The 8-4 reprimand vote at a meeting in Orlando came in place of a motion to put FAMU President James Ammons on administrative leave until the criminal investigation into drum major Robert Champion's death is done. Detectives are probing the role of hazing in the Nov. 19 death.

When asked after the meeting if he thought he had "dodged a bullet," Ammons said, "I heard the bullet loudly and clearly."

Band director Julian White has been put on administrative leave pending the outcome of the death investigation, and board member Rufus Montgomery said Ammons should be treated in the same manner.

Montgomery also criticized the president for accreditation problems with some academic programs and for failing to keep the board informed.

"If the quarterback has thrown seven interceptions, you pull him from the game," Montgomery said at a board meeting in Orlando. "That is what we should do with Dr. Ammons."

Ammons became president of his Tallahasse-based alma mater in July 2007 and recently signed a new five-year contract. He talked to Champion's family the night of the death, suspended the Marching "100" band and fired White before he was forced to put him on temporary leave instead. Critics say Ammons should have been more aggressive in fighting hazing at the school.

Some board members expressed concern about creating a leadership vacuum by putting Ammons on leave at a time the school is facing unprecedented scrutiny over hazing. The Orange County Sheriff's Office is leading the criminal investigation into Champion's death but other probes have been started by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Board of Governors, the state's governing body for public higher education.

"I'm concerned about a knee-jerk reaction until we have the results of an investigation," board member Karl White said. "There has not been an opportunity to have a discussion of what would be put in place if we decided to put the president on administrative leave."

The board's student representative, Breyon Love, said most of the school's 13,000 students would be upset if Ammons was forced to take a leave.

"You will have a majority of those students very unhappy with the decision if this goes forward today," Love said.

Elizabeth Davenport, who heads the faculty union at FAMU, said she was happy board members were discussing Ammons' role in the crisis, regardless of how they voted. She said professors were upset that White, a tenured professor, had been removed. She told members that in her dealings with the administration she had encountered "a culture that accommodates indifference to complaints."

Seeming to anticipate the action against him, Ammons offered a defense of his tenure earlier in the meeting.

He said the university was cooperating with investigators and that changes will be made so that the board is notified of any future hazing allegations. He also said letters sent to his office warning of band hazing only reached him after Champion's death. The letters were notifications that band members had been suspended over hazing allegations.

"Despite the challenges we have, I think we have some things we can be proud of," Ammons said.

School officials said Wednesday that four students who were expelled for their role in Champion's death have returned to classes because the investigation is not finished. The status of White also changed. He had faced termination Dec. 22 but is now on administrative leave with pay. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement asked the university to stop any disciplinary action until a criminal investigation into Champion's death is done.

An attorney for that board informed trustees that Champion's family plans to sue over his death. They have requested the university's insurance information. -- (AP)

Bria Shante Hunter was punched in the legs and hit with spatula, notebook binders and rulers on consecutive days because she tried to get out of a group meeting, and she could not properly recite information about the club, her attorney and authorities said. She went to the hospital with a broken thigh, severe bruising and blot clots.

"It's part of the school. It's the best band in the country and you want to be embraced," said Hunter's attorney, B.J. Bernstein. "You really have no choice but to be a part of it and that's why the school must step in."

Three marching band members, all men, have been charged with hazing in Hunter's beating, authorities said. Two of the men were also charged with battery.

Documents released after the arrests detailed for the first time the secret rituals this fall among the famed Marching 100 band.

Attorneys for two of the men said they plan to plead not guilty and one lawyer questioned whether the events happened the way police described them in a sworn statement.

Police said Hunter, who played clarinet, was beaten about three weeks before drum major Robert Champion died during what was believed to be hazing on a band bus. Investigators have not said exactly what happened to Champion. He was also a leader, clarinet player, and like Hunter, from Southwest DeKalb High School in Georgia.

Champion's death set off several investigations of the marching band and school administrators who appear to have long known about the hazing tradition.

Hunter, in an interview with Orlando station WFTV-TV, was asked why band members take part in hazing.

