October 28, 2026:

Dear Readers,

I apologize for the delay in updating the website.

Now, let's review what occured over the course of the second half of the 2026 Nebraska high school marching season:

• October 10

  • The NSBA State Parade Marching Championships and Columbus Marching Festival took place, where bands had a choice to participate to perform in one or both of the following events: the parade marching competition, and the field marching competition. Only the parade portion is sanctioned by the NSBA. Parade classifications include MS, D, C2, C1, B, A, and 2A; bands only compete against those within their same respective classes. Class champions include:

    • MS: Ashland-Greenwood Middle

    • D: Osmond

    • C2: Plainview

    • C1: Neligh-Oakdale

    • B: Central City

    • A: Seward

    • 2A: Kearney

Unfortunately, field marching results for this event are not easily available online, if they are present at all; if you know those results, please do let me know.

• • At Elkhorn Sounds of Exellence, Papillion-La Vista South won 1st place overall in the finals, having scored highest in all five captions (Effect, Music, Visual, Percussion, and Color Guard). 2nd overall was Gretna East, and 3rd overall was Millard South. Prelims class champions include Millard West in 5A (that band did not compete in finals), Papillion-La Vista in 4A, Gretna East in 3A, and Palmyra in 1A.

  • The Links Marching Contest were also said to have taken place, though I would also be curious about its results....

  • At the Dutchman Field Championship, five Nebraska high school bands participated in the prelims: Bellevue East, Bellevue West, Omaha Buena Vista, Omaha Central, and Waverly. During the prelims, In Class 4A, Bellevue West placed 1st and scored highest in five of six class-wide captions (Music Effect, Visual Effect, Music, Percussion, and Color Guard), while Bellevue East placed 3rd (Visual, not to be confused with Visual Effect, went to a non-Nebraska school.); both bands, along with Omaha Central, were among the eight highest-scoring bands of the prelims, allowing them to perform in the finals. During the finals, Omaha Central placed 8th, Bellevue East placed 5th, and Bellevue West placed 1st.

• October 17

  • At the prelims of the Bands of America Indianapolis Super Regional Championship (technically a multi-day event taking place on the weekend of October 17), Millard West was scheduled to perform at 10:30 AM on Friday, while Millard North was scheduled to perform at 8:45 AM on Saturday (both performance times are in Eastern Time). Neither advanced to the finals nor won any caption awards, yet Millard West ranked 6th out of 15 in class 3A (plus 31st overall), while Millard North ranked 19th of 22 in class 4A (plus 34th overall).

  • At the Omaha Marching Invitational, Grain Valley (Grain Valley, Missouri) won 1st place overall in the finals, being the highest scorer in all five captions (Effect, Music, Visual, Percussion, and Color Guard); 2nd and 3rd place finishers include Gretna and Blue Valley North (Overland Park, Kansas) respectively. Prelims class champions include Millard South in 5A, Grain Valley (Grain Valley, Missouri) in 4A, Gretna in 3A, MOC-Floyd Vally (Orange City, Iowa) in 2A, and Palmyra in 1A.

  • At the Lincoln Public Schools Marching Invitational, 22 bands participated; 21 performed to obtain a high division rating, while one of them, the Lincoln Southwest Freshman band, performed in exhibition. 15 won Superior (I) ratings, while six won Excellent (II) ratings. Superior-rated Lexington High School won both the Outstanding Color Guard and Outstanding Percussion captions.

  • At what was called the first Lewis Central Marching Band Championship, three Nebraska high school bands participated: Nebraska City, Papillion La Vista South, and Omaha Westside. Nebraska City placed 1st in Class 3A; Omaha Westside placed 2nd in Class 4A; Papillion La Vista South placed 1st in Class 4A and was dubbed the overall grand champion.

• October 24

  • The Nebraska State Bandmasters Association Marching Festivals and Contest was held in the usual three sites: Seacrest Field (Lincoln) and Kearney High School for the festival portion, and Millard South High School's Buell Stadium for the contest/competition portion. If calculated correctly, 25 bands performed at Millard South High School, 26 in Seacrest Field, and 30 at Kearney High School, leading to a total participation of 81 high school marching bands. Comparatively speaking, according to my current archived results (still under construction; your assistance is appreciated), few to no other editions of this statewide field marching event featured at least as many such participants, whether for exhibition, division ratings, and/or rankings; it was first held on October 22, 1983.

  • In the festival sites, each band was given a division rating (Either I for Superior performance, II for Excellent performance, III for Good performance, or IV for Fair performance). The judging might have become stricter this year, since across this year's 56 festival bands, 27 of them received I, 24 received II, and five received a III; in 2025, 30 received a I,  21 received a II, and two received a III. Before this 2026 edition, the 2014 edition was the last time that five, III ratings were given across participating bands at the NSBA State Marching Contest, where 2014 had 60 bands evaluated for a division rating.

