Corps of the decade: Top 12 of the 2010s

Take a second and think about the full scope of the past 10 years of the Drum Corps International Tour. Records were broken; five unique champions were crowned. So much has changed on the competitive and performance landscapes since 2010.

But let’s step back and say that the entire decade was one long season, and at long last, today is Finals night. Where do the chips fall?

Let the DCI “2010s” Awards Ceremony begin…

Note: The following rankings are based on a corps' average season-ending score (2010-2019), caption awards are based on average Finals caption score.

In 12th place, with a score of 85.025 ... Crossmen

After its first half of the decade featured three finishes outside the Top 12, including two in 17th place, in the last five years or so Crossmen has solidified itself among the finalist pool; the San Antonio corps hasn’t missed out on Finals since 2013. The corps’ top finish of 10th place came in 2016, but its top score of 87.550 actually came this past season, a year which saw Crossmen take 11th overall.

In 11th place, with a score of 86.656 ... Madison Scouts

While Madison Scouts missed out on the Top 12 in three of the decade's last four years — a 12th-place finish in 2017 being the outlier — the first six years of the decade all marked finalist finishes for the Wisconsin corps. The Scouts peaked, placement-wise, with 2015's eighth-place result, but the corps' top score — its only 90 of the decade — came in 2013.

In 10th place, with a score of 88.063 … Blue Stars

Blue Stars found themselves near the back end of the finalist pool for the early portion of the decade, taking 10th, 13th, and 12th in consecutive years after an eighth-place finish in 2010. The La Crosse, Wisconsin corps, however, ended the decade by pushing its way back into the ranks of the top eight, earning eighth in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019, while also notching its all-time high score of 91.225 this past summer.

The George Zingali Award for Best Color Guard goes to … Blue Devils

2012 Blue Devils

In recent seasons, Boston Crusaders became the face of the color guard caption, winning the George Zingali Award for Best Color Guard Performance in back to back years to end the decade. That said, the Blue Devils’ consistency throughout the 2010s tops the list. The Concord corps won the caption outright in six straight years from 2010 to 2015 and has earned perfect 20s in the caption in three of the last 10 seasons. For reference, perfect 20s have been earned just once each, ever (yes, ever), in percussion and brass. This decade the Devils have never scored below 19.6 points out of 20 in the color guard caption.

In 9th place, with a score of 89.586 … Blue Knights

Blue Knights have been a model of consistency throughout the 2010s, never finishing higher than sixth or lower than 11th. That said, the corps’ only time finishing outside the top 10 this decade came in 2010, and in the years since taking 10th in both 2012 and 2013, the Denver corps held an average placement of 7.5. Blue Knights peaked in sixth place back in 2015, but the corps’ highest score of the decade — and of all-time — is 2019’s 92.050.

The John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award goes to … Blue Devils

2017 Blue Devils

Anyone who studied the scoring recaps and trends in 2019 knows that the visual caption was the main contributor to Blue Devils’ 19th gold medal. The visual caption, though, has consistently been a strength for the Concord corps long before this past summer; in all but one season since 2010, the corps has held top visual score on Finals night, the lone outlier coming in 2018.

In 8th place, with a score of 90.812 … Boston Crusaders

Boston spent most of the 2010s in the lower half of Top 12 finishers; the corps never missed Finals this decade, but never finished higher than seventh or scored over 90 points prior to 2017. In 2016, the corps hit its lowest finish of the decade (12th), but things quickly flipped in the other direction; Boston surged into the top six in 2017, setting its all-time highest score that season, and has continued to break that record in each of the years since while remaining among the top-six finishers.

The Jim Ott Award for Best Brass Performance goes to … Carolina Crown

2016 Carolina Crown

Aside from only Blue Devils’ color guard, no corps won more of one caption award in the 2010s than Carolina Crown’s brass. Crown took home the Jim Ott Award six times this decade, including three in a row from 2011-2013, as well as three of the past four seasons (2016, 2017, 2019).

Honorable Mention: Blue Devils (2nd), Bluecoats (3rd)

In 7th place, with a score of 91.203 … Phantom Regiment

Another corps with placements all across the map, Phantom Regiment opened the decade in ninth place but quickly moved back into the top five in 2011 before medaling (bronze) in 2012. Since then, the corps’ finishes have ranged from sixth to 12th, but Regiment will still exit the decade as the owner of DCI’s second-longest active streak of Top 12 Finals appearances at 45.

In 6th place, with a score of 93.379 … The Cavaliers

The Cavaliers also had a very wide-spanning range of results this decade, albeit far more sporadic than that of The Cadets; the Rosemont, Illinois corps has earned placements as high as second (2010) and third (2011) and as low as eighth (2012) and ninth (2015). The remaining eight years have featured every possible placement in between, with The Cavaliers’ most common finish being fifth place, earned three times this decade and twice in the last two years. Since taking ninth back in 2015, the corps has never finished outside the top six.

The Fred Sanford Award for Best Percussion Performance goes to … Blue Devils

2015 Blue Devils

You might be surprised to not see Santa Clara Vanguard top this list, and for good reason; they’ve won five of the last six percussion titles. If we’re deciding this based on sheer number of trophies, the award goes to the Santa Clara corps by a landslide. Here’s the catch — the first year in the decade, which saw Vanguard score 17.6 points out of 20 in percussion, slightly weighs down the corps’ average score. The Blue Devils, however, despite having only won one Fred Sanford Award for Best Percussion Performance this decade (2015), haven’t scored below 19 out of 20 in the caption.

