Bison Spotlight: Connor Challey, Performing Arts
For Connor Challey, NDSU’s director of athletic bands, the 2026 fall semester has been about growth, pride and embracing a new era of Bison athletics.
From leading the marquee Gold Star Marching Band on Bison Football game days to coordinating Bison Pep Band performances across campus and beyond, Challey oversees one of NDSU's most visible student organizations. This fall, he has observed the band raise its performance level while helping amplify excitement surrounding the big jump to the Football Bowl Subdivision.
"It's going really great," Challey said. "This year has been a big year of progress for us. Not only in marching fundamentals and looking better on the field and having fun and interesting drill, but also musically the band is really performing at a high level right now."
On campus since mid-August, this year’s installment of the GSMB has been quite busy: not only performing at Bison Football games but also making appearances at the Youth in Music Marching Band Championships in Minneapolis, a regional high school marching band championship where they performed an exhibition, and at the Minnesota State Fair.
With Bison Football’s leap to the FBS, the exposure for the Gold Star Marching Band has also jumped up dramatically: 2026 regular season home games where they play have been broadcast nationally over the air on the CW, on cable on CBS Sports Network and via streaming on ESPN+ and the Mountain West Conference’s MW+ service.
"Knowing that the band and our brand get to represent the school in such a positive way is exciting," Challey said. "There's not really another student organization that is this large of a deal as far as creating spirit and being a driving force behind spreading Bison Pride on game days and beyond."
Bison Pep Band is a major presence for Challey’s charges outside of GSMB appearances. Not only does the Bison Pep Band play at Bison athletic events at venues smaller than the Fargodome — including basketball, volleyball and soccer — it also can be found at community events. Two events you may have seen the Bison Pep Band at recently are the all-campus lunch following President Marshall Stewart’s inauguration and the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Richard Offerdahl ‘65 Engineering Complex during Homecoming week.
"This year we have about 60 individual gigs that have nothing to do with the class credit of marching band," said Challey. "The students recognize that our presence at different things reflects positively on us and positively on the school. Each of them is a true ambassador of NDSU and wears that on their sleeve."
Beyond the performances and travel, Challey said one of the most meaningful aspects of directing the band is being part of a tradition that spans more than a century, dating back to its origins as an ROTC band in 1903.
"It's really special to be able to have a program that has such tradition and such a large alumni base of people who have been doing the same thing we've been doing, which is supporting NDSU in every way that we possibly can," he said.
That tradition is reinforced through connections with generations of alumni plus former faculty who have all helped shape the organization.
"They feel like they're part of something bigger," Challey said. "That's super cool."
Challey is also quick to credit the staff members who help make the band's success possible. All six instructors and both photographers on his staff are former Gold Star Marching Band members who have returned to support the next generation of musicians.
The Gold Star Marching Band will be a featured fund for the Challey School of Music during Giving Day on Tuesday, October 27. You can donate to the GSMB on Giving Day via the NDSU Foundation.
NDSU Marketing and Communications
Source: Connor Challey
Writer: Paul Teeple
Photos: KJ Photography