FAMU President James Ammons said the Marching 100 should stay off the field at least until a new band director is hired and new rules for the band have been adopted.

Eleven FAMU band members face felony charges in the November hazing death of Robert Champion, while two others face misdemeanor counts. The band has been banned from performing since soon after he died, and the band director Julian White recently retired after it was revealed that at least 100 band members were not students when Champion died.

"I think there is a period we should take that these measures are in place and we have addressed all the institutional issues," Ammons said.

Top state officials including Gov. Rick Scott and the university system chancellor say the Marching 100 should remain sidelined until other ongoing investigations into the band are completed.

The Marching 100 has had a rich history, performing at Super Bowls and in inauguration parades. The band has been one of the main draws during FAMU football games, and some board members on Monday wanted to know if the decision to keep the band off the field until 2013 would impact ticket sales.

Ammons tried to fire White last November. But White's dismissal was placed on hold while the criminal investigation unfolded. He insisted that he did nothing wrong and fought for months to get reinstated.

That changed last week after Ammons told trustees that three of those charged in Champion's death weren't FAMU students at the time.

Meanwhile, state authorities continue to investigate the band's finances.

Frank Brogan, the chancellor of the State University System of Florida, wrote a blunt letter last week urging Ammons to keep the band suspended while the investigations continue. The state university system has its own probe into whether FAMU officials ignored past warnings about hazing.

Brogan told Ammons that "reinstating the band prior to these efforts being resolved would side-step efforts under way, which could impact the band's long-term survival."

He added that both he and the state panel that oversees the overall university system were worried that "concerns continue to mount regarding the ever-increasing body of issues that harm the institution, its students, and therefore our state university system as a whole."

Pam Champion, the mother of Robert Champion, has said that the band should be disbanded so the university can "clean house." She and the family's attorney contend there is a vast effort among students and others to cover up who is responsible for her son's death.

The Champion family has already told FAMU it plans to sue the university. FAMU set up a task force to look at hazing, although the panel has not met since a flare-up over whether it should follow the state's open meetings laws. Several members have since resigned. -- (AP)

James Ammons announced the resignation, which takes effect Oct. 11, in a letter to the chairman of the university's governing board. He said his decision came after "considerable thought, introspection and coversations with my family."

School trustees questioned Ammons' leadership in several areas, including what some saw as his lax attitude toward hazing and management of the band prior to Robert Champion's death in November.

The school's trustees gave Ammons a vote of no-confidence in June. Ammons said he would stay on the job and that same week, recommended stringent new eligibility requirements for membership in The Marching 100 band, which has played at Super Bowls and inauguration ceremonies.

Champion died in November after being beaten by fellow band members during a hazing ritual aboard a bus parked outside an Orlando hotel following a football game against the school's archrival.

Eleven FAMU band members face felony hazing charges, while two others face misdemeanor counts for alleged roles in the hazing. They have pleaded not guilty. Their trial is scheduled to begin the same month as Ammons' resignation, in October.

Champion's death put a spotlight on hazing at the school and led to the suspension of the band until at least next year.

The lawsuit brought by Champion's parents claims Florida A&M University officials did not take action to stop hazing even though a school dean proposed suspending the band because of hazing concerns three days before their son died. School officials also allowed nonstudents to play in the band, fell short in enforcing anti-hazing policies and did not keep a close eye on band members to prevent hazing, the lawsuit said.

School officials "failed to properly supervise, train, discipline and control the FAMU Band," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit seeks damages greater than $15,000, but does not give a specific amount.

Champion's parents, Robert and Pamela, have already sued the bus company, claiming the driver stood guard outside while the hazing took place. The company said the driver was helping band members with their equipment.

Florida A&M University trustees were added as defendants to the lawsuit, which was to be refiled later Wednesday. Under state law, Champions parents had to wait six months before they could include the university in the lawsuit since it's a state entity. -- (AP)

The status of band director Julian White also changed. He had faced termination Dec. 22 but is now on administrative leave with pay, FAMU attorney David Self said during a break in meetings of the school's board of trustees.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement asked the university to stop any disciplinary action until a criminal investigation into the death of Robert Champion is done. Detectives say hazing played a role in his Nov. 19 death. He died aboard a band bus following a football game against rival Bethune-Cookman University. Witnesses said he vomited before becoming unresponsive.

"According to the FDLE letter, all disciplinary action had to cease," said Henry Kirby, dean of students.

