For over a decade, the PUB performed on a tight budget, clad only in black sweaters with bow-ties and white pants; however, thanks to the contributions of many alumni supporters in 1936, the band was able to afford new instruments, music, and, most notably, new uniforms — black blazers with orange collars and a Princeton Band insignia on the breast pocket.

The first script on record was in a home opener against Rutgers University in 1955, by which time scrambling was a well-established feature of field performances.

In 1952, the band switched from black to orange-and-black plaid blazers and continued to wear the straw hats that had been introduced a year or two earlier.

Not only have a number of institutions banned it from performing, like the United States Military Academy at West Point and, until recently, Lafayette College, but there was serious talk in the 1970s and '80s of disbanding the group at Princeton.

To placate the concerns of administrators and alumni at Princeton, the PUB hired Jack Hontz, a marching band director from Strath Haven High School in Pennsylvania, as a musical advisor.

While very helpful, Hontz filled only a consultory role for the PUB until his death in the summer of 2017, offering advice only when it was needed and leaving all leadership and decision-making responsibilities to the students.

The PUB has since hired Joe Bongiovi, director of bands at Princeton High School and founder of the Philadelphia Jazz Orchestra,[3] as their musical advisor.

On campus, the PUB has come to represent the spirit of Princeton, and the PUB can be found performing or otherwise representing the University at numerous Princeton events, including building dedications, promotional videos, student performing arts showcases, orientation events, and Reunions, to name a few.

These sections are the flumpets (encompassing flutes, trumpets, and other miscellaneous wind instruments), saxinets (saxophones and clarinets), tubonerphones (mellophones, trombones, baritones, and tubas), and garbussion (percussion and garbage).

At the end of the academic year, the PUB remains on campus for Reunions, a three-day celebration of Princetonians past and present.

The standard full uniform of the PUB, used for football season, parades, Princeton Reunions, and other formal events, consists of black pants, white shoes, a white dress shirt with solid black tie, Italian "boater" hat, and the distinctive orange-and-black plaid jacket.

The plaid wool used in the uniforms was custom manufactured and donated by a Princeton alumnus in 1952 at Bennington Mills in Vermont.

At most athletic events outside of football and tournament games, the band wears an informal uniform consisting of a plaid jacket and boater hat over jeans and a black t-shirt, preferably bearing a Princeton logo.

For a brief period beginning in 2001, the PUB replaced its typical off-season uniform with custom orange-and-black striped rugby shirts.

Graduating seniors often find a way to adorn their beer jackets with the plaid in some fashion, making alumni of the band easy to spot.

In the middle of the song, where the lyrics "down, down" are found in the original recording, band members lay on their backs on the ground or pieces of furniture and kick their legs while playing.

Immediately following the final football game of the season, the Princeton University Band performs a small concert inside Nassau Hall.

At the conclusion of each school year and prior to Reunions, the band takes a trip to White Castle and holds an eating contest.

Style points may be awarded for methods including but not limited to: The current all-time record of 37 sliders is held by Jacob Jackson ‘26.

These follow a band member's name and class year when their name is written out (ex., John Doe '00 PE xDrM xDM xA xTotY, where John Doe graduated in 2000, held the positions of president, drum major, drillmaster, and announcer, and was awarded the Turkey of the Year award).

For example, a previous recipient of the Grossest Member award who serves as head manager and previous served as treasurer and drillmaster may choose to write their name as John Doe '00 HM xT xDM xGM (award tag following officer tags) or as John Doe '00 HM xT xGM xDM (award tag listed chronologically).

The other competitors in this online poll were: Rice, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Grambling, Michigan, Stanford, and Texas A&M.

They played at Princeton's first-round loss to the Bulldogs of University of Minnesota Duluth at Minneapolis in 2009 and the year before when they lost to University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux in Madison, as well as at Princeton's first-round loss to Ohio State in Allentown, PA in 2018.