Ohio State marching band drum major Austin Bowman leads TBDBITL

As the moments before kickoff at Ohio Stadium ticked away last Saturday, Austin Bowman waited.

Bowman, an Ohio State sophomore and this year's head drum major, stood at attention and eyed the clock for his cue. He was watching the seconds count down when an announcer's voice turned the fans' attention to the stadium's north end. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, the pride of the Buckeyes: the Ohio State University Marching Band!"

The drum line punctuated the air with the opening beats to "Buckeye Battle Cry," and band members marched onto the field in two single-file lines. 

Silhouetted against the rotunda entrance, Bowman would soon lead The Best Damn Band In The Land into the pregame show with a few forceful movements of his baton.

Bowman, 19, of Hebron, makes his job look easy. When he darts down the ramp on game days, struts onto the field and stretches into a back bend before tens of thousands of fans, he's met with raucous applause.

Bowman effortlessly wields his baton in fluid motions. He catapults it 30 feet into the air and catches it with ease. An accomplished twirler, he's garnered the respect of several drum majors who led the band even before he was born. 

It's the dream he's been working toward since eighth grade, when he beat out a high school senior to become the first freshman in Lakewood High School history to be named drum major.

Many have already forgotten watching Bowman stumble on his debut entrance into the stadium two weeks earlier. A viral video of the moment shared his misstep to millions online that day.

Bowman lost his balance but got back up. That's what matters.

There's much more to Bowman's life as drum major, however, than game-day performances. He's constantly striking a balance –– between school and band, personal and professional, and tradition and innovation.

"It's consistency, athleticism, showmanship and learning," Bowman said. "It's all about finding that balance."

The drum major tradition at Ohio State

The week before Ohio State's game against Akron would turn out to be an unusually hectic one for the 228 members of the TBDBITL. 

It's not often that the Buckeyes host three home games in a row, and it's even rarer for the band to have to put together three new shows back-to-back-to-back. 

To top it all off, it was also the TBDBITL Alumni Reunion Game, adding dozens of additional band members to the week's performances who will only practice with them come game day. 

While the students took their seats in the band center, Bowman and the rest of D-Row, the drum major training squad, made their way outside to the Lincoln Tower Field for their own practice. 

Created in 1979, D-Row helps properly train potential drum majors. All hopeful drum majors are required to join D-Row for at least a year. They can then audition for the role in the spring. 

There's no coach or coordinator for D-Row; it's entirely facilitated by current members and supported by alumni drum majors. This year, there are six members on D-Row: Bowman, assistant drum major Dalton Cararo and four other students.

One of Bowman's main jobs as drum major –– besides being TBDBITL's frontman and scripting his halftime performance each week –– is training the future generation of drum majors. Ohio State's drum majors are both teachers and students, training protégés to one day replace them while also sharpening their own skills.

On this particular Monday, Bowman and Cararo begin rehearsal by running alongside the other D-Row members to practice ramp entrances. Bowman holds up his iPhone and plays the "Buckeye Battle Cry" as sophomore Ethan Kelly kicks his legs out.

D-Row is also responsible for running winter session and spring clinic, two off-season workshops in which aspiring twirlers can learn from the pros. 

It was during one of the 2016 winter sessions that Bowman was introduced to D-Row for the first time. Konner Barr remembers it well.

Barr, a 2019 Ohio State graduate and head drum major from 2018-2019, was assistant drum major at the time. 

"Little eighth-grade Austin Bowman walked in, the smallest kid I'd ever seen," Barr said with a laugh. "We all thought he was like 10 years old."

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What Bowman lacked in height he made up for in raw talent, he said.

Bowman brought his own baton and instantly picked up every trick the drum majors tried to teach him, baffling the older twirlers

"I told people two or three different times that day that Austin would be the drum major at Ohio State," Barr said. "He had the determination, the mindset, the talent."

Five years later, Barr's prediction came true. Bowman is the third-ever sophomore to lead TBDBITL as its drum major. He credits a lot of that to the drum majors before him who took the time to teach him. It's a gift that he now gets to pay forward.

"It's about being a positive role model for the band, but it's also about trying to be a great steward for the program," Bowman said. 

