Traditions are an important part of what makes the Mustang Band the great organization that it is. Without a constant respect for and determination to honor out past, the Mustang Band would become just another college organization. With that in mind, it is important to remember that all band members must keep the traditions alive from year to year in order to steer the band to be it's best.

Mustangs
When SMU decided it needed a mascot as a symbol of its unified spirit, the faculty and students made nominations as to what they thought might serve the purpose adequately. On October 25, 1917, the University community voted from among four possibilities - Bison, Greyhounds, Pioneers, and Mustangs.

The contributor of the winning symbol was Miss Dorothy Amann, President Hyer's secretary. She was struck by the idea while watching the team practice from her office in Dallas Hall: "Why, out there, on the football field, it looks just like a bunch of wild Mustangs!"

Peruna
On November 4, 1932, Peruna I made his first appearance at an SMU football game against Texas A&M University. The feisty black Shetland pony, named after a potent "medicine" of the prohibition era, was an immediate success as the ultimate embodiment of the Mustang spirit on the campus. When he was struck and killed by a car on Mockingbird Lane during a 1934 Halloween celebration, the entire University community went into mourning.

Since that time, SMU has been represented by eight Perunas, all of them, except the first being donated and cared for by the generous Culwell family. In 1992, Cully Culwell sold Peruna VII to an anonymous SMU alumnus for continued care in perpetuity.

During the early days of the Mustang Band, Peruna accompanied the organization everywhere, appearing on theater playbills as "the midget wonder horse!"

Musical Style
The Mustang Band succeeds musically at what no other band can: playing jazz and swing the way it was meant to be played-LOUD. "Are there any skeptics around who still believe that a college marching band can't play jazz in the finest American tradition? If there are, then they haven't heard the Southern Methodist University Mustang Band. When the Band was making its early reputation around the United States, the amazing thing to most listeners was that here was this collegiate marching band turning out high-keyed, precision, driving, articulate, genuine jazz; not those special gimmicky jazz arrangements for marching bands. The Mustang Band plays jazz-full and loud, with all the gusto of three or four stage bands blowing at the same time. There's nothing traditional about the kind of jazz dished up by the Mustang Band. It's music far larger than life...a wide screen explosion of brass and percussion that belts across the field with the turbulence of a Texas whirlwind."

"Whole sections have played 'solos' that in conventional jazz groups have been the province of a single instrument. The Mustang Band rips into arrangements of the greatest jazz tunes with such amazing skill and verve that thousands of football fans refuse to leave the stadium until the musicians have soared through half a dozen numbers. 'Your performance at last Saturday's game,' wrote one self-confessed Ohio State University fanatic, 'was one of the most enjoyable and spectacular performances it has been my pleasure to witness in the many years I have attended OSU games.' This is not easy music for a band to play. Make no mistake: this is not a college band trying to play a few jazz tunes as a novelty. This is a genuine jazz band, in every sense of the word. To play this kind of music, the Mustangs have to try harder. Continually striving to please, the Mustang Band of Southern Methodist University creates a dynamic new concept of collegiate entertainment every time they Strike Up the Band."

The Band has had many outstanding arrangers in its history. Bob Farrar created many fine arrangements during the 1940's and 1950's.  Doug Williamson wrote voluminously for the band during the late 1950's and throughout the 1960's and 1970's. The rendition of Shanty Town that the band concludes each performance with is one of his ingenious creations. A brilliant arranger that Doug collaborated with on Peruna, Rock n' Roll Peruna, and Dixie Peruna was Mr. Jack Rohr. Jack was a member of the band and the student arranger when he attended SMU during the 1940's, and was the Assistant Director and Staff Arranger from 1962-1981. Jack contributed so much to the band, including Pony Battle Cry, Mod Peruna, and Dial "M" for Mustangs.

Tommy Tucker, III was also a member of the Mustang Band, a student arranger of the Band, an SMU alumnus, and the Associate Director and Staff Arranger from 1984-88, and 1995-present. Tommy began writing for the band during the mid-1970's and continues to create fresh, new arrangements. Tommy's superb talent has given us fantastic arrangements of My Favorite Things, West Side Story, Send in the Clowns, MacArthur Park, and many others. Tommy has also written all of the music for Pigskin Revue since 1981.

Spirit and Unity
Another Mustang Band tradition is upholding our reputation as "The Hub of SMU Spirit." To do this, Band members must demonstrate their enthusiasm and energy to the students, alumni, faculty and guests of the University at every athletic performance. By standing throughout Mustang football and basketball games and cheering the Ponies on to victory, the Band fulfills its role as the hub of spirit on campus. Moreover, the Band always acts with high sportsmanship, as we are the good-will student ambassadors of our University. 

The Mustang Band is a small, elite organization, composed only of men and women with fierce spirit and determination. Its size, though small, makes it special. Player for player, the Mustang Band can outperform any college marching band. Due to the Band's instrumentation, swingin' jazz style, unity, and esprit d' corps, it is able to maintain its uniqueness as the most outstanding college marching band in the country.

The size of the band also makes us feel more like a family than any other campus organization you might encounter. The closeness between all band members is one based firmly on the belief that a band cannot perform together as one unit if they do not know each other. For this reason, the first week of Band orientation demands that all new members learn the names of their fellow band members, and all upper-class band members learn the names of the first-year members. This bonding experience carries over into campus life, as well. It is a constant comfort to remind oneself that even as a newcomer on the SMU campus, you have many friends to fall back on for help, encouragement, and fun.

Uniforms
The Mustang Band is especially proud of its reputation as "The Best-Dressed Band in the Land." We have more than 29 different uniforms made up of varying combinations of pants, shirts, coats, and ties. To earn and uphold the Mustang Band's reputation as "The Best-Dressed Band in the Land," band members wear one uniform for the pregame performance, and change just before halftime to another one for all Mustang football games.