Morgan State marching band to perform during Giants-Cowboys 9/11 tribute
Morgan State University's illustrious Magnificent Marching Machine (M3) will perform during halftime of the NFL's Sunday Night Football game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys in East Rutherford, New Jersey, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
M3 will join the cast of the Broadway musical Hamilton, including creator and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Penn State University's Blue Band for the musical tribute.
"Morgan State, thank you for being a part of our first-ever NFL halftime show. Thank you for all of your hard work and thank you for doing impossible things," Miranda said in a statement to the Morgan State marching band.
The game will be the NFL's first Sunday Night Football broadcast of the 2026 season and will take place two days after the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, when hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
"This invitation carries special significance as our nation reflects on the lives lost on September 11, 2001, honors the extraordinary courage and sacrifice of first responders and remembers the countless families and communities forever changed by that day," a Morgan State spokesperson said. "For Morgan's Magnificent Marching Machine, the performance represents another extraordinary opportunity to serve as ambassadors for the University on one of the nation's largest stages."
M3, which is made up of 150 students, has performed this year in the 2026 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, and at the HBCU Live celebration at the U.S. Open in New York.
In 2019, M3 became the first HBCU marching band to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
"We are exceptionally proud of our student musicians and grateful for the opportunity to lend the sound and spirit of Morgan to this meaningful national remembrance," a Morgan State spokesperson said.
