Tournament of Champions

2026 Tournament of Champions

The 2026 Tournament of Champions is Saturday October 17th, 2026. We are excited to have bands from across the region share their pageantry with you. The format of the competition is prelims/finals, with your Pride of the Mountains performing exhibitions at the end of each session. See you all at E.J. Whitmire Stadium on Saturday, October 17th, 2026.

Ticketing Information

Tickets may be purchased at the stadium on the day of the event for $20. Only a single ticket purchase is required for both prelims and finals performances.

For questions regarding group tickets, please email potminfo@wcu.edu.

Our educational mission is to provide your program a nationally renowned panel of evaluators who will offer clear, in-depth, and useful commentary. Throughout the evaluator assignment process, we consider each individual鈥檚 background as an educator, creative mind, as well as their ability to provide constructive criticism, delivered in a positive manner to high school students. These individuals are selected on their ability to comment 鈥渂eyond the score sheet鈥� and deliver educational insight to your staff and students that will assist in the growth, improvement, and motivational aspects of your marching band program. We are honored as well as excited to extend you this invitation for participation in the 18th annual 鈥淭ournament of Champions.鈥� We promise to do everything in our power to offer your students, staff, and parents, a first-rate experience coupled with unparalleled educational feedback.

Chief Judge

Dustin Stamey
Cilnicians: Bob Buckner

Music Judges

Jeremy Spicer
Jon Gomez
Matthew McCready
Doug Thrower
Colin McNutt (Percussion)

Visual Judges

Jamey Thompson
Rick Subel
Marileta Matthews (Color Guard)
Sheldon Frazier (Drum Major)

Registration

Registration will be live on February 10th at 7pm using the link below.