarily on the advice of the late Vince Lombardi. The legendary Packers coach was an athletics adviser to Chancellor Edward Weidner in 1967-68 when the new university was charting its athletics future. Lombardi advised against college football because of its relatively high cost and the likelihood that the university team would be overshadowed by the Packers He also believed in soccer’s long-term growth potential and the prospects for UWGB success at the highest level of NCAA competition (which proved true).