Why The Ref Penalized The UNLV Marching Band

Over the weekend, something really weird happened at the UNLV-Air Force game at Allegiant Stadium...the referee penalized the UNLV Marching Band! Now keep in mind that shutting down the band is nothing unheard of, it's just the fact that the referee, Steve Baron actually left the field of play, ran up the stands and shut down the band personally!

Now if you were at the game, it had to be a little weird since UNLV's band is not that big and Air Force definitely had the upper hand in this game, so why was it so important for the ref to shut the band down during the game? Well, we did a little research and come to find out that the opposing team's band cannot play while the other team has the ball!

Clearly this was happening throughout the game enough where the ref had finally had it...the odd thing is that normally, one makes an announcement over the P.A. to the band in question. Since that didn't happen, it caught even the UNLV band off guard to see an official from the field make the jog up the stands to deliver the message.

The confrontation happened with about 1:44 left in the third quarter and Air Force had the lead 35-7...meaning having the band play might be the only way to stop the Air Force offense. Come ref, throw the Rebels a bone!

But truth be told, Mountain West rules prohibits bands from playing as soon as the opposing team breaks their huddle. If the offense is running a "no-huddle" offense, then the band can not play at all...clearly our hometown band didn't know this! (LOL)

Again, why not make the announcement over the p.a. system like most referees? Either way, it probably wouldn't of made a difference since the Air Force won the game 42-7 making the Rebels 4-2 on the season! Next Saturday, the UNLV Rebels hit the road to South Bend, Indiana to play Notre Dame!

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