"So we can be accepted," she said. "If you don't do anything, then, it's like you're lame."

Hunter did not attend her attorney's news conference. She was taking her final exam at Florida A&M, where her parents also went to school. Her father was in the marching band.

Hunter will give up her four-year, $82,000 scholarship to transfer to another school, said her attorney, who plans to sue the university.

Tallahassee police said the three men arrested were involved in hazing Hunter at an off-campus apartment.

Sean Hobson, 23, and 19-year-old Aaron Golson, were charged with hazing and battery. An attorney for Golson said he would plead not guilty. Hobson did not yet have an attorney.

James Harris, 22, has been charged with hazing. He helped plan the hazing at his apartment, police said. At one point, however, he told the other two men to stop hitting Hunter.

Harris' attorney insisted there was no evidence his client took part in the hazing.

The men posted bail and have been released from jail.

Authorities said Hunter was targeted Oct. 31 by other members of the "Red Dawg Order" because the men believed she was lying about a meeting that conflicted with a club gathering. She was repeatedly punched on the tops of her thighs by Golson and Hobson, witnesses told police.

Hunter was lined up with about 11 other pledges, ordered to lift her legs as if she were about to march and hit again and again, authorities said. Some of the other pledges were also smacked on the back of the head for not knowing information about the group or being unable to recite poems for the order.

The following day, police said, Hunter was beaten with a metal ruler when she could not recite information about the "Red Dawg Order" properly.

Hobson sent Hunter a text message Nov. 5 to say he was sorry, according to authorities.

"I apologize for the hurt I put you through. I apologize for the mental and physical strain you have endured," Hobson said in the message.

When authorities interviewed him, Hobson acknowledged he was a member of the "Red Dawg Order" but denied harming Hunter or sending her a text message.

Ricky Jones, director of the Center on Race and Inequality at the University of Louisville and an expert on hazing, said he had not heard of a case where a female had been beaten by males.

"This doesn't mean it's a first," he said. Since the band and its various groups admit men and women, this might not be uncommon, Jones said.

Harris' roommate, Charles Ford, said he did not know anything about the alleged beating as he was out that night until 3 a.m.

"I'm just living here," Ford said. "The story seems kind of crazy to me. James wouldn't do anything like that."

Hunter and other pledges also told police that they gave the clique $50 for a red Adidas jump suit with the club's colors but never received it. Hunter had asked for her money back, police said.

Champion's death exposed a hazing tradition that has long haunted the university. Former clarinet player Ivery Luckey was hospitalized after he said he was paddled around 300 times in 1998. Luckey told Tallahassee police that it was mostly girls who hit him in an initiation to become part of "The Clones." -- (AP)

His passion led him to marching bands from middle school through college. He was a drum major for the famed Marching 100 band of Florida A&M University, a group that has performed at Super Bowls, the Grammys and presidential inaugurations. The prestige brought along a "culture of hazing" and a secret world that played a role in Champion's death, his family said Monday.

"It needs to stop. The whole purpose is to put this out there and let people know there has to be a change," Champion's mother, Pam, said at a news conference.

On Nov. 19, after the school's football team lost an away game to rival Bethune-Cookman, Champion collapsed on a bus parked outside an Orlando, Fla., hotel. The 26-year-old junior had been vomiting and complained he couldn't breathe shortly before he became unconscious.

When authorities arrived about 9:45 p.m., Champion was unresponsive. He died at a nearby hospital.

Authorities have not released any more details, except to say hazing played a role. An attorney representing Champion's family also refused to talk specifics.

"We are confident from what we've learned that hazing was a part of his death. We've got to expose this culture and eradicate it," Christopher Chestnut said. "There's a pattern and practice of covering up this culture."

Since Champion's death, the school has shuttered the marching band and the rest of the music department's performances. The longtime band director, Julian White, was fired.

The college also announced an independent review led by a former state attorney general and an ex-local police chief in Tallahassee, where the historically black college is based.

White, who believes he was unfairly dismissed, said Monday he had suspended 26 band members for hazing two weeks before Champion died. He took heat for the decision, particularly from the parents of band members, and said the punishments were like suspending star football players.

