Ohio State Athletic Band Pays Tribute To VAN HALEN At Spring Game

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The Ohio State University Spring Athletic Band honored VAN HALEN during its halftime show Saturday (April 16) at Ohio Stadium as part of Ohio State's spring football game at home in Columbus. The band blistered through some of VAN HALEN's greatest hits, including "Runnin' With The Devil", "Dreams", "Panama" and "Jump". Formations spelled out "Van Halen", "Dreams", "Jump", "1984" and the band's iconic "VH" logo. The Ohio State University Athletic Band performs at various Ohio State varsity sporting events during the autumn and spring semesters, with the exception of fall football games. The number of participants in Athletic Band each semester varies between 250 and 300 members. Unlike the Marching Band, the Athletic Band includes all brass, woodwind and percussion instruments. Athletic Band is an open-enrollment ensemble, meaning anyone is welcome to participate. Although a form of the Athletic Band has been around since the 1940s, the modern Athletic Band was started in 1996 under the direction of Dr. Jon R. Woods. Among the highlights of the Athletic Band are marching full pregame and halftime shows at the annual spring game, performing Script Ohio on Ice at one hockey game per semester and performing Script Ohio on court during a spring-semester basketball game. VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen died in October 2020 at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. After Eddie was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, he began flying to Germany for treatments. Eventually, the cancer spread to Eddie's spine and brain. Just a few months later, Eddie died at age 65. VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.