FAMU's Marching 100 to unveil the latest 'Kinsey Collection'

ORLANDO, Florida -- Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, who graduated from Florida A&M University in 1966, have long been generous to their alma mater.

On Saturday, the university’s Marching 100 will show off the fruits of the couple’s $500,000 donation when it debuts new uniforms at the Florida Classic in Orlando. The FAMU Rattlers take on the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University.

The Marching 100 will pay a special tribute to the Kinseys during the performance.

“This is a way Shirley and I would like to use our blessings to help the band and the university,” Kinsey said Friday from Orlando. “The band is the symbol of excellence for everybody in the Southeast as it relates to marching bands.



"There has never been an organization that I belong to that has had the impact in shaping me in the person I am today as the Marching 100."

The 241-member band's freshman class also boasts GPA averages between 3.0 and 4.0, with many honors students majoring in STEM disciplines.

With the gift, the university was able to purchase 315 band uniforms, 12 drum major uniforms, 20 flag uniforms from Fruhauf Uniform Company in Wichita, Kansas.

The gift also provided for the purchase of a 45-foot trailer that is being used to transport the band’s instruments and equipment, Kinsey said. It, too, will be on display Saturday.

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