White's attorney called the change "a step in the right direction." He said White would seek full reinstatement as band director and as a fully-tenured music professor.

"We still intend to explore all the legal options in light of the university's collective bargaining agreement and Dr. White's contract," said Chuck Hobbs.

The famed Marching 100 band has been shuttered as the death is investigated by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the FDLE and Florida's higher education governing body, the Board of Governor.

An attorney for that board told trustees that Champion's family had sent a letter indicating they plan to sue over his death. The letter requested the university's insurance information but it didn't make reference to any individuals or legal theories that they may follow, said attorney Rick Mitchell.

Mitchell said Florida law limited the board's liability to $300,000, although individuals could be liable for a larger amount if they were found to have acted in bad faith, with malicious purpose or exhibited wanton disregard for safety.

Board members didn't address the future of James Ammons, the university's president, but left open the possibility it would be a topic of discussion Thursday. Board chairman Solomon Badger said he supported Ammons, but other board members, when asked, refused to say whether he had their backing.

Ammons told reporters he wasn't thinking about his future.

"The university is much bigger than James Ammons," he said. "I'm not focusing on whether I have the support of the board. My focus right now is on this family who has lost a son and on this university, and how we're going to move forward and repair the image of the university." -- (AP)

The decision comes three days after the state medical examiner ruled that 26-year-old Robert Champion's Nov. 19 death was a homicide. Officials say he was beaten so severely that he bled internally and went into shock. He died within an hour.

"We will stand firm against outside influence, no matter how well intended," Solomon Badger, the FAMU board chairman, said during a board meeting that was held by conference call.

Scott said he would abide by the board's decision.

Ammons and other university leaders have been criticized for not doing enough to stop a culture of hazing within the university's famed "Marching 100" band. Band director Julian White has been placed on temporary leave and the board had already publicly reprimanded Ammons.

Students had largely stood by both leaders. Students protested outside the governor's mansion on Thursday to show support for Ammons, and the president of the national alumni association at a news conference Sunday contested Scott's involvement and recommend Ammons not be suspended.

Badger said that the board should keep Ammons status unchanged until an investigation with all the "official facts" was concluded. None of the FAMU board members disagreed with Badger.

"I think we all have the number one priority of keeping the university strong as we move through this challenging time," said Kelvin Lawson, a board member from Jacksonville.

The only action related to the investigations that the board took was to agree to meet weekly for the next day 60 days while the investigations continue. There was scant discussion of the homicide ruling or the opening of a new criminal investigation into the finances of the Marching 100.

Scott said in a statement issued before the meeting that he was not singling out FAMU and called on all universities in the state to examine their hazing and harassment policies. He said he was offering his opinion and counsel regarding Ammons and would abide by the board's decision.

"I merely suggested it would be wise for Dr. Ammons to step aside until these investigations are completed," Scott said. "It is up to the FAMU Board of Trustees and Dr. Ammons to determine how to proceed. I have not and will not try to influence their decision."

Champion died after falling unconscious on a bus outside an Orlando hotel after the school's football team lost to rival Bethune-Cookman. Witnesses told emergency dispatchers that he had been vomiting.

The medical examiner's office in Orlando found that Champion had bruises to his chest, arms, shoulder and back and internal bleeding. No charges have been filed.

Champion's death exposed years of hazing that has plagued the band and left several students injured. In 1998, Ivery Luckey, a clarinet player from Ocala, Fla., was hospitalized with kidney damage after being paddled as part of an initiation to become a member of a group known as "The Clones." Three years later, band member Marcus Parker was also hospitalized with kidney damage after being paddled.

Ammons, a FAMU alumni, became president in 2007 at a time when the university was under considerable distress. There had been four presidents within the previous six years and an audit in 2007 uncovered 35 findings, including $4.5 million in unaccounted sports tickets and lost equipment. The university was placed under probation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Under Ammons' leadership, the university's accreditation was restored and its finances improved. An audit done two years later found the university still needed to do a better job at paying bills on time and keeping a closer eye on employee use of state-owned cell phones, but those problems paled in comparison to the previous report.

But hazing continued to be a problem. White has provided letters of suspension issued to dozens of band members for hazing, including many of which Ammons was reportedly provided a copy.

Less than two weeks before Champion's death, band member Bria Hunter was hospitalized with a broken leg and blood clots in what authorities say was another act of hazing. Three band members have been charged in the beating.