"And so the band members were apprehensive. 'Doc, you think we can go without 19 trombone players?'" White said. "And other folks. 'Doc, do you thing you can do it without them?' My comment was, it doesn't matter, I am not going to sacrifice the performance for the principle."

Hazing has a long history in marching bands, particularly at historically black colleges, where a spot in the band is coveted for its tradition and prominence. Band performances are sometimes revered as much as the school's sports teams.

FAMU has been at the center of some of the worst cases. In 2001, former FAMU band member Marcus Parker suffered kidney damage because of a beating with a paddle. Three years earlier, Ivery Luckey, a clarinet player, said he was paddled around 300 times and had to go to the hospital.

Champion's parents said their son never spoke of hazing. Robert Champion Sr. said he talked to his son just a few days before his death and everything was fine.

"I wanted to believe stuff like that wouldn't happen," he said. "I would ask my son questions. 'Is there anything you need to tell me? Let me know.' He told me, 'Dad everything is going OK. I'm working, trying to go to school and practice.'"

As a child, Champion would use a broom handle to mimic a band director's baton. At one point, he designed his own drum major uniform, his mother said.

"You put him on a field in a performance and he would give you a show," she said.

His first instrument was the clarinet, which he learned to play in the fifth grade. A middle school teacher recognized his talent and he was tapped to lead the school's orchestra and perform with the Southwest DeKalb High School band as an eighth grader. He could also sing and play keyboards.

Chapel Hill Middle School band director Natalie Brown said she'll never forget his outgoing personality and phenomenal musicianship.

"He was always smiling. He never gave me a hard time," she said. "If class was about to start, he'd get everyone quiet and start the warm-up process. He had the drum major mentality way back then."

He was so enthusiastic about performing that his mother would call him "Mr. Band."

At times he struggled with his schoolwork and he didn't immediately go to Florida A&M after high school. But he eventually enrolled, balancing a job with school and his band commitments. In late 2010, he was named drum major.

"His experience in the band was, in his words, great. Robert was happy," his mother said. "He loved the band and everything that went with it. He loved performing. That was his life. You couldn't take him out of it."

The family's attorney said they hoped a lawsuit would lead to changes at the school and prod other hazing victims to come forward.

"We want to eradicate a culture of hazing so this doesn't happen again," said Chestnut. "Hazing is a culture of, 'Don't ask, don't tell.' The family's message today is: 'Please tell.'" -- (AP)

More than four months following the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion, the band's fate remains in limbo. And it's not clear when that will change as university officials struggle with the fallout from the tragedy.

University trustees heard a lengthy presentation on Wednesday about a more than $1 million deficit this year in the school's athletic program. It was during that discussion that FAMU officials acknowledged they are looking at offering other entertainment at football games in case the popular band remains on hiatus.

President James Ammons suspended the band after Champion died following what police said was hazing while the band was in Orlando.

No arrests have yet been made in connection with Champion's death although authorities turned over the results of their investigation last month to the state attorney's office.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement also has an ongoing investigation into how the band's finances were handled. An FDLE spokeswoman said earlier this week that investigation is still ongoing.

Champion's parents, Pam and Robert, said Wednesday that they are frustrated there have been no arrests yet, more than four months after their son's death.

"We've been very patient, and we just feel like, we, as a family, need some answers," Pam Champion said from Atlanta.

A spokesman for the State Attorney's Office in Orlando said her office only received the case from detectives last week. The next grand jury is meeting on April 25.

"Our attorney will need time to review their extensive investigation before a decision can be made," said spokeswoman Danielle Tavernier.

The Marching 100 band has been one of the main attractions for years at FAMU Rattlers football games.

But Champion's death drew attention to the persistence of hazing inside the Marching 100. Since December seven band members have been arrested in connection to hazing incidents unrelated to Champion's death. Just last week Ammons placed two music professors on paid administrative leave following allegations they were present while band fraternity pledges were hazed.

