Stanford Band Off Double-Secret Probation

There was that little incident back in 1986, when some members exposed themselves and urinated on the field during a game against Washington.

Then there was the game at Notre Dame in 1991, when a band member dressed as a nun conducted the band with a crucifix instead of a baton.

And in a 1997 game against Notre Dame at Stanford, the band parodied the Irish potato famine and a band member satirized the Catholic Church by portraying a Cardinal advocating the idea that the Earth is actually flat.

And who could forget 1982. The Big Game against California, when band members rushed onto the field during the final play and Kevin Moen of the Golden Bears crashed into Stanford trombone player Gary Tyrrell in the end zone while scoring the winning touchdown as time ran out.

No, none of that got the Stanford Band in trouble like an incident last July 17, when members vandalized a university trailer — known as the Band Shak — after members had emptied it and moved into a new Band Shak. That earned the 150-member band a suspension, which prohibited it from performing at halftime of games.

But the suspension ended Monday. Stanford announced that its band was back in good graces and can return to performing at halftime of Cardinal games. The first home game is Sept. 1 against UCLA.

The alcohol ban, however, has not been lifted. That means the Stanford Tree — or more exactly, the person inside the costume — won't be tanked, which happened last year during a basketball game when the blood-alcohol level of the woman inside the costume tested at 0.157. For those of you keeping score at home, that is almost twice the legal driving limit in California.