Hi there wkid87,
and a warm welcome to these forums.
Here is your page reworked and simplified somewhat...
Code:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css">
<title>Univeristy of Memphis Mighty Sound of the Sound</title>
<style type="text/css">
* {
margin:0;
padding:0;
}
#maincontainer {
width: 840px;
padding-top:150px;
margin:auto;
background-image:url();
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position:center;
}
#menu {
height:36px;
border-top:1px solid #00f;
list-style-type:none;
background-image:url();
}
#menu li {
float:left;
}
#menu a {
display:block;
line-height:36px;
padding:0 20px;
font-family:helvetica,arial,verdana,sans-serif;
font-size:12px;
font-weight:bold;
color:#6d7078;
text-transform:uppercase;
text-decoration:none;
}
#content {
border:4px solid #00f;
overflow:auto;
}
#leftcolumn {
float:left;
width:260px;
padding:20px 10px;
background: #c8fc98;
}
#rightcolumn {
float:left;
width:532px;
padding:20px 10px;
background:#300;
}
#rightcolumn p {
line-height:1.5em;
color:#f93;
text-align:justify;
}
#footer {
padding:4px 0;
background-color:#000;
color:#fff;
text-align:center;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div id="maincontainer">
<ul id="menu">
<li><a href="home.html" title="Home">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="news.html" title="News">News</a></li>
<li><a href="bios.html" title="Bios">Bios</a></li>
<li><a href="members.html" title="Members Only">Members Only</a></li>
<li><a href="alumni.html" title="Alumni">Alumni</a></li>
<li><a href="links.html" title="Other LInks">Other Links</a></li>
</ul>
<div id="content">
<div id="leftcolumn">
Left Column
</div><!-- end #rightcolumn -->
<div id="rightcolumn">
<p>
Welcome to the Mighty Sound of the South's home page! The mission of the
Mighty Sound of the South Marching Band is perform entertaining halftime
and pre-game shows, and to provide energy and spirit at all events at which
we perform. The MSS, under the direction of Dr. Albert Nguyen, performs more
than any other student ensemble on campus, and for approximately 350,000
fans each fall. The MSS is a frequent guest at community and corporate
events, and performs for football, men's and women's basketball, select
women's volleyball, and select men's soccer games. The MSS is featured at
nearly every campus-wide event, ranging from Freshman Convocation to the
Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally. The band has been featured at the 2008
NCAA Final Four - winning the "Battle of the Bands", on the nationally
syndicated "Mike & Mandy" Radio Show, and is a star attraction at the
Bandmaster's Championship, a high school marching band contest administered
by The University of Memphis Band Alumni Chapter. Members of the MSS
represent all academic disciplines across campus, and is open to all students
via audition - scholarships are available. Come join the largest and loudest
student organization on campus! For more information on becoming a part of the
Mighty Sound of the South, contact Mrs. Carol Rakestraw at clrkstrw@memphis.edu
or at 901.678.2263!
</p>
</div><!-- end #rightcolumn -->
</div><!-- end #content -->
<div id="footer">JMG Productionism</div>
</div><!-- end #maincontainer -->
</body>
</html>
Notes:-
1. I could not find your background-images, so have left the url empty.
2. You can, of course, pop the CSS into an external file.
Add to del.icio.us 
Can you digg it?
Linear Mode