    • Congratulations to the following festival bands receiving Superior:

      • At Seacrest Field (Lincoln):

        • Beatrice

        • Bennington

        • Falls City

        • Lincoln East

        • Lincoln High

        • Lincoln Northwest

        • Lincoln Southeast

        • Lincoln Southwest

        • Standing Bear

        • Pius X

        • Omaha South

        • Omaha Central

        • Nebraska City

        • Seward

        • Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca

        • Waverly

        • Wahoo

        • Bishop Neumann

      • At Kearney High School

        • Aurora

        • Columbus

        • Grand Island

        • Kearney

        • Lexington

        • Ogallala

        • North Platte

        • Northwest

        • Pierce

  • In the competition site (Buell Stadium), participating high school marching bands were given the opportunity to compete for an overall numerical ranking, contest awards (disregarding class), and class championship titles. Quite potentially for the first time this decade, none of them performed for exhibition there, at Buell Stadium, strictly for exhibition.

  • The following are the overall 2026 competition site results (with position changes from 2025 to 2026):

1. Millard West (0); 5A Champion; Best Auxiliary, Best Percussion, Best Music, Best General Effect, Best Visual

2. Papillion La Vista South (⬆️1) 

3. Bellevue West (⬇️1); 4A Champion

4. Millard North (0)

5. Bellevue East (⬆️1)

6. Elkhorn (⬆️5); 3A Champion

7. Gretna (⬇️2)

8. Gretna East (⬆️2)

9. Elkhorn South (0)

10. Westside (⬆️2)

11. Elkhorn North (⬇️4)

12. Millard South (⬇️4)

13. Papillion La Vista (NEW)

14. Plattsmouth (⬆️1); 2A Champion

15. Omaha Burke (⬇️2)

16. Norris (⬆️1)

17. Westview (⬆️1)

18. Skutt Catholic (⬆️1)

19. Crofton (⬇️5); 1A Champion

20. Fremont (NEW)

21. Palmyra (⬇️5)

22. Buena Vista (⬇️1)

23. Omaha Northwest (NEW)

24. Lincoln Christian (⬇️4)

25. Omaha North (⬇️3)

Note that NEW, in this context, could also mean "competed in festival site or exhibition last year, now competing for ranking."

• • • Now, here are some fan-made statistics, which involve the average 2025-26 Multi-School District Ranking Changes (only including competition site schools), followed by 2024-25 changes:

      • Elkhorn Public (⬆️0.33). Previously, ⬆️1.

      • Bellevue Public (0). Previously, ⬇️1.

      • Gretna Public (0). Previously, ⬇️1.

      • Omaha Public (⬇️1.25). Previously, ⬇️1.4.

      • Millard Public (⬇️1.33). Previously, ⬆️1.66.

  • Extra facts about the 2026 edition of the NSBA State Marching Festival/Contest (if the portfolio website's archives are correct)

    • The only class with a different state champion from 2025 is 3A. After Gretna East experienced its first school year of operation (2023-24), Gretna has been competing in class 3A since the 2024 edition, helping it capture the 2024 and 2025 3A state championships.  Elkhorn's 2026 3A state championship win is its second class-wide championship in this contest's history. That band also won 2022's 3A title.

    • From 2017 through 2025, the unordered top six highest-ranking bands for each year was the same. 2026 is different, though, because Gretna fell to seventh.

    • The 2026 edition is the first one where Fremont competed for a numerical ranking; during other years where numerical rankings could be given (Such practice was first done in the 2010 edition.), when that band competed, it either participated in exhibition or received only a division rating.

    • It also features Omaha Northwest competing for any rating or ranking for the first time since when it did so in 2021; from 2022 through 2025, it competed in exhibition at the competition site.

    • Moreover, Papillion La Vista received its first official NSBA State Marching Contest numerical ranking. after having always obtained awards for division ratings.

    • Millard North may have competed in the classification for highest-enrollment schools (either class AA or 5A, depending on classification system used) in every edition of this aforementioned Festival/Contest. Whether the same could also be said for Lincoln High is something I am still trying to figure out; while the school was shown to have received a 10-year participation plaque during the the 10th edition of the contest (1992), an NSBA State Marching Festival/Contest participation history document (which may contain some inconsistencies) claimed that Lincoln High was absent during the 1983 edition. If you have any concrete evidence of Lincoln High participating in 1983, please email me with that evidence.

    • It is the 16th straight edition where numerical rankings of any kind (as opposed to just division ratings) were offered to a number of participating bands. It is also is the ninth straight edition where the same venues were used for festival sites, and where Buell was used for the competiton site. More information about it can be found in this portfolio website's NSBA State Marching Festival/Contest archive.

I hope the Nebraska high school marching season was an enjoyable experience for both those participating and those observing. May the next year also be a fulfilling one, and may memories of past seasons be saved and discussed for years to come.

Very Respectfully,

Miles Divis

October 8, 2026:

Dear Readers,

Before we begin with the main message of this letter, I hope to update you on my university leadership status, as of October 8 of this year:

• I was elected as the new Assistant Director of Layout for Case Western Reserve University's Discussions Undergraduate Research Journal; my contribution in that position will be effective starting with the upcoming Fall, 2026 edition.

• I am maintaining my position of treasurer in Ensemble, the university's French Language and Culture club.

