NEVER eff with the band!
 

As a referee at the high school level I affirm the maximum time is 20 minutes but have NEVER put a stop to it. While I have the courage to make tough calls the experience for both high school football players and the band is an extension of the classroom. Those kids in the band probably work longer hours in practice than the football players. Our band was always out there before we were and we were off the field from hitting when they were still playing. We had a R who threw the foul once and he received a reprimand from the state that basically said "don't eff with the band." As another poster said "don't be a Richard!" I had a game last year and they had a ceremony with the whole town watching (parade before the game, etc.) that definitely delayed the start of the 3rd quarter. If I would have stopped that ceremony I would have made officials look like total jackasses! I reported the extended halftime to our executive board (as we're told to) and they most likely sent a polite reminder to the school suggesting the maximum and offer suggestions to do split things between pregame and halftime. Let's not make ourselves bigger than the game fellas. It's about ALL the kids which includes cheerleaders and bands.

Totally agree with you. A little common sense goes a long way.

In Texas, varsity halftimes are 28 minutes. We wind the clock while leaving the field. Then, we try to return with 2 minutes left. At 1 minute, if the teams are not out, one of us goes and gets them.

We are instructed to REPORT longer halftimes, so I will not flag any over run. If the teams are slow to come out, we'll deal with that as needed.

The penalty to the bands for playing when they're not supposed to is to make them play something written by Barry Manilow.