Former OU band director "Coach" Gene Thrailkill has died.

Thrailkill served 30 years as the director of the Pride of Oklahoma marching band. He gained statewide attention in 1983 during a football game against OSU. OU was losing and he instructed the band to play nonstop until OU pulled ahead as police escorted him off the field for not having a sideline pass. The band played "Boomer Sooner" nonstop roughly 300 times, and the team scored 15 unanswered points and a field goal, securing the win. Thrailkill retired in 2000.

Current pride director Brian Britt says Thrailkill was a larger-than-life person who made a positive difference in the lives of so many people.