When Emma Stephens steps onto the field at the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, she won’t just be performing with Indiana University’s famed Marching Hundred — she’ll be making history. The Daviess County High School alum will become the first woman from Kentucky to ever represent IU’s marching band in the storied bowl game, a milestone she’s still trying to wrap her mind around.
Stephens, now a junior at IU studying linguistics, said the magnitude of the moment didn’t fully register until she and her bandmates ran the numbers a few days ago.
“It’s been super awesome to experience all of this. I never expected anything like it,” she said.
Raised in Owensboro, Stephens grew up with music woven into her life. Both of her parents were college musicians, and she found her own footing in marching band and softball at Daviess County High School. But IU and the Marching Hundred offered a different kind of opportunity.
“I still wanted music in my life even though I wasn’t studying it,” she said. “Joining the band has given me a sense of belonging and community. It’s been the most amazing experience ever.”
Stephens auditioned for the marching band as a freshman and made the cut. Today, she serves on the undergraduate staff as a section leader for the mellophone section.
Over the past three years, Stephens has also earned spots in IU’s select basketball and soccer bands. But nothing compares, she said, to watching IU football rise from perennial underdog to Big Ten champion.
“I got to experience our football team at its worst and now at its absolute best,” she said. “We’re a part of history right now. There are no words for how thankful I am.”
During last weekend’s Big Ten Championship, the turning point came with about two minutes left in the game.
“It all clicked in our brains that, wow, we’re going to win this,” Stephens said. “Everyone was crying. We were all so happy.”
The Rose Bowl became a reality moments later. Preparations began almost immediately.
“We’re working on one of our halftime shows for the Rose Bowl, so that’s super exciting,” she said. “We’ll keep practicing like usual. It’s such a big deal that we get the chance to go.”
Stephens said she’s especially moved knowing that when IU last appeared in the Rose Bowl in 1968, women weren’t allowed in the band.
“I’ve looked back on pictures from the first time they went,” she said. “It’s so amazing that I get to experience something no woman has ever experienced before with this band — and that I get to represent my state. That’s so awesome.”
While viewers may have trouble spotting her among 300 matching uniforms, Stephens joked that there’s one clue: “If you see a girl posing with Hoosier Bison, our mascot, that’s probably me.”
She doesn’t yet know exactly when the band will travel to California, but expects to leave sometime around Christmas.
Until then, she’s savoring what this moment means — for IU, for her family, and for the musicians who paved the way.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” she said. “I never thought I’d get to do something like this. Being part of an organization where everyone truly loves what they’re doing — that’s everything.”