Honorable Mention: Santa Clara Vanguard (2nd), Bluecoats (3rd)

In 5th place, with a score of 94.473 … The Cadets

The Cadets’ decade has had arguably the widest range of finishes of any Top 12 corps, but the degree and frequency of the corps’ high-points are strong enough to place it among the top five. The 2010s included The Cadets’ 10th DCI World Championship title (2011), as well as two bronze medals and six top-five finishes. The last four years of the decade has seen the corps take sixth (twice), seventh and ninth, but all but one season The Cadets ended with 90 points or better as a final score.

In 4th place, with a score of 95.355 … Santa Clara Vanguard

With great success most notbaly in the last three years, Vanguard has earned each of the three medalist positions, with its first gold since 1999 coming in 2018. But even prior to rejoining the ranks of the medalists, Vanguard found itself among the top five in eight consecutive seasons after earning sixth and seventh respectively in 2010 and 2011.

The Don Angelica Award for Best Overall General Effect goes to … Blue Devils

2010 Blue Devils

In recent seasons, general effect has become a major strength of the Bluecoats; the Canton corps earned top GE scores in 2019 and 2016. But when looking at the full scope of the decade — which includes six medalist seasons, but also finishes of fifth (twice), sixth and seventh for Bluecoats — Blue Devils and Carolina Crown shine through as the most consistent general effect scorers.

Honorable Mention: Carolina Crown (2nd), Bluecoats (3rd)

Receiving the bronze medal, with a score of 95.645 … Bluecoats

Bluecoats’ five medalist finishes in six years — including a gold medal in 2016 — aren’t enough to catapult the Canton corps into second on the list, but it’s close. If you isolate the past five years, it’s easy to argue that the Bluecoats have been the second-strongest corps. That sample size — as well as a bronze medal in 2010 — makes up for a couple of outlier seasons outside the top five, and earns the corps a decade-wide bronze by a slim average margin.

Receiving the silver medal, with a score of 96.568 … Carolina Crown

It’s been a few years since Carolina Crown has been involved in a gold-medal race all the way to the finish line, so it’s easy to forget how consistently strong the South Carolina corps has been all the way across the decade. Crown never finished lower than fifth in the last 10 years, and that’s only happened once (2014). On top of 2013’s title, Crown’s 2010s also feature two silver medals, two bronze medals, and four fourth-place finishes. Aside from the Blue Devils, no other corps has spent the entire decade among the top five.

Receiving the gold medal, with a score of 98.221 … Blue Devils

The past decade saw the Concord corps put an absolute stranglehold on the top spot on the list of all-time winningest corps. With titles in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019, the Blue Devils now have 19 gold medals in their trophy case, not to mention countless caption awards along the way. Oh, and midway through the decade, the corps also set the all-time DCI high score at 99.650, breaking the previous record set in 2002 and tied in 2005.

Open Class Medal Count

Things have changed drastically at different points throughout the decade when it comes to the competitive landscape of DCI's Open Class, whether it’s who’s competing or how they’re being scored. With that in mind, here’s the definitive list of Open Class medalists from the 2010s:

Blue Devils B | 4 Gold, 5 Silver

2014 Blue Devils B

Blue Devils B took home back-to-back championships to start the decade, and also won it all in 2014 and 2016. Much like the Blue Devils organization’s World Class corps, BDB didn’t fall below second place in any of its trips to the DCI World Championships in the 2010s.

Vanguard Cadets | 4 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze

2013 Vanguard Cadets

While Vanguard Cadets didn’t attend the DCI World Championships in either the first or last year of the decade, the eight in between featured nothing but medals. While Blue Devils B owned the front end of the 2010s, the back half leans in the direction of Vanguard Cadets, who won four titles in six years, including three out of four from 2015-2018.

Oregon Crusaders | 1 Gold, 2 Silver

2012 Oregon Crusaders

Oregon Crusaders only spent the first three years of the 2010s in Open Class, but medaled all three times. Before Spartans in 2019, Oregon Crusaders was the only corps to break up Blue Devils B and Vanguard Cadets’ dominance, winning a gold medal in 2012.

Spartans | 1 Gold, 2 Bronze

2019 Spartans

Spartans spent the entire decade among the Open Class top five, with bronze medal finishes coming in 2010 and 2015. Otherwise, the New Hampshire corps earned mostly fourth and fifth place throughout the 2010s, before capping the decade off in 2019 with gold.

5. Legends | 1 Silver, 2 Bronze

2016 Legends

When the decade started, Legends were only three years into consistently competing at the DCI World Championships. The corps didn’t join the ranks of the Open Class top five until 2015, but hasn’t fallen out since. The Michigan corps earned medals in three of the last four seasons with a first-ever silver medal coming in 2019.

T-6

Genesis | 2 Bronze

2013 Genesis

Genesis, like Oregon Crusaders, didn’t spend the entire decade in Open Class, but when the decade started, the corps was brand new; its inaugural season came in 2010. The Austin, Texas corps rapidly shot up the Open Class leaderboard and earned bronze medals in 2013 and 2014, and eventually jumped to the World Class division ahead of the 2017 season.