Band director Julian White was initially fired by FAMU, but then the university placed him on administrative leave at the urging of law-enforcement authorities investigating Champion's death.

Ammons said Wednesday that until the investigations are complete he cannot say when the band will return.

"I think that information will be critical to us as we make a decision about how we go forward," Ammons said.

The culture of hazing in the band needs to be eliminated before the suspension is lifted, Pam Champion said.

"You have to address the root cause of the hazing. You have to clean that band up," she said. "We're not about ending the music but we're definitely about ending the hazing."

Ammons, however, did say that the university was continuing to offer music scholarships to students who were members of the Marching 100.

Breyon Love, the student body president at FAMU, said the band is a "big part of the university and the history" of the historic black college. But he said university officials also need to start discussing about the potential fate of the band because it can impact student recruitment, football game revenue and the performance opportunities available for music students.

But Marjorie Turnbull, a FAMU trustee and former state lawmaker, said she was uncomfortable with setting any timelines on when the university may bring back the band.

"If we move too rapidly and there is another instance, God forbid," Turnbull said.

Derek Horne, the FAMU athletic director, did not say specifically what type of entertainment the university would provide if the band does not return. But he said it would have to be attractive to both students and FAMU alumni.

Horne was questioned about the band because of a recurring deficit in the school's athletic program that now totals nearly $6 million. FAMU is playing Oklahoma in football this fall to generate money for the school. Ammons told trustees that FAMU may schedule additional games against other traditional college football powers in the next two years to eradicate the deficit.

Trustees are meeting for two days where they are also expected to adopt a new rule that requires all students and faculty to report allegations of hazing to police within 24 hours. They spent considerable time on Wednesday discussing the proposed rule, including how it will be enforced and how it would be applied to past incidents.

The board also discussed an ongoing review of student organizations and a push by professors to ask students to do research related to hazing. Student clubs were halted from recruiting new members this spring. -- (AP)

Eight former band mates saluted Champion by walking toward his open casket. They raised their batons in unison, then abruptly turned to show their capes embroidered with the letters: C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N. Near the end of the funeral, one of the college junior's favorite songs, "Flight of the Bumblebee," played over the loudspeaker.

Pastor John Tatum told hundreds of friends and family who crowded the church pews that it was time to end the "foolish" hazing in college fraternities and marching bands.

"If there's anything about this man's legacy we need to put a stop to, it's hazing," he said to a chorus of amens. "I call upon every parent, every mother, every father ... do what is necessary now to stop this tragedy from ever happening again. Right now."

The 26-year-old Champion was found dead Nov. 19 on a bus parked outside an Orlando, Fla., hotel after the school's football team lost to a rival. Police said Champion, a clarinet player, had been vomiting and complained he couldn't breathe shortly before he collapsed, but they have not released any other details.

Meanwhile, police in Tallahassee, where the school is located, confirmed they were investigating a second case of possible hazing in the marching band involving a freshman clarinet player. The parents of Bria Shante Hunter told Atlanta's WXIA-TV that she suffered a fractured thigh bone and hurt knee.

A police report did not detail how the alleged hazing occurred and Hunter's father told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he could not immediately comment.

Since Champion's death, Julian White, the university's band director, has been fired. The school has announced an independent probe, and the university president said he will work to end the long practice of hazing in the marching band.

White said he saw Champion shortly after he was found unconscious and assured the family that he "looked in peace."

"This is a difficult time for me. You may see me smile, and you probably won't see me cry," he said. "I'm happy that I knew Robert."

James Ammons, the school president, pledged to "stamp out hazing at FAMU."

"I vow that Robert's death will not be in vain," he said.

The group that oversees Florida's public universities announced Tuesday it wanted to investigate whether the school did enough to respond to hazing.

The funeral resonated with the music Champion was so passionate about.

The Southwest DeKalb High School marching band, where Champion attended, played somber melodies and were joined by an 18-member church choir behind his casket, where he lie wearing his college uniform, clutching a gleaming baton.

At the start of the service, Champion's mother, Pam, squeezed her son's hand a final time. His father, Robert Sr., whispered into his son's ear.

