We have this discussion every year :-(
To summarize the current situation, and to speak to the suggestions of all the experts on this thread: There are about 75 students currently participating in SOTOGAB. Mostly WF students, but a few from Salem, and a few from Forsyth Tech and various other CC's in the area. Salem students can get academic credit...CC students cannot. They're just there because they want to be there, and they don't have the opportunity at their CC.
With the exception of ONE student in each academic class (who gets a minimal scholarship that might cover the cost of their textbooks for a semester), there are NO scholarships. There have never been scholarships for marching band at WF.
WF does offer a music major, but you can count the number of music majors annually on your fingers, and you can count the number of instrumentalists who major in music on one hand, and have fingers left over. Requiring instrumental music majors to be in marching band is not going to happen, and even if it did, it would not increase the numbers much.
High school students? No. Too much potential liability for WF, and they are committed to their own high school bands, who practice at the same time as SOTOGAB. Also, Saturday football conflicts with Saturday high school marching band contests.
WSSU/UNCG/NCSA students: WSSU has their own band, and would have the same rehearsal schedule/Saturday conflicts as the high school students. NCSA students are not of the marching band mentality...they are there to become professional musicians. UNCG? The invitation has always been there, with few students taking up the offer. Music ensembles at UNCG meet in the afternoons, and their music students are required to play in those ensembles. Also, who is going to give up 4 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, plus several Saturdays, to participate in SOTOGAB for no credit?
The issues plaguing enrollment numbers lie with the administration's unwillingness to share student information with the directors, and the lack of scholarship money. Just imagine if Dave Clawson and Steve Forbes didn't have any scholarships, and weren't allowed to know which students that were admitted based on their own academic accomplishments (and their ability to afford WF), and had to wait until the students contacted them about playing for WF. That is pretty much where the band is right now.