Spotlight on Athletics
Brian Frazier has been making music on the Hill for three decades. He began as a camp counselor with the McDaniel (formerly Western Maryland) Summer Band Camp, eventually becoming a teacher and then running the jazz program for the camp. Over 25 years — from the mid-1990s until its last year in 2019 — Frazier treasured the opportunity to bring music to the masses.
While pursuing a 31-year career teaching instrumental music in Baltimore County and Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS), Frazier played in the college’s concert band and jazz band for events on campus.
After retiring from CCPS in 2025, he came back to the Hill as an adjunct lecturer teaching jazz ensemble and to start a new athletic pep band on campus, which played during the 2025-26 academic year at home football games, basketball games, and other campus events.
“We’re crafting a new legacy on the Hill, and I want people who want to help build that from the ground up.”
In 2027, he looks forward to growing the program as the Green Terror Marching Band, bringing a marching band legacy back to life after more than 50 years.
The Western Maryland College marching band disbanded in the early 1970s, and while there were some efforts to start a pep band in the early 2000s and 2010s, they’ve never lasted. As extracurriculars only, they lacked significant institutional backing to help them grow. That’s why he’s excited about the new era of a cocurricular marching and pep band program on the Hill, which is being supported and prioritized by college leadership as McDaniel puts a renewed focus on campus vibrancy.
Read on for more in Frazier’s own words.
“We are tasked with supporting the athletic programs and engaging the audience during breaks in play. When there’s not something exciting happening on the field or on the court, we provide entertainment for the audience. In addition to creating music, we are adding movement, design, and color to that. We create an immersive experience for our audiences.”
“Everything. Everything we’re doing is unique. First, most colleges our size don’t have a marching band. My hope is that others see that we can get together 20 or 30 students and put together something unique and meaningful. And maybe they’ll realize they can do it, too.
Second, our stadium is unique with the drive-in style and tailgating on the Hill. Our fans aren’t sitting in the stadium seats. So, we’re going to create our formations so that we’re playing to all sides around the field rather than just to the bleachers.
We’re also going to combine traditional and show marching band styles with rock band elements. We’ll have guitar, bass, keyboard, and possibly even singers for our performances. The students will design and choose our music arrangements and choreography, as well as our uniforms. And we plan to change our uniform every four years or so. Our marching band members will truly have the ownership of building this as their own performance ensemble.”
“My dream marching band member is one with a ton of enthusiasm that wants to do cool things with music. The biggest priority is finding people who really want to be here and want to create something special. We’re crafting a new legacy on the Hill, and I want people who want to help build that from the ground up.”
“Music very much still has a place here on the Hill, and we’d love to have anybody involved as we’re building this. If you were a member of the marching band in the past or just love to play an instrument, we would welcome you to perform with us. Polish up the tuba that you haven’t touched in a few decades and come out and join us to bring energy to football and basketball games this year. We’d love to have your experience as we build a legacy that we can look back on in 20 or 30 years and be proud of the way we’ve reinvented this program.”
In addition to the pep band starting up, the 2025-26 academic year was full of highlights for the Green Terror Athletics programs and its student-athletes.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:
• Women’s basketball won the 2026 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament Championship and were Centennial Conference (CC) Championship semifinalists.
• Elaina Beckett ’26 was a WBCA All American and a D3 Hoops All American, made the First Team All Region, was the CC Player of the Year and MVP of the ECAC Championship team, and is third in school history with 1,492 career points scored.
MEN’S WRESTLING:
• Thomas Monn ’26 finished third at the NCAA Championships, was a three-time All American, three-time regional champion, four-time Centennial champion, four-time Wrestler of the Year, and is the college’s all-time wins record holder with 146.
CROSS COUNTRY AND TRACK & FIELD:
• McDaniel College hosted its first track meet since 2018 thanks to the donor-funded renovation of The Dr. Richard A. Clower ’50 track.
• Jack Sears ’26 was named NCAA All Region in cross country (the college’s first in 21 years), Second Team All-CC (first in 20 years), was the ECAC Champion in the 1,500 meter and 5,000 meter races, and set several program records.
MEN’S SOCCER:
• Made it to the CC playoffs and ECAC playoffs.
MEN’S BASKETBALL:
BASEBALL:
• Made it to the CC semifinals.
• Graduate student Shane Daly ’25 was named Centennial Player of the Year, was a three-time All-Centennial Conference player, set the single-season record with 10 home runs, was the fourth player in program history with more than 200 hits, and was only the second player in CC history to win both Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in his career.
MEN’S GOLF:
• Finished third place in the CC.