Some who read this may think that it is impossible to have a band with no football team. It happens. In fact, there is a small band from a small school that we see at contests. The band does consistently well and ends up winning a lot of awards. The kids in the band work hard and do contests and other shows for their school. That school is not the only one that does things that way, either. It can work to ditch the team (or not worry about having one) and keep the band.
I know in our band program, the kids learn leadership, discipline, hard work, punctuality, and time-management (just to name a few). The school principal knows that if she needs anything done, she can ask the band and rest assured that it will be handled quickly and competently. The kids that participate in our band have a reputation as kids that can get things done. In short, the kids learn numerous life lessons that they carry with them for the rest of their days.