We have this thread every year, and the answer is always the same. Things need to change at the administrative level for the band to ever be more than a (quiet) background track for socializing during halftime. Basketball getting good again will help, and I'm a bit surprised that the football team's success and bowl game travel hasn't helped more. Ultimately, the band is an afterthought for pretty much everyone in a position of power at Wake. There is no desire to make it even a minor priority, so there is no real way for them to improve enrollment.
Other schools have chosen to have a meaningful band program. They have fans who know that making the band successful is about having the right facilities and directors. They aren't content just sitting in the stands with their kids and their dogs while fifty kids stand on the field playing Don't Stop Believin' and Word Up. If our administration would hire up and coming coaches from mid major schools instead of guys in their 40s and 50s that have already peaked, maybe we would have a competitive marching band. But no. We've already decided that we are happy with mediocrity. So we get what we deserve. Look at Duke. They chose to make their band the most obnoxious band this side of UVA. And 40 years ago, they hired a basketball coach who became a Hall of Famer, making sure there was a steady draw of musicians that wanted to be in the band. Why didn't Wake hire a hall of fame coach 40 years ago? Obviously because Wake fans don't want a good band.