FAMU Holds First Home Game Without Famed Band Florida A&M University is trying to fill the void left by the absence of its famed marching band. Saturday marks the first football game in decades that will not feature a halftime show of elaborate dances, booming percussion and thundering brass. FILE - In this Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 file photo, Robert Champion, a drum major in Florida A&M University's Marching 100 band, performs during halftime of a football game in Orlando, Fla. The parents of Robert Champion held a news conference in Atlanta, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, to voice their disappointment at FAMU's response to their lawsuit. They claim that FAMU is not taking responsibility for the safety of their students. (AP Photo/The Tampa Tribune, Joseph Brown III, File) SST. The band will be absent for the entire academic year as part of the fallout from the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion. Champion died following a hazing ritual that took place following FAMU's last football game of 2011. Al Lawson, an alumnus and former legislator, calls it a major challenge for the school because many people attended home games to see the band, not the Rattlers football team. The first home game of the season will feature a hip-hop artist as part of the halftime entertainment.