The family's attorney has said they intend to sue the school over the death.

Champion fell in love with music when he was about age 6. He started in bands in middle school and his mother said he was so enthusiastic about performances she called him "Mr. Band."

He long dreamed of joining a marching band, and neighbors recalled seeing him patrolling his yard with a makeshift baton made of tape. He rose to become the leader of his high school band by his junior year, and was tapped as the drum major of Florida A&M's prestigious "Marching 100" in late 2010. The band has performed at Super Bowls, the Grammys and presidential inaugurations.

James Seda, who leads the high school band, said Champion was an enthusiastic leader and outgoing musician with an amazing work ethic. He said he was thankful he was in Orlando to see Champion's final show at halftime against Bethune-Cookman.

"His last performance is always his best performance," he said. "He always outdoes himself." -- (AP)

Robert Champion, 26, had asked all season to go through the hazing ritual known as "crossing over," defendant Jonathan Boyce said. Multiple witnesses say the ordeal involved the participant going from the front to the back of the bus while others beat the person.

"It's a respect thing, you know," Boyce told detectives. "Well, he was wanting to do it all ... all season."

Champion died last November after enduring hazing by other band members outside a hotel in Orlando where FAMU had played its archrival in football. His death revealed a culture of hazing in the famed band, which has performed at Super Bowls and presidential inauguration parades. An autopsy concluded Champion suffered blunt trauma blows to his body and died from shock caused by severe bleeding.

Champion's parents said at a news conference Wednesday that they are having a hard time believing that their son volunteered to be hazed.

"He was murdered on that bus, and no one signs up for that," Pam Champion said.

Prosecutors in Orlando have more than 1,500 pages of evidence against the 13 people charged in Champion's death last year. Eleven defendants are charged with a third-degree felony and two are charged with misdemeanors.

Drum major Keon Hollis told detectives he went through the same hazing ritual as Champion the night he died. He said there were at least 15 people on the bus.

He said Champion was the next person to be hazed after him. He said Champion seemed fine immediately afterward, but said he was thirsty. Hollis said he gave Champion some water.

Champion soon collapsed and later died.

Another hazing ritual called "the hot seat" involved getting kicked and beaten with drumsticks and bass drum mallets while covered with a blanket on a band bus called, "Bus C," band member Marc Baron told investigators. Baron isn't charged and wasn't on the bus the weekend Champion died.

Depositions offered clues to the defenses the defendants will use.

Boyce and another defendant, Shawn Turner, claimed they tried to help Champion get off the bus by pulling him through the gauntlet of band members.

"So I grab him to try to keep everybody off him, and I grab him and I'm pulling him and I'm pulling him," Boyce told detectives. "People are kicking him so I stopped them from kicking him and I put my body around his body."

Defendant Aaron Golson denied getting on the bus where the hazing took place. He said he got a ride back from the game with a friend.

"I don't know anything that happened with Robert," Golson said.

Golson also told detectives that Champion wasn't into the hazing rituals.

"Man, I'm shock(ed) if that happens," Golson said when told that Champion chose to get on the bus to be hazed.

Another defendant, Caleb Jackson, at first told detectives that he wasn't on the bus when Champion was beaten but then changed his story when he was told that hotel video surveillance showed him getting off the bus. At the time of Champion's death, Jackson was on probation for a felony battery charge.

"I love Robert like a brother, more than ya'll, any, everybody in this band loves this man like a brother, you know what I'm saying," Jackson said.

FAMU's famed Marching 100 band was suspended shortly after the incident, and officials have said it will remain sidelined at least through the 2012-2013 school year.

The school also tried to fire band director Julian White. White's dismissal was placed on hold while the criminal investigation unfolded, but he insisted that he did nothing wrong and fought for months to get reinstated. He announced his retirement earlier this month.

Under a policy in place for years before Champion's death, band members attended a mandatory anti-hazing workshop and sign a pledge saying they will not participate in hazing or submit to it. Violators were supposed to be kicked out of the band. -- (AP)