Some traditions begin with grand plans. Others begin almost by accident.
The Bob Lloyd Shorts Award traces its origins to a friendly wager between UMMB members Bob Lloyd and Rich Neely. The challenge was simple: who could keep wearing shorts the longest through marching band season? Rich bowed out around Halloween, but Bob kept going.
One Saturday morning in 1977, as freezing rain fell over Amherst, George Parks told Bob he could finally call it a victory. The bet was over. He had won.
But by then, it wasn’t really about winning.
Bob explained that wearing shorts had become a personal motivator. His reasoning was straightforward: no matter how miserable the weather became, if he was still wearing shorts, then conditions couldn’t possibly be that bad. George immediately appreciated the mindset behind it. What had started as a joke had evolved into a lesson about perseverance.
That attitude was put to the test later that season when the football team advanced into the playoffs and the Minuteman Band found itself rehearsing in two inches of snow. Through it all, Bob never switched to long pants.
The following year, Roger Burnett carried the tradition forward, wearing shorts throughout the entire season. At the annual Band Banquet, Dana Hubbard presented him with the first Bob Lloyd Memorial Shorts Award. Bob later joked that he wasn’t especially fond of the word “Memorial,” since it suggested he was no longer among the living.
What began as a lighthearted recognition quickly became a Minuteman Band tradition. The next year, three members earned the award. The year after that, six. As the years passed, more and more students embraced the challenge, and the award became a familiar fixture among the banquet’s annual honors and superlatives.
George Parks remained one of the tradition’s biggest supporters. He understood that the award was never really about shorts. It represented commitment, resilience, and the ability to maintain a positive attitude when conditions were less than ideal. Each year, George would send Bob an email updating him on how many students had earned the distinction.
Years later, while living in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Bob learned that George was conducting a Drum Major Academy camp nearby. He stopped in to say hello. George gathered the UMass staff together and proudly introduced Bob as the person whose simple wager had inspired one of the band’s enduring traditions.
There was only one problem.
Bob had come straight from work.
For perhaps the most ironic moment in the history of the award, he wasn’t wearing shorts.
Today, the Bob Lloyd Shorts Award remains a beloved part of Minuteman Band culture and a reminder that traditions don’t always emerge from formal ceremonies or official decisions. Sometimes they grow from a simple idea, embraced by the right people, at the right moment.
What began as a bet became a symbol of determination, carried forward by generations of band members—one pair of shorts at a time.
Were you recognized with the Bob Lloyd Shorts Award? Let us know below!