And two days before Champion died, White sent a letter to alumni, urging them not to "return and perpetuate the myth of various sectional names."

But FAMU alumni have insisted that the problem of hazing is widespread across the country and that too much attention is being focused on their university.

"Name another university president that suspended a president for hazing," said Tommy Mitchell, president of the FAMU National Alumni Association. Mitchell also went so far as to question "why is that this hazing has gotten so much attention?"

Ammons suspended the band after Champion's death, dismissed White and expelled four students in connection with the hazing. White was later placed on temporary leave and the students were allowed to attend class after state authorities urged the university not to take disciplinary action before the investigation was complete.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges has warned Scott's push to suspend Ammons could affect the school's accreditation because of "undue influence" on the board from outside. -- (AP)

The charges came more than five months after Robert Champion, 26, died aboard a chartered bus parked outside an Orlando hotel following a performance against a rival school.

While the most sensational hazing cases have typically involved fraternities, sororities or athletic teams, the FAMU tragedy in November exposed a brutal tradition among marching bands at some colleges around the U.S.

"The death ... is nothing short of an American tragedy," said State Attorney Lawson Lamar. "No one should have expected that his college experience would include being pummeled to death."

Eleven defendants were charged with hazing resulting in death, a felony, and misdemeanor offenses that all together could bring nearly six years in prison. Two others face misdemeanor charges.

It was not immediately clear whether those charged were all students or whether they included faculty members or others involved in the road trip.

Their names were being withheld until all of them were arrested. By Wednesday afternoon, two were in custody.

Champion had bruises on his chest, arms, shoulder and back and died of internal bleeding, Lamar said. Witnesses told emergency dispatchers that the drum major was vomiting before he was found unresponsive aboard the bus.

The prosecutor gave no motive for the beating. But witnesses said Champion might have been targeted because he opposed the routine hazing that went on in the marching band or because he was gay, according his family's attorney.

Legal experts had predicted more serious charges, such as manslaughter or second-degree murder.

Champion's mother, Pam, said she was glad charges were brought but disappointed they weren't more severe. "I thought it should send a harsher message," she said.

Lamar said prosecutors didn't have the evidence to bring more serious charges.

"The testimony obtained to date does not support a charge of murder, in that it does not contain the elements of murder," he said. "We can prove participation in hazing and a death. We do not have a blow or a shot or a knife thrust that killed Mr. Champion. It is an aggregation of things which exactly fit the Florida statute as written by the Legislature."

Hazing in Florida was upgraded to a felony in 2005 following the death of a University of Miami student four years earlier. Chad Meredith was drunk and died trying to swim across a lake at the behest of his fraternity brothers. No charges were filed, but a civil jury ordered the fraternity to pay Meredith's parents $12 million.

Champion's death has jeopardized the future of FAMU's legendary marching band, which has performed at the Grammys, presidential inaugurations and Super Bowls and represented the U.S. in Paris at the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. FAMU, based in Tallahassee, has suspended the band and set up a task force on curtailing hazing.

Hazing has long been practiced in marching bands, particularly at historically Black colleges like FAMU in the South, where the band is often as revered as the football team and members are campus celebrities.

Much of the hazing reported at FAMU has involved students trying to get into certain cliques within the band, and it has typically included punching, slapping and paddling.

Solomon Badger, chairman of the FAMU board of trustees, said the school is doing everything it can to eradicate hazing. He said of the charges: "I hope this wraps its arm around everything we have been plagued with the last six months."

Richard Sigal, a retired sociology professor at the County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J., who holds anti-hazing workshops at schools, said he could not recall another hazing case with so many defendants. Most cases don't result in criminal charges, and those that do typically end in plea bargains with little or no jail time, Sigal said.

Champion's parents have sued the bus company owner, claiming the driver stood guard outside while the hazing took place. The company said the driver was helping band members with their equipment.

The lawsuit described two types of hazing that took place on the bus.

In one ritual, students ran from the front of the bus to the back while other band members slapped, kicked and hit them. A student who fell was stomped and dragged to the front to run again.

In a ritual known as "the hot seat," a pillowcase was placed over the student's nose and mouth and he or she was forced to answer questions. If the student gave the correct answer, the pillowcase was removed briefly; a student who supplied a wrong answer was given another question without a chance to take a breath, the lawsuit said.

In a separate incident at FAMU, three people were charged with severely beating a woman's legs with their fists and a metal ruler last fall to initiate her into a clique of band members from Georgia. The woman suffered a broken thigh.

