The UW Band dates to 1884, when it began life as part of the University Battalion, the military education program. It grew and shrank and evolved over the decades until Edson Morphy became UW band director in 1920. In the nearly 100 years since then, the UW Band has had only four directors: Morphy (1920–34), Ray Dvorak (1934–68), H. Robert Reynolds (1968–75), and Mike Leckrone (1975–present). The Marching Band has given the UW many of its current traditions, including the “Varsity” arm wave (instituted by Dvorak in 1934), the chicken dance, “You’ve Said It All (the Bud Song),” and the Fifth Quarter. The Fifth Quarter was Leckrone’s innovation in the late 1970s — a postgame concert to entertain football fans when the teams were weak. When the Badgers win, the members of the Marching Band turn their caps backward to look back on the victory.

The art for the Badger Pride Wall was created for WAA by Madison illustrator Nate Koehler.