Following an administrative leave which lasted roughly two weeks, the University has fired Tiger Band director Roy King, citing the results of an investigation related to “adherence of policies, procedures and financial safeguards meant to protect Tiger Band and LSU” as the basis for King’s ousting.
King worked with the marching band for 18 years and served as assistant director of bands for several years before permanently taking over as band director in fall 2010.
In a previous interview with The Daily Reveille, King’s attorney, Jill Craft, described the investigation and administrative leave as “an absolute travesty” and a “witch hunt.”
At the time, she said she believed King had been placed on administrative leave because he refused to allow “certain folks with the LSU School of Music” to access Tiger Band money, specifically referencing stipends reserved for the Golden Girls and Color Guard.
In a statement to The Daily Reveille following the announcement of King’s administrative leave, LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard said the action was not “as a result of any alleged dispute between Tiger Band and the School of Music.”
The firing follows the delivery of a petition with roughly 1,500 signatures to LSU President F. King Alexander and Gov. John Bel Edwards on April 11. Members of the “TIGER BAND FANS FOR ROY” Facebook page, who include parents, alumni, students and current band members, also wrote letters to University administrators and lawmakers supporting King and encouraging them to protect his job.
Once news of the firing broke, members of the Facebook page expressed their frustration through posts including, “I’m so sick and upset over this whole thing” and “I stand behind Roy and his character 100 percent and I am disgusted over many things.”
A GoFundMe account also popped up on Tuesday night aimed at offering financial support to King and his family and helping out “with any daily expenses.”
At 5 p.m., roughly an hour after the announcement went public, Tiger Band members gathered for a closed meeting with Manship Director of Bands Damon Talley to discuss the news and plans to move forward.
Gabrielle LeJeune, a University sophomore who has been a member of the band’s Color Guard since she first came to LSU, said Tiger Band musicians and performers were in a state of disbelief following last night’s meeting, during which little was revealed beyond the name of the band’s new interim director, assistant director of bands Dennis Llinás.
“Whenever we got the news, we were just in shock,” LeJeune said. “Everybody just really wanted definite answers.”
Though LeJeune described King as “another dad” to band members, she said they are in good hands under Llinás’ for-now temporary direction.
“Everybody really likes him,” she said of Llinás. “He’s a real nice, people person.”
King’s tenure as head of the “Golden Band from Tigerland” was marked by several successes for the program and its director. The Tiger Band was ranked as one of the top marching bands in the nation by the Huffington Post in 2012, and King was named Band Director of the Year in 2013 by the Epsilon Chapter of the Phi Beta Mu international bandmasters fraternity.
King, a University alumnus, received his Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music in Wind Conducting degrees from LSU. His successor, Llinás, earned a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Florida International University and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from The University of Texas at Austin.

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Haskell Whittington

LSU's Director of Athletic Bands Roy King directs the National Anthem after the pregame show on Saturday Sept. 5, 2015, in Tiger Stadium.