Also, four band members were arrested earlier this year and charged with hazing for allegedly punching, slapping and paddling five students from the clarinet section.

On Tuesday, a lawyer for two FAMU music professors who allegedly were present during a hazing of band members in 2010 said they have been forced out.

Former drum major Timothy Barber said the charges could help stop hazing at FAMU. "It kind of strikes a level of fear in people, that this hasn't stopped and it's not going to be tolerated," he said.

In some other major hazing cases around the country, four former students at California Polytechnic State University pleaded no contest and were sentenced to about a month in jail in 2010 in the drinking death of a fraternity pledge.

In 2005, four fraternity members at California State University pleaded guilty in the death of a student who was forced to drink large amounts of water during an initiation. The most serious charge was involuntary manslaughter, resulting in a one-year sentence for one member. Two others pleaded guilty to accessory to manslaughter and got six months. -- (AP)

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said that multiple defendants will be charged in Robert Champion's death, although he refused to say what the charges are.

At least five defendants face a wide range of misdemeanor and felony charges, said Danielle Tavernier, a spokeswoman for the State Attorney's Office in Orlando. She refused to name the charges pending an announcement by prosecutors on Wednesday.

No arrests had been made by Tuesday afternoon. Both Demings and Tavernier said the arrests would likely take place in multiple jurisdictions.

Detectives say Champion suffered blunt trauma blows and that he died from shock caused by severe bleeding after he was hazed by other band members on a bus parked outside an Orlando hotel. Hazing that involves bodily harm is a third-degree felony in Florida.

Witnesses in the Champion case have told his parents he might have been targeted because he opposed the culture of hazing they say has long existed in the band. It has also been suggested to them that he was targeted because Champion was gay and a candidate for chief drum major.

In a January interview, Champion's parents dismissed the notion that his sexual orientation brought on this incident, which was to their knowledge the first time he'd ever been hazed.

"The main reason that we heard is because he was against hazing, and he was totally against it," Champion's father, Robert Champion Sr. said.

Champion's parents have sued the bus company that owns the bus where the hazing took place.

Since Champion's death, FAMU and other schools have been under intense scrutiny about how they handle complaints of hazing.

FAMU suspended the band and launched a task force to recommend steps it could take to curtail hazing, the subject of complaints involving the university band for years.

Three FAMU band members were arrested in the Oct. 31 beating of a female band member whose thigh broken.

On Tuesday, a lawyer for two FAMU music professors who allegedly were present during the unrelated hazing of band fraternity pledges in early 2010 said they have been forced out.

Both faculty members had been placed on paid administrative leave in late March after a Tallahassee Police Department report quoted witnesses as saying they were on hand when the hazing occurred at the home of one of the professors in 2010.

Diron Holloway, the band's director of saxophones, and Anthony Simons, an assistant professor of music, resigned last week after receiving notices that they had 10 days to contest their impending dismissals, said attorney Mutaqee Akbar.

"They both decided to resign from the university and pursue other career opportunities," Akbar said. -- (AP)

Frank Brogan, the chancellor of Florida's state university system, wrote a blunt letter to FAMU President James Ammons urging him to keep the band suspended. Ammons was expected to discuss the band at a special meeting of the university board of trustees on Monday.

Former state Sen. Al Lawson, a FAMU alumnus from Tallahassee, said he believed Ammons was leaning toward keeping the band suspended.

"There is a considerable amount of pressure being placed on the university and the trustees about the band being able to perform in the fall," Lawson said. "But I think in the light of everything, though the university is going to have to go in a new direction."

Lawson said long-time director Julian White's decision to retire instead of fighting to win his job back gives the university a chance to recruit new leadership for the band.

Eleven FAMU band members face felony hazing charges stemming from Robert Champion's death in November. Two others face misdemeanor counts. Ammons suspended the band soon after Champion's death and tried to fire 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.

Champion died aboard a bus outside an Orlando hotel following a FAMU football game. His death revealed a culture of hazing within the band.

But according to information the university turned over to its board this week, three of those charged with Champion's death weren't FAMU students at the time.

Ammons also sent a two-page letter to trustees explaining that at the start of the fall 2011 semester there were 457 people on the band roster, but it turns out that 101 of them were not students at FAMU.

A total of 52 people — including 51 band members and one cheerleader — had been previously enrolled at the school but were not enrolled at the time of Champion's death.

