By Amanda Cahoon

In addition to amping up the crowd at the football stadium, Otterbein University’s Marching Band has another cause for their fans' support. But this has nothing to do with football. It's actually something a little more tropical than the Cardinals are used to.

Think Oahu.

Otterbein University's Cardinal Marching Band is competing in the national televised contest on CBS -- Hawaii 5-O Marching Band Mania.

Director of Athletic Bands Michael Yonchak received a call in mid-July from CBS informing him of the network’s Hawaii 5-O competition and immediately he knew this would be something the marching band would want to be involved in. “The timing couldn’t have worked out better,” he says, “we were just about to begin band camp and this allowed us to work the show’s theme song into our routine.” The song was a selection the band had already wanted to include in this year’s line-up.

The national network band competition involves public and private universities around the country creating a unique video of their marching band performing the famous Hawaii 5-O theme song. The TV show, which has returned all-new to CBS this fall with a 2010 facelift, keeps the original, catchy tune.

Otterbein’s video submission, which took about three weeks to complete, was shot and produced during the band’s training days for the upcoming season. The video features Cardinal mascot, Cardy, with a special cameo by the Westerville City Police. “We received a lot of support from the Otterbein community,” Yonchak says.

The Cardinal Marching Band is hoping to receive the most votes, but they're up against some stiff competition, including Yale, Clemson, and the aloha state’s own University of Hawaii. Lacking the option of the backdrop of the beautiful Hawaiian landscape, the Cardinals looked to emulate, but not copy the original TV intro, finding ways to highlight the campus surroundings.

What does Otterbein get if they win? $25,000 for their marching band program and a chance to have their video played on a future episode of Hawaii 5-O on CBS this fall. “We look at this national opportunity as a great recruiting process,” Yonchak says, “We are promoting the experience as an educational device.”

The competition is currently running and supporters can vote for the Cardinal Marching Band once per day until October 4. The winning school will be announced October 11 on CBS.

To watch the video and place a vote for Otterbein, visit http://promotions.mardenkane.com/cbs/marchingbandmania/index.cfm?page=2

For more information on Otterbein University Cardinal Marching Band, visit http://www.otterbein.edu/music/athletic-bands.asp