Now, let's get to main subject, which is the 2026 marching season. It is in full swing, so let's recount what has happened so far:

• September 19

  • At the Wildcat Classic, Lincoln (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) won 1st place overall in the finals, taking home four of five captions (Outstanding General Effect, Music, Visual, Percussion); Papillion La Vista South, which placed 2nd overall, took home the Outstanding Color Guard caption. Prelims class champions include Lincoln (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) in 5A, Lincoln Southeast in 4A, Gretna in 3A, and MOC-Floyd Valley (Orange City, Iowa) in 2A.

• September 26

  • At the Titan Marching Invitational, Elkhorn South won 1st place overall in the finals, being the highest scorer in Effect and Color Guard; Northwest (Waukee, Iowa) placed 2nd overall, and was the highest scorer in Percussion; Harrisburg (Harrisburg, South Dakota) placed 3rd overall, and was the highest scorer in Visual; Elkhorn North placed 4th overall, and was the highest scorer in Music. Prelims class champions include Northwest (Waukee, Iowa) in 5A, Elkhorn South in 4A, Elkhorn North in 3A, and West Lyon (Inwood, Iowa) in 2A.

  • At the Bellevue Band Festival, Millard North, Blue Valley (Overland Park, Kansas), and Gretna were 5A, 4A, and 3A champions respectively; except for Columbus (3rd place in 4A) capturing the caption for Percussion, the three class champions swept the caption awards. Though awards for overall rankings were never officially given, Blue Valley scored highest, with Millard North placing 2nd, and Gretna placing 3rd. View unarchived page for overall rankings.

  • At the Golden Regiment Invitational Marching Festival (Blue Springs, Missouri), Gretna East and Millard West both competed; in the Purple Show contest (competition takes place within separate band size classifications), both schools swept all three captions, won Outstanding Drum Major, and placed 1st within their respective classes. Later, in the Gold Show contest (this time involves school size classifications; includes overall rankings), Gretna East placed 4th, and Millard West placed 3rd in their separate classes; the 2026 Wildcat Classic champion, Lincoln (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), placed 2nd in both Millard West's class and the overall standings.

• October 3

  • At the Capital City Marching Championships, Millard South won 1st place overall in the finals, winning Best Effect, Marching, and Color Guard; Omaha Westside placed 2nd overall, and won Best Music and Best Percussion. Prelims class champions include Millard South in 5A, Elkhorn South in 4A, Elkhorn in 3A, and Plattsmouth in 2A.

  • At the Bands of America Iowa Regional Championship, five Nebraska bands competed in the prelims: Bellevue East, Bellevue West, Elkhorn North, Gretna, and Papillion La Vista South. Of the five, Bellevue West and Papillion La Vista South made the finals, where the former placed 6th, and the latter placed 11th.

  • At Festival of Bands (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), Millard West participated in the field competition; during the preliminaries, it placed 1st in its class, and captured Outstanding Winds, Color Guard, and Percussion, just losing Outstanding Drum Major to the 2026 Wildcat Classic first runner-up, Northwest (Waukee, Iowa). During the finals, Millard West ranked 1st overall, and captured Outstanding Winds, Color Guard, Percussion, and Visual, along with the Spirit of the Festival Award; it once again missed Outstanding Drum Major, this time to Brookings (Brookings, South Dakota), which finished 2nd overall.

• Interesting fact, for fellow Millard North fans: unless the band also missed 2016 and/or 2018 (I have yet to confirm Millard North's participation in either year), 2026 may be the first year in which Millard North did not perform in the Titan Marching Invitational.

I would be curious as to what the results were for the Norfolk Lyons Club Parade and the Bennington Marching Invitational, to name at least two....

Either way, look out for the Columbus Marching Festival, which will be paired with what the NSBA claims to be the first annual state parade marching championships; those events, along with the Links Marching Contest and Elkhorn Sounds of Excellence, are worthy of attention when they hopefully take place on October 10. During the Omaha Marching Invitational and the Lincoln Public Schools Marching Invitational, Millard North and Millard West are scheduled to compete in the Bands of America Indianapolis Super Regional Championship; all three of those enjoyable opportunities are scheduled to occur on the weekend of October 17. Lastly, watch Nebraska's high school bands vie to be their best selves at the NSBA State Marching Festivals and Contest, scheduled at three separate fields for October 24.

With all of that being said, I am adding histories of additional Nebraska high school marching events into the portfolio website. Please be patient, as I continuously contribute new information into those archives. Let's make this portfolio website the premier destination for the results history of Nebraska's high school band events. As for everyone involved in those band programs, you rock.

Very Respectfully,

Miles Divis

Dear Readers,

Welcome; the portfolio website was just launched. Below, I shall briefly introduce myself.

A former Omaha Burke student—and later a Millard North graduate—I am currently majoring in Data Science and Analytics, and minoring in at least Computer Gaming and French at Case Western Reserve University. As of this letter, I am serving as the treasurer of the university's Ensemble French Language and Culture Club, and contributing to three different sectors of the Discussions Undergraduate Research Journal: review, copy-editing, and layout.

There may not be much within the portfolio yet, though do expect it to grow over time. I intend to not only continue contributing to the history of Nebraska's schools, but also to various other interests.

Very Respectfully,

Miles Divis