The dedicated ones have 'that twinkle in their eye'

Only two days until game day against Akron, and after an unseasonably hot September, Thursday's temperatures dropped to the mid-60s and finally felt like fall.

The entire band marched out Lincoln Tower Field for rehearsal. Each section warmed up its instruments, creating a chaotic symphony.

Bowman and the rest of D-Row also got to practicing ... Well, sort off.

Bowman, Cararo and a couple of their friends from other rows –– fifth-year trumpeter Jeremy Parr and sophomore trumpeter Blake Hassay –– goofed around with some batons.

Parr used to live with Barr, the former drum major, and it's clear from his twirling skills that he's picked up a thing or two from hanging around D-Row. Bowman danced a jig in between baton catches and smiled a big, toothy grin.

At 4:10 p.m. on the dot, it was time to get to work.

"Welcome to fall," associate band director Phil Day said into his headset, officially beginning rehearsal.

Band rehearsals run for two hours every weekday afternoon, but it's estimated members practice between 20 and 30 hours a week during the season. For Bowman, that includes listening to music arrangements, choreographing halftime routines, twirling and planning D-Row practices.

There's also his physical conditioning: cardio for strutting out onto the field, tumbling and gymnastics for added flair in performances, and stretching to stay flexible for the all-important backbends.

The accounting major still needs to make time for school on top of all that. Most days this semester, Bowman has only one in-person class, with all his other classes online. He studies at Thompson Library or in his Lane Avenue apartment, in between lectures and practice.

Being a drum major means a high level of dedication on and off the field, and Barr said he's never seen anyone excel as much as Bowman has.

"There have been so many drum majors who you just couldn't touch because of how hard they worked," Barr said. "You can tell who the dedicated ones are; they have that twinkle in their eye. I, 100%, see that twinkle in Austin."

That twinkle looks like Bowman coming alive when he picks up his baton. It's in that wide grin that takes up residence during performances, and the way he victoriously raises his arms after landing a trick. 

Even in trying times, it's still there. When Bowman dropped a few batons during rehearsal (the cold air made catching the baton a little tricky, especially with cuts on his hands), any frustration quickly dissolved into a smile.

It didn't fade after his fall on which he got those cuts, either. He'd already moved on by the next day, he said, thanks in part to the support of his teammates who reminded him that he's only human.

"Mistakes happen to everyone. It's just not always in front of 100,000 fans and a million people on Twitter," Bowman said with a smirk.

But Bowman doesn't want to be remembered as the drum major who fell. At the very least, he said, he hopes people remember that he got back up and carried on.

Barr is more confident in Bowman's legacy. People will remember the fall, but they won't remember it was Bowman, he said.

"Austin will be remembered for putting on a damn good show," Barr said. "When his time comes to an end, he will have left an impact not only on the fans, but he will have inspired so many kids to become future drum majors themselves."

It's show time

Game days are marathons for TBDBITL. 

Band members report to Ohio Stadium six hours before kickoff for home games. For a noon kickoff, that means waking up hours before the sun rises. Thankfully, though, the kickoff for the Akron game isn't until 7:30 p.m., so Bowman has half a day to himself before his day truly begins.

Dozens of alumni band members and drum majors are ready to join TBDBITL for the day's performances.

A final dress rehearsal at Lincoln Tower Fields draws a sizable crowd. In his final practice before the halftime show, spectators erupt in applause when Bowman tosses the baton 40 feet into the air, jumps into a back handspring and catches it.

Bowman and Cararo lead the band to Skull Session and then back to Ohio Stadium for their final pregame rituals. Five minutes before pregame, Bowman does a backbend and "three knocks" on a metal plate by the entrance ramp, a traditional that is performed before every home game to symbolize it’s go time.

The pregame show is set to begin. Bowman stations himself on the ramp and watches his fellow band members file into the bright lights of Ohio Stadium.

In those few solo moments, Bowman embraces the hours of practice, the teaching, the tradition and the legacy that got him to this place. One more deep breath.

He runs out, striding down the ramp, carrying the tradition he loves and forging his own path forward with each step.

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