Another 49 were listed as students at nearby Tallahassee Community College or Florida State University but they were not enrolled in a FAMU band class, nor did the university know for sure if they were enrolled at the other schools.

White's attorney contended that only those who presented band officials with a class schedule at the start of the fall semester were given a Marching 100 uniform. Chuck Hobbs, however, said it was not up to the Department of Music to verify the enrollment.

In his May 8 letter to trustees, Ammons explained that he is having the university "internal crisis management team" speak to faculty, students, as well as boosters and alumni about what conditions should be met before the Marching 100 can return.

Pam Champion, the mother of Robert Champion, has said that the band should be disbanded so the university can "clean house." She and the family's attorney contend there is a vast effort among students and others to cover up who is responsible for her son's death.

An attorney for Champion's parents said White's resignation was a step in the right direction.

"The university has to be very deliberate and committed to eradicate the culture of hazing and it's going to be a long process," Chestnut said. "But it's a great first step."

While arrests have been made in the Champion case there is still an ongoing criminal investigation into the finances of the band, as well as a probe by the state university system into whether top officials at the university ignored past warnings about hazing.

Brogan told Ammons that "reinstating the band prior to these efforts being resolved would side-step efforts under way, which could impact the band's long-term survival."

He added that both he and the state panel that oversees the overall university system were worried that "concerns continue to mount regarding the ever-increasing body of issues that harm the institution, its students, and therefore our state university system as a whole."

The Champion family has already told FAMU it plans to sue the university. FAMU itself set up a task force to look at hazing, although the panel has not met since a flare-up over whether it should follow the state's open meetings laws. Several members have since resigned. -- (AP)

Last week, James Ammons had submitted a letter stating his resignation would not take effect until Oct. 11. However, he waived a provision allowing him to give 90 days notice to the FAMU board in exchange for getting paid bonuses.

Ammons will be paid more than $98,000 in performance bonuses from his last two years in office — and will still earn his full presidential salary of more than $341,000 over the next year while he remains on sabbatical. Ammons plans eventually to return to FAMU as a member of the faculty.

The school's governing board — which held an emergency conference call to discuss Ammons' resignation — voted in favor of the deal with Ammons and voted to name current FAMU Provost Larry Robinson as interim president.

Robinson had previously served in the administration of President Barack Obama as assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He also briefly served as the top official in charge of FAMU back in 2007 before Ammons was appointed president.

FAMU's board spent more than an hour discussing whether to make Robinson interim president so quickly. Questions remain about whether other candidates should be considered — and whether an interim president is eligible to apply for the permanent job of president.

But both the student body president and head of FAMU's faculty senate pressed to appoint Robinson immediately in order to bring stability to a campus that has been reeling since the November death of Robert Champion.

"I know how jittery the university community is at this time," Narayan Persaud, a FAMU professor, told other board members.

Still, in order to reach consensus, trustees agreed to take a more formal vote when they meet again in August. The choice of interim president will also have to be approved by the Florida Board of Governors, the panel that oversees the entire state university system.

Ammons had vowed a month ago to remain at his job, despite a no-confidence vote from trustees in June.

During Monday's conference call, Ammons agreed to step down immediately but did not comment further about his decision.

Ammons was first brought on five years ago to help stabilize the school's financial troubles and threats to its accreditation.

But Champion's death put a spotlight on the hazing culture at the university, specifically within the famed Marching 100 band. Trustees have complained about a lack of oversight of the band as well as lax management on other issues at the university.

Eleven FAMU band members face felony hazing charges, while two others face misdemeanor counts for alleged roles in Champion's hazing. They have pleaded not guilty. Meanwhile, Champion's family has sued the university.

The band has already been suspended until 2013. And there are still two investigations under way, including a probe by the Florida Board of Governors into whether university officials ignored past warnings about hazing prior to Champion's death.

Other problems have come out in the past year. A top auditor resigned after it was discovered false audit summaries had been distributed. It was revealed that more than 100 members of the Marching 100 weren't students. And there is an ongoing state criminal investigation into band finances.

Additionally, the athletic department has a multi-million dollar deficit, and it appears that enrollment will drop this fall.

Ammons had already launched initiatives to battle hazing, including strict new requirements for membership in the Marching 100.

It could take as long as a year to find a new president, but FAMU board members said Robinson will need to help deal with the damage now.

"I just believe there is some major cleaning up that needs to be done in the interim," said Torey Alston, a FAMU board member. -- (AP)